Darkness.
Then light.
Adil finds himself sitting on the bed.
A boy tugged at his sleeve, smiling brightly.
"Let's play, brother!"
Adil blinked.
He knew that voice.
But before he could speak, the vision shattered.
Adil's eyes snapped open.
He gasped.
He was lying beneath the glowing purple tree, its leaves shimmering softly in the cold air.
His body ached.
His head throbbed.
But something felt… off.
He looked down at his right arm.
It was whole.
"What the—"
His eyes widened.
His arm had regrown.
The skin was smooth, pulsing faintly with red veins.
Then he looked down
"Oh no, oh my clothes are torn apart"
He sat up quickly, clutching his head.
"Ugh… my head hurts so much."
The pain surged—then slowly faded.
He rubbed his temples, trying to steady his breath.
Then he heard the crackle of fire.
Eron sat nearby, stirring a pot with his crooked stick.
"Oh, you're awake, brat."
Adil blinked.
"Huh… what are you doing here, elder?"
Eron didn't look up.
"I waited for two days. Thought you were dead. Came to check and found you sleeping like a rock." He narrowed his eyes. "Peacefully, too."
Adil chuckled weakly. "Hehe…"
Eron tossed a piece of roasted meat toward him.
"Eat."
Adil caught it, sniffed it.
"Did you… Cook the Zider?"
Eron nodded.
Adil hesitated.
(Is it halal to eat lizard…?) He frowned. (Well… survival counts. I think it's okay.)
He shrugged and bit into it.
"Bismillah."
He chewed slowly, then blinked.
"Not bad."
Then he frowned again.
"But elder… You never told me it was huge! That thing nearly crushed me!"
Eron chuckled dryly.
"Didn't I say it was dangerous?"
Adil rubbed his neck, half-smiling with an annoyed expression.
"Yeah, but not that it was a horned lizard and huge."
Eron leaned back, tossing a twig into the fire.
Then he looked at Adil carefully.
"So… you really came from the Ninefold Hell Realm."
Adil blinked.
"How did you know that?"
Eron pointed at Adil's eyes.
"They're red now. That's not normal. That's Hell-touched."
Adil frowned.
"Huh… what?"
Eron narrowed his eyes.
"Hmm… interesting."
He reached into his bag and pulled out a small vial—dark blue liquid with silver streaks swirling inside.
"Here. The potion I promised."
Adil stared at it.
"So this… melts the chains?"
Eron nodded slowly.
"Memory-bound chains. You'll need this to free the wolf."
Adil stood up, eyes burning faintly.
He looked toward the old house in the distance.
The purple tree shimmered behind him.
Scene Shift: The Old House
Adil stepped through the broken doorway.
Dust floated in the air. The walls creaked.
He climbed the stairs slowly, each step groaning beneath his weight.
He reached the room.
The white wolf was still there—glowing faintly with blue light, chained tightly to the floor.
It stared at him.
Silent.
Unmoving.
Adil stepped closer.
The wolf didn't flinch.
He pulled the vial from his pocket.
The liquid shimmered.
He knelt beside the chains.
"Let's see if this works…"
He uncorked the bottle.
The air shifted.
The wolf's eyes narrowed.
Adil poured the potion onto the chains.
Smoke rose.
The metal pulsed—then began to burn.
Suddenly—
Adil's heart slammed in his chest.
One beat.
Two.
Then faster.
"What… what's happening?"
His breath caught.
His vision blurred.
The Bloodcore pulsed violently beneath his skin—red veins flaring across his chest.
The wolf's eyes glowed brighter.
The chains snapped.
And then—
Adil fell.
Not physically.
But mentally.
His vision collapsed inward.
The room vanished.
The wolf vanished.
The tree.
The house.
The forest.
Everything faded.
Adil found himself floating—
In the void.
Black.
Endless.
Silent.
Only his heartbeat echoed.
And somewhere deep inside…
Something began to whisper.