„What forest is this, Parca?” Asked Mayar. Then, the girl carefully looked around. She saw thus a strange glade, surrounded by trees. And, on their trunks, she saw big hollows threatening to swallow everything and everyone inside of them. Yet, what really made Mayar attentive has been to see, inside of those hollows, the famous cocoons made by Parca to give birth to her Pitch dogs.
„It’s called Tōṉat or the Glade of the Cocoons,” Parca drily said. Then she approached the famous cauldron, the one seen in the middle of the glade. And, above it, Mayar could see a big cocoon, the size of a few months calf, slowly rotating in the air as if being cooked on the grill.
Thus, Mayar, who kept staring around, carefully analyzing each trunk, each hollow, and each cocoon that was seen there, finally got to look up. And… she saw an impressive vault of dried branches this way. But what was weird about those branches, that were forming the vault, was that they had eyes… red eyes, small and round, and… bat beaks, that were repeatedly opening and closing as if being baby birds asking their parents for food. Then, when the girl, confused, has been finally able to look at Parca again, she asked: „Is it called? By whom?”
„By me!” Then Parca burst to laugh. And it was weird her laugh, somehow heard from far away. It was even playful sometimes as if she made a good joke to a friend.
And Parca’s words made Mayar attentive. Eventually, se stopped looking around, especially at that weird vault, and focused on Parca, who kept chortling while standing next to the cauldron, rubbing her palms. „What’s wrong with her?” Wondered Mayar, watching each of the Titanide’s movements. „Did she completely lose her mind or what? Even if…”
„…I’m not crazy,” Parca replied, hissing the words. Then she slowly turned toward Mayar, staring at her, something that made Mayar confuse.
„You? Can you read minds?”
„Why? Do you have something to hide?” Parca cunningly asked. But what was weird about her was that she said each word so slowly that seemed like a snake’s hissing. Then, suddenly, she showed up behind Mayar, snarling in her ear: „here, in the Glade of Cocoons, there’s no place for secrets. Here… even the air talks to me. Even these cocoons know what you think, Mayar. So… don’t even think about betraying me, or… I swear that I'll break you into pieces.”
Mayar, instead of being afraid, stared at her frowning. Then she shrugged: „if you say so! Better… tell me what do you plan with that big fried calf seen over there than threatening me.”
Hearing her masterpiece called „calf,” Parca made a wry face. Then… suddenly… dogs snarl has been heard everywhere around them. And, looking over there, Mayar saw the Nāy Piṭc, dozens or maybe hundreds, showing her their fangs while being stopped next to the first row of trees.
„Well, I see nobody tasted my joke,” said Mayar in mockery. After that, she turned her back to the dogs and approached the cauldron, in front of which she squatted. Then, she stared at the flames that were somehow weirdly dancing under it. And, what was so alluring at it was to see faces, transformed by pain, reflected on those flames as if those were the faces of captive people inside of a kind of jar, that were desperately trying to get out of there and run away.
But what was really impressive was the fact that Parca was really mad in that glade. And this has been seen in the way she approached Mayar, as quiet as a mouse and as faster as the wind. Yet, getting next to the girl, she stopped and continued standing behind her, as if trying to spy on what she was doing. After that, she hissed through her teeth: „there’s no place for jokes here. In this glade, nobody likes jokes. So… keep them for you only.”
These words made Mayar turn her head and stare at Parca’s face. Especially at the Titanide’s eyes, which were red at that moment, just like those eyes seen above them, on that vault of branches. Yet, even if it was clearly seen that Parca was going crazy, Mayar couldn’t understand one thing: was it Parca who controlled those killing eyes seen above, or those eyes were those controlling the Titanide?! And, to understand this, she slowly turned toward Parca, who was looking with hatred at her while slowly moving her head from one shoulder to the other one. Later, after staring for while at each other, both squatting this time, they grinned.
„Tell me, Parca: why exactly did you choose namely this forest for... this?” Mayar asked without taking her eyes from Parca while her finger was pointing towards the big cocoon.
Her question, however, made Parca stare at her, somehow doubting something. Then… the Titanide simply turned her back to Mayar while moving her fingers in a strange way, grabbing them with the other hand as if she was trying to rumple a sheet of paper. And… her eyes were mad, looking everywhere as if she expected to be suddenly attacked.
Yet, the unexpected happened so suddenly that even Mayar jumped to her feet and moved to the other side of the cauldron, afraid. And she did this because Parca suddenly transformed into a small being; with long arms, with no hair on them as if they were covered with frog skin. Also, the legs of that strange being were similar to the frogs', the only difference was that they had human soles. And namely the form of the legs didn’t allow this new Parca to stand up, but only jump and crawl. Then, talking about the nails and the toenails - they were livid, only the thumbnails were black as if someone was continuously hitting them with a stone or something. Then, looking up at the body, which was covered by a kind of green web, similar to the spiderwebs, Mayar could see that the creature had an extremely long and thin neck. And… only the head was normal, like any human's head. But, instead of hair, she had… worms.
Yet, not this was what scared Mayar. It has been because of Parca’s eyes, which were completely red, like those eyes seen on the vault of dried branches. But… this time they were shedding tears. Thus, amazed, Mayar asked: „are you crying?”
The „being,” however, didn’t bother to look at the girl. She only moved closer to the fire and, stretching her arm in front, she simply touched the flames, without being burnt by them. Yet… she was silent while moving her hand through the flames as if touching the clear water of a cold stream, a touch that was so pleasant for a soul on a hot sunny day.
„Parca?” Mayar insisted to receive an answer. But, because the weird creature was still silent, she took a few steps toward the Titanide, trying to understand what kind of devilish creature she transformed into.
Only then she heard the creature’s answer: „Parca isn’t my name.” Then, she left the fire behind her and started to jump around it, at least at the beginning because she finished surrounding the cauldron by walking like any quadruped.
„Aaa, no?” Mayar decided to play the same game. After that, the young lady started to also move around that fire to get next to that weird Parca. But the „creature” kept moving away from her, at a normal speed.
„No. My name is Payam, which means, in the ancient language of this poor people, of Iṟanta Varkaḷiṉ… fear.” And, finally, the „freaky creature” stopped and looked at the girl. Thus, Mayar could see, in the creature’s eyes, big sadness.
„Iṟanta Varkaḷiṉ! But… this is…?” Mayar thought. Yet, she kept silent when she remembered that her thoughts were heard there.
„That’s right,” said the „creature.” „This is the Forest of the Dead Ones. The one which only a few alive souls have seen. Actually, there are only four souls who have ever seen it.”
„Four? Who…?”
„Me… you… the wolf Fenrir, and… Baradar.”
„The Spirit of the Woods?!”
„Yes!”
„But… why have Fenrir and Baradar seen this Forest? I thought that only the dead ones could see it.”
„You are still alive!” The „creature” said, staring into Mayar’s eyes, something that made the girl shudder inside. But this also allowed her to look to the left and to the right where she could see what those dog monsters really looked like: they looked exactly like that Parca at that moment. Only the color of their eyes was different because some of them had dark black eyes, others… green, and most of them had red eyes.
„What the hell is this?” Murmured Mayar feverishly, seeing that those strange creatures could easily climb a tree while others were hanging upside down like bats, grabbing that branches vault with their legs. Yet, a great part of them still hid behind the trees or entered the hollows to hide behind the cocoons.
„The world that has never seen the sun!” She heard the soft voice of Parca. But, because she heard it so suddenly, Mayar winced and looked behind her. But… there wasn’t only that strange creature there. There was also the good Parca in that forest. Yet, that Parca wasn’t like the one Mayar knew… this one was Patavi, the one who lived a long time ago, who she had seen once when the Titanide of Fate had her moment of madness, in the depths of the Forest of the Barefaced. „Surprised to see me here?!” Asked the good Parca. After that, she approached the „freaky,” who looked as frozen, just like the rest of the beasts seen there.
„Yes, because… I’ve thought that you are only a memory,” murmured Mayar.
„Well… this is actually what I am,” replied Patavi, smiling. „But… I’m her memory.”
„But… I don’t understand. How Parca got to look like this?”
„It’s because each of us has his cross in this world. And his curse. Just as each of us is afraid of something. Me, for example, I’m afraid to lose my sister when the time will come, and if this happens, I’ll lose her forever. You… that you aren’t loved by someone while this Parca… well, she’s afraid to be ugly.”
„Yet, this is what she has in the end,” said Mayar, getting next to Patavi. Then she looked at the young lady’s hand that was caressing the beast’s head, the one into which Parca has transformed.
„That’s right! Actually… Irkā’s punishment is to look exactly as she didn’t want to look someday, like a mummy. And… our Irkā was beautiful, so beautiful and…”
„In fact, you two look the same. Physically, I mean,” said Mayar. Then she shrugged when she read Parca’s mind: „How do I know this? Let’s just say that I could read your sister’s memories. But don’t ask me how this has been possible because I don’t know.”
Patavi smiled. Then, standing, she approached Mayar. And, being only one step from her, she touched her right shoulder, resting her palm on it: „and you, didn’t you ever ask yourself why you and Samaya look the same but you are so different at the same time?”
This made Mayar stare straight into Patavi’s eyes. „Yes, but… I’ve never been able to find out the truth. Or maybe I found it out, but it was possible only much later when I found out the story behind Mannar.”
„Are you sure about this?” Patavi asked her, smiling. „In this world, nothing is like it seems to be.”
„What do you mean?” Asked Mayar, staring at the flames this time as if looking into Patavi’s eyes was something that bothered her.
„Darkness and light… night and day… sky and earth…”
„Good and Evil!” Mayar murmured eventually.
„That’s right because everything has its soulmate in this world. But, as there’s no perfect half of something, the same happens to the opposite things - they look the same but are so different at the same time.
„I and Samaya. You and Parca.”
„Actually Parca doesn’t have only one soul.” This made Mayar stare at her, thunderstruck. That’s why Patavi smiled and continued her thought. „You probably wonder what I meant. Well, Parca showed up in this world the moment Irkā and I vanished from that world.” Then Patavi squatted next to the cauldron and stared at that cocoon that kept rotating above it at a slow speed. Then, after she stared at that cocoon for a good while she could see that on that cocoon a kind of wires was formed, at a slow speed, a creation process that could be impressive to watch by using a microscope.
„That world? Do you mean the world that has never seen the sun?”
„No. I mean our beloved planet: Īṭaṉ Ellaiyaṟṟa. In your language, it would be known as Eden.”
„Aeon, you wanted to say.”
„No, Mayar. Aeon appeared in the Cosmos when our Eden had been destroyed by Maranam’s evilness.”
„Maranam?” And this has been a real shock for Mayar. Then, the girl turned her back to Patavi and stared at the flames. Thus she could see how the freaky Parca revived and approached Patavi, laying her head on her sister’s shoulder. „And that Maranam, what did he lose there?” The young fox asked eventually.
This made Patavi smile: „Maranam has been born in Eden, Mayar. The real story of his birth and of Life at the same time will be found out by everyone here when this world will be about to vanish.”
These words made Mayar shudder. And, when she looked at Patavi again, she saw that the Virgin wasn’t there anymore. Only her words were still resounding in the air while Parca had recovered her previous form, just as the pitch dogs had their real form at that moment, but they were still hiding inside of the hollows or behind the trees, or hanging upside down. Parca instead seemed as if didn’t remember anything of what had just happened. She only stood next to the fire, caressing that cocoon, where it was supposed to be the head of the beast inside of that cocoon.
„This is real madness,” murmured Mayar. „Here one can see things, or something can make him think that there has existed a world other than ours. What… stupidity!” And she smiled. But nobody there said anything to her or reacted, and this happened because Mayar wasn’t aware that in that glade only the thoughts could be read, but the whispers were never heard.
***
„Ooo, fresh meat!” Calmac grinned, satisfied, and rubbed his palms when Dike and his four fellows returned to the shore that was next to the swamp of the Barefaced, where they were expected by the others. And Calmac was so happy because he saw Ūḻal, who has been pushed by Boor from behind to leave the boat.
„You could have been a little bit more gentile with me,” Ūḻal snarled, furiously staring at Boor when she finally managed not to turn heels over head. „I’m just a woman in the end.”
„Let’s say I’m not kind by nature!” Said Boor in mockery, grinning at her.
„Did you learn this from the wolf?” The Titanide of Life kept teasing him, pointing with her head to the wolf Dike, who approached his human body. And, after the wolf touched his right palm, he suddenly vanished, and the Titan’s eyes lively shone after this while he was stretching his body to chase the numbness away.
„Yes, this had been a long trip for sure!” Murmured Dike while his bones were still heard cracking. Yet, he had been so amazed to see the others staring past him. Thus he saw Bestla, Samaya, and Sephir, who were staring at Ūḻal with a certain hatred in their glances, and this was because the Titanide of Life showed interest in Arion, who she approached in the end. „Mda, we’ll have difficult times and not only happiness for sure,” murmured the Titan, slapping his forehead, and he reacted like this because he finally remembered what was the Titanide of Life famous for, except for lies of course… for hunting handsome men.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
„Cute!” Murmured Ūḻal. And, suddenly, she became extremely „sweet.” Thus, rising her both hands up, she showed Arion the rope that was wrapped around her wrists. But, seeing that this didn’t impress Arion, she tried to touch his face.
But, when she was about to touch Arion’s face, who was furiously staring at her, a slap over her hand made her look to her left. And, snarling, she stared at Bestla with hatred in her glance, who was who had actually slapped her: „as gentle as her father!”
„Let’s just say that your blood forms your character in most cases!” Bestla replied, hissing the words. After that, she grabbed Ūḻal’s arm and pulled her away from Arion, saying to her: „don’t touch what’s mine or I swear that I’ll break your neck.”
Ūḻal laughed in mockery. Yet, she was also surprised: „Yours? Do you mean that he’s… yours?”
„This isn’t already your… business!” Bestla changed the subject. Then she looked elsewhere when she finally spotted the others’glance focused on her. Especially she was trying to avoid Arion’s glance because she didn’t want to reveal to him her feelings… not that the others didn’t know about this already.
„Well… be as you wish!” Ūḻal replied, turning her back to Arion and mumbling: „anyway, he isn’t as tasty as I thought he would be!” But while taking a few steps in front, yawning and trying to show others that she had lost any interest in Arion, she kept looking around, with cunning eyes, analyzing each man’s face seen there. And… suddenly, her eyes stopped on Nathaniel. But when she was so happily smiling, tracing out the perfect plan to approach him, she saw Samaya’s sparkling eyes, right in front of her nose, trying to hide Nathaniel from the „curious one’s” sight thus. This made Ūḻal cook her nose, mumbling: „this one is also taken!”
Then the Titanide winced when she heard Sephir’s voice in her left ear: „and that one, over there, is also taken.” And, touching Ūḻal’s head with both hands, Sephir forced her to look at Fenrir, who was sitting on a rock, yawning. „That’s why I suggest you stay hundreds of meters away from him if it can’t be kilometers between you two. If not, before Bestla breaks your neck, I’ll take your eyes out of the orbits.”
Ūḻal bitterly smiled, a hint that Sephir managed to piss her off: „don’t you have any other manner to defend your men? Is it absolutely necessary to threat others? Not the other, but we can… share… certain „things” while I was about to be part of your family. And… if certain things hadn’t happened then, I would have been your grandma now!”
An icy ball, that enter her mouth so suddenly, forced Ūḻal to keep silent because she was really convinced to tell Sephir and Bestla about her „love story” with Island. And, after managing to spit that ball on the ground and coughed to regain her breath, because she had been about to swallow that ball, Ūḻal furiously stared at Island because she was convinced that he was who had thrown that ball. But she has been so amazed to see that it has been Arion who has thrown it in fact and not Island.
„They know the story!” Ūḻal mumbled in her head, staring at Arion. But his eyes didn’t tell her anything, and this was really strange. „Yet, I was sure that…,” but she again kept silent, feeling something tickling her back. That’s why she moved in place, trying to chase those „flies” that were bothering her away. But her glance has been caught by Fenrir’s movement, who stood up and moved toward his father.
Halfway, however, Fenrir stopped and stared at the Titanide. His glance made her „freeze” for a few moments, even if this was something unnoticed by the others. Then, entering through Ūḻal’s eyes, the black wolf got to her mind. Thus, he saw a world full of traps made from lianas, fake streams, and beautiful flowers, that were closing their petals or were vanishing when the wolf was approaching them. There, in that strange world, it seemed to be a Divine Glade. That’s why the wolf kept advancing toward Ūḻal, who was with her back at a stream and somehow shaking while staring at him.
„It can’t be!” Mumbled Ūḻal. „I see death in your eyes!”
„Or it can be only what you want to see!” The wolf snarled through his teeth.
„No. It’s death for sure, what I see!”
This made the wolf stop and stare at her. „What do you see in fact?”
A crow’s shout, heard from above and which had so frightenedly resounded around, made both of them wince and look up eventually. But they have been forced to cover their face with their arms and paws because what seemed to be only one crow approaching them were dozens in fact that threw themselves over them.
But, the moment it was silence around them again, they opened their eyes and looked around. And this was something amazing for them because it was darkness all around and something burning was also heard there.
„What's this?” Asked the wolf. „This place… it seems known to me. But I don’t remember why.”
„It’s because you’ve seen it before!” Murmured Ūḻal. Then she took a few steps toward the wolf, from the right, as if trying to look for help even if they’d been enemies by then for sure.
„Maybe I’ve seen it. But… I don’t remember,” replied the wolf.
„Yet, I’m sure that we are here because of you. This is a world known by you. That’s why you dragged us both here. And yes, it has been possible only because your heart knows this place. Otherwise: you wouldn’t have seen it again.”
„Wouldn’t I have seen it again?” The wolf asked her, amazed. „What do you mean? That what we see here it’s a lie?”
„Or the truth. Let’s not forget that a lie can be the truth for some of us just as the truth it’s a lie eventually.”
A drum sound has been heard all around them. This made them both wince and look behind them. But they didn’t see anything, even if Fenrir, in his wolf shape, could see very well during the night. At that moment instead, he was „blind” and couldn’t see in the darkness, something that he disliked.
„Wait a minute!” He suddenly said, staring at Ūḻal. „Do you know Ian Gyar? The snake king?”
„The king with watery eyes?” She asked in amazement.
„Yes, himself!”
„I’ve heard about them. But I’ve never seen him. Why do you ask?”
„Because I remember now where I’ve seen him. And this forest,” the wolf snarled. „This was the place where he had dragged us when he attacked Sephir.”
„No, it’s not the same forest!” Said Ūḻal, confident.
„No? Then?” The wolf asked, confused.
„The moment with a forest in flames. This is what I'd seen in your eyes when I saw you on that shore. And this was a previous memory. Much older than the one with Sephir. You were only a child then.”
Only then did Fenrir remember the moment he met Baradar in Rophion Forest when he went to find Mayar. „Aaa, that moment. But that child wasn’t me but Baradar!”
„Baradar? In the Forest of the Dead Ones?” Ūḻal almost shouted. But she covered her mouth and looked afraid around, thinking that someone could hear her shout. „But how is this possible? A living soul in the Forest of the dead ones?”
„This is already a question you should ask Baradar when you see him. If you see him, of course. Now, let’s go!”
„To go? Where?”
„To see what this freaky forest is hiding. We must be here for something. Otherwise: I would have scolded you only in that glade made from your lies.”
Ūḻal cooked her nose while following him: „yet, that glade is a masterpiece!”
„A fake one! And you can’t deny this!” Snarled the wolf. „And… I hate fakes!”
„If you say so!” Mumbled Ūḻal, unhappy. Then, shrugging, she rushed to follow Fenrir because she stopped when he mentioned her fake glade. But she was afraid of that place as she was afraid of the devil. She felt safe only next to the wolf even if she didn’t know why. That’s why she wanted to be as close as possible to him.
***
„These eyes, they are burning my skin!” Murmured Ūḻal while looking around, frightened. Thus she could see sparkles hidden in the bushes, behind the trees, or up between the branches. „Are they also wolves?”
„Only their eyes remind the wolves's eyes. Yet, they are another race.”
„Another race? What kind… aaa, the dogs! I forgot that the dogs had been wolves once!”
„Per contrary: neither the dogs had been wolves once and nor the wolves had been dogs. Each with his people. Yet, these are unusual dogs. And… I feel that Parca has something to do with the fact that they are breathing now.”
„The Titanide of Fate? In this Dead Forest? Don’t you think that you are exaggerating now?”
„Do you really think so? That I exaggerate?”
„Yeah, absolutely! Only… look around! Well, if you can see something. But: it’s clear as the light of the day that all these trees are dried, just like the bushes and the rest. Yet, we saw crows before, and recently we started to see the eyes of these beasts. Thus: even if it doesn’t seem so, there is still life around. In a dead forest.”
„But this is insane!” Fenrir said. „It can’t be life in a dead forest.”
„I meant the forest!” Ūḻal hissed through her teeth. „And the fact that no matter how much Parca hates you, yet, she doesn’t have the power to create life in the depths of a dead forest.”
„But she brought you here! It’s enough ironic for me!” Said Fenrir, grinning. Then he shrugged seeing Ūḻal’s unhappy face and continued to advance through that forest.
He stopped, however, and then walked back till he got next to the Titanide, who kept cooking her nose with her eyes closed. Thus she didn’t see that the wolf returned next to her. Yet, she grinned when she felt his leg stepping on hers. That’s why she opened her eyes, intending to scold him. But she kept silent and swallowed hard when she noticed that they were surrounded by the pitch dogs, those that had attacked the Barefaceds and the same seen by Mayar in the Glade of the Cocoons. And, even if she felt that the snakes of fear were moving on her back, Ūḻal ironically mumbled: „friends of yours?”
„I thought that are your friends, but… if you don’t know them then I had never seen them too,” said the wolf. „Yet, I feel that they know us!”
„It’s for sure that they’ve smelled your stink,” Ūḻal teased him. „Your fur! You should wash it more often.”
„And you to close your mouth! Also more often!” The wolf hissed through his teeth. But he also felt fear when he saw the dogs tightening the circle around them. Yet, it wasn’t the fear humans feel while seeing a beast, but a fear of the unknown because there was a world he didn’t know, even if he was sure that there everything was possible to happen to them.
Yet, the moment a dog was about to jump on him because they got closer enough to them, and Fenrir felt his stinky smell well, he heard those dogs yelping and moving back. Soon after they got a strange form of their body, the same Mayar had seen before in the Glade of Tōṉat. This made Fenrir and Ūḻal stare at each other, thunderstruck.
But more amazing than this has been for them to hear a high-pitch voice, talking to them from far away: „a world that hasn’t ever seen the sun won’t ever allow a God of Light to freely wander these lands.”
„A God of Light? What the hell is he talking about?” Fenrir thought.
„I talk about the fact that you are unwelcome in this world, Ōnāy!” And, soon after this, they saw Shiver Sun, the talking and walking log, the one living in the Forest of the Dead Ones, coming toward them.
„Mda, funny!” Thought the wolf, making a wry face. „Lately I’m forced to meet walking and talking brainless logs.”
„You!” Shiver Sun shouted at him, furious. „How you dare to call me brainless?” And the log’s sparling because of fury eyes got impressive sizes in front of the two. These made the pitch dogs, the death’s children, hide, desperately yelping.
„It seems that this one can read thoughts!” The Titanide whispered to Fenrir. „Yet… it’s something weird here.”
„Like?”
„Before, when we whispered to each other, just like we are doing now, he didn’t hear us.”
Fenrir looked at her, thunderstruck. Then he realized that what Ūḻal said was true because the log heard his thoughts, but not his whispers. And weirder than this was the fact that he spotted the log narrowing his eyes while trying to read the words they spoke, on their lips.
„If you say something, don’t look at him!” The wolf told Ūḻal. „He won’t hear anything even if we scream here. At least this is what I think.”
„Then? What should we do?”
„Well, the first thought I had was to talk to him and see what he is thinking about. But now I’m sure that… just run!” He shouted and started to run.
Ūḻal right away followed the wolf. Yet, while running, she looked back to see if Shiver Sun followed them. And, when she saw him running after them, she ran faster.
Even so, the two kept hearing the log’s shouts, who was outraged that his prey was trying to escape from his wooden hands. That’s why he shouted at the pitch dogs to follow the two. That’s why they got the beast form back and followed Ūḻal and Fenrir: part of them running like the wind while following them from the ground, while the rest of them were jumping from one branch to another.
But not only the dogs were following the two: Shiver Sun was also seen here and there, trying to grab the wolf because he was the one who he was looking for. And the log was doing this because he was hearing all the time someone’s order in his head: „catch him! Don’t let him run away! Do it! Now!”
„Who are they?” Ūḻal shouted at Fenrir seeing that their pursuers were more and more with each second that passed.
„If you are so curious you can stop and ask him!” Fenrir replied. „I have no intention to say hello to them!”
„You should do this because… I think that this is something that can save our asses and…”
Suddenly, Ūḻal vanished and this amazed the wolf. But he hadn’t time to stop and think why the Titanide vanished. He only had time to think about how to survive, more when he felt Shiver Sun’s wooden fingers squeezing hard his throat. And this was because the log managed to catch up with Fenrir. Thus, while feeling that the log was taking his breath away, the wolf heard Shiver Sun’s words: „those who have ever seen the world of the dead ones can’t ever escape from here. Just as an alive soul can’t control this world because…”
The rest… had been only empty words and smoke because Fenrir’s glance suddenly blurred and he couldn’t think normally anymore. Also, he saw himself walking on a kind of swampy land that seemed frozen. Yet, there were flames all around him, and smoke that surrounded that place in seconds.
„Where am I?” Wondered the wolf. „It’s a known place, but I can’t remember it. Why?”
„Because you don’t look where you should have looked, wolf! And… you have to remember this world!” And, suddenly, the wolf saw a young lady, with long blond hair and blue eyes, that was wearing a long golden cloak, and she was hooded.
„Who are you?” The wolf asked. Then he stopped and looked straight into her eyes. And he also answered: „Mātam!”
After this, she vanished. Then Fenrir saw that he was only a wolf cub and that in front of him was a big black sphere that continued to grow and grow. And, on that sphere’s surface, he saw that girl’s face, the face of the one he called Mātam. But she looked scared, closed inside of that sphere. And she was hitting that sphere’s walls asking to be released.
This made the little wolf stare at her. And, unwillingly, he started to move toward that sphere. Arriving next to it, he raised his paw and touched the sphere. It was then when he felt that he was falling into that swamp, that the ice broke and that the swamp swallowed him.
And, underwater, the wolf saw himself, the big black wolf, the same seen by Obregon in his dreams, in flames while standing on a marble balcony. Then, he heard that wolf’s voice: „I’m you! The old you, Fenrir. I’m Ōnāy, the former king of Eden, the one destroyed by its own people, and the brother of that beautiful girl you’d seen not long ago. Our Eden is gone now. And, to return its former glory, you must restore Themis. And, for this, you must face Life again!”
Later, the little wolf saw himself closed inside of the same sphere where he’d seen Mātam before this. Then, when he was in, the sphere blinked 7 times, to vanish from that world later, and appear in front of Aeon. And, when the little wolf’s eyes focused on that Planet, he saw that Aeon was actually planet Earth. Or maybe he was confused because that sphere was spinning so fast?! He wasn’t that sure because…
***
„Fenrir! Fenrir! Do you hear us?” He heard voices around him. But even if he opened his eyes, he saw only darkness all around. Then, soon after this, he saw all his friends and family gathered next to him, trying to make him come back to his senses. And he also saw fear in their eyes… fear for him…
And… how could be they calm when he lost consciousness at the moment his eyes met Ūḻal’s eyes? Actually, not only he lost consciousness then. She also, but the others have been able to bring her back to life first.
That’s why Fenrir looked for her: he wanted to see that what he’d seen in that world was true. And he saw her sitting not that far from them and touching her chest where she felt pain. And when their eyes met again, they sent to each other a single thought: „don’t tell others about what we’ve seen there or this world will also burn in flames…”