Extra Chapter 1: The Garm Matriarch. (Patreon)

I would first like to apologize to everybody that has been waiting for this chapter. It took me nearly over a month for me to finally finish this chapter and that is something that I shouldn't have done.

I will do my best to do better next time when I have to write Extra Chapter 2.

Anyways, please enjoy this chapter involving the garm matriarch that most of you have voted.

If you have any suggestions for future Extra Chapter then please put them into the comment section. When the next poll comes up, I'll consider them.

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[“Fight me.”]

[“Thank you for the offer but I have to decline.”]

[“I did not suggest, I ordered you to fight me.”]

What an interesting dragon, thought the garm matriarch as she stood in between the invader of her home and her last living child. She found it intriguing that this creature was acting so meek despite being the sole reason for the destruction of her family.

What awakened her curiosity, even more, was when she used [Identify] to scout the dragon’s status board, then realizing that she had the [Otherworldly Reincarnator] title, the exact same one as her newborn child. She was suspicious when her late partner told her this with his dying howl, but now she couldn’t refute it any longer.

She wanted to ask the little creature about this, however, it couldn’t be helped that anger was growing inside her. The monster before her killed her pack, her partner, and her children. All she has worked for in these past years was gone.

Where have I gone wrong? she quietly asked herself, questioning if all her struggles after the destruction of her first pack were worth it or not. She got stronger and she did her duty as a member of the Belzac bloodline and remade her family, but fate seems to have scoffed at her on this very night, the night that all her dreams would end. 

[“If this is about revenge, then I am really sorry. I said it already, but I offered your partner and children peace. Your pack wanted to kill me, so I was forced to do it. It wasn’t my fault. I also don’t want to fight you.”]

I know, child. My partner has told me everything, she knew what she was doing would be her doom, but her sadness and frustration of not being able to help her pack compelled her to not sully her honor as a descendant of the S rank Fenrir Belzac.

Yes, the young dragoness could be her only chance to survive her wounds but was she allowed to do that? Would it be correct to spit on her partner’s death by asking the killer to grant her a third chance in life? Would he have agreed here?

[“You will fight me.”]

[“Ok, I am ready…”]

[“Good. Let us begin.”]

Although she was keeping a strong front, the numerous abnormal effects she currently has in her status board were not for show, slowly sapping her from all her remaining strength. Dodging the young dragon's spell made wounds bleed even more, using her own magic caused pain to surge through her body as if it was trying to explode, and her strained breathing was causing her muscles anguish.

Pushing any further would cause irreversible damage or even death. But she kept on, pushing her withering body to the brink just to fulfill her final selfish wish.

In the end, she has seen enough. Fortune was never on her side. Despite knowing that if she continued, she would betray all the efforts, she didn’t falter; knowing fully well that her bloodline would end tonight by her own hands.

Aware that her own stubbornness would be the death of her, her mind retreated into her.

They say that once you are on the edge of death, the memories of your life would flash by you. Whether that was true for every single lifeform, no one can say but certainly, this phenomenon was happening to the garm matriarch as she fought the young unnamed [Young Crimson Spark Dragon].

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Belzac.

That was the name of the former apex predator of a forest that will be known as the Belzac forest in the future, a gesture of both respect and fear for this mighty wolf monster. As a monster that has reached the prestigious rank of S, it meant that Belzac was in the echelon that people considered a wandering disaster.

It could only be considered fortunate for the surrounding regions that this wolf monster barely ever considered leaving his home, simply ruling over this giant forest with his control over shadows and darkness.

He truly was one of the most powerful users of Marsven’s magic during its lifetime. 

However, this wolf monster did not start out like this. As most monsters without a prior lineage, he was born not through the womb of a caring mother but through the condensed mana that overflowed an area.

Mana, the renewable energy source of Peolynca, was like oxygen for Earth. It could be found inside animals, plants, the non-living, and so many more. It was everywhere. The effects of mana had many various effects but one of them was the ability to form life.

Belzac was born the pup of no one, but despite this disadvantage, he adapted to his life by following the instincts that all monsters were born into; his natural knowledge of what the System was and how to use it. 

Over time, he grew not only older but stronger by his constant tenacity to survive. His efforts bore fruit as he finally reached what people call the true starting line of every monster’s path to their unique evolution: Rank C.

However, it did not stop there, he lived and breathed the way of a monster and slain countless monsters on his path to Rank A, finally reaching a level to be considered a top predator of most monster-infested zones.

However, this strength brought with itself a terrible curse, where your existence would finally be known to the world. The more you climbed the peaks of power, the more you will be known…a fact that may attract undesirable attention. 

At the end of the day, Belzac was a monster, a creature that didn’t abide by the rules of human and elven societies, unwilling to be chained by the those he saw as his lesser. A stubborn and prideful wolf, standing tall as he kept on defying and defeating any foolish challengers that ventured into his home with the sole desire to “obtain” him…whether it was alive or dead.

As more challengers kept appearing, so did his levels. Experience could not only be gained from monsters but also sentient beings like humans, elves, and dwarves. For them, it was to take out a threat that was growing at an uncontrollable threat, but for Belzac, they were easy prey.

Ironic was their actions as this simple act gave Belzac the necessary strong opponents for him to finally evolve into what was now known as the mystical S rank [Three-Eyes Fenrir]. Belzac has gained what he needed for his name to be cemented into history’s books as the being responsible for the Belzac forest’s namesake.

Unfortunately, even with his newly attained rank, it was still not enough to scare off any further challengers as Belzac finally shared the same fate as his past opponents. S rank he might be, but that did not make him impervious from swords and spells from individuals that have gained S rank themselves.

The indomitable ruler of the Belzac forest fought until his last breath exactly how he did it since the first day of his life; a lone wolf. Defeated by the combined powers of those who wish for his demise.

…But monsters are yet sill animals. They all possess the primal drive to reproduce, to leave an heir, something to carry on the bloodline. Although the ever-lonesome wolf has perished, his lineage will stay alive for him, carrying in them the potential to fulfill Belzac’s dream.

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["Do you understand, child? The tale of our ancestors is long but so are our lives. You are still a warg but our lineage gives you the power to grow into a Fenrir, just like Belzac and your grandfather.”]

[“Yes, honored mother.”]

Many years in the future, the lineage of Belzac stayed strong and continued onwards as the bearers of the title [Apex Predator: Belzac Forest]. A descendant of his has finally achieved the monster rank A, taking a step towards his ancestor's legacy as a [Fenrir].

In the middle of what Earth would call summer, a warg pup was born in the sweltering month of HarvestSun. This is the garm matriarch when she was a mere pup. This is her memories and her story of how she got to where she was now.

[“Our home only allows the ones with the ability to protect themselves to live here. Mana fuels our forest, giving life to a constant stream of hunters and prey. The area around our den is protected by us C ranks but do not wander away too much from it, understood?”] the garm matriarch’s mother spoke through [Telepathy], sharing with her knowledge.

[“Yes, honored mother.”] she answered obediently.

The early days of the garm matriarch were peaceful. Being protected by a large pack of giant wolf monsters was advantageous, as most threats wouldn’t dare wander into an area filled with them.

Monsters are animals, and like most animals, they will seek the best decision to ensure their own survival and that of their offspring's. A very good idea is to never wander into the territory of strong monsters.

That meant that the garm matriarch had the freedom to pursue her growth and the development of her status board, training against her siblings, and the other adult wargs and garms. Her large family might act as her shield for now but if she wished to eat and live properly, she knew from her mother that she had to start training as soon as possible.

However, despite this knowing this, peaceful times also brought along less urgency to stay active for long. The small pup kept her training up, but she was still a child back then and every child wants to play.

Sneaking through the brushes, the young garm matriarch was stalking a strange wooden construct, attracted by the sweet smell of food.

There is also another smell. Hmm, what could there be-woah?!

[“Child, do not go any closer to that place,”] as if finding her was almost her job, the mother reprimanded her daughter exasperatedly.

The little pup stopped her legs, turned her head to her mother, and ask, [“Oh, Mother? He he, I apologize but there is such a good smell, sniff sniff, what is there?”]

[“That, child, is the home of what we call an ‘elf’ who lives in this forest in peace and watches over it, taking care that our woods do not wither. He might not show us any hostility, but we should not go any closer to him,”] the mother answered, keeping an eye at the elf’s shack.

Although the mother wanted to leave, the pup insisted to stay as her curiosity got the better of her. The mother and daughter stayed, waiting and watching until the elf ranger came out of his shack, satisfied with his breakfast.

The duo stuck around, giving the young pup the chance to learn the many tricks that an elven woodrunner would need to know for their life in a forest. Whether it was venom extraction for their own usage or creating and using traps to ambush prey, the pup made sure to absorb everything she was seeing.

As time continued to flow, so did the young warg’s body. Once a [Young Warg], her age has caught up to her body and she naturally became a [Warg], transitioning from an F rank monster to an E rank just by becoming older.

The peaceful times should have lasted longer for the little warg but fortune wasn’t on her side.

“Arrrgh, fuck! What the hell is this supposed to be?! I need a priest! I need a potion!” a human shouted.

“Grrrr, you humans are so weak! Gahahaha, can’t believe our home is having so much trouble fighting your people!” a tall Leonid, a lion beastman, responded back in a belittling way.

Flustered by the half-human, half-beast person, the human turned his head around, “The hell?! I’m not one of those empire people, I’m fro-garrrgrgh!”

“Tch, the idiots really are the first to die. Doesn't help that D ranks and lower are greedy enough to come and join an A rank quest, regardless, if it doesn't have a requirement," the leonid chastised the deceased human, shoving his maimed body out of his way. “Tanks, surround the backline and keep these wolves in check! Mages concentrate on defense and utility! Range, shoot these damn things down before they start killing the rookies, gahahaha! Keep the fodder back until the S ranks and A ranks are done with the boss!”

No, no, where did they come from?! the young garm matriarch shouted to herself in a panic as she dodged arrows and spells from the invading beastmen, humans, and dwarves.

The forest today was not the peaceful hunting ground that the wargs and garms have known since the beginning of their lives, but a battlefield where not they are the hunters but the prey. Hunters and mercenaries, also known as adventurers for the normal person, were the predators today.

It is well known that a hunter and mercenary are people that would accept most quests that could provide them with money. Although, there was a distinction what quests hunters and mercenaries could accept due to their guild, in practice most hunters were also registered with the mercenary guild and vice versa.

These adventurers have all come together for a single quest in the Belzac forest: to kill the current holder of [Belzac’s Successor] and [Apex Predator: Belzac Forest].

Although the Belzac forest was regarded as a C rank monster area, the quest itself strangely didn’t have a requirement, enabling many adventures too weak for the general difficulty of the area.

[“Mother! Mother!”] the young garm matriarch called out, as she finally found her mother. 

[“My child! Thank goodness, you are still alive,”] the mother said affectionally before redirecting her focus on the approaching adventurers. [“No, you must leave now, child! Just run, you must run!”]

The young garm matriarch was bewildered by her mother’s sudden change in tone, confused why she had to run[“What?! Mother, no, I can fight. I can fight some of them. I used [Identify] and I ca-”]

["The weak belie the true situation that we are in, child! Your eagerness makes you blind of those that stand behind those you identified!"] the mother scolded her daughter, telling her that she wasn’t looking at the true picture. [“North, you know the north! The swamp, go to the swamp with the other pups! These humans will not chase you that far, so go and wait there until we are done!”]

[“No, mother, I want to fight! I can fight, I can’t allow you and father to-”]

[“Silence!”] the mother shouted with anger and sadness. [“You are worth nothing in this battle! You don’t have the strength to help us garms! Go now and stay away from the fight!”]

The young garm matriarch was incredulous but her defiance was short-lived when a fire spell was shot at her. The mother used [Dark Tendrils] and pulled her out of the way before using [Shadow Clones] to send after the attacker.

[“Child, go!”] the mother called out one last time before rushing back towards the fight.

The young garm matriarch could only watch as her mother ventured back deeper into their den, determined to go back to fight with her father and grandfather.

She pondered for a second, still undecided if she should follow her selfish desire or what she ha to do in this situation but she eventually relented and cast her wants aside. Jumping back on her feet, the young warg rounded up all the other wargs and led them away from the battle, towards the north as her mother told her so. 

As the wargs ran for their lives from the battlefield, the young garm matriarch suddenly stopped, halting the rest of her kin.

<By the divine System, individual [Warg *] is granted the title: [Belzac’s Successor]>

Wha-What?! WHAT?! No, no, no, what does this mean?! What is this- I have to go…back…

The young garm matriarch wanted to go back, she wanted to confirm why she suddenly received [Belzac’s Successor], a title that should have belonged to her grandfather, the only A rank Fenrir in her family.

Even if he would somehow have died, the next one to have received it should have been her father, the next strongest garm. It was baffling for the young garm matriarch why this would happen, as her mother clearly explained to her that this would be the case.

It was already unbelievable that her grandfather, that strong and prideful wolf, would be defeated by anybody. He was the current apex predator of the Belzac forest. That was what the System told her.

She wanted to go back to confirm. She wanted to know what happened. She wanted to see that her mother was fine…but the words of her mother reminded her what she had to do.

‘You are worth nothing in this battle! You don’t have the strength to help us garms! Go now and stay away from the fight!’ …That is what she said…No, mother must be alright! The System must have made a mistake! I have to do what I must and obey mother.

Their goal was the swamp. The young garm matriarch and her pack once ventured there as her grandfather wanted to meet somebody he knew there. Belzac’s descendants weren’t all the garm matriarch family. There were many lone wolves and others that have made their own packs.

While there might be other garms and wargs that shared Belzac’s blood, only those directly descended from the current [Belzac’s Successor] were allowed to inherit it. 

Is there another pack in the swamp? There has to be! Mother wouldn’t send me to somewhere we couldn’t find help.

The wargs traveled through the forest but the trip couldn’t be called anything but perilous. The garms made their home in the middle of the Belzac forest, while the swamp was located north. The wargs were fast runners but they still needed to eat, drink, and rest. These wargs were constantly in the protection of their guardians, the other garms, but they were finally left alone without any support.

It could also be said that anything outside the zone of influence of the garms was the true nature of this giant monster forest. Poisonous monsters that weren’t fit to eat, ambushing chameleons that could contest the wargs in battle, or just C rank monsters in general.

The wargs were properly taught and could fight well enough in a group. Coordination was their strength instead of being fantastic fighters like the garms. They were able to fend off most threats but at the end of the day, they still were only E rank monsters.

They were frail and numbers meant nothing when your opponent could just overwhelm you with its superior status board. They could outsmart as much as they wanted but that still meant nothing when the odds were against you.

However, whether it was through her determination to live or because of the words of her mother but the young garm matriarch kept on moving, leading her kin through danger as best as she could. Her efforts showed fruits when they finally arrived in the swamp but as time went by, they understood that staying there was impossible.

The rainforest of the Belzac forest was as fearsome as the rest of the woods but here they were at a disadvantage against the amphibious monsters and their ability to maneuver through the water without much trouble.

The young garm matriarch had to move on for her kin. She was sure that the remaining pack would be able to follow them with their [Primal Senses], sniffing out warg’s scent. She was sure that her mother would be able to do it.

The more she moved deeper into the rainforest, the more she had to reassure herself that she was doing the best she could as more of her brethren died, unable to survive the terror of the Belzac forest.

Wargs, just like wolves, were pack animals and they knew that staying together would be the best way to survive, but rationality was hard to preserve when both your stomach and mind were in chaos. Not only did the young garm matriarch lose her breathing from the swamp itself but she also lost some as they abandoned the pack.

That was when the pack meant it…

Wh-what?! What is that creature?!

A tremor and then a giant white snake appeared from the ground, erupting and sending the mud up into the air as they fell like rain. The wargs were frozen in fear as the snake slowly inspected them before it began speaking.

[“Come to our home. We will protect you,”] the snake said through [Telepathy] before going back underground, disappearing as it also covered the hole back up.

The young garm matriarch didn’t know what to do. Her brethren told her to not follow but the scent that she caught made her rethink it.

This scent! Why does it feel so familiar? Where have I smelled this again?

Curiosity.

Curiosity made her learn the elf's way of survival tricks that helped her stay alive during this trip. Curiosity made her learn all the special magic that her mother and garm kin could use, which gave her the ability to use spells while most of her other kind couldn’t

She was curious. She wanted to know why this scent made her feel that she should follow it. She wanted to fulfill her desire to go and look. She wanted to do something that would not benefit her pack.

…But I can’t leave everybody. They ar…they are the only ones I have left!

The trials and tribulations have finally made her accept the truth.

If her grandfather died, then her father should have gotten it. If her father had gotten it and then also died, then her older brothers and sisters should have gotten them. Her father had many mates, which gave this young warg a large family. She was the oldest among her current kin. She was the only one that could have gotten the title if all her family had died. 

The only one that couldn’t was her mother, who was an outsider from her pack. There was a chance that she was alive but the faint hope that she held up until now has finally vanished.

She would have found me already. She always did...she would have…mother.

Crushing the last vestige of this hope of hers, the young garm matriarch couldn’t leave the rest of her pack. Her younger siblings needed her help, she needed to be there for them.

‘Your eagerness makes you blind’, does it, mother? If so then I should not let my desires control me.

Her pack didn’t want to follow the snake's trail and couldn't accept it if their pack leader were to lead them there. The young garm matriarch could see it in their eyes, forcing her to cast the curiosity inside her aside and do what she had to do.

Who was that? Another ambusher? I can’t risk my family anymore.

Whether she would ever regret this choice, she would never know as she never went back to the swamp on that day.

The pack of wargs managed to leave the swamp after the young garm matriarch decided to abandon her wish to investigate the smell, returning back to the woodland part of the Belzac forest.

Now all by themselves, the new pack leader, the young garm matriarch, had to decide what to do from here. They had the option to travel back to their ancestral home, to see what exactly happened to the garms but at the state that they were, they had no chance to even survive the trip.

They were weakened from their time in the swamp and most of the wargs were pessimistic about the future of their pack. They needed a place to stay and recuperate. Somewhere that was safe.

Looking through her memories the young garm matriarch remembered something that her mother once told her. “Those mountains in the horizons are a haven for the weak and young” was what her mother once told, directing her attention towards the mountains that surrounded this sea of trees.

The Belzac mountains…she mumbled.

It was the only place for them left, the only place that was safe enough to ensure the pack's survival

Although it was true that the mountains were safer, the trip was nevertheless as perilous as any other. Wargs were lost and the pack continued to decrease the more they went on. It could only be called a blessing when they eventually met on other packs of wargs, all forced to flee up north by their parents.

The young garm matriarch learned from these desperate wolves that they too met the same fate as theirs. The adventurers had not stopped hunting garms and wargs after they killed the A rank Fenrir but continued onwards as they wiped as many of Belzac descendants as possible, leaving only the young wargs to flee.

The young garm matriarch sympathized with them and understood that they needed to stick together in these dark times, despite knowing that the discord already present in her pack would become even worse if she added more members.

However, what they needed now was a larger pack. They needed numbers because wargs hunted with high numbers. Until they all became garms, they couldn’t be picky about their choices that could benefit their survival.

With that in mind, the young garm matriarch gathered every warg that she met on her trip towards the Belzac mountain, a choice that greatly benefited the pack’s survival. Losses were still inevitable as nothing could be accounted for in this giant forest, but the unity of this new pack held strong, kept together for the survival of the species.

This trip has also done much for the young garm matriarch. [Belzac’s Successor] was a title that not only granted the owner increase experience gain but also increases skill proficiency gain, helping her level up and improve her status board at a rapid pace, eventually reaching the maximum level for her evolution into a [Garm].

Being the first garm of the pack gave her not only respect but loyalty. In a pack filled with wargs, the sight of a garm was nothing but a true blessing. Once again, the wargs would be led by a controller of shadows and darkness.

Once they reached the mountains the wargs immediately started making a new den for this fledgling pack. Over time, by resting in the peaceful mountains and traveling down to the forest to hunt, the once fledgling pack finally grew strong enough as more wargs evolved into garms.

As the strength of the pack increased, so did the efficiency of the hunts, giving even rise to even more garms. 

As the situation of her pack stabilized, the young garm matriarch decided that it was time to further the bloodline of Belzac. Her maternal instincts were calling for her that it was time, making her seek a mate among the ones in her own pack.

After a tumultuous mating season that would have future ramifications, the matriarch managed to find a mate and they began doing what she had to. 

As the months continued flowing, the pack, that once consisted out of wargs, grew up into a respectable garm pack. As the overall strength of the pack grew, so did the arrogance and ego of everybody involved.

[“Matriarch, we must regain our ancestral home,”] a garm demanded. [“We have finally gotten the strength to reclaim what is ours.”]

It was true that most of their members were D ranks now. Each individual garm couldn’t contest against a C rank alone but as a whole group, they could outmaneuver and tire any lone C rank without any problems. Their strength was enough that numbers could overwhelm quality. 

The young garm matriarch knew this, however, there was something that was holding her back.

[“We cannot go now, our children have not grown up enough,”] the matriarch answered back, pointing out that her children haven’t grown up enough.

As a garm, she wanted to go back to her home but her motherly instincts told her that she couldn’t. The forest was still a dangerous place despite how much strength the garm matriarch has gained over the years. She was worried. She was worried that moving out would endanger her children, her children.

[“Nonesense, matriarch! We are Belzac’s descendants and you have been chosen as his successor! We did not follow a weak-willed leader that would prioritize the weak over the strong!”] another garm replied, supporting the ones who wish to move out. [“Where has your spine gone, matriarch?! Have your children soften you?”]

[“Grou! Back off you fool! Our matriarch is prioritizing the future of our pack. Taking care of our children matters more than someplace that we can go back to whenever we wanted,”] the garm matriarch’s partner answered back, defending her from the scorn of the others.

[“Of course, you would say that you idiotic fool! You make her weak…she should not have chosen you as her mate. You are not worthy to be the alpha!"] the opposing garms shouted from these words. [“Our pack needs a stronger alpha during these times! Matriarch, we demand that you abandon this fool and choose a mate anew! We will not follow somebody weaker than us.”]

I-I have to choose? My desire or what is right for the pack…but what is right for the pack right now?

The pack was currently divided as one group wishes to travel back into the forest, to settle back in the ancestral homes their ancestor Belzac, but the other half understood that doing so would endanger the few wargs that haven’t evolved yet and the few newborns.

The matriarch had an almost equal split among the parties which made it even harder for her to choose. She wanted to stay with her children, see them grow just like her mother once did for her, but she as the matriarch, the pack leader. She had a responsibility towards not only herself and her children but also the rest.

They have all lived through trials and tribulations before and the opposing garms have not attacked just yet, purely from the respect that they had. The matriarch was still the strongest…but that also meant she had the most on her shoulders.

She had to choose between her desire to stay with her children but provoking the anger of her pack or leading into the forest but endangering the weak that stayed with her. She didn’t know what to do in this situation.

She wanted her pack to stay together but she also didn’t want her newborns to be put in danger. Her wishes conflicted with each other, giving rise to stress to uncertainty. What would benefit the pack the most at this point? 

She glanced over to her mate once, staring into his eyes, before turning her head towards the garms, [“We stay.”]

What would transpire from here would be one of the catalysts that would bring an end to the garms. Unable to accept this answer, the garms challenged the matriarch to a fight to attain the [Belzac’s Successor] title themselves.

While the title would normally only be inherited by her children if she were to perish, there was a chance for others in her bloodline to attain it by challenging the current holder and killing them.

This “duel” was nothing but a farce, quickly escalating into a full-on war between the two factions. The bloody battle lasted throughout the night and ended eventually in the matriarch’s victory.

What have I d-done…?

It was a victory hard-fought, but the once prideful pack was reduced to nothing but a few. The few that were left alive either died from their wounds due to a lack of healing or quickly left the pack. While the matriarch was able to protect herself and her family, she also reduced everything with one decision.

From then on with her children and mate the matriarch could only seek strength to fill the void that was left after that battle. She had to start fulfilling her duty as the leader and matriarch of the pack. She had to give birth but also gain more strength for her evolution. 

After a small encounter with a certain small lizard, the matriarch was finally able to evolve into the C rank monster [Darkness Garm]. With her children having grown up and her mate also gaining enough strength, the pack ventured back to do what she should have chosen on that bloody day.

With her new form, the garm matriarch used it to crush anything that blocked her path, quickly raising more in strength. Just like Belzac, the more she grew and the deeper she went, the more challengers would come to stop her, but they were all only easy prey for this controller of shadows.

Her extensive knowledge of combat and how to control the flow of battle gave her always the edge over any C rank that believe that they defeat her purely with strength alone. The once young warg has finally grown strong enough as the matriarch of darkness, enough that she was able to conquer back was her birthright. 

Mother…father…grandfather…I’m back.

The years have not been kind to her former family. The skeletons of her kin laid before her feet as she silently spoke to them, hoping that she was able to make them proud despite all the wrong choices that she has chosen over the years.

Why did everything had to change? Why did we all have to suffer like that? What has happened to the once-proud bloodline of Belzac?

…Everyone, forgive me for being weak…forgive me for not being stronger on that day…forgive me for not being a worthy successor of the title.

The garm matriarch did what little she could to regain back the control that she has lost over her home, eventually making it a place that her children could safer live in, just like how she was able to in her younger years.

…But this victory was short-lived.

[“Nooooooo! Nooooooooo!”]

[“My mate, please, you must calm down! You are bleeding too much!”]

[“My babies! My pups, my dear pups!”] the garm matriarch cried out in despair and sadness that only a grieving mother would know.

[“Father! Mother is bleeding too much, we can’t stop it!”] one of the garm matriarch’s warg children said.

[“My mate, you must stop! There is still one le-”] the partner pleaded for her to stop crying but she simply pushed him aside. 

[“Leave me! My poor babies, nooooooo! Noooooo, my babies! Why must this happen to us, why is this happening?!”] the matriarch cried out again, caressing her stillborn children. [“Nooo, mother, why?! What have I done wrong in my life to deserve this…noooooooo!”]

Whether it was because she rushed through her battles as if she was possessed, or because of some other unknown reason, the matriarch could only grieve as the next members of her pack didn't have the chance to breathe. She could only stay there and cry, as her partner and children left her alone…

…for the very last time.

Urk…the pain…

The matriarch finally calmed down when the pain suddenly jolted her body. She looked at her bottom, completely soaked in her own blood.

How sad…how unfair…why must this happen when we are this-what is that?

As she looked through the bloody mess that she was lying in, she finally saw the small glimmer of hope, sounding a loud scream that she wanted to hear so desperately today.

M-My b-baby?

Looking at the small creature, she couldn’t help but start grooming it, licking it to remove the blood and the aftermath of the birth from her crying child. As she began licking it, the baby started to squirm and shout even louder, so much that it made it hard for the matriarch to continue due to all the pain that she was feeling.

[“My child, you must stop fidgeting. You need to be cleaned,”] she called out in agony, wishing to only fulfill her duty as a mother.

As the young pup would not listen to her, the matriarch, in a short moment of explosive anger, couldn’t hold in the emotions that she was holding back. The pain of having lost her children, the agony bleeding profusely, and the rejection that she was feeling from her last surviving newborn made it all so hard to hold back her abilities.

[“Stop moving!”] she shouted, instantly sending her last child into sleep.

Noooo! No, no, no! Please don’t be…she’s asleep. Thank goodness, she is asleep.

Finally calming down, the garm matriarch stood up as she still had to do something. Her children didn’t deserve to be seen like this. She failed as their mother, but she could at least give them a proper place to rest.

Mother…Father…Grandfather…my sibling…my children…please, rest in peace…

“Whroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Huh? Huh?! Huh?! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Nooooooooooooooooooooo!

The howl of a wolf. The howl of her partner, who informed her about everything happened ever since they left. The parting voice that informed her that not only did she lose her partner but also all her remaining children. The vortex of emotions reemerged, silently destroying every single hope that she still had for herself.

“Whroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” the surging emotions that overwhelmed her today has finally reached its peak, crushing what little rationality that she had.

Moving her weakened body, the garm could only sit in front of the nest where her last child was, waiting for one of her worst failures to come.

Urgh, why doesn’t it stop…why does everything hurt so much? Mother…please, forgive me for everything that I will no tonight…

Belzac, I apologize.

***********************************

[“…Please take care of my little pup. She is just like you. Please listen to the words of this dying mother. She is…the last Belzac…”] 

“Wroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

With a pained howl that sounded so similarly to that of her deceased partner, the matriarch of shadows, the one that inherited the title of [Belzac’s Successor], crashed onto the ground. As her Health finally reached zero, her eyes closed, having fully accepted the embrace of darkness.

Descendants of Belzac all possess the ability to control the shadows and as did he, she will return back into the void. Her legacy now handed onto her last child.

Is this what you also thought, mother? Have I been a good child? Have I made you proud? Was I as good as you?

Please, answer me…

With her last thought, she could only wish her child a final goodbye.

Please, stay strong my child. Belzac is in your child…grow strong but always remember that there will be a time that you must also face the fate of our bloodline.