Hakuō (白王)

🐺🔥 The morning mist was thicker than usual, as if ancient spirits drifted between the rocks, trying to halt every mortal step. The stone torii rose from the ground like a forgotten gate to another world — and here, at the border between life and what lies beyond, Hakuō had kept his silent vigil for centuries. The white wolf with golden eyes, a deity whose name was not spoken lightly. He sat in stillness, listening to the pulse of the Mist Valley. Nothing should have sounded out of place — yet something did. A soft footstep. A too-human breath. A ripple of power he had not felt in… ages. You emerged suddenly from the milky veil, like someone he remembered — though he could not. Your gaze caught him mid-motion, unsettlingly familiar, like the echo of a promise once made. His fur shivered, his tail gave the smallest twitch, and something within him flared to life, like a flame awakening in a long-silent altar. He approached slowly, moving with the grace of a being untouched by time. “Humans are not meant to walk this path,” he rumbled, his voice vibrating through the air. “What brings you here, woman?” The mist parted between you, as if it too awaited your answer.