The huge absurdly inflated bear towered in front of him. It let out a deep growl, resounding from its torso.
With blazing red eyes, it completely obliterated his mind.
Renn was not able to think anything besides the terror he felt and the deep-rooted hatred in this bears eyes.
He finally heard Kaedes voice clearly. But it was not calling him to come, but.... to
'Run Renn!'
Snapping out of his blank mind, he quickly turned around to run, just to see the bear again towering in front of him.
Before he could move a muscle, the bear already grabbed him violently and pushed him to the ground. Renn gasped for air, but helplessly he felt his mind turning dark.
'I can't die yet...'
-------------------------
Kaede was turning crazy.
She lost her little brother in the fog and tried to find her way out of the fog. She somehow got to a river. She then saw a towering shadow in the fog, unmoving. When she could discern it was a bear - the bear saw her.
She quickly jumped into the river and wondrously the bear seemed to stop in front of the water and stood on the other side.
Finally feeling safe, she let out a breather to think calmly about this weird situation.
The bear she saw was definitely odd, something was off, but she couldn't lay her finger on it.
Worrying for her still not to be seen brother, she concentrated on how to help him avoid the bear. She started by shouting loudly to warn her brother.
'DON'T COME THIS WAY RENN. THERE IS A BEAR WATCH OUT!!!'
-------------------------
When Renn woke up, he was in a dark pit.
'Where am I?' he thought.
He touched his head, searching for a wound, but it already healed completely. He spread his senses and only found the thick fog, but this time even thicker than before.
Standing up, he walked, only to find a wall after a few steps. Touching the rough stone, he realised he was in a cave.
Since it was a cave, he decided to just walk along the wall. It was still better than waiting here and accepting his destiny. After a while, he came to a crossing. Just relying on his gut feeling, he took the right path.
Still covered in the thick fog, he steadily moved forward. It once again felt like an eternity.
But there! He could see the surrounding things more clearly. It was getting brighter!
Excited he sped up his steps. Just a little more!
He could see an opening!
Renn froze. He could also the bear, lying lazily beside it, covering more than half of the exit.
He now just realised that the bear was not only absurdly inflated but also had heavy wounds and scars which didn't heal completely. It breathed heavily.
Sensing his gaze, the bear suddenly opened his eyes and looked directly into Renn's eyes.
'Human! Come over here!'
Remembering the absurd speed of the bear, he didn't dare to be disobedient and slowly crept closer, his body trembling in fear.
'Do you know why I spared your life?'
He shook his head. 'No I don't.'
The bear laughed, but not as friendly as his uncle, or warm as his mother, neither like the Baku.
It was a laughter full of bitterness and hatred, deep wrath in it.
Renn turned ashen.
'Do you see those wounds here? At least this you should be able to get you fool!' the bear growled.
Renn quickly nodded. 'Yes, I do!'
'These wounds.... were caused by a damn human like you! I hunted him down but didn't make sure that he was really dead. That persistent scum sneakily killed my family and ran away.' He spoke with his teeth gritted.
I chased after him, but he swam over the river and tricked me. He told he crossed the river by drinking it up!' His voice turned almost hysteric, giving him an even more manic expression.
'And dumb as I was, I believed this scum and started to drink the water. More and more, only thinking of revenge. MORE AND MORE!!!' He roared furiously. Renn moved back a bit, afraid by the sudden burst of emotion. The bear suddenly turned quiet, which alerted Renn even more than when he was roaring.
'Until I burst, exploded.' The bear said emotionlessly.
'And since then, this damned fog would creep around me, coming out from me, while this endless pain won't stop.' The insane glint came back to its eyes, glowing red again.
'And YOU will help me to get back to my former self. Don't even think of running, I would kill you before you could even flinch.'
Renn again nodded helplessly. What could an ant do in front of an elephant? Nothing, just try to not get in its way.
'But how can I do anything? I never learned to heal and I can't sense anything in this fog!'
The bear grinned devilishly. 'That you have to find out yourself. I will give you 3 days, by then come with a solution. If you can't, try to run, or your solution fails, you will die.
Like everyone before you.'