In a dimly lit underground chamber, four shadowy figures sat in solemn silence, gathered around a large stone table. Flickering torchlight cast eerie shadows across their faces, obscuring any glimpse of their features in the darkness.

  One of the figures rose from their seat. He was draped in a cloak crafted from the fur of wild beasts, and around his neck, a necklace adorned with sharp fangs gleamed faintly in the light.

  "If that's everything, I'll leave." The figure smiled politely, his words carrying an edge of authority.

  As he turned to leave, a resounding thud echoed through the chamber as another figure slammed their fist onto the stone table, causing fractures to spiderweb across its surface.

  "Not so fast, Khali." The figure declared with a deep growl.

  Khali’s expression contorted into a scowl as he turned to face the speaker.

  "What do you want, Ghost?" he spat out disdainfully.

  "Your attitude pisses me off," Ghost's calm and cold voice echoed through the cavern, "You might have an army of those hoodlums under your command, but you're no one's boss here. We're not finished, so sit the fuck back down."

  As Ghost's words cut through the tense atmosphere, another figure seated at the stone table broke into a high-pitched chuckle, the sound bouncing off the damp walls of the underground chamber.

  "Hihihihi! You've got a point, Ghost," he rasped, his voice dripping with a sinister edge. "Khali here thinks he's the big shot and struts around like he owns the Avyssos! Hihihihi!"

  Khali’s fists clenched at his sides as he struggled to maintain his composure in the face of the mocking words. He glared at that man before taking his eyes back to Ghost.

  "Who the hell are you to speak to me like that, Ghost?" Khali’s eyes narrowed, and his jaws clenched as he retorted, his voice laced with barely contained anger. "I do as I please."

  Ghost chuckled darkly. "You may think you're untouchable, but it’s Chief Khaan that united the tribes under the Dracoferus banner, not you. And not to mention that Rosaria or whatsherface that you were so close to. She disappeared like she never existed."

  “Watch your fucking mouth.” Khali's golden pupils flashed with a murderous glint. “Right now, I lead the Dracoferus Tribe. Stay in your lane - not even Kolasi and the rest of Viridian Flame Warriors will be able to save you from my wrath.”

  "Hohoho.” A different shadow chuckled knowingly, “Rosaria, that woman is probably rotting in one of her secret bases after a victim turned the tables on her."

  “Alaric…” Khali’s nostrils flared with fury at the mention of Rosaria's downfall. The fact that that man had specifically said such a thing only meant that it is more likely than not to be true, "Rosaria's fate is none of your concern… and neither is mine."

  A taunting smirk played across Alaric’s lips. "Oh, but it is, Khali. Just because you get a seat at this table doesn't mean you get to play by your own rules."

  Khali’s grip tightened on the hilt of his dagger, his knuckles turning white with the force of his anger. "Watch your tongue."

  Ghost's smirk widened. "Or what? You'll throw another one of your tantrums?"

  “Hihihihi!” The other figure's jeer grew louder, echoing off the cavern walls. "Looks like our little Khali can't handle the heat."

  Khali’s nails dug into his palms as he fought to maintain his composure. "This isn't over."

  With a final glare at Ghost and the other figures, Khali stormed out of the chamber, his footsteps echoing through the dimly lit corridors. Ghost watched his departure with a smug expression, his features shrouded in darkness.

  With clenched fists and a seething rage, Khali slammed his fist against the cold stone wall of the corridor.

  "I'll kill them all... Every last one of them.” His voice was barely a whisper, and they dripped with venomous intent as he muttered to himself, “Once I resurrect ‘it’, I'll be the one true ruler of the Bloodmoon Region. But not before I tear that bastard Ghost from limb to limb."

  Khali strode forward, each step fuelled by dark determination and promised vengeance.

  Several bats clung upside-down onto branches of leafless trees, the black orbs in their eye sockets reflecting the blood-red moon as it spilt that scarlet moonlight over the endless stretches of dry land. Occasionally, the hypnotic crimson fluorescence weaved in and out of ribbons of vermillion clouds scudding across the sky.

  Every inch of land that this peculiar moonlight seemed to touch was completely lifeless. No plants or vegetation existed here; it only served as the home for savage predators. Despite this, amidst this land, existed a sole village. It was very small and almost completely vacant.

  Several slums were lined up disproportionately, and occasionally, people would stand and sit near the door, looking worn out and tired. The men would either be smoking or drinking alcohol, and the women would be carrying several babies in their arms, with dark circles under their eyes. There would also be thugs, single or in groups, who would rob people or even murder them in plain sight, yet no one witnessing these crimes would do anything.

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  At this moment, soft footsteps echoed into everyone’s ears. They all turned around to see who it belonged to.

  A lone boy was walking in plain sight. He was wearing grey rags, completely stained with dirt and dust. His grey hair was completely dishevelled, and his pupils had no light in them. Sweat and grime trickled down his frail face as he stumbled one step at a time, clutching his stomach in hunger. By his side strutted along a small black wolf, its body shrunk up, and its eyes half closed.

  When the village folk saw them, they either turned away in indifference or glared in hostility.

  He gritted his teeth, his violet eyes burning with the fire of resilience as he forced his laggard body, which had given up a long time ago, to continue moving. The all-encompassing urge to collapse downed on him like a nightmare, but it only strengthened his firm desire for survival.

  Stopping to catch his breath, Eclipse let himself crash against a rotten wooden wall that belonged to one of the huts. As he leaned on the structure, his dim vision of the world flickered with a grim black. He stagnated, his face ghastly and pale, then he suddenly bent over and puked. Vomit and other stomach fluids splattered onto the floor, causing a strong odour to fill the surroundings.

  At this point, his muscles felt like they were ablaze, and his bones creaked in agony with every movement.

  “Not… good,” Eclipse muttered as he lurched a couple of steps forward.

  Suddenly, Eclipse felt his vision shake, and he was thrown to the floor, hard.

  “Hmph, watch where you’re going, kid.” An alcoholic grunted, pushing past him. He didn’t bother even looking back at Eclipse and tottered away with uneven steps, a large bottle in his hand.

  The earth pressed against Eclipse’s face as he clawed at the dirt, trying his best to stop himself from hazing into eternal blackness. As he pictured the state he was in, he let out a painful and self-deprecating smile. He was lying in a rundown village in a desolate area like a worm. Pathetic and powerless.

  Shadow weakly growled towards the alcoholic before nudging and licking Eclipse as if asking him to stand back up.

  As he lay like a worm in this dry, red land, he looked up at the moon. It was blood red. Much darker than it was in Grapefruit Village.

  The events of a couple of days ago seemed like nothing more than a dreadful nightmare. He still hadn’t fully accepted Duozian’s death. Part of Eclipse still hoped that he could see Duozian alive and well, even though he had buried him in the ground with his bare hands.

  He clenched his fists, gathering a handful of dirt, “I can’t afford to die here… I still have to avenge grandpa...”

  “Move… move… move!” Eclipse gritted his teeth and urged himself internally as he slowly got up. First to his elbows, then to his knees and finally he stood upright. He felt an excruciating pain all over his body, but all he did was grimace through the agony and walk forward, step by step.

  After he reached the end of this block of slums, he noticed another block quite far from this one. But that block seemed to be more prominent than this. There was a market with various food stalls, but despite this, there was barely anyone walking around.

  Seeing this, Eclipse’s eyes flickered with hope. As he stepped into the gap between the two blocks, he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. Narrowing his eyes, Eclipse looked behind to see what was wrong, and to his horror, everyone’s gazes shifted to him.

  If they had just been ogling at him, he wouldn’t have minded too much, but the looks coming from these people were twisted to the extreme. Their lips grinned from ear to ear. It was a very eerie and disturbing sight. Some smirked at him whilst looking at him from afar, whilst others just shook their heads in pity.

  Eclipse swallowed his anxiety and decided to move on, but suddenly his body stagnated, and his eyes widened. He was assaulted with a peculiar sense - one he was too familiar with.

  He turned around, a dark shadow cast across his eyes.

  Sure enough, right behind him, there were three dogs. They were quite small, not yet having reached adulthood, but still very aggressive. Eclipse gritted his teeth and stepped back as the dogs slowly surrounded him cautiously and hungrily.

  He swallowed - his mind, which had been clouded with fatigue, was now alert to imminent danger. As the dogs closed in on him, his adrenaline also kicked in, skyrocketing his will to fight and survive.

  Shadow growled threateningly as he took a step forward and stood in front of Eclipse.

  Ignoring Shadow, the first of the dogs pounced toward Eclipse, but luckily, he moved out of the way in time. Just as the first one attacked, the second one charged towards Eclipse’s back. Predicting this, Eclipse ducked, and using this momentum, he slid his feet across the sand, spraying it on the third dog’s eyes. It howled in pain as it retreated, but then the first and second dog charged at him.

  The villagers began to sneer and roar at the performance in front of them, their voices stained with blood and murder. It was obvious this wasn't the first time they shrilled in delight at a scene like this.

  Shadow did his best to take the burden off Eclipse, but he was just the size of a cub in the end - one on the brink of starvation at that.

  While Eclipse was distracted with dealing with two of the dogs, Shadow caught sight of the third one creeping forward with feral hunger in its eyes. The wolf’s fur bristled, and a guttural snarl ripped from its throat. It was a growl far deeper and more vicious than anything its small body should’ve been capable of. With a burst of desperate rage, Shadow lunged.

  The dog let out a sharp growl of surprise before baring its fangs and thrashing wildly. It sank its teeth into Shadow’s chest, tearing into flesh as it swung its body to the side.

  Shadow howled in pain as he finally reached his limit and lost consciousness.

  “Shadow!!!” Eclipse shouted in panic and ran towards him. The dogs rushed after him, saliva drooling down their fang-like teeth. The dog that had attacked Shadow charged towards him, but by some miracle, he managed to evade it. But he wasn’t so lucky with the dog right on his tail. It jumped from behind him and barged into him, sending him toppling across the floor.

  By now, all three had surrounded and circled him once again.

  Eclipse panted heavily, realising the severity of the situation. He could take them on if they were all in front of him, but he stood no chance if they were circling him. The moment he would attack one, the other two would pounce behind his back and gnaw him to shreds. Not to mention Shadow, who was lying unconscious on the floor while bleeding out.

  The dogs walked around him, seemingly giggling whilst drooling saliva, their eyes scarlet red. Eclipse gritted his teeth.

  The dog in front of him pounced, but Eclipse acted quicker. He charged a powerful kick straight into its abdomen, which sent the dog flying back a couple of metres, sprawling on the dirt.

  The remaining dogs, however, had already made their move as they gnashed towards Eclipse, who had his back turned to them simultaneously.

  Eclipse no longer had energy for movement. He simply dropped to his knees, his eyelids slowly falling.

  All of a sudden, a wooden stick appeared out of nowhere and smashed one of the dog’s heads. It howled in pain and retreated backwards. The other two instantly became alert as they savagely glared at the perpetrator. Before they had a chance to attack, however, the wooden stick lashed against their bodies.

  As the dogs retreated, squealing away in a hurry, Eclipse saw a single boy in front of him, seemingly no older than he was. He seemed to be wearing beige rags and had messy black hair, sea-green pupils, and a friendly yet very conceited smile that played across his lips. He flicked a coin in his other hand and caught it mid-air, “Don’t fall asleep, now."