He knew it! He just knew something would come up. It was his own choice and he could have walked away at any time, but he did not. He evaluated the actual claims of Hurath but he quickly figured out what made Ryl so powerful.

The Bond of the Pack was an intrinsic piece of their bloodline. The Thorian Wolves were not powerful alone but together they were almost like a gestalt.

It was not a simple animal instinct to form a group but an actual part of their bloodline. By teaching and caring for Ryl, a bond had certainly formed but if they were just a wolf, the issue could be resolved by Hurath’s presence.

She was the grandmother of the blood essence that made up part of Ryl’s body. Unfortunately, their draconic side was stronger.

There was nothing that trumped a Divine Lord of the same race.

Ryl was still hibernating but they were doing fine. They also responded if he moved too far. He felt it. He did not share in the bond, exactly, it was more he was able to sense it.

He sighed again. He had just wanted to find a way to his next Mystery! Why?!

There was no helping it. He instead spent time learning the intricacies of the pack. It was not too complicated but he did find a problem.

Ryl might be bound to him, but he did not reciprocate the same way they needed. It presented an issue in his mind but Hurath did not seem concerned. She reassured him that one day, Ryl would form their own pack and it would be resolved.

Lind hoped she was right. His experience made him plan for the worst. If Ryl followed the pattern, Lind doubted he would ever not be involved.

He pushed that aside as currently he had a new problem. If any of his wives or even others were present, they would be jealous.

He was being literally dog piled. The wolves were all around him and even leaning on top of him! 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

He sighed but did not stop them. Hurath was absolutely laughing but he let it all go.

A century passed before Ryl finally woke up. They were upset to see him surrounded by other wolves yet Hurath’s presence seemed to mollify them.

She tried to communicate with Ryl, yet it failed. It seemed only he had any kind of true bond. It broke any hope of him just moving on.

Still, the wolves happily played with Ryl. Despite the passage of time, for them, only a few years had passed. A World Realm child was still hard for him to grasp.

Hurath stayed a few more years after Ryl awakened to confirm if there were any other issues but her pack had to go back. They had left the greater pack behind to find her grandson.

She was satisfied no taboo had been broken and that her grandson had challenged a dragon to death.

The pair saw them off and Ryl’s tail drooped but they did not howl or try to chase after them. They had made the choice of which pack they belonged to.

Hurath had warned Lind that since they shared lineage, there was no bad reaction from her pack, yet other wolves may feel Ryl was an abomination.

Their life had become more complicated.

Lind sighed internally as he had to slightly alter his plans. Now that Ryl was more self-sufficient, there was no longer a need to stay in the local area. He could resume his journey, just with a new companion in tow.

Unlike other times, he had a clear understanding of the situation. Ryl was not his child nor a mate in waiting. The pack bond was leader and follower. The draconic factor may influence them in the future, yet that was not likely to shift much.

Dragons also struck out to form their own roosts so it was likely Ryl would do the same once they matured.

Lind really hoped that would be the case. Still, it did mean that he had to assert his true power going forward. Nothing Ryl caught would be of interest to him as food or cultivation resource.

The pair left the strange forest and icefield area after a few months. Ryl continued to show incredible growth and intelligence.

The more shocking aspect was Ryl seemed to have a better sense of their surroundings than he did! His aura was far beyond their animal senses, yet on 3 occasions, Ryl knew something was hiding in the tundra or revived forest lands.

They were all beasts good at hiding but far too weak to be a threat to Lind. He realized he had grown complacent about the difference in power between him and other beasts.

It reminded him to be more careful as he was living proof of what a weaker cultivator could achieve against more powerful forces.

Their journey was mostly him as an observer and occasionally teaching Ryl how to grow stronger. It was enjoyable but he needed to try and find inspiration or a lead to his next Mystery. Thus far, he had nothing.

Ryl was growing once more as well. Wolves could be huge even before they began cultivating, yet Ryl left them in the dust! They easily became 4 meters long from nose to tail with their standing height just below his own head!

Such explosive growth was more in line with dragons. Once they reached a tipping point, their bodies would leap ahead from very small to nearly full size in a handful of years.

The hibernation was likely the preparation for that growth as Ryl’s appetite did not get exponentially higher with their size.

A rather mundane life was not bad. Back home, Lind had been bogged down with issues as he was the leader of his family the Blessed Crimson Range. While his wives and friends had official positions, there were always those that wanted to see him.

Aside from his seclusions or studies to get a possible lead on his next Mystery, his life had become rather burdensome outside of family time.

Ryl had no complications. They were a pack and that was all that mattered. Lind did not dislike it.

They traversed most of the fringes of the Northern Continent where few had been in several epochs. They were also undamaged during the war. He hoped to find ancient Ruins, maybe a special realm but he had no luck.

While there were signs of possible sects or cities, they were quite normal. Any vaults were long plundered or spoiled by the freezing over of the continent long ago.

Ryl also suddenly seemed to learn how to play dumb. They were happy to hunt, fight, or even nap, yet if Lind wanted to go investigate somewhere, they suddenly seemed to not understand him!

It seemed Ryl preferred the open forests and ice shelf. They really enjoyed the snow! He more than once had to dig them out of a drift they had dove into as they could not fly!

Never an ounce of regret in their eyes, ever! Lind scolded them but not too harshly.

It was somewhere around 2 centuries later that Ryl became a Diamond Tier. The tribulation was decent but Lind narrowed his eyes as the final bolts of lightning repeated the previous pattern.

Wolf, dragon, and one more. The last one did not feel like a beast. It was not a harmonic nor anything else he recognized, yet it had to be something. Heaven and Earth did not cast out random lightning.

Ryl went into hibernation again. It took 500 years that time. The increase in interval for advancement and hibernation concerned him. The dragon blood was their original foundation so their lifespan was much longer than a wolf, yet he was unsure if the fusion would cause an issue with their lifespan.

They felt very young still to his senses, but he took nothing for granted.

He also began to seriously study them. They should start to show greater intelligence that close to the Sky Realm.

What shocked him was they did not increase in size but in power! Their body was much stronger and far more agile. If Ryl wanted, they would be a one person pack! The mix of illusions and speed were lethal.

Even Lind, a Divine Realm, found it hard to keep up physically. His aura could cut through it all, yet the true shock was the sensation.

Ryl’s aura was much clearer. Before, Lind could feel dragon and wolf smoothly coming off them but now it was different. Ryl was changing!

His eyes sparkled. Ryl was fascinating and Lind resumed investigating. The pair no longer traveled so closely.

Ryl would head out and hunt for weeks before coming back. He could see they were trying to work something out at the same time as Lind studied some inscriptions but it was just records of the past or crude formations.

Another few decades and Ryl was suddenly no longer hunting. Lind noticed but they did not seem hurt or in distress. The tail wagged when he glanced over but the dark eyes simply watched him.

It was when he finally got a hint of a possible special realm that Ryl howled and caused him to look back. He was confused but they were wagging their tail like a whirlwind.

He cocked his head and approached them.

It was only when he got close that he froze in shock.

In a large gray stone protruding from the frozen soil, he saw marks. He knelt down and realized they were in the same style as the inscriptions he had been studying but they were not formations.

They were words!

{Ryl is happy}

{I love pack leader!}

{I want to play forever!}