The forest did not welcome him.
It endured him.
Branches stood still as he passed, untouched by wind. Snow fell—but never quite landed on him. It drifted aside at the last second, like something unseen refused to let it settle on its skin.
Nyx walked slowly through the trees.
Barefoot.
Unbothered by the cold.
Unbothered by anything.
This body—this human body—was still new.
Still… limiting.
He lifted his hand, turning it slightly, watching the way his fingers moved. Flesh. Cap. Breath. Fragile things.
And yet—
Something pulsed darker beneath it.
Something that did not belong to this world.
"...too small," he murmured.
His fingers curled.
The shadows at his feet twitched.
Just slightly.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
But Nyx saw it.
Felt it.
The corner of his lips lifted.
"Better."
A sound echoed faintly through the trees.
A deer.
It had wandered too close.
Nyx's head tilted.
Slowly.
Curiously.
The animal froze the moment his gauze landed on it.
Not from instinct.
From something deeper.
Wrong.
Its body trembled.
Then—
It bolted.
Fast.
Desperate.
Gone within seconds.
Nyx didn't chase it.
He didn't need to.
His smile widened.
"They feel it," he whispered.
Not him.
Not his body.
But what was inside it?
The forest knew.
The animals knew.
Even the shadows—
He stepped forward again, and this time, the darkness beneath the trees moved with him.
Not following.
Not leading.
Responding.
Stretching longer than they should.
Clinging just a little too close.
Nyx exhaled slowly.
"...I remember this."
Fragments.
Not full memories.
But enough.
Power.
Loss.
A bond he had never been allowed to keep.
His expression darkened.
Then smoothed.
"Soon."
He moved deeper into the forest, farther from light, until the trees thickened and the air grew colder.
Here—
It was easier.
Nyx stopped in a small clearing.
He closed his eyes.
And reached.
Not with his body.
Not with his senses.
With something else.
Something older.
Something that didn't belong to this life.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then—
A ripple.
Faint.
Distant.
But there.
Nyx's eyes snapped open.
"...found you."
His smile returned instantly.
Sharp.
Hungry.
Not Theron.
Not the god.
Something else.
Smaller.
But brighter.
New.
Alive.
Nyx turned slowly, facing the direction of the pack—though it was far beyond sight.
His gaze darkened.
"A child…"
The word lingered.
Curious.
Intrigued.
Then—
His smile widened.
"...born from a god."
The air shifted.
The shadows around him stretched unnaturally, bending toward him like they were listening.
Nyx took a step forward.
Excitement flickering beneath his calm.
"Oh... that's new."
His head tilted slightly.
As if trying to feel it again.
And there it was—
Faint.
But unmistakable.
Not one.
Multiple.
Nyx's eyes gleamed.
"Three?"
A soft laugh slipped from his lips.
Low.
Delighted.
"Well... that's even better."
Interest sparked.
Not just in Theron anymore.
Not just in Aiden.
But in them.
The pups.
Something never meant to exist.
Something that shouldn't exist.
And yet—
They did.
Nyx exhaled slowly, savoring the feeling.
"The god is distracted," he murmured.
Sick child.
Fractured control.
A matte finish that's stretched too thin.
Perfect.
His gaze sharpened.
Plans shifting.
Changing.
Growing.
Why this?
This was more than revenge now.
This was an opportunity.
"A child born from a god…" he repeated softly.
His fingers twitched.
The shadows pulsed.
"…I wonder what happens if you break it."
The thought lingered.
Dark.
Dangerous.
Tempting.
Nyx turned away from the clearing, stepping back into the deeper forest.
The shadows followed more closely this time.
Not just reacting—
Obeying.
"oh" Nyx smile twistIly an dry laugh leaving him "a fourth new life, from that sufficed of an god"
And was very, very interested