“I knew it. You beasts sure know how to hunt.” Arthur said as a dark expression appeared on his face. Wintervale wolves were apex predators and hunters. The reason why they were feared by many hunters was because of their ability to silently track and stalk their prey, only howling right before they kill as if to sing their praise of a successful hunt.

Arthur briefly glanced back as he set foot on the dry decomposing timber that made up the floor of the rope bridge. From off in the distance he saw five blurry white shadows streak out from the shadow of the forest, dashing toward him. As if experiencing his second wind for the fifth time since his escape, Arthur dashed across the bridge without hesitation. “Falling to my death or being ripped apart by beasts? Are these my only options?” He lamented his bleak future. He felt the wooden boards crumbling underneath his foot and he even noticed in some places the boards were gone all together.

Step by step he nimbly glided as he felt the intense pressure closing in from behind. Every moment that he wasted by carefully watching his step would be a moment closer to his death. He gritted his teeth with conviction and gave up on being careful.

Thump thump thump!

Arthur ran along. He was already halfway across the swaying bridge when the wolves finally reached the northern end. Strangely enough, once the wolves arrived at the bridge they stopped and impatiently prowled around the bridge. Arthur who was recklessly barreling down the bridge noticed this too and calmed down a little. He had just enough of a time to stop and observe the strange behavior before what he feared would happen happened. As soon as he turned to look at the snow-white wolves of the norther domain, he heard a loud snapping sound. Then another. Suddenly overtaken by the feeling of weightlessness, he plummeted to his doom.

“FUUUU-“ Arthur’s resentful cries faded out as he fell. Above, the alpha wolf studied the human’s demise with complex emotions before turning around and leaving. It was quite a strange scene, almost as if the wolves themselves had intelligence equivalent to a human, but sadly Arthur wasn’t there to witness this fact.

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Many things were going through his head as he fell. He felt regret. He felt fear. There was despair. Calmness and finally acceptance came last. He truly regretted not proposing to his sweetheart. She was the brightest child in Buono. Her name was Janna, the daughter of one of the neighbors that gave him some help when his parents had just passed. She was the most beautiful girl in the village, all the other villager boys were also chasing after her hand in marriage, with him being no exception. He was infatuated with her beauty and also her gentle nature. He had asked for her hand in marriage when he became of age at 16, but because of his situation, her father rejected his proposal. After all, “How is a man that can’t even raise himself able to raise a family?” her father asked.

That was why he spent four years honing his skills and acquiring the coin necessary to take care of Janna. He was about to succeed, about to meet her father’s expectations, but today tragedy struck. He burned with anger as he began to fall into the endless abyss of the Black Gorge. Not long after the feelings of regret passed, he began to fear. What was his fate? How long would it take for him to fall until he reached the bottom? How long must he suffer from this unknown feeling before it all ends? Some people will know when they die, but being stuck in this darkness, would he even know when he is dead?

Finally, he grew calm and reflective. “What would be would be. If this is the lot I drew in this life. Then so be it.” He came to the conclusion that there was no use to worry. After all, since it’s already a given that he would die, why should he give in to the fear of death? A dead man knows no fear.

After what seemed like an eternity, Arthur finally noticed that the low rumbling noise had reached a peak. It was like he had approached a veil and whatever was causing the rumbling was right beyond that veil. He also felt that the end of his fall was also not too far and when he figured out what was making that low droning noise, would also be the moment he died.

He closed his eyes in acceptance. His heart and mind slowly melded into the rumbling noise; he became one with the sound. His consciousness slowly began to wander amongst the darkness of the abyss. By now the feeling of falling had dissipated, he had totally become numb to this sensation and was only left with the feeling of weightlessness. He awaited his end. However, would his end ever come? While drifting amongst the cold abyss he drew the interest of a fickle character. The only character that could save his life at that moment.

“A strange one has entered this time.”