Aries finally stepped inside the old building after staring at the door silently for a few moments.

The room smelled of old paper and burnt herbs. Candles flickered softly around shelves crowded with scrolls and strange celestial charts. An old wolf sat behind a wooden desk quietly writing something until the moment Aries entered.

“...”

The old man slowly lifted his gaze. And froze. Those eyes. That pressure. For the briefest moment, genuine fear crossed the old wolf’s face before it disappeared beneath forced composure.

“…So Kyle failed to hide you forever after all.”

Aries remained silent. The old wolf exhaled quietly afterward before gesturing toward the chair across from him. Aries said nothing. The old wolf eventually stood before walking toward a shelf crowded with old records.

“Kyle came here years ago.”

His movements slowed slightly afterward.

He was badly injured and tired. For some reason he looked really desperate.”

The old wolf pulled out several papers quietly. “He begged me to create a path for you to survive.”

For the first time, Aries’ gaze shifted slightly. The old wolf noticed immediately. A small bitter smile crossed his face.

“He cared for you greatly.”

Silence settled again afterward. Then the old wolf finally placed several forged documents onto the desk.

“From today onward, Aries Vale no longer exists.”

His fingers tapped lightly against the papers.

“Your new identity will be, Zen Arem.”

The room remained silent. Then unexpectedly, the old wolf slowly frowned. his gaze shifted toward Aries again. Carefully. Suspiciously. “…Strange.”

Without another word, he reached toward a worn celestial chart resting near the candles. Ancient markings glowed faintly beneath his fingers. At first, the old wolf merely studied the symbols calmly. Then suddenly, His expression changed. The color drained slowly from his face.

“…Impossible.”

The glowing stars across the chart trembled violently. Two celestial markings stood frighteningly close beside one another. Intertwined. Refusing separation.

The old wolf stared at it blankly.

“No…” His breathing slowly became uneven afterward. “That constellation disappeared generations ago…”

Aries’ eyes narrowed slightly. The old wolf slowly lifted his gaze toward him.

“Who is the girl standing beside your fate?”

Silence. The candles flickered harder.

“One carries destruction…the other should not even exist within fate itself.”

His trembling fingers traced the overlapping stars again.

“A wolfless girl…”

“How is a wolfless girl standing this close to your destiny?”

Then suddenly, the old wolf froze. As though remembering something buried deeply within forgotten history. Years ago, a younger Kyle stood inside this very room while blood stained his clothes heavily. Exhausted eyes filled with desperation. And before leaving, Kyle had quietly whispered,

“If fate truly repeats itself…then perhaps this time the stars may align again.”

Back in the present

The old wolf finally understood. And terror consumed him instantly.

“The next time my son is born…” A voice echoed through his mind .

“...He will become the end of Vale.”

Silence.

Then suddenly, another voice echoed faintly through Aries’ mind. Ancient. Cold. Filled with grief.

“This will come again…and that time will become the end of Vale.”

The old wolf’s breathing grew uneven. Because somehow, he heard it too. As though the room itself remembered that curse. Then overlapping softly, another voice echoed afterward. a childish voice .

“Don’t worry little wolf…Ezi shall protect you.”

For one horrifying moment, both voices existed together inside the silence.

Curse and warmth.

Destruction and protection.

The old wolf slowly stepped backward. Fear spreading visibly across his face now. Then suddenly, he laughed weakly.

“No…there’s no way a wolfless girl could influence something like this.”

His breathing remained uneven while forcing another laugh.

“She probably sheltered you out of foolish sympathy. A convenient hiding place…or perhaps you simply used the stupid girl to survive.”

Silence.

The room temperature dropped terrifyingly afterward. Aries slowly rose from his chair. The old wolf’s smile faltered immediately. Candles trembled violently. Wood cracked softly beneath Aries’ footsteps as he slowly approached.

“No…” the old wolf whispered while backing away further.

“This isn’t fate repeating…this is something worse…”

Then suddenly, silver fur exploded violently across the darkness. Bones cracked. The room shook. A monstrous silver wolf towered beneath the shattered candlelight. Piercing blue eyes glowing through shadows.

The old wolf froze completely. The beast approached slowly afterward.

One step.

Then another.

And somewhere beneath that terrifying presence, the old wolf noticed something impossible.Those blue eyes, were trembling. Watery. Then suddenly, fragments of memories flashed before his eyes.

A little girl hugging a wounded silver cub beneath the rain.

A tiny hand grabbing silver fur stubbornly.

The old wolf’s expression slowly changed.

And finally, he understood. That wolfless girl had given the cursed child something nobody else ever had. And he had just insulted the only person who ever stood beside him willingly. A weak breath escaped the old wolf afterward.

“So…”

Blood stained the floor beneath trembling fingers.

“She already created a monster… huh…”

The silver wolf stared silently afterward. Then suddenly, violence exploded. The next scream never fully escaped. Wood shattered violently. Blood spread across the destroyed room while the monstrous wolf tore through the old man with terrifying brutality. And only silence remained afterward.

Several moments later,

a tall black-haired man stepped out beneath the cold northern night calmly. Blood stained faintly across his sleeves. And within his hand rested forged academy documents.

Name:

Zen Arem.

Cold wind brushed past him quietly. Aries slowed slightly afterward. A faint frown crossed his face. For several moments, he simply stared blankly at the blood staining his sleeve.

“…Strange.”

His head felt unusually heavy. Fragments of noise echoed faintly inside his mind. But nothing clear enough to remember. Eventually, Aries continued walking silently into the darkness. Leaving behind the ruined building, and the corpse he no longer remembered killing.

To be continued~