Ascenders: Rising From Zero 41 For The Pack

'Yasmin, I still don't understand it. Who are those people? And what can I do to remove the mark imprint on me?' Earlier on, he had felt a tremendous wash of fear and darkness when he entered the forest. Just after when Yasmin informed him he had a fugitive mark in his soul, an imprint of an asterisk etched in his soul s.p.a.ce, beside his soul.

Just then, footsteps rapped closer on the rocky plains outside the cave. Panicking he thrust his frame outside in a flight of fright response.

Bayo froze, seeing the lean figures in black gowns staring coldly at him with fang tips protruding from their upper lips.

'Are those vampires?' He asked tentatively.

Before Yasmin could reply, the two vampires in front moved closer with a step. The female clasped her hands together as a circle of s.h.i.+mmering dark energy with various inscriptions and the shape of a quad pedal creature appeared in the circle.

"Come Forth!" The female black draped vampire muttered as she splayed her palms towards the circle. At that, the air hummed with tingling sensation as the shape in the circle began enlarging until it's feet dropped down. In the second it touched down, the body outline solidified, taking the form of a heavily white and brown furred wolf.

"Attack it, but don't kill it." The female said.

The male asked a question but BAyo was not listening anymore. He took his focus internally as he queried Yasmin on what he saw.

"What just happened?'

'The female Adze just summoned her soul bound which appears to be a Spirit Hound, a creature affinated with the Law of Gluttony.'

'Gluttony?' Bayo felt a stirring within him as he observed energy leaking eyes of the hound with its slow steps. 'Scan it?'

(A/N: The cover image is the exact description of the creature))

Bayo's heart beat tripled as he waited for the result. These people here were on one mission, to capture him. Were they from the CFR or did the Emere send them after him? And even if, could he win in an all out battle against them?

What were the odds of survival, especially with the Hound advancing on him? His current form was nothing at all.

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Spirit Wolf- Mythic type

Soul Stage: Ground Cla.s.s

Energy: 894/895

Ability: Speech Capability, Energy absorption, Enhanced preceptory senses.

Law Affinity: Law of Gluttony

Principle: Principle of Absorption

- The spirit Wolf is recognized by its large muscular frame at a height of 5feet, coated with dense furs. It, despite the fact that it is not sentient, is capable of complex communication and it cultivates the principle of absorption, from whence it draws its absorption ability. It is not readily strong but it's ability to constantly top itself by absorbing Agbara makes it resilient and tough to combat.

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'It's energy is in hundreds?' He gasped, grazing over the stats displayed on the mental screen. 'Yasmin, what are my odds against this creature and this people? Need to get out of here.'

'There isn't really any odds in your favour, Bayo.' Yasmin replied, coldly.

'What? No-no... that can't be. There has to Be something. What if I change form?' Bayo asked, tentatively.

'In the advent of changing form, only the Horned Hind Bear is currently grown and capable of holding its own against this creature and possibly the Adzes due to its reliance on the law of Wrath. However, there is a defect to that as changing form will revert you to a bear cub as well as you losing your soul Stage back to Basic.' Yasmin stated the facts, once more.

The Spirit Wolf was three meters away, walking majestically as it stared at its prey with utmost confidence.

'Yasmin, it's almost here.' Bayo's body s.h.i.+fted nervously. The Wolf was covering a large chunk of his path, leaving the only sides to take,in case of bailing out, as backwards and sideways. Going backward would mean he would get cornered into the cave and going sideways...

The Vampires had positioned themselves there, predicting his course of action already.

'Tsk! d.a.m.n you. What if I change to the Salamander?'

'The loss of soul rank still applies. Although, the form will be the adult form as the form hasn't being used previously but still, the fire breath would be highly reduced by 50% efficiency at the Basic stage.'

'So, it's useless? I'm dead this time, for real?' Bayo despaired, watching the hound inch closer for another one meter.

'If you relinquish total control...'

'You know that's never happening. And you also know that if I do die, your mission is over too, right?' Bayo replies dejectedly.

Yasmin fell silent, saying nothing as Bayo braved himself. He already began infusing heat into his tail, dropping 30points of Agbara in.

It wasn't much but still, it was something.

1.5 meters left to reach him by the wolf as his heart went Tippetty tip. His fur stood like electrified wires, tingling with tense energy. His life so far began to flash before him.

His first form, his first meal, the pack...

'You do have a bonus activation of the Law of Love, would you want me to activate it?

Yasmin spoke suddenly, causing Bayo to jump out in fright.

'Wait... what? Yes , yes..., Activate it.'

Just then, the Spirit Wolf crounched, calculatively. And then, it leapt, fangs all revealed as it's form flickered, gaining momentum.

But to Bayo, all that was nothing. Time had slowed considerably to a pause. All he felt now was anger, pain, despair, sadness. He shook his head to get rid of the emotions clouding him but they only intensified.

He remembered what happened to him on Earth. The betrayal of his girl, or his ex, Shade. His mother, how she had laboured to ensure he was worth a while. The pack, all those IronSpike Tailed Dogs He has had to lead... He remembered, his initial struggles and he had vowed to make a way to return to his mother.

His heart pounded ferociously, but this time, not out of fear. His eyes moistened as he felt rage, angry at the universe for everything. He was taken away from everything he had come to love.

And it Hurt... Badly.

He was despairing, sad, unhappy, furious...

It shouldn't have to hurt. No, he was going to make sure he righted it... in the name of everything he had come to know as family.

He squeezed his eyebrows together as he gritted his teeth.

What has happening? He only activated the law of love, Why all these cl.u.s.ter of strong emotions?

'Because True Love comes at a cost.' 'Because If you are not afraid of losing something, you can not love it.' The voice of Orisha Osun came resonating in his head as he pondered.

And now, he understood. He was afraid of losing them and that meant he truely loved them. But he lost them in the end. However, what was focal was that, he paid the cost. He was scared. d.a.m.n it... He knew fear of living without them.

He needed them back. From Mum to the pack to what else... He needed all the things he had come to cherish.

All!

Suddenly a wave of companions.h.i.+p washed over him from behind. It was warm, needing, wanting and calming. Acting on instincts, he turned to look behind him as he gasped.

A blast of energy exploded, with him being the focal point. The energy s.h.i.+mmered, slithering into the corpses of the Ironspike Tailed Dogs around that were yet to dissipate.

It felt like he wanted them back, alive.

He wished they could come back alive and howl and together face the Wolf,totally oblivious that he had activated the Principle of Compa.s.sion

Behind him, stretching to the sides that the Vampires occupied to the inside of the dark cave stood Ironspike Tailed Dogs.

Ethereal form of Ironspike Tailed Dogs, s.h.i.+mmering and flickering as they gazed at him. Their eyes depicted respect, faith. They needed him...

No, not need. They adored him and he felt needed.

'This is what being loved feels like?' He asked as the ethereal forms began converting energy towards him.

The energy was not foreign. It spoke of respect, adoration, affection. And his soul welcomed it, absorbing and absorbing it all.

Somehow, knowledge of what happened filtered into his head, notifying him that he had just activated the Principle of Affection. He felt stronger now but it still wasn't enough.

Mere affection was not cutting it.

Just as he thought, a sensation of pure refining and calming silvery blue energy began circulating within his body, enlarging his soul as it churned brighter and whiter.

The Principle of Purity.

If you really loved someone or something, you were willing to abstain from others to keep to what you adored. That was what the Principle of Purity was derived from and now, it was refining his soul, allowing him accept more energy from The ethereal Dogs.

'Still Not Enough!' Bayo muttered, oblivious of the stirring of the Law of Gluttony within him. He needed More.

More...

The Principle of Chast.i.ty stepped up now. It cleanses his body, refining the muscles, repairing tendons and reinforcing his bones. An aspect of Love, the Principle focused on strengthening physical defence as while as preventing foreign energy from invading.

Because, when you loved truly, you were willing to refuse anything that was going to refuse your affection. You had an outward conviction that everyone around you could sense.

Just then, a stirring that demanded to be full cried out within him. He had already reached his max Energy elastic limit for the form, with over 300 points of Agbara seated within him, stretching his soul to the maximum.

But yet, the void within him kept crying for more.

More.

Fill me!

Not Satisfied!

More!

More!

'Yasmin, what is happening?' Bayo asked, but he wasn't furious nor nervous. Instead he was calm, relaxed and felt loved and needed.

'The Law of Gluttony has somehow being activated by your soul. I suppose it is because of your proximity with a fellow law user or it could be becuase of the activation of Love, coming to your request for more energy or it could be because of both. I, myself do not understand' Yasmin sounded puzzled.

Ordinarily, he would have been happy. But this was not an ordinary situation. The Law of Love within him suddenly became violent, slamming and forcing back the law of gluttony that had beeen activated.

It was Rejecting the Demonic Law. And tearing Bayo's Soul apart from within.

'Nnnrrrghhhh...' Bayo gritted his teeth as his soul began convulsing as if to explode as the two laws tussled for supremacy within him. He could see it in his soul s.p.a.ce, light energy and dark energy slamming and surging towards themselves.

It was ripping his mind apart.

'N-no. Gluttony is love too.' He growled. 'It is wanting something more than you can take in. Eating to a stupor is love. It is excessive obsession. Excessive Love. Gluttony is Love too!' He panted, as the two energies slammed into each other for the last time. But unlike other times, the energy fused into each other, taking a hue of Grey as they circ.u.mvented around his soul.

His mother's form s.h.i.+mmered into view. She was smiling and holding something in swaddling clothes. He willed himself to see what it was and then the form s.h.i.+fted, leaning forward for him to see his baby self.

'Mummy.' That was his day of birth as doctors and nurses flocked about while his mum sat in a bed. 'I love you Mum.'

Immediately, Principle of affection activated again, extracting energy from his mother. More!

He needed more and the law of gluttony rushed to fill it up. It reached into the surroundings, sensing the ethereal forms fading off. The Law somewhat reclined before blasting forward again, seeking and needing more despite the fact that he was almost exploding.

It reached for the female vampire, hovering about her while the Law of Love, stretched , twirling on the strand of energy that the law of gluttony had used to reach the vampire.

Affection activated again, and he could feel energy enveloping him from the female vampire. The energy...

She loved the Spirit Wolf as it was her soul bound and the Law of Gluttony had fished that out, creating an avenue for the Law of love to absorb the affection in.

He was charged up, albeit his soul pounded painfully.

His energy had doubled, bringing him up to 745 points of Agbara.

Bayo howled as reality came back cras.h.i.+ng on him. 'For the pack!' He cried, tears dropping down his cheeks. 'For mummy!'

And then, the Wolf crashed, slamming its weight Into Bayo as its fangs sank in neatly into his neck.

It had Begun!