In the middle of a foggy forest, a rectangular altar which had four huge stone columns on its edges silently lay on the ground.
The altar was covered with moss and dirt, and the stone columns had vines with thorns encircling around it. One could easily distinguish that it was an old and ancient altar, a relic of the past. But for some odd reasons, it was left abandoned and unguarded, giving chance for nature to cover it with fungi, weeds, and other root-like infesting lichens.
Beneath the dirt and moss, a faint light glowed. The light kept its brightness on a low spectrum, avoiding to allure unnecessary attraction.
Every mysterious symbol glowed one after another, and from thin air, a cocoon came into a being.
The cocoon slightly wiggled and the thin roots that covered it slowly tore open. A thin boy wearing a thick jacket emerged from it. His Ash-grey hair swayed whenever he shook his head.
Lev's thought was in a disarray, he could not think properly because of the severe headache. He closed his eyes and tried to shake off the pain by relaxing his thoughts and taking deep breaths.
A few minutes later, he found his mind starting to calm down and the pain it held gradually lessened. His eyelids lifted, revealing ash-grey eyes which looked grey with a shade of black. He started to scan his surroundings and what he saw were disoriented trees. It was different from a thick and straight tree that Lev knew, from what he can observe, it looked more like a wavy line that resembled like a snake's body.
"Where am I?" His voice was so brittle that it sounded like he was about to cry.
Lev garnered his strength on his legs and slowly stood up. Besides the headache, he felt that every muscle fiber on his lower limbs was torn apart and his joints were aching.
On the front of the altar, there was what looked like a footpath which was covered with grasses and tall shrubs.
He stirred his memories, hoping that he could remember how he got here. The last thing he could recall was running in a dark place with someone. But when he delved further into his memories, a painful sensation stabbed him in the head.
Dizziness in the head and discomfort in the body, Lev didn't know why he was in such a pitiful situation. During the process of relaxing his mind, he subconsciously started walking down the forest path, while his hands rubbed his temples.
After walking for a while, a loud howling noise could be heard from a distance. The howl snapped Lev's mind, waking him from his dreamlike trance.
Lev started panicking, for some odd reason, he felt like he was back in the place he couldn't remember. The familiar sensation mysteriously made his heartache. He wanted to cry his heart out but he didn't know why he felt such a depressing pain.
Ignoring his feeling, Lev silently jogged behind a tree to hide from whatever made that noise.
Red eyes emerged from the darkness, and a huge body that was covered with black fur followed. Apart from its huge body, sharp claws protruded out on its paws with mud-stained on its surface. It looked like a wolf but it was bigger than a normal one that Lev knew. It had a more sinister feeling in his eyes and its sharp and long canines reached down on its chin.
Its nose twitched and its head bowed to the ground, sniffing what scent it could search. But to its dismay, its nose betrayed him and failed to catch a scent.
Its jaw dropped and exhaled a foul breath. The huge wolf had seen better days. Its fur was thin and it clung to his frame like a coat flurrying on a windy day.
Even from several yards away, Lev could count its ribs. Its movement was starting to falter as if each step it made pained him and his head slowly sunk down. The sinister feeling that Lev felt became less until it slowly disappeared, and the red eyes that should be scanning for danger or opportunities to eat gave up on its role. Then just a few yards away he stumbled on the ground as if it meant to lie down on the soft grasses.
Lev felt pity towards the huge wolf, he may be dangerous to approach but it was just trying its best to survive this harsh life.
Then its huge black head slowly lifted and started to howl. Lev, who was looking at it behind a tree felt that behind the howling voice, there was sadness hidden in it.
The body showed signs that it was nearing its death. His ribs slowly bulged and deflated, and its breathing started to slow down. Lev slowly came out on his hiding place and he slowly approached it. Beneath its red eyes were black fur that was damped.
"Once, a powerful hunter. But now, just a helpless creature desperate to live."
A low voice came from behind. With a spinning motion, Lev turned his body toward the direction where the voice came from.
A figure that was covered in a dark cloak with a hood stared at him.
"Who are you?" Lev warily asked the stranger.
"An inhabitant of this place." The stranger firmly answered. He placed his hand in his robe and started to take small steps toward Lev.
As soon as he began approaching, Lev quickly backed off while looking at him. The fact that Lev didn't know whether this person might have bad intentions made him vigilant and alert on every action he did.
But actually, the stranger's approach wasn't meant for Lev, instead, it was directed at the wolf who was now breathing out his spirit.
"From what I can see, you're not from here," The stranger knelt beside the wolf. He took out on what looked like a piece of raw meat and a small vial filled with yellow liquid in it. After placing the meat on the ground, he opened the wooden lid of the vial and started pouring it on the meat.
The meat miraculously absorbed the liquid and it began to faintly glow.
To his surprise, Lev wasn't shocked by everything that happened. He felt that something more absurd in his life but he just couldn't point it out.
The stranger patted the wolf's head and placed the meat on the front of its mouth. The wolf gladly opened its mouth as it slowly chewed the meat and swallowed it.
After devouring the meat, the wolf felt energy surging within its body. Its body may not show any visible sign of improvement at being healthy, but it could feel that it could run for a whole day.
The wolf stood up and drew its head close to the stranger's face who was kneeling. From what Lev was seeing, he felt deep inside him that the wolf was thanking that stranger.
The stranger slightly bowed his head and got to his feet. His gaze landed on Lev and a low voice came out:
"Who are you? And why are you here?"