The inside of the wolf was so suffocating that every breath brought the stench of rotten flesh to his nose. His stomach churned in protest, but he had no other choice. His teeth sank into the soft, warm flesh as his mind wrestled with the act—questioning it while desperately searching for another way to survive.
But how could a newly born being think like an adult? No matter how fast one learns, some things can only be understood through experience.
"Disgusting, disgusting," he thought, trying not to vomit. But he had to eat—if he didn't, he would die.
"Was this… normal? Was life supposed to start like this? Eating the insides of a wolf instead of freezing to death… Was this living, or just a slower form of dying?"
"Blood… liquid. Metallic and warm. The taste was strange. But he had to drink it."
"His stomach churned, his throat burned. Yet his hands instinctively reached for the flesh again."
He was trapped between hunger, fear, and nausea.
This struggle continued for a while longer. Hunger, pain, and fear blended together. Each bite, each sip, gave him a little more strength to endure. But his body had limits. He was exhausted, every muscle slowly surrendering. The cold seeped into his very core, numbing parts of his body entirely. Yet, the time spent nestled within the wolf's warm internal organs dulled the sting of the cold and offered him a temporary refuge.
As his body neared the brink of collapse, his eyes began to close involuntarily. The pull of darkness became almost irresistible. Yet, a part of his mind fought back, driven by the instinct to survive. He knew he had to do something before giving in.
With great effort, he began to move, removing the rocks piled over the gash in the wolf's belly. Every movement was slow, every strain agonizing. When he finally pushed the stones aside, a freezing wind struck his face. His breath caught in his throat. His eyes focused on the darkness beyond; the outside was pitch black. The cold air sliced through him like a steel blade.
He quickly replaced the stones, sealing out the biting wind and preserving the faint warmth within. His instincts told him there was no need to fight anymore. This place was safe, at least for a little while.
Pressing his hands against the warm tissues inside the wolf, he curled up, feeling as though he were retreating to a womb. At last, he closed his eyes. The warmth, the silence... Sleep felt like a salvation amidst the cold and hunger. And finally, he obeyed his instincts, drifting into a deep but restless slumber.
At first, sleep felt like a comforting escape, but gradually, his mind began to stir. His body, however, remained fatigued—his skin burned by the cold, his muscles stiff and aching. The warmth provided by the wolf's body gave him a sense of security, yet the icy world outside seemed ready to strip it away at any moment. Though his eyes remained shut and his mind foggy, his instincts kept sending relentless warnings.
The restless sleep continued for a while longer, leaving behind only cold darkness and an unending sense of loneliness. Suddenly, he jolted awake. Opening his eyes, he faced the deep, empty void of the darkness. The cold had now crept up to his chest, but stepping outside or even glancing beyond felt like inviting danger into this uncertain world. The rocks by the edge of the river were still in place, acting like a barrier preventing escape.
His body was still overwhelmingly exhausted, yet hunger and fear intertwined within him. Instinctively, he withdrew his hand from the wolf's body and leaned against one of the rocks. His arm muscles ached, but his will to survive forced his body to move again. Weak as he was, he needed to take a step forward. Despite being a newly formed being, he knew that the only way to escape death was to press on.
After a moment of hesitation, he carefully began removing the rocks to look outside. As the biting wind hit him, his fear intensified. With each breath, the dark world seemed more menacing. A pitch-black expanse blanketed in snow lay before him. But something lingered—perhaps a glimmer of hope. Taking a deep breath, he replaced the rocks, plunging himself back into the safety of darkness.
Slowly, with every painful step, he resolved to venture further outward. It was time to leave the wolf behind. He needed to accept that he was a new creature, one who could survive in this cold world by embracing his nature. Every action, every movement was a lesson in survival. For now, that was all he could be. Balancing his fear with his will to live, he moved forward cautiously. Somewhere in the darkness, there was another chance.
When he left the wolf behind, the first thing he noticed was the intensity of the cold—freezing him to his core with every breath. The chill pressed against him like an unyielding force, growing stronger with each step away from the wolf's warm innards. But there was no turning back. He had already wasted precious seconds seeking warmth in the wolf's body. His own body was so drained that no shelter could fully restore him now.
Slowly, with great effort, his body began to move. Each step felt the icy texture of the ground; he couldn't distinguish between the slickness of the ice or the snow. His world was nothing but darkness. Neither his shallow breaths nor his hesitant steps offered any guidance. The darkness was so dense, and everything so uncertain, that even his slow progress felt like a monumental victory.
But, as with everything else, the cold offered him no promises. There was nothing to wear, no warmth to cling to—just the relentless drive to keep moving forward. Outside, in the snow and pitch-black night, there was nothing but an indistinguishable mix of elements. He began to realize one thing: no matter how far he walked, he always felt as though he was in the same place. Everything was like a wasteland—a desert of snow, darkness, cold, and silence.
With one more step, breathing became increasingly difficult. His body was frozen from the cold. This was no longer about simply trying to move forward—it had turned into a full-fledged struggle for survival. No matter how hard he tried to stay alive, everything seemed to attack him mercilessly. The cold, the darkness, and the deadly emptiness made progress the only option.
Every moment, the desire to stop and turn back surged within him. But turning back meant freezing to death. His body ached more with every passing second. Each step made the ground feel slipperier, and every stumble brought sharp pain. Still, he pressed on. One more step, and then another. Every step could mean falling, losing his way, or dying. Yet if he stopped, he would certainly die.
At this moment, there was only one way out—to face every danger head-on and keep moving forward.
He endured it all and kept going. Each step was a desperate attempt to survive in the cold, dark world. In the distance, he could hear the howls of wolves and the growls of beasts. The sounds drew nearer with every passing second, like the herald of an approaching danger, deepening the fear within him. At that moment, everything around him felt threatening, intent on killing him. His fear quickened his heartbeat, making it seem as though no safe place existed in this dark world. But he had no choice but to move forward; turning back would lead to certain doom.
This lasted only two minutes, but every second felt like an eternity. His body began to show signs of hypothermia. Breathing became harder, and each step made him shiver more violently. His muscles felt as though they were locking up in different ways, and spasms became more frequent. Worst of all, his ears and nose felt like they were freezing solid. What had begun as a slight chill evolved into a sharp, knife-like pain. His vision blurred, and his head grew heavier. It felt as if a pain starting from his temples was spreading to his brain, growing sharper with each step. Every throb of pain in his mind seemed to pull him further from reality.
"So painful! So painful!" he murmured, hastening his steps as he searched for a glimmer of hope in the darkness. But each hurried step brought more agony to his body.
And then... he saw something. Amid the darkness, in the distance, there appeared to be a cave—an opening he could enter. His heart pounded desperately. "I found it! I found it!" he thought, clinging to this dark world's final glimmer of hope and moving toward it as quickly as he could.
Yet with every step, his body rebelled against him. The icy wind didn't just envelope him; it froze every muscle and vein in his body. Each step, every second, became a struggle to keep surviving. But the cave offered him one last chance. In this world where he had thought everything was lost, the search for shelter now had a singular focus: that cave.
If he could reach it, he might find some sense of safety. But getting there was turning into a battle that grew harder with every moment. His mind clouded, his body on the verge of collapse, and yet he fought on, driven by the hope of reaching that cave.
As soon as he stepped inside, the biting cold wind was replaced by a different warmth. His body finally relaxed, if only for a brief moment. Merely finding shelter was enough to ease the biting pain within him. The frozen snow and wind outside made this place feel safer, but it offered only a temporary reprieve.
As he moved between the rocks, his hands brushed against the damp surfaces of the stones. They weren't soft but hard and cold, just like the moss-covered walls that made the ground slippery. With each step, water droplets trickled down the rocks, creating faint sounds as they hit the ground. As he ventured deeper into the cave, he noticed the walls narrowing. Every step echoed, amplifying the sound of his movements and reminding him of his solitude.
The world outside grew more distant with every step, and for the first time, he could catch his breath. His frostbitten nose and ears began to feel a faint sense of relief from the humid air inside the cave. Resting his head against the wall, he breathed heavily, spreading his frozen fingers as he pressed further into what he saw as a sanctuary.
Every step was filled with pain. His body was exhausted, and his leg muscles continued to tremble. While the cave blocked the cold from outside, it was still far from warm. Taking a deep breath, he tried to adjust his chest to the frozen air. Slowly, he sat on the ground and closed his eyes for a moment. The silence, darkness, and solitude in this place gave him the fleeting feeling of a temporary refuge.
But no matter how long he stayed here, it wouldn't be enough to ensure his survival. His body was slowly giving up, and his instincts kept screaming that staying still was a mistake. With each passing minute, the pain and exhaustion grew worse. While he had entered the cave to rest and find some relief, he soon had to face the reality that he needed another solution. The cave didn't sustain him—it was merely a place to pause in his fight for survival. After a short rest, his frozen legs would make it harder to move, and the cold air would eventually force him back outside.
The darkness from the depths of the cave seemed to drape over him like a suffocating blanket. He couldn't see anything and had to feel his way along the walls as he returned closer to the entrance. Sitting down near the cave's opening, he leaned against the cold rocks, though they offered little comfort. While it was relatively warmer inside, the temperature wasn't enough to sustain him for long.
One thought circled endlessly in his mind: "That warm, glowing thing... I need something like that. But how do I make it? I have no idea."
For a while, he sat in silence, his thoughts jumbled and weary. His hands were numb from the cold, but he felt an urge to search around with them. He found something on the ground—it seemed to be dry branches and leaves. He didn't know how they had ended up in the cave, but for now, they were noteworthy.
A while later, his fingers grasped one of the cold, damp stones, and by chance, he struck it hard against another rock. A spark flickered briefly before his eyes. At first, he didn't understand what had happened. He struck the stones together again, more deliberately this time, and another spark appeared. After a few attempts, he managed to direct the sparks onto the dry branches.
But nothing happened. "This isn't working," he thought with disappointment. "Maybe I need another way." Yet, absentmindedly, he kept striking the stones together. There was nothing else he could do for now. Suddenly, one of the dry branches began to smolder from the spark. His eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected event.
"How... how did this happen?" he murmured. He carefully reached out for the smoking branch, but he accidentally dropped it. When it hit the ground, it caught a faint flame. The fire, small and flickering at first, started to grow. His breath caught. His heart raced, a mixture of shock and fear. This small light brought him warmth and a glimmer of hope.
He couldn't take his eyes off the fire. At first, he hesitated, unsure what to do. "Could this be dangerous? Or... is it salvation?" he wondered. He added more branches and leaves to the fire and watched as the flames grew. Carefully, he brought his hands closer to the fire; the warmth slowly thawed his frozen fingers. It felt like a miracle to him.
The walls of the cave began to flicker in the faint light of the small flame. He could now see his surroundings more clearly—the crevices in the walls, the damp stones, and the descending structure of the ceiling came into view. The fire gave him not only warmth but also a sense of safety.
However, the small fire soon extinguished, and darkness enveloped the area once more. After feeling the brief comfort of warmth and light, the deep cold of the darkness returned.
He immediately sprang into action. Gathering more dry branches and leaves, he carefully assembled a larger pile. When he reignited the fire, flames rose that were at least five times larger than the previous one. The dancing flames forced the darkness to retreat, spreading a warm sense of peace around him.
Slowly, he sat down near the fire. His hands, numb from the cold, were gradually warmed by the flickering flames. "This won't last long," he thought, his voice echoing as a whisper in his mind. "I need to find something more durable."
But he didn't want to disturb his current comfort. In the reassuring glow of the flames, he closed his eyes and let the exhaustion in his mind take over, deciding to rest. The crackling of the fire and the surrounding silence offered him a brief respite.
After about three hours of rest, he opened his eyes. Groggy from sleep, he glanced toward the cave's entrance. Morning had arrived. The sky was lit with a pale light, hidden behind gray clouds. Snow and wind still persisted, but they seemed less merciless than the night before. The faint breeze had lost some of its deadly chill.
However, in these conditions, staying outside for more than two hours could still be fatal—especially for someone with a bare body like his.
The faint pang of hunger in his stomach and the dryness in his throat reminded him of another pressing reality: hunger and thirst. As someone new to this world, he didn't yet know what was safe and what was dangerous.
He also noticed that the fire had completely gone out. Staring at the extinguished ashes, he felt the absence of the flames that had provided warmth and safety throughout the night. The cave had once again become cold and eerie. He knew he couldn't afford to waste time.
He stood up immediately and decided to move deeper into the cave. The pale morning light illuminated the dim darkness of the cave slightly, making it much easier for him to see than the night before. Each step echoed on the stone floor, breaking the cave's silence.
After walking for a while, he reached a larger area within the cave. It felt like a hidden treasure chamber of nature. The faintly glowing crystals on the walls shimmered like a natural light source in the depths of the cave. The gentle sound of running water reached his ears—likely an underground spring nearby.
This was a glimmer of hope for him. Finding water could increase his chances of survival. Yet, he sensed he wasn't alone in this space. A faint but rhythmic breathing sound reached his ears. Squinting and looking around carefully, he noticed a creature dozing in a corner of the cave.
The creature was large and muscular, its white fur resembling a beast covered in snow. The mist emanating from its nostrils showed the warm breath meeting the cold air. Beside the creature lay a fresh animal carcass—more than enough to confirm that it was a dangerous predator.
Holding his breath, he began to retreat. For now, he didn't want to face the creature. However, he knew this place held water and possibly food. He needed to come back with a plan. For now, he decided to retreat to a safer corner of the cave and think of a survival strategy in this unfamiliar world.
The creature in front of him was in a deep sleep. If it had been awake, it was certain that he would already be dead, its prey. The creature's powerful build and the fresh kill beside it clearly indicated that this was its territory. However, it was also evident that the creature's restless sleep wouldn't last much longer.
With each breath, warm steam escaped its nostrils, becoming more noticeable in the cave's cold air. This rhythmic breathing was the only sign that the creature was currently in a deep sleep. However, when he noticed its massive body shift slightly, he felt time was running out. The mere thought of those powerful claws moving was enough to paralyze him with fear.
He quickly tried to come up with a plan in his mind. "How could someone as defenseless as me deal with such a creature?" The answer was clear: He couldn't. The only thing he could do was get out of there as quietly and quickly as possible.
Taking each step carefully, he began to move backward. The small stones and loose rocks beneath his feet seemed to challenge him at every moment, threatening to make even the slightest noise. He focused all his attention on avoiding even the smallest mistake that could wake the creature.
He held his breath. His heartbeat echoed in his ears, and he felt as though the sound might shatter the silence of the cave. After taking a few more cautious steps, he finally reached a safer corner of the cave and let out a deep breath. The creature was still asleep.
From this moment on, he made a promise to himself: "I can come back to this place. But next time, I'll be more prepared."