I logged in Forgotten Soul. A beam of light illuminated a dark cave. Whines greeted me as soon as it disappeared. The den -as my pets called it- should have been deserted since I took the last remaining wolves with me. In a corner, three pups barely a few days old wobbled on their feet. No adults were present. The tension I felt didn't disappear though. They could come back any second from now.  I rushed outside. 

The sun had just risen. The morning mist wrapped my surroundings in a white blanket. Despite  not being far, the edge of the woods was barely visible. My hair stood on end. I was being watched, I was sure of it. I waited. Nothing happened. I was apprehensive to face an undetermined number of wolves but deep in my mind, I knew it wasn't them watching me. Something else was there. 

I took my katana out. For long minutes, my breathing was the only thing that I could hear. The forest was deadly silent. The rays of sunlight barely penetrated the dense fog. The place had an eery atmosphere that put me on guard. I gripped the katana harder. I had a decision to make. Either I stayed there and wait for the wolves to come back or I went in the forest and face whatever was watching me. 

I made my decision. Step by step, I advanced toward the forest. Fighting the wolves should be easy but that thing in the forest could take advantage of it and ambush me while I was otherwise occupied. 

I entered the forest. The tension skyrocketed as a branch cracked on my left. Leaves rustled on my right. A cold wind blew on my face. 

“Who's there?” No one answered my question. 

Inside the forest, the mist was denser. My visibility was affected. I couldn't see more than a  few inches away from me. 

“Blow away from me wings of nature. Wind Blow.” I chanted the wind spell I learned at the beginning of my adventure in the Soul. It had been weeks since I last used it. 

I kept the spell going until my surroundings were visible. With my huge mana pool, it was easy.  However, there was nothing there. 

“Evie! Run!” Maron screamed. She disappeared as soon as she appeared like she couldn't kept her body on this plane.  I didn't wait to know why, I ran away as fast as I could. 

I stumbled on roots. I scrapped my hands as I fell down. I got back up. I looked around. Nearby, another branch cracked. I turned in the other direction when a dull thump sounded. I was scared and a little pissed. Why wasn't I attacked?

“Stop playing with me! Show yourself!”

A laugh echoed all around me.

“Evie, don't stay here. He's coming.” Maron pointed to my left. She was like an hologram who couldn't maintain itself. There was static that made her appeared and disappeared. Her speech was also broken but I understood. 

Something dark and indistinct rushed at me. I dodged. It rebounded on the ground and came at me once again. The same situation happened over and over. I dodged and it unceasingly attacked me. Tired of it, I readied my sword. I concentrated and when it was a few inches away from me I slashed at it. I missed. It landed with a painful thud on my chest. I fell on my back. The black blur disappeared. 

I painfully tried to get up but before I did, another one came at me. I rolled on the ground. A stone dug up in my back. I didn't care. Where I had been before, an explosion sounded.  My eyes widened as I saw a wall of soil rise up. I had a lot of health point but that was scary. I scrambled on my feet and went running again. 

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A few minutes later, I stopped in shock. I was back at the cave. I had been running in circle. I turned back as low growls sounded behind me. One, two, three...Fifteen wolves came out of the trees. Everything was okay, I could fight. I was a god. I could do it. I tried to convince myself but it fell short when I looked at their levels. 400? What the heck were they doing here?

“Log out!”

Log out impossible during a fight.

I wanted to rail. I wasn't in combat. I was on the verge of a massacre. I wasn't stupid enough to fight 15 level 400 wolves by myself. Step by step, I walked backward. I inched my way away from them. Unfortunately, in that direction there was only the cave. I was screwed.  

They didn't rushed at me. They stared growling. I tried not to make any sudden movement. However, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. At that time, unknowingly to me, I was not walking straight. In moving backwards, I had veered away from the entrance of the cave. 

I was gearing up to fight. I came to terms with the fact that I wouldn't get out of here without dying. I took a deep breath. I firmed the grip on my sword. I took a stance as slowly as I could. One foot in front of me and one behind. I put strength on my back foot. The ground gave out under me. 

With a shout, I fell down a hole. I screamed in fright. I landed on the ground with a painful groan. The pain was so excruciating that I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was inside a cave. The hole from which I fell down brought some light to my otherwise dark surroundings. I got on my feet. Maron came out. Her appearance was a lot more stable than before. She threw herself at me. I fell down on the uneven ground. 

“What?”

“Don't touch my son!” She stood in front of me. Her arms wide open like she wanted to protect me from whoever was here.

“Don't you want to live?” A male voice asked. It had a weird feeling about it like it didn't come from one place but from everywhere.

“My son doesn't need to die.”

An exasperated sigh came out of right in front of her.

“You actually like that brat?” A young guy in his twenties appeared out of the darkness. He was all black. His skin was black, his eyes were black, his hair was black and his clothes were black.

“He's my son.”

He heaved a deep sigh like he was resigned.  

“Okay, I won't kill him...yet.”

“Mama?” I called her that since it made her happy. It didn't hurt that the man wouldn't hurt me thanks to it.  

“It's okay, baby. Daddy's not going to hurt you.” My expression froze at what she said. Daddy? Did I fall down the rabbit hole? Where the hell did I get a father?

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