The three of them headed toward the worn abandoned buildings, the four remaining wolves whimpering at their side with their heads bowed every step of the way. Leo walked just inside the doorway of the first structure, not trusting the stability of the aged interior.

Inside, decrepit remains of a small kitchen, complete with a collapsed table and a few wooden chairs, rotted away. Place settings and cutlery were scattered across the kitchen floor, along with a spilt cooking pot and its long-spoiled contents that even the wildlife had refused to clean up.

The few decaying walls still standing formed what must’ve once been a bedroom, the remains of the bed just visible under the caved-in roof. Grass, ever the tenacious survivor, had clawed its way up through the remaining rotten floorboards, covering the area in an ageless layer of greenery. Indentations on the grass spoke of bedding where many wolves had once gathered to rest.

Leo stepped away from the structure and walked solemnly down the street to the next one, where he was greeted with a similar sight. Each abandoned house exuded the feeling of panic and urgency. Leftover food and even several tucked away thread-bare clothes that barely managed to escape the deterioration of time, spoke of a hurried escape from whatever disaster befell the poor souls of this village.

A small object underneath a pile of worn-away debris drew his attention. He reached down and gripped its tattered hand-knitted threads, pulling it free from the damp confines of the rubble to reveal the withered form of a doll. His hands trembled as he held the child’s toy, mind unbiddenly bringing up the haunting eyes of the brown-haired girl, damned to spend all eternity as the twisted flesh of an abomination. How many children ended up in that cold nightmarish plane?

As he walked up the cracked stone steps of the main structure, the wolves’ whining turned to a subtle growl, and they darted ahead to bar entry to the rundown mansion. They blocked their path with fangs bared, giving off the unmistakable signs of aggression, just as their bodies trembled with fear. Electricity crackled menacingly across Sparky’s feathers and the Chari’s horn began to swell with power.

The four small canines glanced at each other, their defiance crumbling in the face of such powerful foes, then they darted away, retreating into the depths of the mansion with their tails tucked between their legs.

You have entered Young Forest Wolf Den.

Having been built of a mixture of stone and wood and perhaps just superior craftsmanship, the structural integrity of the mansion and its contents was in much better condition than the rest of the smaller homes. The flooring, although worn, still held with a tenacious strength that few plants found themselves capable of breaching.

He stepped onto the fraying red carpet of the entry hall, noticing the multitude of deep gouges marring the floorboards and marking the pinewood walls. The entryway led into a long, dark corridor that echoed with the whimpering and scampering of the retreating wolves.

He was now faced with a choice. He could follow the wolves to the heart of their den and eradicate all the surviving members of the pack, making the forest that much safer without their presence…or he could leave.

In the end, the wolves had only been protecting their home. That was why he had stopped the Chari from finishing their massacre: He didn’t feel they were in the right. So far, he had only killed to ensure his own survival against creatures who had attacked him first. He knew he was capable of killing for protection but killing for the sake of strength was another matter.

If Asylum really was as brutal as Zeld had made it out to be and Arrivals were truly hunted everywhere they went, he needed to take every avenue open to him to grow stronger. It was the only way he might live long enough to see his sister again.

He pulled Aveth from its sheath. The dried blood of the previous kills he had forgotten to wipe off made the blade stick slightly before coming free. He took in a deep breath, resolving himself for the first of undoubtedly many such gruesome tasks.

A pair of yellow eyes shone through the confines of the dark hallway like the gleaming light of two full moons, as something silently approached to contest their invasion. Leo slipped into his basic defensive stance, preparing for yet another grueling fight as the creature came into sight. The eyes revealed themselves to be a small brown wolf no larger than an eight-week-old pup. It walked timidly into view, growling bravely at the intruders who reeked of its pack’s blood.

Leo’s hands were trembling as he raised his sword high to strike down the small creature. It would only take one clean slice for him to remove this obstacle and continue his trek into the darkness ahead. The pup took a step back as it no doubt sensed the danger, but before it could react, he slammed the sword down.

The newborn forest wolf leapt up in the air with a yip before rushing back the way it had come. He let out a shaky breath, his knuckles white as they clenched the now-sheathed Aveth. Next to him, Sparky let out an excited chirrup at the altercation, while the Chari remained as silent as ever.

I can’t do it, he thought weakly. His lifetime on Earth had built in him a wall of morals he just couldn’t break through. What would Melody think of him if he killed a defenseless creature in its own home? If he didn’t draw the line somewhere, then where would the killing end? He’d end up just another mindless murderer in the cycle of power Zeld had talked about.

Perhaps the native inhabitants of Asylum would jump at the chance for easy experience, but he wasn’t from here and hadn’t grown up with that same cold-blooded mindset. I’ll find a way to achieve my goals without sacrificing who I am in the process, he promised himself, hoping the world wouldn’t find a way to shake his moral foundation.

“Let’s go.” Leo spun and walked out of the building between his two companions. He had dealt with more than enough death for one night.

* * *

The garden was an opulent sea of color, the immense variety of plants just as breathtaking as when he had left the night before. However, that single night had felt like an eternity. Despite the danger of this place, he couldn’t help but smile upon setting foot in the familiar cavern. He was in peak physical health, but his mind was utterly exhausted. If he had the energy to check his notifications, he was sure he’d find a debilitating debuff to explain his predicament, but right now all that mattered to him was collapsing into a soft, safe bed for a fortnight!

He made it down the aged stone path in the direction of Zeld’s cabin, not paying attention to the energetic Thunder Roc busily zapping or pecking every plant she could see. The Chari started to scamper its way up to the cavern ceiling, but quickly fled back down once it caught sight of a particularly dangerous tree at the garden’s center.

It wasn’t long until the line of plants receded, revealing the front porch of a homey, wooded cabin with an old man smoking a pipe while relaxing in a rocking chair. His white eyebrows lifted to form further creases on his already wrinkled face as he took in Leo and his two tailing monsters. “You know, boy, when I asked you to break down my armor, I didn’t think you would be so…thorough…is that shadow cat blood on your face?”

“Sleep first, talk later,” Leo muttered. He was brimming with questions to ask the old geezer, but even forming a coherent sentence seemed to strain his sleep-deprived brain. The first wooden step of the porch creaked as he eagerly stepped up the stairs that would lead him to an actual bed, a gentle smile floating on his face at the thought of finally being able to rest.

A torrent of frigid water ruined that daydream, engulfing his body and squelching a surprised yell from his lips before flinging him down on the grass in a shivering and drenched heap. He flailed on the ground amidst the newly formed pool of freezing cold water for a few seconds like a beached fish, eyes wide and mind in utter shock at the overwhelming complaints of his senses.

“There’s no way in any of the seven layers that I’d let someone with chunks of flesh hanging off them into my cabin.” Zeld spoke huffily, several small orbs of water hovering over his head. “But if you’re so eager for sleep, I suppose we can do a quick clean-up.” A devious smile rose to his lips as he slowly lifted a directing hand at Leo’s horrified form.

It was a bathing nightmare that would brand itself in his memory for all time. After his drowned-out shouts and spluttering breaths subsided, Leo lay curled up in a ball down to nothing except his breeches, his face aghast at his tormentor, who even now was throwing into a pyre his clothes and most of the gear he had fluidly stripped off him during the nonstop hosing.

“And I hope that teaches you a lesson about cleanliness,” the devil incarnate said with a smirk. Leo barely managed to gape up at him in his suffering. “Now for your baths,” Zeld said, his gaze swiveling over to the two filthy threat monsters with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

The Chari took off into the air in a blind panic, fleeing for its life from the crazed old man. The feline didn’t make it more than twenty feet, before Zeld let out a tsk and disappeared in a gust of wind. He reappeared over the Chari’s head, a single finger crooked at the cat. A loud yowl sounded from the normally silent creature, high-pitched and torturous as the cat was sprayed down with a blast of water that sent it flailing to the ground. The Chari still managed to land lightly on its feet, long fur drooped down with the weight of the liquid and looking like a large mop.

Leo failed to suppress a laugh at the prideful creature as it rapidly flicked water off each of its paws with a mournful look. Sparky, being her odd energetic self, was hopping on her feet in anticipation as Zeld slowly walked down on currents of air to the crazy bird. “Oh no, I’ll not let you try and shock me through a continuous current,” he said as he arrived at ground level, before pointing up at a massive ball of water that had secretly gathered above the bird’s head. The chick looked up in surprise just as the enormous sphere of liquid broke apart over her beak.

The now-coated bird gave Zeld a long blink before firing off Arc Bolts in rapid succession with a loud squawk. Zeld didn’t even bother to dodge the bolts but let the lightning splatter uselessly against him as he started walking behind the cabin with a maniacal laugh. “I’ll set some new clothes aside for you on the table after your rest, boy. When you’re ready, come find me out back. I’m sure we have a lot to discuss. Your companions can sleep on the porch until they dry off.” With a wave of his pipe, he rounded the side of the cabin, white robes and a trail of smoke flowing after him.

Leo looked at his miserable group. The Chari was trying to increase her own gravity to dry herself, while Sparky bristled with yellow bolts of lightning that miraculously didn’t reach his own pool of water. He met their silent gazes and a silent accord of vengeance passed among them.