The tavern had grown quieter.
Outside, evening shadows stretched across the streets.
The sound of distant laughter drifted through the open windows.
Inside, however, only silence remained.
Riven sat opposite Eryx.
The veteran warrior stared into his mug for a long moment.
Then he took a long drink.
A very long drink.
When he finally lowered the mug, he released a heavy sigh.
His eyes seemed distant.
As though looking through centuries of history.
Then he began.
"Before there were werewolves..."
"There were only humans."
Riven remained silent.
Eryx continued.
"Kingdoms."
"Settlements."
"Empires."
"Cities."
"The world belonged to mankind."
The fire crackled beside them.
"The people worshipped the Moon Goddess."
"Not because they feared her."
"But because they respected her."
"Back then the Moon was whole."
"A complete celestial being."
"A guardian watching over the world."
Riven frowned.
"The Moon was whole?"
Eryx nodded.
"Much of what exists today has been lost."
"Forgotten."
"Buried beneath history."
He took another drink.
Then continued.
"But humanity had a problem."
His voice grew darker.
"There were things beyond this world."
"Things that existed outside life."
"Outside death."
"Outside reason."
Riven listened carefully.
"The boundaries between realms were never perfect."
"Sometimes cracks appeared."
"And through those cracks..."
"Something entered."
The tavern suddenly felt colder.
Eryx's eyes hardened.
"They called them the Void."
Riven felt a chill crawl down his spine.
Even the name felt wrong.
Ancient.
Hostile.
Hungry.
"To defend the world..."
"The Watchers were created."
Riven leaned forward slightly.
"The Watchers?"
Eryx nodded.
"Humans chosen by the world itself."
"Not kings."
"Not nobles."
"Not priests."
"Guardians."
"They protected the boundary separating reality from what existed beyond it."
His voice carried a strange respect.
"The Watchers did not transform."
"They possessed no claws."
"No fangs."
"No Moon-blood."
"Their power came from something else."
Riven frowned.
"What?"
Eryx's gaze met his.
"Choice."
Silence followed.
Then he continued.
"They represented humanity at its purest."
"The ability to choose."
"To resist."
"To sacrifice."
"To stand against impossible odds."
For a moment...
Riven almost understood.
Then Eryx's expression darkened.
"The First Cataclysm changed everything."
The words felt heavy.
Ancient.
Important.
"What happened?"
Eryx slowly set down his mug.
Then answered.
"The Void came."
His voice became quiet.
"But not through small cracks."
"This time..."
"The boundary broke."
Riven felt the atmosphere shift.
"The creatures poured into the world."
"Thousands."
"Hundreds of thousands."
"Things that ignored death."
"Things that ignored time."
"Things that could not be reasoned with."
Kingdoms fell.
Cities vanished.
Entire civilizations disappeared.
The Void devoured everything.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Animals.
Forests.
Nothing was spared.
Riven imagined it.
The destruction.
The chaos.
The horror.
"The Watchers fought."
Eryx continued.
"They gathered armies."
"They united kingdoms."
"They resisted."
"For years."
A pause.
Then
"They failed."
The words landed heavily.
Riven blinked.
"They lost?"
Eryx nodded.
"Not because they were weak."
"Not because they lacked courage."
"They simply lacked the power needed."
Silence followed.
Then Eryx looked toward the moon visible through the tavern window.
"So they sought help."
"Not from kings."
"Not from gods."
"From the Moon herself."
The fire crackled.
The tavern seemed to fade away.
Only the story remained.
"The Watchers approached the Moon Goddess."
"They did not beg."
"They did not kneel."
"They offered a partnership."
Riven listened.
Eryx smiled slightly.
"The Moon accepted."
"The pact was simple."
"The Moon would lend power."
"Humanity would keep its free will."
"Neither would rule the other."
"A balance."
"A union."
Riven felt goosebumps.
Then Eryx spoke the words that changed history.
"And from that pact..."
"The First Transformation was born."
"It was not a curse."
"It was not a blessing."
"It was a merging."
The air felt heavy.
Sacred.
"The first werewolves emerged."
"Beings capable of standing between instinct and reason."
"Night and day."
"Beast and man."
"They were not slaves to the Moon."
"They walked beside her."
Riven sat silently.
Thinking.
Feeling strangely connected to the story.
"The first wolves did not have Orders."
"They had Circles."
"Groups united by purpose."
"Not politics."
"Not territory."
"Purpose."
Their purpose was singular.
Destroy the Void.
For years they fought.
Thousands died.
Then tens of thousands.
Entire Circles vanished.
Yet they kept fighting.
Because the alternative was extinction.
Then Eryx's expression grew grim.
"They eventually found the source."
Riven felt his heartbeat quicken.
"The source?"
Eryx nodded.
"The one leading the Void."
The veteran warrior slowly spoke the name.
"Draegor Markham."
The tavern seemed to become colder.
"The Eternal Void."
Riven immediately felt something.
As though the name itself carried weight.
"Draegor wasn't merely powerful."
"He was catastrophe given form."
"He destroyed armies."
"He devoured entire Circles."
"He slaughtered Watchers."
"No one could stop him."
Not kings.
Not warriors.
Not even the Moon-touched wolves.
The world stood on the edge of annihilation.
"So the Five Great Watchers made a decision."
Riven listened carefully.
Eryx's voice lowered.
"They merged their cores."
Silence.
"They became one being."
One heartbeat.
One soul.
One will.
One power.
The first and only
Varokh Rexar.
Wolf King.
Riven felt chills.
Even saying the title felt significant.
Ancient.
Sacred.
Legendary.
"As Varokh Rexar..."
"They finally matched Draegor."
The greatest battle in history began.
Mountains collapsed.
Seas split.
Entire regions vanished.
For seven days and seven nights they fought.
Neither side yielding.
Neither side falling.
Until
Something went wrong.
"Draegor infected him."
Riven frowned.
"Infected?"
Eryx nodded.
"Darkness."
"Corruption."
"Something beyond ordinary power."
The Wolf King began changing.
Twisting.
Becoming unstable.
The victory they needed suddenly became impossible.
"In desperation..."
"They separated the darkness."
The words felt important.
Very important.
"They ripped it from themselves."
"Separated shadow from light."
"Moon from corruption."
"And from that darkness..."
Eryx's eyes met Riven's.
"...new entities were born."
Riven immediately understood.
"The Dark Shadow."
Eryx nodded.
"The strongest among them."
Silence filled the table.
"With their remaining strength..."
"Varokh Rexar sealed Draegor."
"The Void."
"The Cataclysm."
Everything.
Locked away.
The seal bound by their blood.
Their essence.
Their sacrifice.
And one final condition.
Eryx's voice lowered.
"The seal can only truly break..."
"If the blood of Varokh Rexar is present."
"Or if fate chooses another vessel."
Riven felt something stir inside his core.
Deep beneath the silver.
Deep beneath the blue.
Something listening.
"Then Varokh Rexar vanished."
Peace followed.
The world healed.
Civilizations rebuilt.
Humanity survived.
For a time.
"But peace breeds arrogance."
Eryx sighed.
"The wolves forgot."
"They forgot why they were created."
"They forgot their partnership."
"They forgot humanity."
The first werewolves began seeing themselves as superior.
Stronger.
Better.
Chosen.
Humans became weak in their eyes.
Insignificant.
Some wolves protected them.
Others ruled them.
And some...
Hunted them.
For sport.
For amusement.
For pleasure.
Riven clenched his fists.
"The slaughter continued for generations."
"Human cities fell."
"Kingdoms vanished."
"Entire civilizations disappeared."
The Moon's gift had become humanity's nightmare.
Until eventually
Only fragments remained.
Eryx finished his drink.
Then looked directly at Riven.
"For centuries..."
"We believed humanity was gone."
"Extinct."
A pause.
Then
"But Alexandria survived."
"The Last Human Kingdom."
Another pause.
"And so did Threxa."
Riven sat motionless.
Trying to absorb everything.
Everything he thought he knew.
Everything he believed.
Everything had changed.
Outside the tavern, night settled over the city.
And far away...
Beyond mountains.
Beyond fog.
Beyond history itself...
The Last Human Kingdom waited.
Unaware that the son of Threxa had just learned the truth of the world.
And deep within Riven's mutated core...
Three energies stirred.
Silver.
Black.
Blue.
As though the ancient tale of Varokh Rexar had awakened something sleeping inside him.