It was pitch dark. Yet, Lazarus could still make out the silhouette of large tree trunks. The leaves rustled and the winds whistled as it slipped through the gap in the leaves. Despite the blanket Lazarus covered himself with what he found on the wagon, it was still very cold.

The hard wood pressed against his back made him uncomfortable. It was very different from the soft bed he was used to in the castle. He could hear the beating of wings unseen, distant howling and very strange noises he’s never heard before; overpowering all these was the pounding of his heart.

The more he stared at the dark tree trunks the more he felt something coming for him.

Lazarus hid beneath the blankets.

He’d never thought that after Falon had left him that it finally sunk in that he was alone. He could feel something sticking to the corner of his cheeks. Probably the dried up tears. He curled to a ball and lied still.

No more did he feel grief as fear overtook his entire body. He shivered and breathed heavily. Sometimes holding his breath when he’d heard unfamiliar sounds but breathing very carefully when he needed some air.

The night continued on and it felt like it would last forever.

!

*Creak-Thud–Creak-Thud* The sound of wood creaking and heavy footsteps could be heard.

Lazarus’ stomach dropped to his knees. Was something here?

Lazarus held his breath and listened intently.

*Creak-Thud-Creak-Thud*

It was growing closer.

He needed to breathe.

The whistling of the wind was gone. The rustling of the leaves too. The world had gone silent.

Lazarus felt goosebumps.

What was happening?

The presence didn’t feel like it was there anymore…

Carefully, he peeked his head from the blanket.

Lazarus’ heart stopped when he saw a big tall silhouette of a man standing above him.

The two stared at one another but all Lazarus could see was a shadow. The shadow lunged at him.

“NOooooooooo!!” He screamed. He kicked and pushed and he felt the cloth being removed from him.

Lazarus’ eyes shot open. He was panting but-.... It was no longer dark.

He looked around, there was no big man. He could see the large brown tree trunks bathed in the soft light from the beam of the sun that passed through the gap between the leaves.

“O-only a dream..?” Lazarus muttered and breathed a sigh of relief. So it was only a dream. He must’ve fallen asleep while he was hiding beneath his blanket at some point.

It was a relief…But-..

Lazarus looked around once more to the trees and vegetation that surrounded him.

That’s right… he was alone now.

It’s what Emilia wanted-...

It was what she agreed to.

Reisha was more important than him after all.

Lazarus felt a bitter sensation in his mouth. Maybe it was better if that big man was real and really took him. They didn’t need him right? So wasn’t it fine if he disappeared?

These thoughts continued to spiral in Lazarus’ mind till his stomach sang,

*Grumble-grumble*

He sighed and pushed himself up.

Lazarus looked around the Wagon and in the corner he saw a bag. He opened it to see a brown wrinkly thing just a bit thicker than paper. He touched it, and realized it was dry.

-’What is this?’- He sniffed it and it smelled like some sort of meat.

At first Lazarus took a bite and didn’t like it. It was hard and stretchy and tasted like leather. He tried to find some other thing to eat, but after rummaging through everything, he frowned. “Falon only packed these things??”

Of course Lazarus chose not to eat it and just went down from the Wagon.

It was still being encased in a film of transparent red light and was hovering an inch above the ground and so Lazarus began towing it wherever. For some reason, he didn’t want to be near the entrance to the forest. It felt like he was exposed and so he ventured deeper.

It was peaceful for the most part and he could hear the occasional chirping of the birds and some rustling.

“Hmm?” Lazarus looked behind him. He heard something snap but seeing as there wasn’t anything there, he chalked it up to imagination.

There were a great deal of flowers and vegetation he’d seen for the first time. He thought he’d be more excited to see them, but instead he only felt a melancholic feeling in his heart.

His hunger eventually grew too much to bear and he forced himself to chew on the hard stretchy leather tasting meat. He kept eating and eating until he was full but he hated every second of it.

After climbing over large roots that dwarfed him and stumbling on uneven ground, Lazarus eventually arrived at a lake.

It was crystal clear and it stretched in a wide oval that was as big as the palace gardens.

“Woahh…” Lazarus muttered in amazement. This place seemed like a good place to be his base and so he tied the hovering Wagon to a small tree. It wasn’t knotted but just spun around the tree multiple times.

There was a strange apprehension Lazarus felt as he looked at the lake. He felt like he wanted to jump in but he was afraid to be scolded.

…Wait…

He looked around. No one was watching him.

That’s right… since he was by himself, couldn’t he do whatever he wanted?

Lazarus went to the lake and looked around once more. Just to make sure.

Then he knelt down and he could see the bottom. It wasn’t very deep and so he plunged a finger in.

“Cold…”

Maybe he can go in later?

Lazarus took a deep breath. He really could do whatever he wanted. This realization made him feel something well up in his chest. A surge he couldn’t describe.

Maybe he could explore the forest? He already had a good spot to stow his carriage so wasn’t it fine?

Lazarus began walking around, occasionally he’d noticed some interesting things and observe them but after a while he’d get bored and move on to the next. He continued exploring for a good while till it was midday and he got hungry.

“I should head back.” He said to himself and looked back. He remembered going past that tree and so he went there. As he continued on, and on he felt something churn within his stomach.

“D-didn’t I pass through here?” Lazarus looked at the path between two large trees. He was sure he passed through here. But why did it look so different?

He continued on his path.

At this point he began looking around as he went. Hoping to maybe see some traces of the exotic flowers he saw. Maybe…

He turned back and stopped.

From a distance he could see an animal. He could see it’s eyes properly but it looked like the color yellow. It had white fur and a half moon pattern on its side and it was on all fours with upright ears. It’s muzzle was pointed low on the ground and seemed to be eyeing Lazarus himself. That looked like,

“A moon wolf?”

It seemed to freeze and so too did Lazarus. He had an urge to pet it but he also read about them before. A few novels would mention them and sometimes the heroes of the story would encounter a pack of them and would easily dispatch them. Since it was only one, maybe it wasn’t that dangerous.

Lazarus continued walking away and would occasionally glance at the moon wolf. It seemed like it was following him. He’d read some tales that occasionally these creatures would become pets of the main character but that would usually happen to the very big moon wolves. Not the ordinary ones, and this one seemed ordinary. But it was still bigger than what Lazarus imagined.

Still, his main concern was to find the Wagon.

He continued to look around and felt antsy. Was he lost?

It was starting to get frustrating.

Lazarus sighed and continued on until he arrived at a clearing. There was a large moss covered rock beside a tree that was leaning sideways. Seeing as he was tired, he went over and leaned against the tree.

It was uncomfortable. The roots were above the ground and twisting in very complex ways. It made sitting impossible and so he leaned on the moss covered rock.

Lazarus frowned. He had slid a bit because of the moss and he could feel some of it sticking to his back.

“Urgh..” He felt his head grow hot. He looked at the spot and sure enough, some of the moss was removed from it. But…

The creases on his brows furrowed further. The area where the moss was removed from was a faded white smothered in brown things. But it didn’t look like a rock. What was it?

Lazarus looked around and found a rock. He wiped the moss with the rock since he didn’t want to get his hands dirty and it made a sharp sound that made him wince. Bad idea.

No rock made that kind of sound. He wiped it with his hands and it was this faded white color all over. He hit something. He looked at a small square surface on the strange rock and frowned. He wiped it clean and smothered it in some moss but unlike the rest of the strange rock, it wasn’t a faded white, but instead a black color of some sort.

“What is this..?” Lazarus asked himself, staring at a hand pattern on the black surface. He placed his hands on it, but it was clearly too big for him as the pattern dwarfed his small hands.

A red light appeared and went down on his hands. Lazarus quickly pulled back and shouted, “Wha-!? What the hell is that!?”

The black surface beeped a few times.

“Access denied. Unauthorized prints.” - A deep reverberating voice sounded.

“What..? Is someone there?” Lazarus asked, confused by the sound that sounded like from a man but at the same time, it didn’t. But it was clearly human, it just spoke in a language he didn’t understand.

There was a strange whirring sound. And a lump that was on top of the black surface turned to him and a small red light began flickering.

“Is someone there..?” Lazarus asked again, feeling a sense of apprehension and excitement. If someone was there, maybe they could help him find his wagon? “Excuse me? Is someone there..?” he called out again.

But there was no response.

Maybe if….

Lazarus placed his hand against the big hand pattern again. The red light appeared again on the black surface and went up and down on his hand, but this time he didn’t remove it.

“Access denied. Unauthorized prints.” - A deep reverberating voice sounded.

“So you are there!” Lazarus accused, “Can you please help me?”

There was no response.

Lazarus kept repeating the steps and no matter what he did, it only responded with the very same tone and some ancient language Lazarus couldn’t understand. He sighed. When he looked to the sky, it was already growing dark and he was hungry.

Lazarus plopped back down to the ground. He needed help to get back to his wagon but the man behind the stone wouldn’t say anything else.

“Hmm?” Lazarus muttered when he saw a pair of yellow eyes eyeing him. Was that the moon wolf? There were two?

For some reason, Lazarus was feeling something primal within himself, telling him he needed to get away.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness, nothing but the dark outlines of the trees and leaves could be seen from a distance. In the midst of the coldness of the night, was a subtle source of illumination. Moonlight seeped through the gap between the leaves. The only saving grace from this sinister night.

A young boy stood alone in the middle of the dark forest, quivering in fear. He could make out silhouettes of beasts lurking behind the trees, hiding, and watching him. Although he could brush it off as something shiny glowing in the dark --...as much as he’d like to believe it to be so -- the pair of yellow gleaming eyes that seemed to glow like shiny marbles, staring at him told his instincts otherwise.

His vision was limited, adding terror to his lurching heart. His chest battered like a drum as he gingerly looked around.

He did not know what it was, but he could tell it wanted him. It’s stare awoke the survival instincts within himself, gushing adrenaline throughout his shaking body, preparing him to run as fast as his legs could take him.

‘-*Scurch-’

He immediately jerked his head to where he heard the grass crunch.

One-two-three-.... There were too many to count. There were more of those beasts. And the particular beasts he stared at froze, it stood in place with its paw in the air, like a statue.

‘-*Crunch *Crunch-’

Lazarus immediately jerked his head in the other direction. Although the scenery from before was the same as it was now, he felt that the silhouettes were somehow closer than before. Was it just his imagination?

He glanced to see the first one he had turned to. And sure enough, its paws were already down on the ground and this time, it was much closer.

A growl resounded, more pairs of yellow gleaming eyes opened -- approaching, surrounding him. And at the sight of this, Lazarus’s hair stood up.

Adrenaline shot through the veins of Lazarus as he turned and bolted. ”Haaaaaaahhhh!!!”

Left, right, left, right. With each stride, he stomped hard and fast. His body felt afloat from the speed.

*Pata pata pata pata*

Grass crunched rapidly behind him. The sound grew louder and louder. Whatever was after him was closing in.

Adrenaline shot through his chest, Lazarus’s stride grew faster.

*Pata pata pata pata*

Lazarus glanced to his right as he continued his sprint, and his head numb at the despairing sight. He saw a pair of yellow gleam, attached to a body of a large four legged furry creature, it jogged in fours as it stalked him.

“Hwua!!” Yelped the child as his right foot bashed against something hard, falling with a ‘thud’.

The sounds that pursued him stopped.

His body could not feel the pain as he was still in shock, he only felt as if he was suddenly pushed and he hit a wall with a soft impact. Lazarus hurriedly pushed himself up, stomped as hard as he could and continued his sprint.

“Heeelppp!” Lazarus screamed as he ran. “Someone please help!!”

There was no response. Only the sound of his footsteps stomped on the ground.

“Anyone!! Please help!! Help meee!!”

Nothing.

Lazarus felt his heart sink.

-’What did I do to deserve this??’-

-’Why?’-

-’Why Mom? Why me?’-

-‘… Why…..’-

His heart sank deeper and deeper. And the only thing that came to his mind was the figure of a beauty with black hair. Her sapphire blue eyes furrowed in anger before she looked away.

-’ It wasn’t my fault…. It wasn’t my fault!!’-

Lazarus’s sunken heart suddenly burned. White hot rage erupted from the pit of his stomach. But amidst his fury, tears welled up in his eyes. Then it flowed and wet his eyes, down to his cheeks.

He was going to die. All because he had done something that he himself didn’t want to do.

Was he really at fault?

Lazarus clenched his teeth and continued his stride, determined to survive. Even as his sides hurt from running too much, even as sharp stabbing pains thrusted his stomach with every breath he took. He ran.

A shadow suddenly sprang from the corner of his vision. He glanced to the side, in that split second he saw teeth. His right vision darkened as something suddenly clenched close.

*Grawrgh!*

Sharp pain of a needle through the eye assaulted Lazarus, as razor hot knives dug into a part of his right face. His right eye socket was wet. The scent of iron lingered as he suddenly felt his body forcefully brought down from the side by something heavy, gripping his face like a vice.

“Waaaaaaarrggghh!!!” Lazarus screamed in pain. As it chewed and thrashed him around, the teeth that dug through the child’s skull felt like thick metal with razor blades attached, crushing down on his skull.

A wolf twice his size had already bit half of his face. More and more of its companions surrounded Lazarus. The wolves crunched his hand, his feet, his legs, and even his stomach.

They clenched down from every side, pulling, smashing, biting every inch of Lazarus they could. Even as Lazarus screamed, even as he flayed, struggled and wailed. They continued to feast.

Pain spread across his body. Pain he had never felt before. Pain he had never thought he’d experience.

But his already despairing heart sank even deeper into despair as he felt something hot flow out from him from everywhere he was bitten.

Blood splattered the grass, dying it in red. As Lazarus felt a burst of raw power from his heart, he screamed atop his lungs.

“Heelp!! Herllllppp!!! He-.. he rrlllpp!!”

With wolves biting even his mouth only incomprehensible screams could be heard.

“Hrwbwraooaaawwww!!!!”

Alone in this deep dark forest, no one was there for him, no one cared for him.

-- N-No…. No…

“Raaaaagghhh! Uwaaaahhh !! waaaaaah!!” Lazarus simply cried, tears and blood flowed down to his torn cheeks. As he was eaten alive, the agonizing pain slowly became numb. His consciousness slowly drifting into darkness.

He resigned himself to his faith. He had never thought he’d deserve this, but if that’s what everyone around him thought, then he could only damn them from the afterlife.

He could no longer feel the pain, it was just nudging at this point but he could clearly feel parts of him being torn. He could not see, but he felt something long being pulled from his stomach and torn apart. It felt surreal, how was he no longer able to feel the pain?

In his muddled thoughts, he heard the sound of steel bashing steel with a loud ‘clung!’

What was that sound? It wasn’t a sound he was familiar with.

The earth beneath him shook. It was as if a giant was walking towards him. He could tell, as the tremors grew stronger.

The wolves had stopped munching on him.

“*&^%$#$%^&”

There was a sound he could not make out. He didn’t care.

Lazarus was tired. He couldn’t feel anything.

He gave up.

Then…the world went dark.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------