Arthur didn't lift the lid all at once. He eased it open slowly, prying it inch by inch, pausing halfway like he expected something to jump out at him. Nothing did. No sudden movement, no sound, just the same low hum of the cave and the distant, steady movement of ants.
"Here we go"
There was no point in opening it slowly, so he opened it fully.
Inside, there was no gold. No weapon. No obvious trap. Just a single object resting at the center.
Arthur frowned.
"That's it?"
It wasn't large. Just a thin strand of something coiled loosely against the base of the chest. At first glance, it looked like rope—frayed, worn, almost brittle with age. But the longer he looked at it, the less normal it felt. The fibers weren't consistent. Some parts looked like they were made of something organic, others too smooth, too perfect. And there was a faint tension to it, like it was still holding something… or remembering it.
Arthur's expression shifted slightly.
He didn't touch it immediately. His instincts stirred again, sharper this time. Not danger, not exactly. But the strand held weight, the weight of something old. Something that didn't belong in a place like this.
Behind him, the husky went still.
Completely still.
Arthur noticed that first.
"Hey bud? You doing alright?"
No response.
The dog wasn't looking at him. Its eyes were locked onto the strand. Its body had tensed. Not in fear, but something deeper. Recognition. Its breathing slowed, syncing unconsciously with something unseen.
Arthur followed its gaze back to the object.
"You know this?"
Still nothing.
But the air shifted.
That same dark distortion from before flickered faintly around the husky, not fully forming, just present—like something waiting beneath the surface.
Arthur exhaled quietly and reached in.
The moment his fingers touched the strand—
something tightened.
Not around his hand.
Inside him.
A sharp, silent pull, like a thread being drawn taut.
"…what???"
The strand reacted.
It didn't glow. Didn't flare. But the space around it felt heavier for a second, like the air had thickened. Then that weight moved, slipping past him, flowing into the beast behind him.
The dog flinched.
Then froze again.
The distortion around its body deepened, spreading faintly along its limbs, its jaw, its frame. Not wild. Not out of control. Controlled—but stronger.
Arthur stepped back slightly, still holding the strand.
"…Okay???? well that's new."
The husky let out a low sound, something between a breath and a growl. Its body shifted, not physically at first, but in presence, a new wave of bloodlust radiating from its massive phantom frame.
Arthur felt it clearly now. The same thing from before, but denser. Heavier. Like something sealed deep inside it had just been forced open a little.
The air around it pressed down for a moment.
Then steadied.
Arthur watched closely, eyes narrowing.
"You just got stronger, didn't you?"
The husky's breathing evened out. Its stance stabilized, no longer uneven like before. The strain from earlier was simply gone. Replaced with something steadier. Sharper.
Arthur looked back at the strand in his hand.
"This is, well was yours, isn't it?"
The answer came immediately.
The strand unraveled.
Not physically—just… dissolved. The fibers broke apart into faint, grey threads of light, slipping through his fingers before he could react. They drifted through the air for a brief second, glowing a shade of frost silver and a bizzare red—
then sank into the husky.
The reaction hit instantly.
The dog tensed hard, then went completely still. The dark distortion surged around it, thicker now, forming the outline of something larger for just a moment.
Arthur saw it.
Not clearly.
But enough.
A shape behind the husky. Massive. Ancient. A wolf that didn't belong to this world, bound once long ago by the very strand he'd just held.
Then it was gone.
The energy settled.
The husky lowered its head slightly, exhaling as everything stabilized. The pressure in the air faded, leaving behind something quieter, but heavier than before.
Arthur stared for a second.
He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a shaky breath.
"That was definitely not normal."
The husky looked at him now.
Different.
Not completely changed—but clearer. Sharper. Like something inside it had been unsealed, even if only partially.
Arthur huffed softly.
"Silver rank."
He didn't know how he knew.
But he did.
"And your bloodline…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"… is not comlpetely locked anymore ?"
The husky's ear flicked.
Arthur shook his head, glancing at the now-empty chest.
"Of course I find something like this in a monster nest."
Then he looked back at the dog.
"Don't you dare start acting arrogant now." He patted the husky on its snout, trying to ease the flowing bloodlust.
The husky's tail flicked once.
Arthur smirked faintly.
"Yeah. Thought so."
He straightened, his gaze drifting back toward the cave. The ants were still moving, still unaware—but things had changed again.
Arthur glanced down at the husky one more time.
"Let's see what you can really do now."