Belday and Ashner, two teenagers around seventeen years old, with green hair and brown eyes, sat in the same tent. Both had lost composure entirely, trembling so violently that the fat on their bodies visibly shook.

Neither were warriors - just food enthusiasts- and now they could do nothing but panic. To be fair, no one could blame them.

Even a hardened man would feel the chill after such a terrifying encounter.

RGAAAH!!! RGAAHH!!! RUSTLE!!!

The creature's speed was overwhelming. It moved so fast that even the massive shadows cast into the endless darkness seemed like nothing more than a blur. If Belday and Ashner hadn't heard the bone-chilling screams of Adrian and Julian-followed by their sudden silence-they might have believed it was all a hallucination. B-ut it wasn't.

This wasn't an illusion. Definitely not.

The creature, whatever it was, moved too quickly for their eyes to fully comprehend. All they could make out was the faint, blurred outline of shadows like some twisted mirage.

Then…It struck.

Rustle! RIIIIPP!!!

One of the tents tore apart violently, followed by the piercing screams of Belday and Ashner.

Their heads were suddenly airborne, torn clean from their bodies, which collapsed with a sickening thud as blood sprayed unceasingly across the dark tent.

The blood pooled on the ground, slowly creeping toward the last tent - the one where Alex and Seraph stayed. The sight of it made their pupils shrink in sheer terror. They wanted heavily, their hearts beating so furiously it felt like they might burst.

Seraph's pulse quickened as the eerie silence of the night was shattered.

He gripped his knife tighter, his knuckles white against the cold steel. His breath misted in the air, heart thudding louder than the rustling leaves surrounding the tents. Shadows flickered in the corner of his vision, dancing unnaturally across the forest floor.

“Seraph, get back here!” Alex's trembling voice was a distant echo, drowned out by the roar of blood pounding in Seraph's ears.

But Seraph couldn't listen. Not now.

Fuck it all! He was done hiding. He was going to face it.

The thing…

The sight before him was beyond anything he had ever imagined…even as a worse nightmare.

It reminded him of the day when he got back home from school, only to see his parent's limbs and visceral flying across the ground.

A figure on its four. Snowy-white body, glistening blue eyes, and a maw of razor-sharp teeth could be seen munching on his parent's bodies. Meat, blood, limbs, and organs included.

He could clearly remember that day….it was a day that he could never forget.

At the Northern edges of Yansen City.

He had frozen at the sight. His hand subconsciously covered his mouth. His breath came out in powerful, short bursts.

Frosty air intertwined with the chilling coldness that pervaded the atmosphere. That day…he felt a cold chill run down his spine, a strange terrifying current coursing throughout his body.

The urge to dash towards it and wrestle with every ounce of strength within him tried to overwhelm him completely. Yet, he held on- tears dripping down the corner of his eyes.

Forcefully biting onto his lower lips, despite the pain that gnawed on his heart to the very depths of his soul. The crazy urge to battle it out with the white wolf.

He did what his parents would have wanted him to do in such a situation. He silently turned back, yet doing that felt too difficult.

His body felt heavy, his steps denser as he slowly walked towards the backdoor.

Each step he took sent silent, unheard echoes across the ground. His heart pounded terrifically, while his blood seemed to have frozen.

Each step more difficult to take than the last. Yet, he knew that he couldn't stay here for too long. The white wolf was busy with its meal - his parents. At the thought of this, veins wriggled crazily across his hands.

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Tears rushed out in abundance while he tried his best to suppress the roar within him.

Tap.

Step.

Just one more step… He thought, taking one more step.

CREAK!!!

He had subtly stepped on a broken wood stained with a dark reddish shade. He suddenly froze in place.

Slowly turning his head backward, a beautiful pair of deep blue eyes was staring coldly at him. Its razor-sharp teeth glistened with an eerie dark liquid.

FUCK…He immediately dashed through the wooden door, slamming it shut.

He dashed forward, running toward somewhere…anywhere.

Anywhere that could stop him from getting killed. As he ran, short, powerful bursts of air escaped his nostrils. His heart raced abnormally fast, the chilling wind gnawing on his skin. Each step he took felt like his last.

Remembering his parents torn clothes, limbs, organs and so much more forced out the tears that he had forcibly suppressed, the sweet memories he had with his parents flashing past him.

How he had promised to take care of them. How he talked about marrying a beautiful lady from one of the noble families. How…he had promised them everything.

Y-et...now. They were gone. Forever. Tears streamed down the corner of his eyes as a loud roar subconsciously escaped his lips.

A roar filled with the pain that gnawed at him.

He could subtly hear the powerful tremors reverberating beneath him.

He didn't need to be told to know that the white wolf was rapidly catching up to him.

Not only that, but as he ran past the gnarled, tall trees, running with everything he had got. The snow beneath his feet sent cold, chilling wind into his feet.

The weird sensation forced him to run faster. He ran and ran… a chilling coldness broke along his spine. Taking a glance- he saw it. The figure of death.

It was rapidly gaining on him. Each stride it took sent it countless feet into the distance.

Despite the burning feeling that swept across his lungs, the fatigue and weariness that held on to him. He still kept going. He knew he couldn't afford to be caught.

I can't die…I don't want to die. His eyes were extremely red at this point.

Three feet behind him…one could see the white wolf with unmistakable clarity. Its figure blurring into shadows that promised suffering and pain of untold horror.

He suddenly made a sharp dart to his left. The white wolf swept past him, its cold white claws skittering across the ground as it forced itself to come to a stop.

Seraph immediately continued running. Short, ragged bursts of air continuously escaped his lips as he struggled to surpass his body's limits.

He felt like collapsing….he felt like giving up. But, he didn't want to die…he knew his parents would want him to live a happy, joyous life. Yet, a part of him felt like giving up, another part of him wanted to go all out against the white wolf. But, he knew that would be plain suicide.

Despite the overwhelming toil of emotions that threatened to break him apart, he was able to maintain a light semblance of reasoning.

Hence, he ran. He ran like his life depended on it. He dashed…turned…rolled and did everything he could. Everything he could just to hold on to that thread of hope. He did every single thing…

And on that day…the day he heard three loud and crisp gunshots. He could say with utmost certainty that he had never felt so relieved…

And the sight before him wasn't less worse.

His hand shot to his mouth, holding back the bile.

This wasn't real…i-t couldn't be real.

And yet, it was. The stench of death, heavy and cloying. He took a shaky step forward, knife held out in front of him as if it could offer any protection.

A sudden blur of motion to his right- faster than his eyes could follow. His heart seized in his chest for a second there. Then came the rustling, louder this time, closer.

He strained to track its movement, his mind screamed for something- anything- that would help him survive. But nothing stood out, save for the occasional rustle of leaves and the bizarre, headache-inducing shadows that swirled around them.

Alex, however, noticed something peculiar. Though he couldn't track the creature's speed, there was a striking feature he was unable to ignore- a pair of yellow eyes, faintly hidden beneath the creature's deep black pupil.

And from what he had noticed, the bright yellow pair of eyes would only unravel themselves when the creature decided to strike. Well, these were just his assumptions anyway. Throughout his entire life… He had never heard of such a wild animal.

That's just illogical and dreadful to say the least. But again… I doubt this is a wild animal. Alex's thoughts ran amok as he shivered subtly, glancing at the supposed battlefield. His body trembling lightly.

WHOOSSSH!!!

A cold rush of wind swept past Alex as though an invisible force had gripped him.

“Seraph! Behind you!” Alex roared, his voice slicing through the suffocating coldness.

Seraph's body tensed as a wave of adrenaline surged through him. He rolled to his left just in time, feeling a sharp sting on his neck. Blood dripping down his skin.

If Alex hadn't warned me. Then I would have died from that strike. Visibly shaken, Seraph's grip on his knife tightened. His palms were sweaty, and his back was drenched in cold sweat. His wariness had intensified.

He didn't want to die. Not like this- not the same way in which they died.

But this…this thing. Whatever it was, was too fast. Too strong. The white wolf was nothing in comparison.

His thoughts spiraled into madness as he fought the rising panic.

And then,

Silence.

A mind-wrenching silence followed forth.

Then, from beyond the tree behind him. Two glowing yellow eyes emerged- unnaturally bright against the ink-blank night.

He could feel it…weirdly enough. The flow of the calm, soothing breeze from behind had grown more violent.

Slowly turning back. His eyes fully took into view the horror-inducing body of the monstrosity.

A primal fear gripped him. Negative primal emotions thrummed in his chest.

This wasn't a wild animal- It was something far worse.

But before Seraph could react, a powerful force slammed into him. Heavy and thick.

The wind was knocked from his lungs as he hit the ground hard. His knife skittered away into the shadows.

His mind raced in a chaotic whirlwind. Panic setting within him.

Seraph gasped, a lump of bile stuck in his throat.

Suddenly… He felt the creature's breath—hot, wet and rancid- on the back of his neck. His mind scrambled for a plan, an idea, a way to survive this predicament. Any plan…but there was nothing.

Nothing came.

There and then…. He knew he was going to die.

Similar to how they had died. In the hands of a monstrous creature.

A savage blow struck his soul and the world went black.

Unwillingness etched across his face.

Alex watched in horror as Seraph collapsed, his body motionless on the ground.

H-e he wanted to say something yet nothing came out of his mouth.

Panting heavily, Alex's eyes widened as the creature slowly stepped toward him. Its gaunt, emaciated body, bony claws, and abysmal eyes glistened in the night, dripping blood onto the forest floor.

Tap… taaap... taaaap

The creature moved with slow deliberate steps, each one more terrifying than the last.

And then…in an instant, it vanished from Alex's sight.

Alex gritted his teeth before making a decision. Suddenly dashing out of his tent.

He was going to risk it all.

I can't just wait for death, he thought, his heart pounding harder with every step.

…Even if I die. I will know I died fighting.

HUFF!! HUFF!!

He panted heavily as he ran for his life. Sometimes, he would fall, sometimes he would hit his head against a few hard rocks or pebbles.

Sometimes, smash into a tree…Most times he would feel a crazy level of pain shooting through his entire body, but he forced himself to keep going.

His breath came in ragged gasps as the sound of his footsteps echoed through the forest.

And then, silence.

For a while now. He hadn't heard any violent rustle of tree leaves.

Yet, he still kept running as though his life depended on it.

Alex skidded to a halt, his hands on his knees, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He glanced back, his eyes scanning the darkness.

Nothing. No shadows. No movement.

Just as he was about to turn, he felt it- the rancid air, the sickening distortion in the atmosphere.

Slowly, Alex looked up.

The creature loomed above him, its cold, yellow eyes boring into his soul.

“Holy-!!!”

Before he could react, a devastating punch struck him, sending him spiraling into unconsciousness.

As Alex's body crumbled to the ground, the creature bent down, effortlessly lifting both him and Seraph before vanishing into the endless darkness.

It left behind only a scene of carnage- blood, mangled bodies, and an eerie, unnatural silence.

_ _ _ _ _ _

"WHEEW!!

“We're finally in Yansen,” Xavier said, his voice a mix of relief and excitement.

The car sped past the “Welcome to Yansen" road sign as Klaus hummed along to the music.

A few minutes later. Klaus stopped the car.

“It's still the middle of the night. We should probably find somewhere to sleep.”

Xavier nodded in agreement. They both stepped out of the car.

Clutching their father's journal in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

Together, they headed for a nearby hotel.