It took a while, but Mutasm eventually got control of his extremities and well, everything below his neck. “Damn rabbit, causing me problems even after death,” cursed Mutasm to himself. Slowly getting up, he looked around the area he had been laying in. If the being was kind enough to transport him and the rabbit, then his ropes should be here too. Finding them closer to the forest line, he got up with a stumbling gait and, as fast as his electrified body could take him, he grabbed them then hurried back to the rabbit.

Mumbling to himself as many curses as he could think of about the rabbit, his left eye kept twitching from the remaining static energy in his body. Taking his time, he tied the end of a rope - with extreme caution - to the back foot of the massive critter and the other end onto his left hand. Keeping the length as short as possible, walked towards the handholds and began to climb. Everytime he extended his right arm a sharp pain erupted from the wound to his side. Once he reached the platform, he quickly sat down with a groan of pain, he needed to clean the wound then cauterize it. He did not need an infection to add to his growing list of worries.

Closing his eyes, he pushed his body through the pain and made it to the ledge. Hiding behind the wall, he peered in. Wondering what cute antic had the little girl done this time. But as his eyes adjusted, he found her in the fence and soundly asleep under a bright pink blanket. The day had been pretty bad until now, but seeing that scene made him feel like it was worth it. He needed to skin and gut the animal, but without her noticing, so finding her asleep was fortuitous; he couldn't have her watch as he cut up an animal and blood splattering everywhere.

Groaning, he flicked his forehead, he should have done all that when he was down there. How was he supposed to clean the mess if he did it inside the cave? Pulling the animal behind him, he lowered it down to the ground from the edge of the ledge. Walking back into the cave, he quietly snuck through to his stash of branches and pot of warm and clean water. Grabbing a few of the sturdier stick, he also tied the pot of water with ropes. Taking them with him, he threw the sticks down and lowered the water carefully. Splashing a bit, he almost dropped it by wincing in pain from the wound.

As the pot landed, he kept the long ropes on the ledge so he can easily pull the pot back up. Sighing, he walked down the platform, but as he was about to lower himself to the first handhold, a pulse of green light shot out from the wisp above him. Sitting there he looked around confused, didn't it flash last time because a predator was going to attack him? Narrowing his eyes, he watched the area around him - from the tree line until the rabbit he had yet to prepare.

Yet, nothing stood out except the green flashing light. For a while, nothing happened, and Mutasm's confusion grew with it. But, with a sudden blast of light that seemed to cover the entire world, he felt an extreme amount of wind suddenly assaulted him. Almost pushing him down from the platform. Waving his hands around, he scrambled to grab anything to prevent his fall. Just as quickly as the wind arrived, it disappeared, leaving him with a better chance at regaining his balance. With great luck, his hands found purchase on a lonely handhold above the platform. Grabbing it with the tips of his right hand, he pulled with everything he could. Given enough time, he put his left on the edge of the platform and pulled himself up.

Instead of sitting, he fell to his stomach clutching the wound. He made it wider with using that much strength on his right hand. A small whimper of pain escaped his lips, but he was determined to keep his mouth shut, the last thing he needed to do was attract anything with his cries or even worse, wake up the little girl. If she sleeps, then he sleeps. A few minutes of deep breathing and biting his lips was all it took to have him getting up. The pain wasn't as extreme as he was used to, then again he had never been cut that badly before. Putting it out of his mind, he slowly climbed down the handholds and came to his things. A lot of water had splashed out from the pot because of the wind, but it was enough to clean the animal after the gutting and skinning.

After a long and arduous session of cutting up the cute and fluffy rabbit, Mutasm had clean strips of meat, a large piece of fluffy rabbit hide he had cleaned up and hung on the ledge to dry, and a two and a half foot long unicorn's horn. Mutasm planned to carve it into a bone sword. But that would be a tough task, he couldn't directly touch the horn, especially the bulge - completely circular and a bit larger than a tennis ball - near the end that was hidden by the fluff and skull of the rabbit. Unlike the creamy white of the horn, the bulge was golden with swirls of light blue. It seemed to shine a brilliant gold, but with the sun's intense rays unabated by any clouds or a canopy of leaves and branches, it was difficult to tell.

The bulge was also, Mutasm found out after zapping himself three times in a row, the part that caused the shock when he touched the dead animal. It seemed to be the energy source it relied on to fight. He also guessed that when he fought it, the so-called energy had been channeled into the horn. Giving it an incredible sharpness that caused the cut in his side by simply grazing it. It was incredibly potent and made Mutasm giddy with joy at the thought of carrying a lightning sword. And even the thousand-year-old blade of the whittling knife had a hard time causing any mark on it.

“Those devil rabbits won't be able to threaten me anymore. And I can finally have a reliable source of meat,” said Mutasm enthusiastically to himself. Accomplishing this was a significant boost to his self-esteem and moral. Having reached the lowest point ever in his life, he had somehow made it until this point alive. Giving a small prayer, he thanked whoever was looking after him, whether it be by coincidence or plan.

But as he prayed, another flash of green light erupted from above him. Unlike before, these pulses were much stronger, forcing Mutasm to close his eyes every time. “What's going on?” Screamed Mutasm to himself. Not expecting a response, he jumped at the blast of sound that exploded around him. An incredible amount of wind pressed on him, and with the roar, that was so powerful he felt pushed a little and enough to fall on his back, Mutasm knew there was a predator, and the green light was going to save him one more time. Staring up at the sky, the green flashes getting faster and faster, Mutasm saw what caused this to happen, up above, swooping down towards him was a butterfly. Yes, the scene made little sense, but considering the butterfly had a wingspan that was at least forty feet. That was what it seemed like because it blotted out a large portion of the sky.

Mutasm did not really focus on any details, because the only thing he could seem to see was the mouth full of brown and red teeth and its grasping long and thin limbs that were utterly black; all of it was covered by the rhythmic pulsing of light. Teeth chattering and body frozen, he watched as it got closer faster every second, and directly proportional to that, the speed of the pulsing light increased. It butterfly had come so close to him that he could smell the rot and death that oozed from the butterflies mouth. Its long limb reached out and almost touched him, only a few feet away, but before it could grab him, an all-encompassing green light covered the entire area once again. Forced to shut his eyes, he curled up into a ball, clutching his shaking hands he put them to his chest. A few seconds passed, but nothing occurred. No death maw began chewing on him, nor did any grasping limbs grab him. Shivering in his spot, he stayed there as the green light faded away. Even though he knew it was probably gone, he stayed huddled there to afraid the butterfly was still coming for him.

“D-Damn this horrific world! H-How am I supposed to survive? H-how?” He questioned to himself as tears began to slowly crawl down his cheeks. The pain in his chest seemed to grow, a sadness he never felt before started to creep across his heart. A depression took hold, his lack of ability to get food, clean clothes, a comfy home, even shoes made it all the worse.

Sniffing, he tried to sob as quietly as possible. He probably would have died the very first night if he hadn't found the cave, and even then it just delayed the inevitable. Maybe he should just end it all himself, a better way to go than being eaten alive by some monstrosity. As this line of thought continued to spiral down to the ways he could end it, a particular image bloomed in his mind. One of the little girl rolling in absolute bliss, utterly oblivious to the many issues they were bound to face.

I can't leave her alone. She-she would die if I ended this all. I promised her mother I would take care of her.

Thought Mutasm, grabbing the last strings of hope with all his might. How could he leave such a cute little girl to a fate filled with death; slow and agonizing, considering she was stuck in the cave alone for eternity. She might die of starvation, dehydration, or from the freezing cold of the night. Imagining her shivering in the cave, while the light blankets covered her. Tears slowly dripping down her eyes, and tiny sniffles from a cold that had begun to take hold. Confused by why Mutasm had yet to return to the cave and worried he might have gotten hurt. That image stuck, in his mind. Try as he might, but it would not go away. He just couldn't leave her to her fate.

If he couldn't continue to live for himself, then at the very least he would live for her, or until she became old enough to take care of herself. Then he could just fade away from it all to a peaceful and uninterrupted existence. With a sudden entrance into his mind, she had become the most important thing to him mentally. If she were gone, then he wouldn't have a reason to continue living in a world that seemed to want to kill him at every moment.

The little girl had literally become his Hope.