Chapter 1347: Meeting The Figure Slowly, Gary began to step forward, his feet dragging almost against his will. There was something… off about the large figure standing before him. Gary could sense it. And if this was truly a beast like him, another Werewolf, then surely it could sense him just as clearly. Every nerve in Gary’s body was firing at once, his senses screaming in overdrive. It made him nauseous, like something deep inside was resisting his every move. Still, he pushed himself onward, ready to pivot and flee at any second. As he moved closer, the shape ahead came more into focus. It was massive. Werewolves, of course, varied in size. The larger ones, especially those with elongated limbs, could easily stand eight feet tall when fully upright. But this… This figure was towering, easily nearing twelve feet. It looked transformed, not just partially, but completely. If it walked through the city, there was no way it could go unnoticed. The figure wasn’t just tall. It was built. Its upper body was thick and broad, its chest stretched wide with power. The legs were thick, like thunderous tree trunks rooted in the ground. Its arms were long and bulging with strength, ending in clawed hands and feet that screamed danger. The general silhouette resembled a Werewolf, but there were subtle differences, enough to make Gary uneasy. For one, the fur was dual-toned. Most of its body was covered in pitch-black fur, as dark as the coat he had seen on Lupus. But around the chest, the fur deepened into a reddish-brown color, almost like dried blood. Around its neck, that red fur grew even thicker, forming what looked like a lion’s mane, wild and untamed. That mane trailed down its back like a bushy, pointed tail. But the most unnatural feature was its shoulders. Hardened, bony spikes jutted out, growing directly from the creature’s flesh like armor. It gave the figure an almost otherworldly, beastly appearance, more monster than Werewolf. With all these foreign traits, Gary found it difficult to even label it a Werewolf, at least not any kind he had ever seen or heard of in his entire life. Eventually, Gary stopped around fifteen meters away. His body refused to move any closer. If he took another step, he felt like he might collapse entirely, his overwhelmed senses on the verge of short-circuiting. Thankfully, his system screen was still functioning. It flickered to life when he called for it. That brought some relief, if barely. Part of him had feared he might be trapped in this moment with no way to escape, not even through the system. “I’m glad you came to meet me,” the figure finally spoke. The voice was impossibly deep, vibrating through the air, through Gary’s chest, and straight into his mind. It wasn’t shouted, but still, it struck with force, like the earth itself was speaking. “It feels like… I didn’t really have a choice,” Gary replied, trying to ease the tension in himself with a weak joke. “If I hadn’t come, were you planning on coming to find me?” He took a breath. “And… who exactly are you? Are you the one I made that deal with? The one I spoke to during the ritual?” He had been almost certain before, but now that they were face to face, his confidence wavered. The voice from before… was it truly the same? His instincts were distorted, thrown off by the overwhelming presence. Still, deep down, he felt like he already knew the answer. “I called you here,” the figure said, “because it’s difficult for me to go see you.” He chuckled, the sound booming like thunder across an empty sky. “After all, you and I… we’re quite different. This form of mine, it’s not something I can just shed. If I tried to come to you, it would cause… complications. Ha ha ha!” The laughter was terrifying. It vibrated through Gary’s bones, down to his very toes, and everything in him screamed to run. “You asked what I am,” the figure continued, lifting his massive clawed hands into view. “Can’t you tell just by looking at me?” Gary said nothing. “I am the reason you are the way you are. I am the reason those you call ‘Werewolves’ exist!” The voice had changed slightly. There was irritation in it now, almost disappointment. Gary braced himself. If this being truly was the one he had contacted through the ritual… didn’t that make him something akin to a god? 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖 The power to turn an ordinary person into a Werewolf wasn’t the same as Altered transformation or even genetic modification through science. No. This was something more. Something ancient. Gary had never expected this entity to actually appear here, on Earth, in the same space he stood. He had always assumed it existed in some unreachable realm, beyond the grasp of mortals. “I understand. I’m sorry,” Gary said, almost automatically. He didn’t know why, but his instincts told him to tread carefully. “So… you’re the creator of Werewolves, then? Are you some kind of god?” The thunderous laughter returned, louder this time, shaking the very air between them. Follow new episodes on the "N0vel1st.c0m". “God?” the figure said, almost amused. “No. I am not the god. I am merely his extension. A creation of his will.” He leaned in slightly, his eyes glowing with something primal and unfathomable. “I was the first, his first creation. The first of my kind. And that essence, that origin, now lives within you… and within so many others.” “If you need to give me a title, to help your mind make sense of what you see, then so be it.” The beast raised a single clawed finger and pointed it straight at Gary. “My name is Unzoku. Many may know me as the first Werewolf to ever walk this world. And to you… to all of you… I am your god!”