"Cayde? What is it? What's coming?" Pahanin asked worriedly, her cheerful expression turning to a worried one as she saw the grim and hopeless expression on the Wolf of Harmony.

"Chaos." Cayde choked out.

A loud crash of thunder shook the ground all around them. Not enough to knock them over, but a tremor that was definitely much more powerful than the average crash of thunder.

The pitch black storm clouds advanced closer, like a sickening black mist. Faint flashes of fanatical lightning could be seen in the darkness, and soon the once sunset-colored evening sky faded to darkness, not signaling the arrival of the night, but rather the arrival of pure evil. Dark mist encompassed the mountain, only casting a light layer of dark mist just above the mountain. The giant cloud of pure darkness was still on its way.

"Cayde! What's going on--" Vande stopped talking immediately, skidding to a stop beside Cayde and Pahanin, his face as blank and hopeless as Cayde's.

"Oh my goodness... no..." Vande whispered, looking at Cayde, "Is that..."

Cayde nodded solemnly.

There was silence for a few seconds.

By now, many wolves from the Kimlascan Pack were gathering around, chatting amongst one another with a very concerned tone. They didn't know what was going on, but they saw this dark cloud of pure darkness, and they didn't know what to do. They looked to the Master Alpha and the Wolf of Harmony for support.

Vande took a shaky breath, "What do we do...?"

Cayde was about to respond, when his eyes went wide. A flash of lightning illuminated the cloud just enough for Cayde to see a glimpse of dozens of molten boulders hurling through the sky. How such a thing was even possible, he could not fathom. Such control over destructive things only meant one thing...

The Wolf of Chaos was here.

The molten boulders were coming right towards them, towards the entire pack. They would be the first things that hit them, before the dark cloud even arrived.

Gasping, Cayde managed to yell out:

"Everyone! Get away! Run, get your families and move to the far reaches of the eastern border! NOW!"

Nobody hesitated, the crowds of wolves all fleeing towards the east. Many stayed and ran in other directions to their dens to gather their families and friends before leaving.

"Pahanin, I need you to find my mother." Cayde pleaded, looking at her worriedly.

Understandably, Pahanin was afraid, not only for herself, but afraid to lose him again.

"Please." Cayde begged.

"I..."

"I'll meet you at the eastern border, don't worry. Just, please... find my mother, find Saint, get out of here." Cayde insisted.

Seeing the look in Cayde's eyes, Pahanin obliged, nuzzling Cayde for a brief moment before running down the elevated path and out of sight.

"Cayde! Watch out!" Vande yelled, pushing Cayde to the side and causing them to both roll down the slope, luckily avoiding injury. However, just moments later, one of the molten boulders slammed directly into Vande's den, setting it aflame and greatly damaging the lookout.

Cayde grunted and helped Vande up, immediately breaking into a sprint beside Vande as many more molten boulders crashed into the mountain, sending pieces of the boulder and other rocks flying all around. Some of the boulders smashed into trees, setting certain parts on fire.

"Go, Cayde, go!" Vande yelled, running as fast as he could. Vande had to run to the left while Cayde ran to the right as another boulder slammed into the ground directly in front of them. Luckily they were able to link back up a few seconds later.

Taking cover beneath a tree, Vande looked at Cayde, huffing.

Cayde turned to look at some of the dens, seeing that there were still wolves in some of them.

"I need to help them! I need to make sure everyone gets out safely, I have to!" Cayde exclaimed, preparing to run towards the dens in his sightline, when Vande stopped him with a paw, shaking his head.

"No," He said softly, "Not alone."

So, both of them ran towards the dens, hearing the whimpers of some of the wolves inside. Luckily, the sight of both Vande and Cayde gave them a boost in morale and confidence. Most of them got up and listened to their orders to run to the eastern border, no matter what. Others needed more reassuring, but with Vande's help, Cayde was able to help each of the wolves that remained in some of the dens to gather at the border.

But there were still many more wolves to help.

As Vande and Cayde left one of the dens, they looked towards the mountain. It was on fire in numerous areas, and some spots even looked crumbled and burned. Trees all around it were doused in flame, and towards the top of the mountain was a swirling cloud as dark as midnight.

It was at that very moment that the huge black storm cloud reached the Kimlascan Pack, enveloping the entire region in a seemingly endless veil of dark mist.

There was still plenty to see, as the mist didn't stop them from seeing all around them, but the same could not be said for the skies above, now almost as dark as midnight, with no stars nor moonlight. Only the flashes of lightning, the glow of flames, and the very faint glow of the seemingly-hopeless sunset colors behind the veil of darkness illuminated the area.

"We have to keep going, come on!" Vande exclaimed, as torrential rain pelted his fur.

Cayde ran beside him to the next set of dens, seeing a group of wolves make their way to the east, afraid. It almost made Cayde's eyes water, seeing everything he loved get enveloped in darkness and flame. He was afraid, but he had to be strong. For them.

As he ran with Vande, Cayde couldn't help but think that just a few nights ago, he had ran beside Vande through the pack territory, cheering his return, celebrating. Now, he ran beside him for a far worse cause: to have no choice but abandon the area and evacuate the pack somewhere safe.

His thoughts were interrupted as lightning struck a nearby tree, deafening Cayde's ears for a brief moment, but failing to make him stop.

He finally did stop once he reached the next set of dens. He checked each one with Vande. Every single one was empty, but Cayde took extra time to examine a specific den: the den of his mother.

It was empty.

Cayde sighed, only being able to hope that she made it.

Coughing from the smoke of a nearby fire, Cayde and Vande moved away as quickly as they could.

Wolves still ran all around. Some hadn't heard the call to gather and evacuate at the eastern border, and as a result were escaping on their own terms.

So many were running, escaping, howling in fear as their home crumbled and burned.

Why...
Why was this happening...?

"Get down!" Vande told Cayde, once again pushing him. This time, he pushed him into a nearby bush and hid with him. Just in time too, because immediately afterwards, several shadows of wolves made out of nothing but the darkness of the clouds began patrolling towards Vande's den, presumably to gather beneath it and await orders from... the Wolf of Chaos.

These wolves of shadow were not truly living, they were Chaos made physical. Physical embodiments of dark feelings, from hatred to resentment and vengeance. They were made from this dark mist, this dark and powerful storm cloud that heralded the arrival of a truly evil being. They were mindless, physical representations, made to carry out deeds within the storm cloud. A mindless army, right before Cayde's eyes.

"We have to get out of here." Cayde whispered, seeing more of the shadows marching towards Vande's den.

The flames caused by the lightning strikes and molten boulders had not been snuffed out by the rain. They were too powerful, and continued to burn certain areas of the Kimlascan Pack and the mountain.

The boulders had stopped hitting the territory, but the damage had already been done.

The Kimlascan Pack was evacuating, escaping their own home. The mountain was surrounded by an army of mindless, shadow-like wolves. The mountain itself had suffered damage, and the beautiful trees all around had been burnt by the relentless flames.

The Wolf of Chaos succeeded. In just under an hour, a pack of peace had evacuated, and a sacred and peaceful home had been attacked and taken control of.

Was there ever any way of coming back from such a thing?

Cayde's sacrifice was meant to shield this land from evil, but only one power could match the power that Cayde had that day he sacrificed himself. An army of darkness, and the Wolf of Chaos spearheading it all. The dark cloud covered the entire radius of the mountain, and covered the Kimlascan Pack territory. The cloud remained in the same place now, having enveloped all the designated areas. The lightning stopped striking, but somehow thunder was still heard. The rain did not let up, but it softened.

Peeking through the bushes, Vande and Cayde were just barely able to see Vande's den, overlooking the once-beautiful Kimlascan Pack. The wolves, the army, of Chaos itself, gathered beneath the den. And somewhere, to the east, the Kimlascan Pack was preparing to evacuate the territory and escape.

As Cayde looked at Vande's den from afar, his eyes widened again as he saw a wolf heading up the slope to the overlook. It was only for a moment, but Cayde could make out the features of the wolf.

Fur as black as midnight, somewhat muddy, yet not very soaked despite the rain. Piercing eyes, that Cayde could not see the color of, but eyes that glinted and reflected the glow of the flames around them. This wolf was real, and very much physical. A dark aura emitted from the wolf, and even from here, Cayde could see a satisfied smirk on the wolf as it saw all of the... Chaos.

Cayde's eyes had a hopeless expression for a moment as he saw a glowing red marking on the head of the wolf. Much like himself, with the Mark of Harmony on his head that could glow with a golden aura. However, the Mark of Harmony was an upside-down triangle with a line going horizontally through the middle. Cayde noticed that on this wolf, it was a crimson, diamond shaped marking.

Judging by the features, and judging by the marking, Cayde knew exactly who that wolf was.

The wolf responsible for all of this destruction, for all of the fear, for all of the manipulation, for the evacuation...

The Wolf of Chaos.

"We have to go, Cayde." Vande insisted, "We need to get out of here."

"Vande..." Cayde's voice choked up again, "I need to get up there. I need to stand face to face with the Wolf of Chaos."

"Cayde... you can't...!" Vande exclaimed.

"I have to. I have to try, Vande." Cayde told him, locking eyes with him and putting a paw on his shoulder.

"For the Kimlascan Pack."

Vande's eyes went soft for a moment, and shortly after he put a paw on Cayde's shoulder as well, nodding slightly.

"Okay, Cayde."

He took a deep breath, then finished his sentence:

"I'm with you until the end."