Wolf Child

II

Kilfer enjoyed the rhythmic rocking of the deer as it bounded seemingly effortlessly across vast distances, watching the green plants and other animals and flowers and bees go by. In fact, Kilfer just loved it, the feeling made him forget everything, all the pains and hard times he went through, it all seemed far from him now.

He glanced at the map finally, after a long time he could not already remember the time that he realised it was just time to enter the forest on the right. They bounded within and the sunlight, wind and comfort all disappeared for just that split second of change when the damp cold feeling took hold, and for once or twice water splattered onto him and he did not do more than wipe it on his already stained tunic.

Nothing seemed to appear within his vision and it seemed just a short trail into the forest on the map, and beyond it the ink seemed worn off, surrendering to time. Finally, the deer ground to a halt and Kilfer immediately saw why. Trails of water was flowing on the stone ground full of algae and from a distance the loud gurgling of water could be heard, only muffled by a clump of bushes that stood between Kilfer and the water source.

Silently, Kilfer leapt off the deer's back and found his way across the thicket, and what he saw disappointed him a little -- he expected a huge waterfall with Mizervon on the top with an entire marble statue carved in his favour, but it was simply a moss covered wall that the water spilled down from and the space where it fell was only a small stream, too small to even be called a river.

He turned back to the deer behind the thicket and motioned for it to follow and it did, ears perked up instinctively for any sound and dark eyes gleaming like an eclipse to catch any movement. They emerged once again, Kilfer grabbing a fruit and tossing it into his mouth, and once the deer caught sight of the water it made a sound that seemed sort of a whine, as if it caught sight of something so horrendous, and when Kilfer glanced suspiciously at the animal it padded forward and placed a hoof into the water but Kilfer, wary of what could happen. Then, unexpectedly with a fluid motion the deer leapt right into the water.

Then the deer sank, slowly, smoothly, without a tint of struggle and the deer glanced at Kilfer for the last moment before its ears disappeared underwater.

Kilfer was too stunned to react, although he could control water that was something totally new to him, and he took a few steps forward until he wad directly in front of the water. It seemed calm and when Kilfer glanced down, peering into the water what appeared was simply his own reflection, like how water seemed like. But once Kilfer placed a finger into the water it felt totally different from water, and he leapt into the water, letting the soft feeling of the water wash over him slowly, he did not feel uncomfortable but simply closed his eyes and let himself submerge, and did not breathe...

Kilfer opened his eyes. He felt the cold feeling of stone on his back, and sat up. There was only dim light piecing through the ceiling, and the deer was missing, only leaving the box that held Ferhia which lay beside him. He glanced around, but besides the overwhelming darkness there was nothing, yet he felt relieved. This was calm darkness, silent yet not foreboding, the darkness that allowed the light to flourish within it, the darkness that gave serenity but not destruction.

Kilfer took a step forward. He had clearly remembered the map stopped there and he did not remember seeing anything after that, and what could happen in the pitch darkness was still unknown. Kilfer took another step, and another, but with every step he took there was a growing and gnawing sensation that something in the darkness knows of his presence, and is watching his every movement, but pretended not to notice.

Kilfer counted the steps until ten, and from the darkness faint smears of light danced around in his vision, and he squinted forward.

"Kilfer," A voice echoed simply like the wind whistling across his ears, but it never escaped his ears and he yelled into the darkness, "Who goes there?"

Something smooth and light sweeped across his hands and he yelped, jumping and turned, but there a figure stood, murmuring verses he could not comprehend, and all of a sudden he felt dizzy, the figure in front of him spreading into six beings in front of him as his vision blurred.

When the dizziness stopped the darkness disappeared, and there was a single girl there, and she beckoned him to follow her, "Come."

Kilfer did not know why he followed her and felt no fear at all. All that had happened since he leapt down from the waterfall happened so quickly and now he did not even know what could happen next, and did not know where he was going, then the girl paused in front abruptly, "Here, if there was an abominable darkness consuming it all in this room and you only had two choices to escape, which would you choose?"

Kilfer followed her gaze to two windows, one that was filled with darkness and the other filled with light."The darkness consumes light. Light is its prey, and if the light was there the darkness would have foraged for light within the window of light." Kilfer spoke aloud, remembering Bronswig's last words to him, "If you happen to lose your way, always remember -- stay with what you trust most and let it guide you."

"But it I enter the window of darkness," Kilfer thought of the similarity of his predicament to the window of darkness, where he was stranded within, trying to seek light so powerful that could resist the darkness, "There might be just that tiny speck of light far within the hopeless darkness that is so mighty that could resist all the demonic torture of the darkness, and I can use it, against all evil. I shall enter the window of darkness then."

"Off you go then," The girl raised a hand and Kilfer suddenly felt light, and in his vision he was not touching the ground but levitating, the window of darkness expanded larger and larger until it spread over his vision.

And swallowed Kilfer whole.

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