"By the way, why did you tag along? I don’t think you’ll be interested much in a bunch of Mutant Creatures."

Evangeline shrugged as she plucked a flower off a hanging vine,

"I’m just curious to see how you handle business."

Cain hummed, "Business?"

Evangeline nodded as she turned to stare right at him,

"I have full trust and faith in you. But I want to see for myself. And doing it this way is much more fun than watching from the shadows."

’A strange girl indeed.’

She has always been strange. Since the first day he had met her.

"What do you want to see exactly?"

Instead of replying straight away, she strutted forward a bit then turned around slightly,

"Which do you think is more important for a leader to possess? Personal strength, or influence?"

Cain’s eyes narrowed. His eyes, more than powerful to cut through any obscurity, could see the beautiful girl before him with great detail.

That was why he could tell that the question she had just asked was rather keen.

She was not messing around with him.

He was silent for a moment.

Indeed, what was more important to create a great leader;

The power to bring great enemies to heel with his own strength?

While that seemed rather convenient, if he had that much power, what would he need allies for?

But at the same time, influence without might to back it up was empty and fleeting. In fact, such influence could very quickly lead to the death of the one who possessed it.

"Neither of the two is more important than the other."

Evangeline smirked then turned around,

"A safe answer. I like it."

Cain huffed a sigh.

"But..."

Cain’s eyes widened.

Even though the sun was gone, buried behind layers of pearly blankets, it did nothing to stop the breathtaking view before him from glowing with an ethereal radiance that made his heart skip a beat.

"l told you this before, Cain. You lack concrete goals. All this time, even after our promise, you haven’t been relying on me much, have you?"

Cain froze for a moment.

’A promise...’

Indeed, he remembered a promise he had once made to this girl.

He had promised to make her his shadow. His blade in the darkness. The one that would be a guide for him and would help him rule the world.

Cain frowned,

"Strength and influence. Both are pretty much useless is there is nothing for them to act on. Cain. Are your goals your own, or are you perhaps wandering through the dark again?"

Cain was petrified as the thought in his head began to spiral out of control.

She reached out a hand.

"Looks like I was rig—"

Cain stretched his hand forward and tightly grasped her fingers. Wrapping his around hers, he violently tugged forward, pulling her close and wrapping his other hand around her waist.

Even the usually composed Evangeline had her eyes wide in surprise.

Cain had a strange expression plastered in his face,

"If you had said this a few months ago, then you’d be right. Back then, I was struggling to lay down what to do. I won’t lie; I have been lost for a long time now. But..."

His lips stretched into a wry smile,

"You can be my shadow from now on, but you must also trust me to be your sword."

Cain felt the heat slumbering within him rise to the surface as he leaned forward.

Evangeline placed her hand in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Her lips were curled into that same foxy smile again,

"Cool it down, Mister. Don’t you think there will be more than a few people dissatisfied if you kiss me now?"

Cain’s brows furrowed in annoyance,

"What? Who would—"

Right before him, he watched as her body turned into a billowing pillar of darkness before slinking right back into his shadow.

A moment later, a voice reached his ears,

"We’ve had enough rest. Let’s get going."

Cain grimaced,

"I knew this wasn’t a good idea."

***

Navigating through the forest on his own had its ups and downs. For one, he was left mostly to his own thoughts as Evangeline was not the most talkative companion.

The downside of course,n was that he was left to fight whatever he might encounter alone. Although, there wasn’t a lot within the forest he couldn’t defeat.

However, he could very easily be swarmed to death.

Hence, he had long since developed the presence of mind to wholly avoid creatures with a horde mind to avoid making his journey more difficult, even if it meant he had to "cheat" a little with {Spatial Jump}.

The further he walked, the closer he got to the territory of the {Willow Direwolves}.

Night slowly began to descend as a wicked chill covered the lands.

Some leaves and plants began to freeze over as a light layer of ice covered them. Many creatures retreated into their burrows to call it a day while multiple others snapped their eyes open.

For these night hunters, the day was just about to begin.

Chilling howls and piercing cries broke through the gradually darkening skies.

Cain looked up.

Unfortunately for him, the descent of night did not mean he could put a hold to his journey.

With measured steps, he continued to head deeper into the forest, his present concealed with magic.

After a day of traveling this way, Cain finally arrived at the lakeside encampment of the {Willow Direwolves}.

Staring through the thick forest covering, he was there only for a very short time when the dense foliage cleared.

Right before him, a magnificent, enormous creature revealed itself.

Golden eyes that seemed to peer into the soul. Luscious silver fur. Teeth that could bite a man clean in two.

It was Roc.

Cain stared up at the intelligent Mutant Beasts for a moment while it stared down at him.

Eventually a deep, rumble that he believed was a sigh reached his ears.

There was a bright flash of light.

A moment later, the enormous creature before him had vanished.

In its place, was a grimacing teenager with wolf ears and a bushy tail behind him.