Night was swiftly approaching...

The ambient temperature of Redscale Island was rather low. And unfortunately, it continued to drop once the twilight began.

This meant a change in not only weather conditions, but also in the biosphere. Those that could survive through the day go into hibernation, while the far more terrifying beings surfaced to hunt for the night.

Walking along the edge of the lake, Cain glanced down at the crystal waters. Even with the lack of lighting, he could still see very clearly.

The lake was deep and contained a large range of creatures. From small, docile fish, to what he could only describe as a large eldritch shadow lurking in the depths.

Of course, he wasn’t too concerned about it for the time being. For what it was worth, whatever it was didn’t seem too hungry for human or direwolf blood.

He glanced over to his side. Roc had a brooding expression on his face as he muttered something under his breath,

Sensing what was going on, Cain chuckled then spoke,

"You worried about leaving the island?"

Roc’s gaze shot to him, suspicious in the depths of his eyes,

"That... Can you read my mind or something?!"

Cain snorted, "It’s written all over your face."

Roc huffed then glanced at the sky.

The reflection of the glorious moon. One that Cain, even with his supernatural sight could not see, was reflected in the depths of his eyes.

"This... This is all I have ever known. I have no recollection of what I was before my soul was touched by the Divine. Still, I know this place is all I have ever known."

Cain turned his gaze forward.

He couldn’t be too sure, but maybe the {Willow Direwolves} were an evolution some stray dog, or wild canid that had once inhabited the island.

Of course, he couldn’t tell Roc that to his face, but he had a feeling his hunch was right.

Cain shrugged, "Some times, change is what we need."

Roc nodded, "But change can be dangerous. And frightening."

Cain grinned, "And exciting."

Roc raised a brow, "Exciting, huh..."

Cain nodded,

"I’ll be honest with you. I once believed my life would be better with some change. In the past, everything felt so grey and dull. I felt I was slowly dying without a wound. And then came the change."

Cain felt the cool wind smack his face, causing the corner of his lips to turn up,

"Yeah, the change was quite something... I was excited at first. But then reality hit me hard; I can’t even count the number I times I almost died. The change can be dangerous and frightening."

He paused for a moment then chuckled,

"But if you ask me, I’d say it’s worth it."

Roc turned his gaze away from the sky and glanced at the human beside him.

He looked and smelt incredibly young. But for some reason, hi words seems to carry a timeless edge.

"I see."

Cain shrugged, "Of course, you can’t take my word for it. I believe you are plenty strong yourself, so you should be fine."

Roc was about to say something when his nose twitched.

His face scrunched up into a grimace,

"They are here."

Cain raised a brow, "Who?"

"Those damned bats. And Ambrosia. We best hurry."

Realizing that keeping the Empress of the Night waiting would be a bad idea, they both hurried forward. Luckily, they arrived just in time.

The twilight was filled with angry howls and barks as the {Willow Direwolves} bared their teeth at the darkened skies.

Above them was a host of creatures with enormous flapping wings that covered the skies.

The {Blood-Curse Bats}.

Once they were close enough, a torrent of light enveloped Roc’s human form as he transformed into an enormous silver wolf with golden eyes.

A deep growl came from his throat, reverberating all the way to the very ends of sea of tents.

The howls and growls stopped almost immediately.

This was the power and authority of the Direwolf Lord.

Cain heaved a sigh of relief then turned his gaze to the sky with narrowed eyes.

He was rather curious to see how Ambrosia would respond.

Much to his relief, only a single {Blood-Curse Bat} descended.

With his sharp gaze, Cain could see that it was the semi-humanoid he had once encountered, Shadow.

And sitting on the giant winged-creature’s back, was the Empress herself.

Eyes like solidified crystals of blood, hair darker than the night itself, Ambrosia was the picture image of tenebrous majesty.

Shadow landed on the ground right in front of Roc, kicking up a gust of dusty, frigid wind.

The Direwolf Lord was not phased at all, instead looking down at the Empress as she slowly alighted from her winged ride, he huffed front his regal snout, kicking up a torrent of his own.

The gust of wind he kicked up was so powerful, Shadow was unable to find his balance and was knocked away.

Despite that, Ambrosia remained standing in place, hands on her hips as she looked up at Roc.

She clicked her tongue,

"Treating my servant so rudely the moment he arrive on your turf in a bad show of diplomacy... Dog."

Roc’s golden eyes narrowed,

"The putrid stench on your words never fade away, Ambrosia."

Ambrosia chuckled.

Then her blood colored eyes scanned the surrounding area excitedly.

When they found her target, a smile crept onto her beautiful face as her gaze softened,

"I almost missed you through all the dog stench, Cain."

Cain chuckled wryly,

"How have you been, Ambrosia?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

A pair of wings spurted out of the back of the Night Empress as she flew over before landing right before him.

Seeing the expectant look on her face, Cain let out a defeated sigh and slowly raised his hand before placing it on her head, giving it a gentle rub. A pleased look appeared in the face of the little Empress.

"I have been wonderful, my darling Cain."