Tendo speedily crossed the bridge, his footsteps echoing against the wooden planks. He plunged into the woods, where the air grew thick with an eerie, suffocating darkness. His night vision was sharp, but even that struggled against the oppressive blackness that seemed to swallow everything.
“Hyung... Hyung... Hyung... Hyung... Hyung!” he shouted desperately, his voice ricocheting through the trees, growing fainter with each repetition. The silence that followed felt like a physical weight pressing down on him.
He frantically scanned his surroundings, but the shadows were impenetrable. Panic gnawed at the edges of his mind, threatening to overwhelm him.
“Follow the scent,” Nevalis' voice echoed in his mind, a calm whisper amidst his chaos.
Tendo froze, realization dawning. In his frantic state, he had forgotten that his other senses were still keen. He forced himself to take a deep breath, the cool, damp air filling his lungs, grounding him. He closed his eyes for a moment and focused on his sense of smell.
Haruto’s scent, a unique blend of earth and amber with a trace of something magical, lingered faintly in the air. He took another deep breath, letting the scent guide him. His ears perked up, straining to catch any sound that might hint at Haruto’s presence.
"Hyung!" Tendo called again, his voice reverberating through the silent forest. He moved steadily, guided by his senses, leading him deeper into the darkness.
In the distance, Tendo spotted a small source of light. His heart pounded as he started to run towards it. As he got closer, Haruto's scent grew stronger, and he could now see Haruto lying on the forest floor. The light emanated from Haruto himself; his body emitted a faint glow, casting eerie shadows in the surrounding murkiness. All around him, the darkness seemed to pulse and writhe, as if alive and reaching for him.
A strange humming sound filled the air, making Tendo's ears ache and his head throb. He clutched his head, feeling as if needles were piercing his brain. Despite the pain, Tendo forced himself to move, driven by his determination to save Haruto.
With great difficulty, Tendo reached Haruto's side. The glow around Haruto flickered with a faint yellowish light, illuminating his pale, motionless form. Tendo dropped to his knees beside him, the oppressive darkness pressing in on all sides.
"Hyung?" Tendo called out again, touching Haruto's face, which felt as cold as a dead body. Tears started to drip down his face, and he began to lose his calm.
"Don't worry, he is alive, just fainted. But both of you need to get out of here; otherwise, these Night terrors will suck your soul," Nevalis said, his voice urgent in Tendo's mind.
Tendo's heart pounded as he struggled to keep his fear in check. He tightened his grip on Haruto, feeling the coldness seep into his own skin. He tried waking up Haruto, but he seemed to be in a deep sleep, unresponsive to Tendo’s desperate shaking.
The oppressive darkness pressed closer, the humming growing unbearable. Tendo felt the night terrors' presence, a suffocating force trying to pull them both into the abyss. He thought he had to act fast.
Past memories of his parents' death started to surface in his mind, the night terrors trying to force these memories into his consciousness to make him lose control. With great difficulty, Tendo cleared his mind of these memories and focused on the task at hand. Summoning his inner strength, he created a barrier of blue petals around Haruto and himself.
As the barrier formed, Tendo struggled to his feet and put Haruto's arm around his shoulder. Within seconds, cracks started to form in the barrier as frost accumulated on the petals, breaking them at an alarming speed. Usually, this shouldn’t happen to his blue petals because they were from the snowdrop flower, a winter flower resistant to frost. But this coldness was strange, an unnatural chill that could even shatter his blue petal barrier. The surrounding temperature dropped, growing colder and colder.
The darkness seemed to pulse, and the humming grew louder, more intense. Tendo forced his legs to move, each step a struggle against the encroaching cold and the weight of Haruto’s unconscious body.
Tendo's breath came out in visible puffs, and his fingers started to numb. He gritted his teeth and tightened his hold on Haruto. The cold didn’t affect Tendo much, but it was dangerous for Haruto, who was already very cold and turning blue. Tendo forced another barrier and sent petal blades around himself, but they felt like they were passing through the air, ineffective against the Night terrors.
Cold sweat started to pour from his forehead as he asked Nevalis, "What should we do now, Nevalis? These creatures don't have physical bodies, no scent, nothing—just black murky darkness. I cannot touch them. I cannot feel them. How am I supposed to fight them? This environment is becoming unbearable. I need to get Haruto Hyung out of here as soon as possible. Please do something."
Another barrier broke around them, and crystals fell onto Tendo and Haruto's bodies. Tendo immediately shielded Haruto with his own body, causing the sharp crystals to scratch his skin and draw blood. The whooshing and humming of the Night terrors grew stronger as they tried to touch his body. Something cold and slippery started to lick his wounds, and Tendo felt a disgustingly itchy sensation around his injuries. The pain intensified tenfold, and Tendo couldn't help crying out in agony.
He felt like something was sucking the life out of him. Tendo's energy drained, his legs as heavy as lead. Memories of his time with Asahi, Haruto, and his pack friends flashed before his eyes. The whispers around him mockingly echoed:
"The Lycan who will save the world... hahaha, what a joke!"
"You can't even save one person, how will you save the world?"
The whispers berated him for his weakness, laughing again and again at his vulnerabilities. Tendo almost wanted to laugh along with them, acknowledging the bitter truth in their words.
He recalled Nevalis' words, "Don't waste your time." Nevalis had warned, but Tendo had turned a deaf ear, blinded by his own arrogance. Now, he bore the weight of his mistakes like a leaden shackle, wondering if redemption was beyond his grasp.
Asahi's fears came rushing back to him, a painful realization of his naivety. He had thought Sora was his only adversary, but now he saw the complexity of the world around him, dark and unforgiving.
The whispers grew louder, their cruelty relentless. "After gaining some powers, you thought you were something. You're nothing, Tendo Akiro... nothing but a failure."
Tendo felt the truth of their words like a physical blow, his resolve crumbling with each taunt. "It's all my fault..." he whispered, tears mingling with sweat and blood on his face. His voice cracked, a sob escaping his lips as he surrendered to his despair.
Nevalis' voice cut through the cacophony, urging him to fight, but Tendo found himself drowning in the sea of his own self-doubt.
"You were not born as some kind of legend or prophecy. You are born as a curse," the whispers taunted, their words a relentless mantra of despair.
Tendo's mind echoed their refrain, his sanity slipping through his fingers like grains of sand. "I am a curse. I should... I should... I must die."
"I... I am so sorry, Nevalis," he muttered, his voice hollow with resignation. "All along, you... you were right, and I didn't listen to you."
The whispers grew louder, their voices merging into a chorus of madness. "Curse... curse... Die... die..."
Tendo's gaze fell on Haruto, lying motionless beside him, a silent testament to his failure. "All this time, I thought I had enough power to protect the people around me, but look... look."
“Look at what happens to those close to me. How hopeless I am now. I can't protect anyone,” Tendo's voice wavered with despair as pain surged through him.
A drop of blood fell from his face onto the crescent necklace his mother had given him, its surface absorbing the crimson droplet. Instantly, the necklace began to emit a faint light, causing the night terrors to recoil with shrieks of fear.
“Tendo, snap out of it or you'll die here,” Nevalis's urgent voice broke through the haze in Tendo's mind.
“Tendo... Tendo... listen,” a familiar whisper, his mother's voice, called out to him.
“Tendo, my child, you must live well,” his mother's gentle voice resonated, grounding him in reality.
Her words jolted Tendo from his despair, and Nevalis's voice became clearer.
"Tendo, don't lose hope. Your vulnerability feeds them," Nevalis urged, attempting to help Tendo regain control.
At the same time, Nevalis attempted to establish a link with Asahi's wolf to inform him of their situation, realizing that Tendo had left without a word.
“I can't hold on much longer. They have drained me of my energy,” Tendo's voice trembled with helplessness.
At that moment, Nevalis thought of something and said, "Tendo, I think these creatures are afraid of light. That's why they inhabit the deepest part of this Tenebrous Forest, where the tree canopies block out all light. They use some mystical means to lure their prey here to feed on them. Look, they haven't touched Haruto because his golden glow acts as a barrier, keeping them at bay. Similarly, right now your necklace has just emitted a faint light and these Night terrors shrieked to avoid it.”
Tendo observed that Nevalis was right. Haruto might have fainted from the cold, not because of the night terrors.
"But where should I get the light? I don't have anything with me," Tendo said, desperation creeping into his voice.
Nevalis thought quickly and then said, "Let me take control."
Tendo, though drained of energy and barely able to stand, trusted Nevalis. He allowed Nevalis to take control. His eyes immediately turned violet-blue, and streaks of the same color appeared in his hair as Nevalis took over, transforming Tendo's aura into that of a cold, powerful beast.
The humming and whooshing around them turned into shrieking sounds as the creatures were somewhat suppressed by Nevalis' aura. However, the murky blackness continued to accumulate from all directions, as if the night terrors were converging for a grand feast.
Nevalis knew he had only one option left, but it required a tremendous amount of energy. He could only use his core essence for this.
With a deep breath, Nevalis drew energy from the core essence, tapping into their deepest reserves of power. Blue-violet snowdrops with crystal-sharp edges began to swirl around him. The snowdrops moved toward the upper canopy, their sharp edges slicing through the thick foliage, trying to create an opening. Twigs and branches fell away, but the canopy was still too dense, and the snowdrop crystals couldn't create even a small gap.
Undeterred, Nevalis sent petal blades spinning upward with renewed force, their edges gleaming with fierce determination. Each blade was infused with core essence energy, and as they cut through the remaining branches, a small sliver of moonlight finally broke through the canopy.
But this small amount of light was not enough to ward off the night terrors. They continued to slither around him, and his wounds were oozing copious amounts of blood, making it difficult for him to even breathe.
Nevalis, sensing the urgency, put all his energy and determination into one final effort. He raised his hand above his head, summoning more snowdrops that began to swirl around him, each one covered with frost and crystals. Hundreds of crystal snowdrops moved toward the opening, each reflecting and amplifying the moonlight.
The reflected moonlight created a dazzling display, intensifying the light in the clearing. The night terrors shrieked and recoiled from the powerful illumination. The oppressive darkness began to waver, retreating in the face of the overwhelming light.
With the night terrors warded off, Nevalis, with great difficulty and using his remaining energy, picked Haruto up and put him on his back. Each step was a struggle against his exhaustion as he started to run in the direction they had come from. All around him, the murky blackness vanished wherever the light touched it. At the same time, Nevalis formed a link with Asahi's wolf and communicated the entire situation to him.
In the camp, Asahi woke up drenched in sweat, his breathing labored. He looked around and found no sign of Tendo or Haruto. His wolf, Ursa, informed him of the situation with the night terrors. Without hesitation, Asahi transformed into his wolf form and ran towards the bridge, crossing to the other side of the ravine.
As he ran, memories of his worst nightmares surfaced. He had been trapped in a half-sleep state, aware when Haruto and Tendo left the camp but unable to wake up. Every time he tried to open his eyes, a dark force pulled him back into the eerie darkness. He relived the death of his parents, the destruction of his pack, and the betrayal of Sora. He had been unable to speak or break free. He had heard stories about the Night terrors and feared losing Tendo and Haruto. He couldn't bear the thought of failing Ren and losing the children under his protection.
Asahi, a speedster by nature, quickly reached the other side of the ravine. However, he couldn't detect their scent. All he could smell was the strange murky odor of the Night terrors, which masked Tendo and Haruto's presence. Frustrated, he tried to form a link with Nevalis again, but the connection was broken. After informing Asahi's wolf of the situation, Nevalis' link had been lost.
On the other side, Nevalis, with great difficulty, reached a safe distance—a canopy with plenty of moonlight where he was sure the Night terrors wouldn't follow. He gently placed Haruto on the ground. Nevalis' body was covered in blood, and even breathing was becoming difficult for him. He knew he was going into a passive stage until he recovered. He gave control back to Tendo.
Tendo's eyes reverted to their natural blue as he collapsed beside Haruto, his exhausted body covered in blood. Barely clinging to consciousness, he heard Nevali's last words, "Tendo, for the time being, I won't be available. But our bond remains unbroken. Though I won't be able to guide you daily, know that I'm eternally linked to you, always protecting and watching over you... Even in silence, my presence remains. Train hard, live well. Goodbye."
Nevalis' words lingered in the air as his existence faded into cherished memories, leaving Tendo with a sense of loss.
"Nooooo," Tendo cried into the silent forest, his voice echoing through the trees. He felt a profound sense of loss and helplessness as he realized Nevalis was gone. He had lost his good friend, his wolf, and the feeling was unbearable.
Tendo's senses, once honed to supernatural sharpness, now felt dull and unreliable. The withdrawal from Nevalis' presence was like losing a limb, leaving him feeling crippled and vulnerable. How could he protect anyone without his powers or Nevalis' guidance? The uncertainty was suffocating.
Asahi on the other side, still unable to find their scent, followed his instincts. Eventually, he caught sight of Tendo and Haruto in the moonlit clearing. Relief washed over him as he saw them, but his heart clenched at their battered state.
"Tendo! Haruto!" Asahi called out as he shifted back to his human form and rushed to their side.
The sound of Asahi's voice snapped Tendo out of his downward spiral, and he gazed up at Asahi with a helpless expression. "Dad... Nevalis is gone," he whispered, tears streaming down his face, mingling with the blood on his cheeks, and stinging his injuries even more.
Asahi's face contorted in empathy, and he quickly moved to Tendo's side. But before he could reach him, Tendo's eyes fluttered closed, and he slumped to the ground, exhausted. Asahi gently laid him down beside Haruto, his hands moving swiftly to assess their injuries.
Asahi carried Tendo and Haruto back to the camp, carefully laying them down and beginning to treat their injuries. He urgently provided Tendo with first aid, but he realized that both Tendo and Haruto required more specialized care than he could provide in the camp, and Blue Moon was the only place that could treat them properly.
Asahi decided to take them immediately to the Blue Moon pack. He called Ling Mei and explained the whole situation. Then he quickly picked up Haruto and Tendo and left the camp. After crossing the vicinity of the woods, he reached the road where he saw two cars sent by the Blue Moon pack waiting at the side.
A pack member was standing beside the car. "Alpha Asahi, please," he said when he saw Asahi approaching, gesturing toward the car. Asahi nodded in greeting and gently placed Tendo and Haruto in the back seat before sitting in the passenger seat.
The pack member turned to the other person and said, "Meo, you bring their luggage back in the other car." After giving the instruction, he got into the driver's seat and started the car toward the Blue Moon pack territory.
The drive was tense and silent, with Asahi keeping a close watch on Tendo and Haruto in the back seat. Their breaths were shallow, and the sight of their injuries made his heart ache. He hoped the healers at Blue Moon could provide the care they desperately needed.
Upon arriving at the Blue Moon pack territory, the cars were greeted by several pack members, including the head healer, Ling Mei. She quickly assessed the situation and directed them to the infirmary. Inside the infirmary, Ling Mei placed her hand on Tendo's forehead analyzed his situation for a moment, and then said, "His wounds are serious, but his recovering abilities are good. He will be fine in a day."
Asahi sighed with relief and then asked, "What about his wolf? He said his wolf is gone."
"Not completely gone. He has gone into a passive stage because he has utilized his core essence. The link is still there, but for the time being, it's very weak. Due to this weak link, he might have lost many of his powers. After fully recovering and reforming the core essence, his wolf will be back," Ling Mei explained.
Asahi nodded in understanding. Ling Mei then moved towards Haruto and placed her hand on his forehead. Her brow furrowed in thought as she tried to analyze the situation.
Asahi asked with some worry, "Is he okay?"
Ling Mei said, "Strange," and then asked Asahi, "Did he form a link with his wolf?"
Asahi shook his head. "Then what is this strange fluctuation of energy in his body?" she asked, puzzled. She then instructed a pack member to take Haruto to an upper floor in a separate room. Asahi asked again with worry, "What happened? Will he be okay?"
"His situation is strange. He doesn't seem to have any physical injuries, but he is still in a state of sleep paralysis, and we don't know when he will wake up. So we have to carefully analyze his situation," Ling Mei explained.
Asahi's worry increased after hearing this. He then called Ren and told him the whole situation, informing him that when Tendo recovered, he would return to their pack, and Ren could come to Blue Moon for Haruto.
Returning to Ling Mei's side, Asahi thanked her, "Thank you, Ling Mei, and your pack members for all the help and assistance. I will always remain indebted to you for this."
Ling Mei smiled gently. "You're family, Asahi. We'll always be here to help. Now, tell me more about what happened. We need to understand the whole situation to better comprehend Haruto's condition."
Asahi recounted the events of the night, detailing the Night terrors and the nightmares. After listening, Ling Mei said, "Asahi, I must say that these children are very brave and lucky because no one has ever come back after encountering the night terrors. It's very good that they are safe now."
Asahi nodded in agreement, his eyes filled with concern. "Yes, but we still need to understand what happened in the forest. We'll have to wait until the boys wake up to get the full story."
Asahi's mind raced with questions about the unimaginable journey the two young boys, barely 12 and 13 years old, had faced in the forest's depths. How had they managed to vanquish the Night terrors that lurked within? When he finally found them, the Night terrors were gone. So, what exactly had happened? What happened to Nevalis? Why had he resorted to using his core essence as a last resort?
All these questions swirled in Asahi's mind along with the weight of his failure bore down on him, both as the Alpha of the pack and as a father. He had failed to protect his own son and the pack members.
