Chapter 10 Shadow Fox
The first power belonged to Eemil. Of course it did. If anyone was going to accidentally discover supernatural abilities while showing off it would be him. Three days had passed since Cielo's announcement. Three days of survival. Three days of hunger. Three days of monsters. Three days of wandering through an endless wilderness that seemed determined to kill them. The excitement had worn off. Reality remained. Eemil hated reality. The self-proclaimed leader sat atop a fallen log sharpening a crude stone knife. His leather jacket had long since torn. His boots were muddy. His dark hair was a mess.
His patience was gone.
"Vittu!"
"This is stupid."
Matias sat nearby.
"Hehehe."
Eemil pointed the knife.
"You say that one more time."
"Hehehehehe."
The knife lowered. Eemil sighed. Nico sat nearby beneath a pine tree. Silent as always. The hood remained up. The black face covering hid everything except his eyes. Those calm blue eyes. Watching. Always watching. Eemil found it annoying.
The forest around them was beautiful. Ancient. Untouched. Sunlight filtered through towering pines. Silver rivers wound through valleys. Strange flowers bloomed beneath roots. But beauty did not fill empty stomachs. The three boys had not eaten properly in nearly two days.
Which explained Eemil's mood.
"We need food."
Matias nodded.
"Hehehe."
"That's not an answer."
"Hehehehehe."
Nico pointed silently. The other two followed his gaze. A deer. Standing among the trees. Watching them. Beautiful. Healthy. Large. Food. Eemil immediately stood. A grin appeared. Finally. Something simple.
The hunt began badly. Then somehow became worse. Eemil chased the deer. The deer ran. Eemil ran faster. The deer ran faster. Several bushes suffered greatly. A tree somehow got involved. Nobody understood how. The deer remained completely unbothered. After nearly twenty minutes Eemil collapsed against a rock. Breathing heavily. The deer stood fifty feet away. Watching. Judging. Mocking. Probably. The dark-haired boy pointed dramatically.
"kisspää!"
"I hate you."
The deer blinked. Then casually walked away. Eemil nearly exploded. That was when it happened. Frustration. Humiliation. Exhaustion. Anger. Everything built together. The emotions twisted inside him. Something responded. The shadows moved. At first nobody noticed. Not even Eemil. The darkness beneath his feet stretched unnaturally. The shadow grew longer. Thicker. Alive. Nico noticed first. His blue eyes narrowed. Matias stopped laughing. The forest itself became still.
Then
the shadow stood up.
A creature emerged. Small. Elegant. Beautiful. A fox. Made entirely of darkness. Its fur appeared woven from living shadow. Silver eyes glowed softly. Its body flickered occasionally. As though existing between worlds.The fox stretched. Yawned. Then looked directly at Eemil. The boy stared. The fox stared. Neither moved. Several moments passed. Then the fox sat. Patiently. Waiting.
Eemil pointed.
"What."
The fox tilted its head.
Matias pointed too.
"What."
The fox yawned. Nico remained silent. Which somehow made everything worse. The shadow fox stood. Then casually walked around Eemil. Examining him. Judging him. The boy felt uncomfortable. The fox eventually sat beside him. Its tail curled neatly around its paws. Then it rubbed against his leg. Like a cat. Eemil froze. The fox looked pleased.
Matias laughed so hard he fell over.
"Hehehehehehehe!"
"This isn't funny!"
The fox immediately climbed into Eemil's lap. The laughter intensified. The dark-haired boy spent the next hour trying to understand what had happened. The fox refused to help. Mostly because it was a fox.
The creature simply followed him everywhere. Whenever Eemil walked the fox walked. Whenever Eemil stopped the fox stopped. Whenever Eemil sat the fox appeared beside him. The situation became increasingly ridiculous. Eventually Eemil tried commanding it.
"Go over there."
The fox ignored him.
"Sit."
The fox was already sitting.
"Do something useful."
The fox stared. Judgment radiated from its silver eyes. Matias laughed again. Eemil considered violence. Then danger arrived. A monster emerged from the forest. Large. Twisted. Covered in bone-like armor. Its jaws dripped venom. The creature towered above them. This wasn't like the smaller predators they'd encountered before. This thing was dangerous. The monster roared. Matias immediately stopped laughing. Nico stood. Eemil grabbed his knife. The shadow fox rose too. Its silver eyes narrowed. The creature charged.
The battle lasted less than ten seconds. The monster lunged. The fox vanished. One moment it stood beside Eemil. The next it appeared behind the monster. Shadow exploded. Darkness erupted across the forest floor. Dozens of black tendrils emerged. The monster froze. The tendrils wrapped around its legs. Its throat. Its body. The creature screamed. The fox's eyes glowed brighter. The shadows tightened. The monster collapsed. Dead. Silence followed. The tendrils vanished. The fox casually walked back. Then sat beside Eemil. As though nothing unusual had occurred. The boys stared. The fox licked its paw.
Nobody spoke for nearly a minute.
Then Matias whispered:
"mita vittu! ...what."
Eemil nodded.
"Exactly."
Nico crouched beside the fox.
The creature watched him calmly. The hooded boy studied it carefully. Then finally spoke. His first words in nearly two days.
"A shadow."
Eemil looked surprised. Nico rarely talked.
The hooded boy continued.
"Your power."
The realization settled. Slowly. He was right. The fox belonged to Eemil. It had emerged from his shadow. Protected him. Obeyed him. Mostly. The fox still seemed to possess opinions. Strong opinions. Judgmental opinions. That night the shadow fox slept beside Eemil. The creature refused to leave. Several times the boy tried moving away. Each time the fox followed. Eventually he surrendered. The fox immediately curled against him. Comfortably. Possessively. Like a loyal companion. Or an annoying pet. Possibly both. Eemil stared into the darkness. Thinking. Wondering. Power. Real power. Not imagination. Not fantasy. Real. The angel had been right. Something inside them was awakening. Something dangerous. Something extraordinary. The fox opened one silver eye. Then closed it again. Sleeping peacefully. Eemil smiled despite himself.
The first power had awakened. And somewhere deep within the ancient wilderness fate quietly took notice. Because this small shadow fox would someday become a pack. Then an army. Then a kingdom.
And the boy who summoned it would one day be known as the Shadow Wolf Lord. But for now he was simply a teenager trying to sleep while a magical fox stole half his blanket.
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