I walked along the road with my head bowed, and as I moved, footsteps, a heavy breath, and a faint, chilling chuckle echoed constantly beside me. The wolf with the red eyes followed me, laughing at my plight.

  As soon as I left the town, I tried to turn back to where I had first arrived in this place, intending to search as much as I could and learn whatever I could. However, the bridge had vanished, and the old man on the rock, no matter how much I shouted at him, paid me no attention.

  So, I decided to return to the road and head toward the castle. Along the way, the wolf appeared again, patiently accompanying me. No matter how much I spoke to it, it, in turn, acted as though it couldn’t hear me.

  The moonlight shone as it had throughout the previous period, illuminating the castle. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sun in this place, nor any stars to accompany the moon at night.

  The road twisted every now and then, preventing me from seeing where it led. Until, at one point, I heard a loud noise—something crashing to the ground. I froze for a moment, but then, with hesitant steps, I approached to see what was happening.

  I peered around the corner of the bend and saw a man holding an orange, sitting on a fallen tree. An axe, similar to those often seen in video games, was embedded in the tree—large, unnaturally so, and appearing razor-sharp. It gave the impression that a single person would struggle to lift it, so I looked around to see if anyone else was present, but I saw no one.

  I turned my head toward the forest, surprised to realize that since the noise of the fallen tree, the wolf beside me had also fallen silent.

  I decided to wait and observe what he would do. I was afraid to approach, as even a blind person could tell that if the man opposite me wasn’t friendly, I would quickly and decisively lose any confrontation. I was hungry, though, and the tree at his feet could provide food. “All I need is patience,” I thought.

  The road was about ten meters wide, sometimes slightly narrower and sometimes a bit wider, but generally balanced. The soil, however, was cold—almost frozen—seeping through my shoes, and I began to feel it in my feet as I stood motionless behind the bend. Even when I saw him lie down on the tree, I still didn’t approach. I wasn’t afraid—not yet, at least—but I was growing concerned because time passed, and he didn’t move from his position.

  I began to wonder if he was something similar to the girl at the Otophos Hotel. The wolf remained silent, so I decided to turn back until it reappeared, if it did. Sure enough, it showed up again shortly after, but without its chuckle—only its heavy breath and red eyes were present.

  “Should I assume you’ll answer me now?” I asked.

  “I would answer if I knew anything, but I don’t. The only thing I can tell you is that I saw two bodies on the other side, hidden by the tree—bodies of my companions, burned by the moonlight.” Its breath grew heavier and quicker. “I want him dead. I will kill him. I want you to deliver him to me.”

  Its voice remained terrifying and commanding. It wasn’t asking—it was issuing an order. However, I felt no obligation to obey without requesting something in return. But I didn’t want another reward. In truth, I didn’t want to do it. The screams and voices still echoed in my ears.

  “Do you want another reward?” the wolf asked. “I’ll give you food, better than mere fruit, if you manage to hand him over to me,” it said.

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  I paused and considered it for a moment, but I declined again. I chose to trust myself and take the risk. If the risk paid off, I would continue my journey with a strong ally. Perhaps, like me, it was also trying to save its own people—maybe one of the princes, who brought me here, had brought him here too.

  I turned my back on the wolf without replying. I heard its nails nervously digging into the soil and its breath quickening, but it could do nothing else—it couldn’t step into the light.

  I approached the tree and called out from a distance:

  “Hey, you up there on the tree—can you hear me?” He opened one eye and glanced at me from the corner. Then he turned his head upward, closed both eyes, and with a push, raised his body to sit cross-legged on the tree, facing me.

  “I don’t want to harm you; you’re not in danger from me. I only want food. Please, can I take a few fruits, and then I’ll leave you in peace?” I said again. I had clenched my fist, and my legs were ready to run as fast as they could.

  “Ha, another human. Don’t tell me you survived the massacre that happened in the town?”

  “The massacre in the town? Did I hear that right? Is there someone else who survived?” I thought to myself. But I didn’t want to answer. My response would lead to more questions, and I didn’t like questions. The more lies I told, the easier it would be to make a mistake and reveal the truth or arouse suspicion that something was off.

  “No,” I replied, “I just arrived here and don’t understand what’s happening. Please, can you help me? I’m very hungry and tired.”

  “Ha, gladly. Come here, pick some fruit from the tree, and sit beside me. Finally, I’ll get to talk to a human. It’s been a while since I spoke to anyone,” he invited me with a smile.

  His eyes showed no deceit or fear—only confidence and narcissism. And to be fair, he seemed justified, with that massive axe and his towering frame. So, I approached, and indeed, behind the tree, I saw two bodies—or rather, amorphous masses—smoldering. They didn’t seem as large as the wolf, but they might have disintegrated under the moonlight.

  “What are those?” I asked. “Why are they smoking?”

  “Oh, those—they’re creatures from the forest. Never approach the forest. They’ll try to drag you in and kill you. The axe you see allowed me to cut the tree from a distance, but they grabbed it and tried to steal it. So, I pulled them out into the light, and their bodies caught fire and died instantly.”

  He pulled them out? But how much strength does he have? Is it possible for a single person to do that? Based on everything I’ve seen so far, it seems impossible. I wouldn’t have imagined it even in a dream.

  “But really,” I asked again, “how can you lift that axe? It looks unliftable and is enormous. What did you eat when you were young?” I said jokingly.

  I had already started eating an orange and felt safer than being alone. Even the wolf didn’t show its eyes or signal its presence. I also climbed the tree so my feet felt warmer.

  “Ha ha, maybe I drank all my juice, HA HA HA HA. No, seriously, that’s not it. At one point, when I arrived here, I didn’t enter the town but followed the road. Branches appeared on the path, stretching from one side of the forest to the other, and colorful drops fell to the ground. I grabbed one of those branches, broke it, and drank a bit of those drops. Since then, I’ve felt superhuman. Later, I had to return to the town you mentioned to find food, and I got caught in a trap. But a little while ago, for some reason, I was freed, everything darkened, I grabbed the first thing I found as a weapon, and ran back to the road. Lucky I found this axe, haha.”

  “I’m not as strong as you, nor as useful, but I think it would be better if we continued our journey together. As you can see, I have no weapons or your strength, so you’re not at risk from me, but I need you. This place frightens me,” I said, as I didn’t want the wolf’s breath and footsteps to be my only company again.

  “Fine, I have no problem with that,” he replied with a broad smile. “I’d like someone to talk to so I’m not alone. By the way, my name is Kopos.”

  “I’m Leo, nice to meet you.”

  After we ate and exchanged a few words, we gathered as many oranges as we could carry and continued our journey. But before moving on, I looked back again. The red eyes were there once more, watching and waiting in absolute silence, as if warning me that we weren’t alone. As long as the forest surrounded us, we would never be without eyes tracking and awaiting us.