It’s… Not everyday that you experience death in its most cruelest form…

It’s...like a saturization of our self-worth, nestled in a ball of cosmic uncertainty…

Frankly… It’s terrifying…

A young boy dark in skin, red in eyes, and white in hair, opened his eyes to find he was staring up at a blue sky; a sky that was unfamiliar to him.

He sat up slowly, leaning forward, sweat pouring from his temples.

“Where am I?” He thought as he surveyed his surroundings, only finding dense forest on either side of him. “How did I get here?”

Memories, of which were fleeting to him, surfaced. He remembered something, or at least a fragment of that something. A voice, an angelic one. Soothing his soul.

“You, Filius Agni, are but a lost child. Blackened by the heart of Mundus.”

“Filius Agni? Lost child? Heart of Mundus? What the hell?” These questions boggled the boy’s mind as he began to ponder more on these memories, but his ponderance would soon come to end at the appearance of a beast.

This beast, a quadrupedal mammal similar to that of a wolf, emerged from the brush.

This wolf-like creature sports several runic symbols across the torso (down to the tail) each seemly etched as if it were apart of its fur. His head had a downward facing crescent symbol also similarly etched. However, the points of the crescent met the eyes, of which were forward facing.

“Oh fuck!” Thought the boy as he quickly scrambles to his feet, slowly backing away from the runic wolf.

The beast snarls and growls as he reared its body, seemingly ready to pounce the boy.

The red-eyed boy glanced around, wondering if there was a way to escape. And sure enough, he would find one.

There was a break in the trees to his right.

He glances between the break and wolf, and immediately leapt for the break.

The wolf tries to leap for the boy at the same moment as the boy leaps for the break.

There was a moment of silence.

Time slows as each took their breath, breathing in and out in a rapid succession.

And, before long, time would resume with the boy winning the gamble and sliding into the break. However, the boy did not account for the fact that the break in the trees was a downward decline. As such, he found himself rolling down a hill at an increased rate of speed, hurting himself as he went.

After about ten seconds of rapid falling, his body finally comes to a stop before a running river, rocks and other hard sediment acting as a beach.

He coughs abit, feeling his lungs partially swell as he realized he suffered some major damage. He also felt that some of the bones in his body were broken (particularly a rib, and a bone somewhere in his right leg).

He assesses the damage done to his body, only to find that his mobility had been impaired. “I don’t know where I am, or how I got here and I’m already like this… Speaking of which… Why am I like 5?!”

He has finally gotten around to looking at himself. He could see that he was a boy, and a very young one at that.

Nevertheless, the sight of him being merely five years of age did not deter him from trying to figure out how he was going to get out of this mess. “There must be something that I can do--”

His thought process was interrupted when the snarling sound of a wolf-like beast, appeared from behind him (as the boy was leaning up against a tree at this point).

The snout of the creature lurches into his periphery to his right, and its eyes, golden yellow in hue, stares down upon him.

He stares up in shock and disbelief. “Is this how I’m going to die!?”

The runic wolf came around the tree and bit at the boy, who defended himself by lifting up his left arm. As he did this it was caught in the monster’s mouth, ripping it to shreds before long; throwing the boy quite aways.

His body lands in the middle of the river, and is carried downstream.

He floats there, amongst the water, having lost an arm and dying to blood-loss. “This isn’t what I imagined how I go out.. Dying to some freakishly huge wolf.. Great..”

His eyes would slowly close as the same blue sky he saw before became watery and eventually murky.

★ ★ ★

When he opened his eyes again, the blue in the sky had become a void-filled black (only counteracted by the wide array of beautiful stars).

However, instead of ending up in a place where he was surely to die, he saw a fiery light flickering to his left.

“A firepit?”

He moved his head over to see the fire, and saw that there were other humanoids sitting around it.

He would reach out with his left arm, but found that he couldn’t feel anything there.

At the realization that his arm was now missing, he screamed in shock; alerting the group to his awakening.

“Oh look,” one of them said, “The boy is awake!”

“Quick sedate him!” Another exclaimed.

A burly gentleman came over and gestured something.

Suddenly, the boy became calm and comprehensive.

“Geez,” one of them sighs, “You really gave us a scare.”

A woman comes over, caucasian in skin tone but red in hair, she looks to be pregnant.

“I almost didn’t think you were going to make it if it weren’t for Sern there.” She gestures to the tall, burly, and intimidating-looking man. “However you’re safe now.. There’s no monsters here.. This place of the forest has been cleared of monsters.. Can you speak?”

The boy thought of if he could speak, and then shook his head at the realization.

“Well at least you understand Common,” she came over to the boy and sat down in front of him, “Which is good considering where we found you.”

He tilts his head slightly. “What does she mean?”

She blinked a few times, obviously surprised by the ignorance of the child, but sighs knowingly. “We found you in the Corrupted part of the forest, where monsters are known to wander in search of mortal flesh.”

The boy, surprised by this revelation, begins to think back to the wolf he saw.

“You encountered a monster didn’t you?”

He nods.

“Was it a wolf with runes along its body?”

He nods once more.

“Then you must’ve faced the Rune Wolf.”

“Rune Wolf? That’s what that thing was?”

“The Rune Wolf is the strongest form of naturally born corrupted beasts.”

Yet another shocking revelation comes to him.

“We were surprised that you survived in the encounter. Most travelers who come across a Rune Wolf don’t usually survive, but I can definitely see why it made you a target. A small helpless child, all alone? Easy prey.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Either way,” another voice cuts in, “He’s alive now and under our protection..”

“But we have to do something about that arm,” an elven man, too beautiful to be considered male in stature, came over and examined the limbless socket, “He won’t be able to do anything without a left arm. Even if we bring him to Hollowden.”

The pregnant redhead sighed softly. “Do you have any spells that could regrow lost limbs Ariendal?”

“I’m afraid I do not.. I spent my last spell healing this kid’s wounds.”

“We’ll just have to make a prosthetic for the time being. Sern,” she glances over to the burly gentleman, “Build us a simple prosthetic with what materials you have left in the cart.”

Sern nodded and went off to do as he was ordered.

“Ariendal,” she looks over to the elf, “You go ahead and start your watch. I’ll stay with the boy, and watch over camp.”

Ariendal nodded in agreement before packing his things and stepping out of the light of the campfire.

As the redhead spoke, the boy gradually became tired and by the time she finished he was fast asleep.

★ ★ ★

In his dreams, the boy was reliving the days events.

He woke up in a mysterious place, was attacked by a monstrous wolf, had his left arm ripped off, and nearly died of drowning and blood loss.

Then, he was picked up by a group of people who all looked to be from a fantasy game or novel.

There was an elf, too beautiful to be considered male. A redheaded human woman who was deep in her pregnancy. And a mountainous man who seemed far too tall to be considered human by normal standards.

However, as he was reliving the events, something kept scratching at him. A mental itch that seemed almost too painful to let go.

“Who am I? Where am I? How am I this young? Who are these people? What’s a Rune Wolf? What’re Spells? What’s any of this!?”

These nagging questions kept eating at him. His mind slowly descending further and further into a state of confusion and self-doubt.

But before he could be consumed by the inky darkness of his own subconscience, he awoke with a start.

He shot up from his place by the fire and saw that no-one was around.

As he glanced around the campsite, he could see that his left arm now had a steel contraption that didn’t move and was cold against his skin.

“Where did those three people go?”

He tried to get up, but didn’t realize that he had splint along his broken leg. Thus he had trouble moving properly.

He fell forward onto the dirt the moment he got up, but corrected himself as he hobbled around the campsite looking for anyone.

He saw that the cart, the redhead spoke of, was still here but everyone’s belongings were gone. “Did they leave without telling me? No… That couldn’t be right… They wouldn’t just leave me like that.. Would they?”

He looked around and saw that there were footprints leading into the dense brush. He, of course, followed. However before he followed the trail, he scavenged the cart for a weapon of some sort, and found a shortsword that was a little too heavy for him. “This’ll do for now..”

Thus he followed the trail which flowed through several forested hills, and creeks, the scenery only being lit up by the two moons that hung high in the night’s sky.

★ ★ ★

He traveled for quite a distance before the trail eventually dissipated, leaving him to look around and survey his surroundings.

And for the first few moments of searching, he couldn’t see anything. That is, until he noticed a blood splatter against tree and corpse that was torn to shreds at several points throughout the torso.

The boy, obviously horrified by the scene, slowly inched over to the corpse; sword shaking as he went.

Upon closer inspection, the corpse turned out to be the elf from before.

His horror deepened as he began hurriedly limping around to search for the redhead and mountainous man.

★ ★ ★

The searching last for several seconds before the boy came upon the body of the mountainous man. This corpse had its limbs strewn about the forest floor; the main torso being torn upon by vicious claw marks.

Disgusted by the visage, the boy vomited.

This lasted for about of a minute. A minute of fearful crying and vomiting.

After the minute came and went, he gathered himself as he tried to steel himself against the possibility that the redhead might be gruesomely dead as well.

“Judging by the claw marks… It must’ve been the Rune Wolf I encountered earlier…”

He wandered around for a while before hearing a gut-wrenching scream from his right.

He immediately limped as fast as he could in that direction.

But by the time he got there, he was already too late.

He came upon the scene of the Rune Wolf eating the woman’s unborn child and then ripping the woman’s head off with its maw.

He stood there as the beast laid waste to the defenseless woman before it turned its attention to him.

And when it saw him, its fur stood up in a offensive-defensive posture. It seemed afraid of him, but all the while ready to pounce on him if it was provoked.

The boy, deep in his own psyche, felt a click. An epiphany.

The sight of blood, gore, and dread, made him feel... Satisfied…

Like a sort of divine justice was made, and that these “worthless toils of mortal flesh” were nothing more than pawns to push him over the edge. At a very young age as well.

The boy stood there, menacingly, watching the Rune Wolf closely before drawing his attention to the trio of dead mortals and instinctively lifted his hand into air.

Suddenly, and without warning, a greenish-blue essence filtered out from the corpses; mummifying them. This essence coalesced into a ball whereby it was jammed straight into the chest of the boy.

Seconds passed, and the Rune Wolf did not wait for the boy to do something and proceeded to rush him.

Time slowed, and as it did, one could see the limb that he lost was growing back at a rapid pace as was his leg. His eyes glowed a deep shade of crimson, and canines sharpened to that of fangs. His physicalities became near inhuman as he stepped into a dash.

Time resumed as he dashed forward, going under the wolf as it leapt over the boy.

However, what the wolf didn’t realize was that the boy’s short sword was laden with blood and that the boy had made a strike that was imperceivable to the eye.

And, before the wolf even realize what had happened, the creature was reduced to a bloody pile of flesh; leaking into a nearby creek.

His white hair, once short and spiky, was now longer (reaching down to his shoulders).

And yet, when stood among the moons’ light, his appearance returned to a normal state of being. That being no fangs, no glowing red eyes, and shortened white hair.

He quietly stood there as he observed the scene with a surprised expression. “What just happened?”

★ ★ ★

He thought about what just occurred as he sat back at the campsite.

“What did I do?” He thought as he looked at his left hand. “What was that green-blue light? What did I do to that wolf? Who am i!?” He threw the sword aside he gripped his head.

“You’re a monster.”

He looked up from his intense inner monologue and saw the fire, that was still lit, flicker violently.

“You’re a soul blackened by this world’s corruption.. A child born of the blackest of souls. Filius Agni. Son of the Lamb. First Born of the Methuselah.”

“What do you mean??”

“I mean what I say, and say what I mean.”

“Filius Agni? Is that my name??”

“Yes.”

“Son of the Lamb? Child of the Methuselah?”

“Yes.”

“What does that mean?”

“I mean what I say, and say what I mean.”

“THAT DOESN’T HELP ME!!!”

“Of course it doesn’t. I am merely a messenger. I was sent here to tell you who you are. You are Filius Agni. Son of the Lamb. Child of the Methuselah. That is all.”

The violently flickering fire ceases and there’s nothing more that comes from the fire itself.

He sits there, for a few minutes, absolutely mystified by the encounter.

Filius Agni was to be the boy’s name.

Filius stares off into the night for a minute or two more before picking himself up and walking over to the cart. He could see that the horse was currently rearing to leave at a moment’s notice. He looked over at the campfire and campsite and sighed. “Probably should put out the fire at least.”

And he did so, which to him even made more time to ponder his existence.

Although after this was done, he did eventually leave. Carting off through the forest and down a dirt road. Intrinsically heading the direction of civilization, traveling through the night.