Raoul couldn’t even scream, his voice deep inside his throat, unable to break free.

Tears and snot trailed down the boy’s face, and he once more started crawling, ignoring the pain on his hand. “Mom?” he murmured, yanking his hand out from under the villager’s boot. “Dad?”

His parents’ eyes had no light in them, eyes as if looking at something distant. Raoul sobbed, “Please answer me… Please…”

A soldier kicked him in the stomach, turning him on his side, wound in his back spilling more blood. The man was the scarred soldier that started everything, though Raoul had no energy left to let his anger show. He looked at the scarred face for only a second, not even hearing what he was saying, before glancing back at his parents.

“Please answer me…”

Then, something thudded on the ground next to him. The boy craned his neck to the side, and his eyes widened. Alwig was lying next to him, his fur almost dyed entirely red, weapons jutting out of his skin not unlike his previous injuries.

“Al…” Raoul reached his hand out to his friend, touching his blood-crusted fur. “Al… No, please… open your eyes…”

The wolf did, though the boy wasn’t sure if his friend could see him.

“Is that you… Raoul?” he said, his irises wavering, other voices around them dying down. “Sorry… I can’t see that well… I think I lost too much blood…”

“I’m here… I’m here, Al…”

“Is that so… That’s good,” Alwig muttered, his voice shrinking with each word. “I’m glad my last moment is with you, Raoul…”

“Don’t… talk like that,” Raoul said, using his elbows to move closer to his friend, his mind mere seconds from shutting down. “You will make it…”

Though the movement was small, the wolf shook his head. “I know my conditions well… I have one last bit of mana to use divine arts one last time.”

Raoul’s hope flared up. “Quickly… use that on… yourself… and run…”

However, from the corner of his eyes, he saw the scarred soldier raising a dagger up high, and the end of the blade found its way into Raoul’s neck. The boy felt warm blood running down his cold nape, and his vision turned completely dark.

Raoul was walking among a crowd.

Everyone was transparent, the crowd stretching infinitely both in front and back. There were people without arms or legs, yet they moved and walked as if an invisible force was supplying what they lacked.

Raoul didn’t know what was happening, but he headed forward with the crowd as if he was drifting along the flow of a colorless river. He felt at ease.

Days passed, or that was what Raoul felt.

A giant castle came into view on the horizon, people entering the gate in waves. Dark figures were hovering in the air, looking at every person that passed. There was no exact shape to the creatures, simply a shifting mass of black that changed appearance with the wind. One such figure stared at Raoul.

The boy continued forward without minding the entity, only for him to bump into the dark figure who had appeared there without him realizing it.

‘Boy,’ the figure said, though there was no voice, just a thought coming to his mind. The figure glanced to the side. ‘Get out of the Path first, and we can talk.’

Raoul nodded, going along with the figure until they were outside.

The figure didn’t have eyes, but the boy could feel them looking at him. ‘There were two people who left you with a message,’ the entity said, voice containing no emotion. ‘What you do next is up to you.’

And the figure disappeared from the boy’s sight.

Suddenly, visions appeared inside his head, and he felt something being unlocked in his mind. His memories before his death.

With the sudden flood of emotions, he fell to the ground and screamed, remembering everything from Agnes’s deteriorating body to his parents’ deaths to Alwig’s dying state. There was nothing he could do now, however.

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Tears started dripping down his face.

It was all his fault, and everyone he held dear paid for it. He hugged his knees, feeling himself smaller than he had ever felt in his life.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, eyes closed, tears bursting out. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

More images flashed in his head, though this time, it was the memories of his parents. The normal everyday life he had lost forever. His father was shouting from the field for some water, his mother was demonstrating how to preserve the dough, the three of them were eating dinner together. It was a normal life, but right now, those scenes seemed like the most valuable days he would trade anything for.

He felt ashamed of himself. He was the one who robbed his parents of those days.

“I’m sorry.” Raoul gritted his teeth, his eyes still closed. “I’m the one who killed you two.”

Suddenly, a voice of the memories sounded in his head.

‘Don’t you think that’s too unreasonable, Raoul?’ his mother said in one of the memories.

“I’m a disappointment,” the boy murmured, shaking his head.

‘Now, I don’t think you need to push yourself that far, son,’ his father said.

“Maybe I’m cursed and fated to have nothing.” Tears streamed down his face again.

‘What nonsense are you speaking, Raoul?’ His mother’s voice was playful.

“I shouldn’t have been born…”

‘Never speak like that to your mother, son.’ His father’s voice was stern.

“What value do I even have?”

‘Remember, Raoul. You will always be a child I am proud of.’

‘Son, don’t ever put yourself down.’

‘Raoul, don’t listen to others and hold your head high.’

‘I know it might be hard, but you, my son, can definitely do it.’

Raoul looked up, tears never ceasing. “I should just give up already…”

‘We love you, Raoul.’

Alwig knew his life could last for seconds more.

His vision blurred, but he could roughly make out the shape of his friend lying on the ground, lifeless, blood streaming out of the boy’s neck. Alwig felt only mild anger, and the rest of his emotions was that of melancholy.

The young wolf prepared himself mentally before he sent waves of green healing mana into the ground, the energy weaving through the dirt to Raoul, closing the wounds all over the boy’s body.

The soldiers and villagers were too busy celebrating to notice the injuries healing themselves, and the preparation was complete.

Alwig closed his eyes, feeling the energy in his body, and smiled.

It has been fun, Raoul.

‘Raoul, we are proud of you.’

‘Raoul, don’t feel so down.’

‘Raoul, please don’t give up.’

‘Raoul, you are our blessing.’

“Please don’t say anything more,” Raoul said, sobbing and wiping tears off his face. “I don’t deserve your kindness.”

New sceneries played out in his head.

When he first hunted an animal, his parents threw a celebration where they invited neighbors to the feast.

“Why are you showing me this?” The boy continued sobbing, emotions conflicting in his mind as he watched the scene play out before a new memory surfaced.

It was his first time helping his mother prepare the dough, and even if he wasted a lot of flour, he could still remember his mother’s bright smile when he succeeded.

“It… still doesn’t change what I’ve done.”

This time, the memories went way back to when he could first walk as a toddler, and his father bragged about it to everyone in the village for days.

“I’m still a terrible son.”

Images of his parents reaching out to him came to his mind, his small hands grabbing those big and warm hands, the boy in the memory smiling.

“So why…”

Sceneries from his birth played one by one, images flashing by. One second, he was a baby, the next he was a toddler, then a child, and finally, he saw himself laying on the ground in a vast space of white, Alwig next to him.

‘You know what you have to do, right, Raoul?’

Then, the memories stopped, and a single scene lingered in his mind. His parents were smiling with tears in their eyes. Then, they waved at him for a long moment before looking at each other. They held one another’s hand and entered the colorless river, disappearing into the endless flow of people.

“Mom… Dad…” Raoul slowly got to his feet, wiping his face. “Thank you for everything.”

Suddenly, as if waiting for his resolve, green particles enveloped his body, and he felt warmth permeating his body down to its core.

“Al…” he said, looking at his hands, noticing how they were growing more transparent until finally, his body vanished from the Path.

The first sight Raoul saw after opening his eyes was the color of pure gold.

The luminescence gushed out of Alwig’s body, the light weaving with itself into countless strands of gold, entering the boy’s body one by one. He could feel life itself blooming in his body, rejuvenating what was damaged and enhancing what existed. Raoul could feel power rising in his body.

“Al!” The boy scrambled to his feet and rushed to his friend, holding his body. Only then did he notice that the young wolf weighed only a fraction of what he once was. Alwig had become thoroughly wrinkled, his body small and skinny, his eyes clouded.

“Raoul…” the wolf whispered, golden light still gushing out. “I’m sorry… I won’t be able to hunt with you again…”

“What are you sorry for?” Raoul said, holding in his tears. He knew what was about to happen, and he couldn’t let his friend depart while seeing that kind of face. “I should be the one who is sorry. I gave you so much trouble.”

Alwig laughed weakly. “Although we always say that we are friends, Raoul…” he said, then he smiled, and though the smile was still unnatural, the boy thought that the expression was no different from a human’s with all the emotions he displayed. “I always thought of you as my brother… so it’s alright. We are a family, aren’t we?”

Raoul nodded, managing to hold back his sob except for a single drop of tear trailing down his face. “We are, Al,” he said, grabbing his paw and holding it tight. “We are, Brother.”

“I’ve always…” Alwig whispered, strength slowly leaving his body, “wanted… a little brother…”

The wolf’s body went limp, his body motionless in Raoul’s arms, golden light ceasing. Though, he heard Alwig’s voice sound in his head one last time.

‘Thank you for everything.’