This is it.

Aiden paused in his tracks as he looked around at the unfamiliar forest. The last time he’d been here was two years ago, when he planted the corpse. Closing his eyes, he felt the surrounding area using his soul energy and found Nate.

Although he often referred to Nate as a corpse, the energy readings radiating from his body was anything but. Every living thing had a certain amount of energy, those with more than average were able to use that soul energy to perform magic, with enough training. Nate’s energy reading was brighter and more condensed then anything he’s ever seen.

“I don’t get it. He’s clearly alive, yet he’s been in a coma for the past ten years. Am I supposed to continue moving his body for the rest of my life? When will he wake up?” Aiden complained as he began to dig.

Most people cannot recover from a shattered soul. The fact that your friend is still alive is a miracle. Whether he’ll ever wake up is unknown.

“Maybe if we take him to the Academy? One of those mages must know what’s wrong with him…”

Ubel gave him the mental equivalence of a shrug. You’ve never brought them up before, why do you ask that now?

“I can’t keep doing this. But I can’t leave him here either. I never mentioned the Academy because I wasn’t sure what they’d do to Nate, especially after the Black Watch incident. But now I don’t think I have a choice.”

The mages of old would certainly know how to fix Nate. But I’m afraid the mages today are lacking when it comes to magical knowledge. You can try, but I don’t think they’ll know.

Aiden smiled as he dug faster. He could finally see an end to his service. Whether or not the Academy could fix Nate didn’t matter, once Aiden handed him off the responsibility would be off his shoulders. If the Academy couldn’t fix him, then Nate was a lost cause. Aiden could finally let go.

The digging slowed as he neared Nate’s corpse. He dug furtively around the body until Nate’s corpse was revealed. There was a layer of violet colored aura surrounding Nate’s body, obscuring his body. But when one looked closely, they could see the corpse that lie within. Nate’s body was shriveled, the man was practically all bones.

As soon as Nate’s body was revealed the sky began to darken as purple lightning flashed overhead. Aiden rooted around in his pocket for a gold ring with an emerald jewel embedded in it. This ring belonged to Nate, it was given to him as a means to communicate with Kiru. Nate had told him this before but Aiden never used it, he didn’t trust the mages. But now he had no choice but to rely on them to help Nate.

Aiden took the ring and focused on it. A short while later an image of Kiru appeared in his head. The man looked surprised. “Who’s this?”

“My name is Aiden. I’m a friend of Nate…”

“Nate?”

“Nathan? The man you wanted to take with you to the Academy ten years ago? The one who wrecked Black Watch Asylum?”

“Nate!” Kiru’s eyes lit up in surprise. “Yes, yes. And you must be Aiden, the werewolf he’d rescued?”

Aiden bristled at the reminder of Nate’s involvement in rescuing his life. It reminded him of his debt to Nate. Here he was trying to offload Nate onto someone else when Nate had saved his life. Maybe this was a mistake, maybe it was his duty to look after Nate.

No. I can’t think like that, I’ve done enough for him. Aiden thought as he strengthened his resolve. Kiru kept talking but Aiden had been distracted. He only remembered the conversation with Kiru when the man mentioned his location.

“How do you know where I am?” Aiden said suspiciously.

“As long as the ring remains activated I can get a bead on your location. Isn’t that why you called me?” Kiru replied. When Aiden remained silent he continued. “I’ve followed your activities Aiden, or should I say ‘Greywolf’? I’ve wanted to reach out to you to lend a helping hand, but every time I tried you’d vanish underground.”

“Why would you help me? You don’t even know me.”

“I knew Nate. Although the young man died, I know he’d want you looked after. He’d often speak about you, you know? He refused to come with me to the Academy until I had a spot secured for you. I thought, as a favor to him, I’d invite you to the Academy anyway.”

Aiden took a deep breath to calm the emotions roiling around inside him. “Nate’s not dead.”

“What?”

“Nate’s alive. He’s in a coma or something, but he’s definitely alive.”

Aiden saw Kiru frowning. “Are you sure? I saw his soul core shatter to pieces, there’s no way anyone could survive that. Even a half-demon like Nate.”

“He’s alive. I’ve kept him hidden for the past ten years, but he’s still in a coma. I don’t know what to do…”

“Okay, okay. Listen, I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ve never been to Golden Trout Wilderness so I can’t teleport straight there, it’ll take me a few hours to get to you, just remain where you are.”

Aiden sighed as he stopped the spirit infusion. “Maybe I should leave him buried until Kiru gets here?”

His body cannot continue without nourishment. You need to take him somewhere else, otherwise he might starve.

All around him was yellowed grass, dead trees, and a dried-up riverbed. There was no life here for Nate to absorb. He’d have to take him somewhere else.

Aiden lifted Nate’s corpse and hopped out of the grave. That’s when he heard the thudding of helicopters in the distance. “How did they get here so fast?!”

…

The atmosphere inside the helicopter was tense. Two groups sat facing each other, throwing hateful glances on the person sitting opposite them. Although teams Alpha and Bravo were both part of the same organization, there was a deep rivalry between the two groups, a rivalry that often turned to into a physical fight whenever the two were in the same room together.

Normally these two groups would be at each other’s throats, throwing insults at one another. But instead, they were all quiet. There was one man who didn’t belong to either group, he sat alone away from both groups. This man was the reason for both groups subdued behavior. An Elite Guardian.

Zerker sat leaned back against the wall of the helicopter, his eyes closed. He could sense the tension and fear coming off of the people in the cabin and it brought a smile to his lips.

A loud voice spoke over the intercom. “We’re approaching the location. The lightning storm overhead indicates the target is nearby.”

Zerker opened his eyes and stood. The abrupt motion made those closest to him flinch. He stood in the middle of both teams and made eye contact with both group leaders before speaking.

“I know about the rivalry between your two teams, and quite frankly, I don’t care. You will both work towards bringing in Greywolf. Alive. If this mission fails because of your petty squabbles, I will personally see to your discipline. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sir!” Both teams shouted.

The helicopter landed and both teams rushed out of the helicopter to pursue Greywolf. A woman sitting in the passenger seat of the helicopter walked up behind him.

“Pervert.” She said in a cold and disinterested voice.

Zerker turned around with an affronted look on his face. “Why do you say that?”

The woman looked at him with a bored expression. “You get off on their fear.”

“Is there something wrong with that?” Zerker chuckled. “Just because you don’t like the spotlight, doesn’t mean you should ridicule me, Deadshot.”

The woman shrugged as if it didn’t matter. She went over to the corner of the helicopter and grabbed a black rectangular suitcase and walked out of the helicopter.

Zerker’s eyes drifted downward as the woman left the helicopter. Deadshot was the only woman that would dare speak to him in that fashion. They were both members of Mendell’s personal security, and enjoyed a distinguished rank amongst the common Guardians. Mendell had sent them both out to ensure the success of this mission.

When he thought about the mission, his heart began to palpitate. His lips curled at the enjoyment that would soon be had. Zerker lived for battle, being an Elite Guardian, there weren’t many monsters that could battle him on equal footing, his fights were often boring. This Greywolf, was said to be above the common rabble.

“I wonder…” Zerker smiled as he leapt out of the helicopter.

…

Aiden set Nate down in a bed of healthy green grass. As soon as he laid him down, Aiden felt threads of energy burst out of Nate’s body and begin to embed itself in the grass, trees, and anything else within his vicinity.

Some threads would even reach out at him. Aiden welcomed the threads and felt Nate’s presence roam all over him.

I’m here Nate. Aiden thought in his mind, but there was no response.

He can’t here you…

I know. Aiden said, cutting Ubel off. He’d heard the explanation before, the threads were Nate’s way of keeping himself alive, they weren’t conscious.

“Should I bury him?” Aiden asked.

What’s the point, Kiru should be here soon.

“I know… I just don’t like the look of that.” Aiden said as he looked upward. The sky was filled with dark clouds. Every once in a while, violet lightning would streak by, accompanied by a peal of thunder that shook the ground.

Tribulation lightning only strikes when the universe is trying to correct a wrong. If Nate was in demon form it would probably strike at him, but he’s not.

“Then why is it here?” Every time Aiden dug Nate out of the ground, the clouds would form overhead and the storm wouldn’t go away until he’d dug Nate deep underground.

Ubel didn’t answer his question. Aiden sighed and stood up. He could sense the Guardians approaching him from the south. He’d go meet them over there, rather than wait for them to come to him. He didn’t want Nate getting involved in the melee, especially in his weakened form.

He found a clearing the size of a football field. “As good a place as any I guess.” Aiden muttered. He’d have to be straight-forward in how he dealt with the Guardians. Even though it’d be easier to take care of them using the trees as cover, he decided that would scatter the Guardians. He’d rather take them all out at once.

The Guardians began filtering into the clearing one by one. There were twelve Guardians in total, all wearing the same black and grey camouflage outfits. They looked at him, sneering as if he would be dead soon.

“Your team can hang back; my team should be enough. After all, we are Alpha.” One of the men said.

“Hmph!” A woman scoffed. “You heard what Zerker said. If it wasn’t for his orders, do you think we’d need your team here?”

“This is too funny.” Aiden chuckled as he walked towards them.

The man and woman looked at Aiden, shocked he would speak to them rather than run away. “I heard Greywolf was one to be feared. Turns out he’s dumber than the other mutts.” The man sneered.

“Man, you people are so full of it. You’ve dealt with lower level vampires and werewolves, and think that’s all there is to it?” Aiden said, annoyed at their dismissive behavior.

“Let me correct your misguided view of the real world.” Aiden’s voice came out warbled as his fangs began to grow. Silver hair grew on his arms and around his neck. Serrated claws grew out of his fingers, and his slight build began to expand and ripple with muscle. “This shouldn’t take long.”