The jungle loomed ahead, its denser and taller trees swallowing the sunlight and leaving the ground shrouded with shadow.
Wu zian, he sighed, leaning against the tree, but the coldness of the dagger he was clenching encouraged him to move forward.
"The moon is about to rise in a few hours, I need a suitable tree for shelter."
At night, the beasts living in the jungle would be more active compared to the day. Wandering at night meant jumping in front of hungry beasts like rabbit.
Wu zian climbed many trees searching for a suitable cavity, a hole where he could spend the night.
He searched many trees, one after another only to find failure. Finding a cavity naturally is not easy, many cavities already had bird's nest.
After some time, the sun began to set. With this, the roaring of beasts echoed through the trees, each holding a sound of hunger.
In Wu zian's eyes, the descending sun below the horizon reflected as he stood. His gaze searched for shelter.
Wu zian eyes shone with happiness, and his heart beating with joy as he spotted a cavity.
He descended and ran towards the direction of the tree he had just spotted. The joy in his heart disappeared, a wolf rested on the tree.
"It's getting dark. I need to hurry. it will be worse if I don't climb that tree."
He looked at the resting wolf carefully. wolves normally stayed in a group, and the wolf in front of him was alone.
Wu zian glanced the wolf, he thought"Wolves stay in group and the old and severely injured wolves are removed from the pack."
"This one seems old compared to other wolves I have seen. Should slowly climb the tree without it noticing me."
Wu zian thought thoroughly."No, avoiding is not an option. if that wolf stays, other beasts could be attracted towards this tree."
"Killing it is the only option I have." he glanced at the dagger and took a deep breath.
Thud.. Thud. Wu zian threw a stone.
The wolf opened its eyes to the sound, moving left and right. it yawned. Wolves are naturally expert in smelling. it sniffed the air, revealing its sharp teeth.
The wolf rushed toward the tree where Wu zian was hiding.
The wolf charged behind the tree, and it saw clothes lying on the ground. Smelling it's revealing teeth disappeared behind its flesh.
The wolf had lowered its guard.
This became the perfect moment to attack.
From the branch above the wolf. Wu zian lunged, stabbing the wolf around its neck.
The wolf already had a deep claw mark in the neck. upon the stab, it painfully growled facing the sky.
Wu zian tightly clenched the dagger and ruthlessly beheaded the wolf. Warm blood flowed from the wolf's neck, releasing fragrance into the air."This can attract other beasts," he thought.
He thought of many ways to handle this blood."Guess I only have one option left. it's better than being noticed by other beasts."
Wu zian pulled the body and head of the wolf. He opened his mouth, in an instant the scenario turned horrifying.
Hot streams of blood flowed into Wu zian's mouth. He boldly dared to swallow the blood instead of leaving the possibility of being noticed by other beasts.
Wu zian swallowed the blood in such a way as if, he craved it for centuries, not even spilling a single drop on the ground.
The moon began to rise, its light illuminating the ground.
Wu zian wiped the dagger clean on the wolf's fur, his hand trembling slightly.
Next, he looked at the wolf ."This can be a easy target for hungry beasts."
Wu zian grabbed the beast's leg, dragging it away from the tree, every muscle in his arm burned."I need throw it in an distance." he glanced backward at the tree.
After dragging the body a short distance, he saw a dense bush." I think this much distance is enough.", he shoved the wolf's body into the dense bush.
At this moment, he could feel the air becoming heavier and heavier due to the hungry beasts breathing.
The jungle gained life with roars, growls, and the rustling of unseen predators.
Without wasting any time, he sprinted back to the tree he had fought so hard for, climbed it, and entered the cavity.
looking at the moon, exhaled deeply calming down his heartbeat." Father… Mother I promise one day I will find my sister."
Wu zian's body, was fully exhausted right now he could hardly move under the warm light of moon he felt very sleepy.
His eyes slowly started to close, folded his arms, trying to get a nice sleep.
At this moment two objects flashed in his mind, he opened his eyes forgetting about the tiredness searched in his pocket, pulled two objects out.
Those two objects were the rings he found inside his parent's ashes.
He looked at those rings with curiosity."I have never seen father or mother wearing these weird rings."
Wu zian played with the ring for a while and decided to put it on.
He wore the simplest one with no design on his index finger and looked at it with amazement despite the unmatched size of the ring and his finger it fitted perfectly.
Afterward, he wore another ring with two bloody gems attached and some weird marking craved on it.
He equipped it on his thumb.
Those rings looked so natural in Wu zian's hand as if they became the flesh. severe pain struck; his hand shoke and red veins flourished, reaching eye from neck.
Wu zian trembled in pain, even in such a condition he didn't scream.
After a few minutes of hell, Wu zian's body movements stopped while his eyes stared at the endless sky.
At a mysterious space. Darkness loomed everywhere, vast and infinite as if the boundaries of existence had been torn apart. Swirling colors of blue, purple, and gold danced through the air in the middle of all this. Wu zian's body floated.
Wu zian's eyes opened slowly. He lowered his gaze; the scenario forced his pupils to turn niddle size.
He lay in patterns of light, like delicate threads of gold and silver, woving themselves across his lower body creating a surface.
He then moved his gaze forward, nebulae of blue, purple, and gold swirled together, casting a serene, otherworldly glow.
He could feel a pull with the nebulae, stood up, and subconsciously walked towards it.
As he walked towards the nebulae, patterns of light appeared below his feet.
Wu zian got closer to the nebulae and stopped before it, waved his hand in the air, stretched his index finger through the space.
The moment his fingers touched the nebulae, it shattered magnificently.
Wu zian's pupils shined along with the shattering nebulae, which brought him back to his senses.
His face revealed an expression of confusion.
Shattered nebulae revealed those two rings that Wu zian had worn.
Those two rings reached Wu zian and orbited around him.
Wu zian scratched his hair in confusion."Is this a dream?"
"A dream? This is not a dream. This place is far different than the realm of dreams."
Wu zian's eyes widened, he looked around, searching for the source of the voice.
Wu zian frowned and asked, "Who… who is speaking to me?"
Those rings stoped before Wu zian, the ring with two bloody gems shined.
Wu zian's approached to grab it but the ring moved away maintaining a distance it began to shine more brightly resembling blood.
"You can't catch me, Pitiful human."
Wu zian raised an eyebrow; this time, he knew the sound came from the ring ahead. out of curiosity he asked."Do you know me?"
Mocking laughter came from the ring."I have been with you since the time of your birth."
Wu zian sat down."Sleeping in my dream can force me to wake up."
"Lowly human don't trublue yourself wasting time. This placeis your inner core."
Wu zian stood up immediately, "My inner core? What is it?"
"Its not a shame you were raised in a remote village isolated from the vast outsideworld"
Wu zian scratched his hair and asked, "Who are you?"