Towering black columns of smoke rise into the heavens above; The forest is bathed in hot orange flames which char the trees and turn the ferns to ash. Several grey wolves snarl and growl at a bloodied man carrying a burning torch. Cain's eyes are bloodshot as he slams his torch onto the head of an already unconscious wolf, killing it.

"Die... Die already!" Cain screams.

The sound of his voice is like that of an animal crying out. There's no humanity in that scream as his hoarse voice pierces through the burning woods. The remaining wolves are muscular scarred beasts capable of protecting the den from rival packs, yet against this unhinged human they are merely helpless pups.

Hot fire and unpredictable attacks have driven each pack of wolves to their graves. Cain's body is covered in wounds crusted over with dried blood, and his skin is tarnished from burns as well as poorly healed wounds. The man is exhausted mentally and physically, yet he doesn't lack muscle as he's constantly fed on the charred corpses of his quarry.

There are five wolves remaining, and the flames prevent their escape from all sides. There's a mountain at their back, and steep rock isn't something they can climb. Cain's torch whips through the air before cracking a wolf's skull on impact. Cain's savage smile is warped by a lack of companionship and constant violence as he lunges forward with a burning branch in hand.

"Yes! Break break break..." Cain giggles hysterically.

Snapping and crunching sounds fill the rocky clearing as the remaining wolves flinch with each sound of their companion dying. There are four wolves standing, and one of the braver ones lunges at Cain's exposed back in an attempt to turn the tide.

Cain's body twists around as he hears the wolf's paws kick off the rock, and without missing a beat he drives a torn leg of the wolf he just killed into the side of attacking wolf. There's a soft yelp before a loud crunch as Cain leaps onto it and stomps on the beast's neck. Three wolves remain in the land of the living.

"Crunchy! Hehe..." Cain mumbles to himself.

The three remaining wolves are cornered now, and their instincts conflict with the situation. God made them careful and calculating, yet here they are forced to fight back in a battle with no guarantee of survival or escape. They snarl before leaping at Cain simultaneously.

Cain's muscles bulge as he squats down and punches two of the wolves square in the snout whilst swinging his skull into the center wolf's muzzle. There's a chorus of yelps, and a cackle as Cain leaps upon them with a rock in hand; Blood and brain matter stains the rock as well as Cain's hands as he finishes off the wolves in a frenzy.

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They fight back, snarling, biting, kicking, but it is all for naught. Cain can feel the life ebbing out of his body as he finishes off the last of hundreds of wolves; Lucidity returns to him as his body slips beyond the veil.

"Why?" Cain coughs out.

He slumps down, his back against the corpse of a wolf he just brutalized. The stars are out, and he can see the moon shining high above. Hot tears flow down Cain's face.

"Why did you make me this way?!" Cain screams hoarsely.

Coughing ensues, and blood is spat out as the last of Cain's life oozes upon the rocks beneath him. His bloody massacre ends in a tragic moment of reflection.

~

Ben's attention is diverted from his preparations when an influx of wolf souls flow into his body. The flow isn't a trickle, but a river. It is as if his wolves are being hunted massacred, and realization sets in as Ben's attention goes to his world high above.

Hot orange flames are burning throughout half the realm's forested region. Smoke is blotting out the stars over the majority of the forest, while a river of blood stains the forest floor. Ben's shock turns to horror as he realizes there are literally hundreds of wolf corpses littering the woodlands. Their bodies are brutally disfigured, and it unsettles Ben greatly.

"What... happened here?"

Ben follows the flames to the edge of the world where corpses burn upon a rocky clearing. There's nearly fifty wolves in this area alone, and a singly human body lying in the center of it all. The man is one Ben recalls making as a sort of test.

Curiosity and simple boredom motivated Ben to create Cain the way he was. There was no grander purpose in the man's making, yet here the man lies dead with hundreds of wolves slaughtered for Ben's flippant mistake.

"This is not what I wanted."

Ben's mind is filled with heavy thoughts as he reflects on both the soul keeper and Cain. They're two very different beings, yet similarly they suffered terrible fates due to their creator's lack of foresight and caution.

Warmth brings Ben's attention back to himself, and he feels a pit in his metaphorical stomach as he sees a vibrantly glowing dense soul orbiting his body. Cain's soul has found its way to Ben, and now he has a choice to make.

"Should I reincarnate him, or... absorb him?"

Ben contemplates the choice he has to make before reminding himself that he makes the rules in this world; There is always another option for Ben. Cain's soul pulses as Ben gently lifts it to a void crystal platform.

Flesh and blood rapidly manifest around the soul, and within a few moments Ben has given Cain an exact copy of his previous body. Now all that's left to do is wake him from the sleep of death.

~

Cain's eyes snap open as his heart races. The wolves, the flames, the death. Cain's eyes adjust to a golden glow as he realizes he's not in the forest anymore. There's a strange knot in Cain's chest as he glances around at the blackness.

"Welcome, Cain." God speaks to him.

The shock of the situation causes Cain to nearly fall to his knees. He glances over at the golden glow before realization sets in; He's looking at god.