Max's gaze turned slightly distant as he tried to trace that origin, but it was faint, hidden far beyond his imdiate perception.
'But why send these instead of coming directly?' he wondered.
The answer did not co imdiately.
And just as that thought lingered, the situation changed.
Without any warning, the wolves stopped circling.
Then, as if so unseen command had been given, they began to leave.
One by one.
Group by group.
They turned away, their predatory gazes lingering for a brief mont before they retreated into the distance. The oppressive atmosphere that had surrounded the group slowly lifted as the horde disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared.
Within a short ti, not a single wolf remained.
The area returned to silence.
Only then did the group finally exhale.
Relief washed over them as the tension that had been holding them in place faded away.
"What just happened?" Isabella asked, her voice filled with confusion as she looked around. "Why did they not attack us?"
Max let out a small breath before answering, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Because they were never real wolves to begin with," he said. "They were just condensed forms of energy created by a much more powerful predator."
Rose looked at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
She had not expected him to see through it so quickly.
After a brief pause, she nodded. "That is correct," she said. "Those were not real creatures. They were constructs created by sothing much stronger."
Her expression turned more serious as she continued. "And this was not just that. It was a trap."
The group stiffened slightly at her words.
"If even one of you had attacked," she said slowly, "the situation would have changed completely."
Max's gaze sharpened. "What kind of trap?"
Rose's eyes grew colder as she explained. "The mont one of those wolves is destroyed, all of them would collapse into pure energy. That energy would then surround us completely, trapping us within it."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"And once that happens, we would all fall asleep."
A chill ran through the group.
"At that point," Rose said, her voice low, "the true predator behind them would appear."
Her gaze swept across the empty land where the wolves had vanished.
"And we would be nothing more than prey waiting to be consud."
Silence followed her words.
This was Orion.
Even what looked harmless could be a death sentence.
"Why did the predator not attack us directly?" Max asked as they continued moving, his gaze still lingering in the direction where the wolves had disappeared.
Rose did not slow down as she answered, her voice calm and certain. "Because it knows," she said. "It knows that among us, there are people strong enough to kill it."
Max listened carefully.
"The creatures on Orion are not like those outside," Rose continued. "They are not driven by instinct alone. They have intelligence. Real intelligence. They observe, they calculate, and they decide whether a fight is worth it or not. That predator judged us and decided the risk was too high."
Max nodded slowly.
That explained everything.
It was not that the predator could not attack.
It simply chose not to.
As they continued walking deeper into the scarred lands of Orion, Max's thoughts shifted back to the earlier scene, to the ruins, the destruction, and the overwhelming sense of sothing ancient lingering in the air.
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
"Miss Rose," he said, "do you know what kind of war led to this?"
His voice carried a genuine curiosity.
If anyone could answer that question, it would be soone like Rose, who had spent years navigating this world.
Rose remained silent for a mont, as if organizing her thoughts.
Then she spoke.
"I have been on Orion for quite so ti," she said. "And during that ti, I have looked into its past. Not everything is known, and much of it has been lost, but there are fragnts of truth scattered across the Divine Realm."
Her gaze shifted slightly as she continued walking, her tone turning more serious.
"A long ti ago, there was a war in the Divine Realm," she said. "Not a small conflict between forces. Not a dispute between families or clans. It was sothing far greater."
Max's attention sharpened.
"That war spread across every star realm," Rose continued. "No corner of the Divine Realm was untouched. Entire regions were engulfed in chaos. Countless forces were drawn into it, willingly or unwillingly. It was a war that reshaped the balance of power across existence."
She paused briefly before adding, "And for reasons that are still unclear, Orion beca one of its main battlefields."
Max's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened.
"This planet," Rose said, "was once not like this. It was not a dead world filled with ruins. It was a place of life. But during that war, it beca a convergence point."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"Powerhouses from different realms gathered here. Holy Lords, Holy Kings, and even beings who had reached the Divine Master Realm fought on this land."
The weight of her words settled heavily in the air.
"These were existences that could destroy stars," she continued. "And they fought here."
Max's heart grew heavy.
Rose's expression turned more solemn as she continued. "From what I have gathered, the core of that war was tied to the devils," she said. "It was not just a battle for territory or power. It was sothing deeper."
She glanced briefly at Max.
"It was a war between the Primordials and the Devils."
The words carried a profound weight.
"That conflict swept across the entire Divine Realm," she said. "It was not limited to a single place. But Orion beca one of the places where the most intense battles took place."
Max remained silent. He hadn't expected it was the devils again. It was because of them the war took place.
"Because of that war," Rose continued, "this planet was left in this state. Its laws were disrupted. Its structure was broken. Even now, traces of those battles remain."
She looked ahead as the ruined landscape stretched endlessly before them.
"That is why Orion is called a forbidden planet."
There was a brief pause.
"But even so," she added, "people still co."
Her tone carried a faint bitterness.
"They co because they believe that within this destruction lie opportunities. The inheritance of fallen experts. Ancient techniques. Lost treasures. Power that could change their fate."
She let out a small breath.
"But most of them never leave."
Her words were calm, but the aning behind them was clear.
"They co chasing opportunity," she said, "but in reality, many of them are simply walking toward their own deaths."
The group fell silent as they continued forward.
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