Scene 142 — "Three Against One"
The wolf turned toward the injured sisters.
The elder sister tried to rise.
Her arms trembled.
The younger girl crawled backward through the broken flowers.
Neither had the strength to run.
The wolf lowered its three heads.
Then—
it moved.
The Traveler vanished.
Not gradually.
Not like a person running.
One moment he stood beside the shattered tree.
The next—
nothing.
The wolf's jaws closed on empty air.
Its attack struck the ground instead.
BOOM.
Earth and crystal fragments erupted across the settlement.
The younger sister covered her face.
A shadow crossed the dust.
The Traveler appeared beside the beast.
His fist struck the center head.
The impact snapped the enormous head sideways.
The wolf staggered.
The Traveler followed immediately.
Another strike.
Then another.
He drove his elbow beneath the creature's jaw.
The wolf snarled.
One of its other heads swung around.
The Traveler barely turned in time.
The jaws caught his shoulder.
Teeth pierced cloth.
He was lifted from the ground.
His body twisted violently.
Then—
the wolf threw him.
He crashed through a crystal tree.
CRACK.
The trunk split.
The Traveler hit the ground hard.
For a moment—
he stayed there.
The wolf charged.
The Traveler pushed himself up.
The creature was already upon him.
He moved sideways.
One head snapped past his face.
Another came from the opposite direction.
He ducked.
The third head struck.
The Traveler raised both arms.
The impact sent him sliding backward across the ground.
His boots carved two deep lines through the earth.
He stopped.
Breathing hard.
Blood ran from his shoulder.
The wolf advanced.
Three heads.
Three directions.
No hesitation.
The Traveler watched it carefully.
The creature lunged again.
He disappeared.
The wolf spun.
Too late.
The Traveler appeared on its back.
His hands locked into the thick fur.
He drove his knee into the creature's spine.
The wolf roared.
Its body twisted.
The Traveler was thrown again.
He landed on one knee.
The wolf immediately charged.
He met it.
Head-on.
His fist struck the left head.
The left head snapped sideways.
The center head slammed into his ribs.
He flew backward.
Before he could recover—
the right head reached him.
Its jaws closed around his forearm.
The Traveler's expression tightened.
The beast shook him violently.
His body struck the ground once.
Twice.
Three times.
The younger sister screamed.
"Stop!"
The Traveler's hand caught the creature's lower jaw.
His fingers tightened.
The wolf pulled.
The Traveler pulled back.
For several seconds—
neither moved.
Then the Traveler's feet dug into the earth.
His muscles strained.
The wolf's three heads snarled together.
The ground beneath them fractured.
The Traveler's arm trembled.
Blood ran down his sleeve.
He was losing.
Slowly.
But unmistakably.
The wolf forced him backward.
One step.
Then another.
The Traveler's boots sank deeper into the ground.
His breathing became heavier.
The elder sister stared.
He wasn't winning.
He was surviving.
There was a difference.
The wolf suddenly released his arm.
The Traveler stumbled forward.
The center head struck him across the chest.
He was launched through the air.
He hit the ground and rolled.
His hood fell partially away.
White hair scattered across his face.
He remained down for a moment.
The wolf approached.
The siblings could barely breathe.
Then—
the Traveler's hand pressed against the earth.
He rose again.
Slowly.
Blood touched his lips.
He wiped it away.
His eyes lifted.
The wolf stopped.
For the first time—
the beast hesitated.
Not from fear.
Confusion.
The creature had thrown him.
Bitten him.
Crushed him.
Sent him through trees.
Yet he continued standing.
The Traveler stared at the three heads.
His breathing was rough.
His body was injured.
But his gaze had become colder.
He lowered his stance.
The wolf lowered all three heads.
The next exchange would not be a test.
It would be a war.
And somewhere deep beneath the Traveler's skin—
something ancient stirred.
Not enough to reveal itself.
Only enough to notice.