Chapter Two: The Things That Lurk in the Dark
Darkness.
That was all she could see.
For a long time, the little girl drifted in a place where neither time nor consciousness seemed to exist. She could feel nothing, hear nothing, and remember nothing beyond the faint sensation of something having gone terribly wrong.
Then, slowly, her consciousness began to return.
Pain was the first thing she felt.
A sharp, throbbing pain radiated from her left eye socket, accompanied by an unbearable ache that seemed to have spread throughout her entire body.
She tried to open her eyes.
Only one responded.
Her vision was blurry, and her head felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton. She blinked several times, struggling to make sense of her surroundings.
The cave.
She was still inside the cave.
And the stone was still there.
The moment she remembered what had happened, her little body stiffened.
She needed to leave.
Immediately.
The thought was so urgent that she tried to stand up at once.
But something was wrong.
The exit was right behind her.
It was only a few steps away, yet when she looked toward it, the distance seemed to stretch endlessly into the darkness.
She stared in disbelief.
That was impossible.
She had entered the cave through that very opening. She remembered the trees outside, the rocky ground, and the faint light filtering through the entrance.
She could still see the exit.
It was right there.
So why did it feel as though she would need months to reach it?
A gentle breeze brushed against her face.
The little girl froze.
It was a very soft breeze, barely strong enough to disturb the strands of hair clinging to her forehead.
Yet the instant it touched her skin, a chill ran through her entire body.
Something inside her screamed.
RUN!
LEAVE THIS PLACE!
Her instincts were more frantic than they had ever been. Every part of her seemed to understand that she was in terrible danger.
She had to escape.
She had to get away from the stone.
But her body refused to move.
It was as though an invisible mountain had descended upon her shoulders, pinning her to the ground beneath an unbearable weight.
She tried to lift one foot.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
Her breathing grew increasingly ragged.
Why can't I move?
She had never experienced anything like this before.
Not when she had gone without food for days.
Not when she had watched her mother die.
Not even when her eye had melted away before her very eyes.
This was different.
The pressure was not merely weighing down her body.
It felt as though something was pressing directly against her existence, threatening to crush her into nothingness.
Her remaining eye throbbed.
The pain was so intense that tears gathered at its corners, but she forced herself to endure it.
Strangely, the pain also gave her something to hold on to.
As long as she could feel it, she could remind herself that she was still alive.
She had to remain conscious.
She had to get out.
The air shifted.
A faint rustling sound came from the centre of the cave.
The little girl slowly raised her head.
The shadows surrounding the carved stone were moving.
At first, she thought it was merely a trick of the dim light. Perhaps the pain was affecting her vision.
But then the darkness began to gather.
It flowed across the ground like black water, creeping toward the stone from every corner of the cave. Wisps of shadow rose into the air, twisting and intertwining as though invisible hands were weaving them together.
The intricate carvings on the stone seemed to deepen.
The air grew heavier.
The little girl's breath caught in her throat.
She wanted to close her eye.
She wanted to turn away.
But she couldn't.
The shadows continued to gather.
And something was taking shape within them.
She did not know what she was looking at.
She did not know whether it was alive.
She only knew that the sight filled her with a terror so profound that even her thoughts began to tremble.
Her remaining eye burned.
A fresh wave of pain shot through her skull, threatening to tear apart the fragile hold she had on her consciousness.
She gritted her teeth.
No.
She could not faint again.
If she lost consciousness here, she might never wake up.
Her mother was already dead.
She could not allow herself to die before she had returned to give her mother a proper burial.
That was the one thing she still had to do.
She had promised herself.
No matter what happened, she would return.
The little girl drew a shaky breath.
Then, with every ounce of courage she possessed, she forced herself to look directly at the thing emerging from the shadows.
For one brief moment, their gazes seemed to meet.
She felt something inside her mind recoil.
The pressure intensified.
A thousand invisible needles pierced her thoughts.
And then—
She moved.
Her body lurched forward as though the invisible weight had suddenly loosened its grip.
She did not hesitate.
She turned around and ran.
The cave entrance rushed toward her.
Or perhaps she was rushing toward it.
She could no longer tell.
All she knew was that she had to escape.
Her tiny feet pounded against the rocky ground as she threw herself through the opening and into the forest beyond.
The instant she crossed the threshold, the world seemed to split apart.
A deafening cacophony erupted inside her head.
Screams.
Wails.
Shouts in voices she could not recognise.
They came from everywhere at once, overlapping until she could no longer distinguish one sound from another.
The voices seemed to be calling out from an immeasurable distance, yet each one was so clear that she felt as though someone were screaming directly into her ears.
She clapped her hands over her head.
"Stop!"
The word escaped her mouth in a broken gasp.
The screaming continued.
She stumbled.
For a moment, her vision darkened, and she nearly collapsed onto the ground.
But she bit down hard on her lower lip.
Pain exploded across her mouth.
The sharp sensation dragged her attention back to the present.
She forced herself to run.
She would not think about the voices.
She would not think about the stone.
She would not look back.
She would only run.
The trees blurred past her as she dashed through the forest, her small body moving on sheer desperation.
She had no idea where she was going.
She did not even realise that the forest around her had changed.
The familiar trees had disappeared, replaced by enormous trunks that rose high above her head. Strange plants grew between the roots, and the vegetation became increasingly dense.
The path beneath her feet was unfamiliar.
But she did not notice.
She continued running until the cave was far behind her.
Only when she could no longer hear the sounds from within it did she finally slow down.
Her legs gave way.
She collapsed beside a tree, breathing in short, desperate gasps.
For several moments, she could do nothing but lie there.
Her entire body trembled.
Her lungs burned.
Her head throbbed.
And the pain she had been ignoring finally caught up with her.
She raised a trembling hand to her mouth.
Her lower lip was torn where she had bitten it, and blood stained her fingers.
She touched her left eye socket.
The pain that followed nearly made her cry out.
She quickly withdrew her hand.
Her eye was gone.
The thought had not become any easier to accept.
She lowered her head and curled up beside the tree, trying to make herself as small as possible.
She was exhausted.
Hungry.
Frightened.
And utterly alone.
The voices inside her head had not disappeared entirely. They had merely grown quieter, their distant wails fading into an indistinct murmur.
She squeezed her remaining eye shut.
Please stop.
She did not know whom she was begging.
The stone?
The shadows?
Whatever had entered her mind?
She did not know.
She only wanted the pain to end.
A faint rustling sound came from somewhere nearby.
The little girl went still.
At first, she assumed it was the wind moving through the trees.
Then she heard it again.
A low, guttural growl.
"Grrrrrrrr..."
Her entire body stiffened.
The sound had come from behind her.
Slowly, she lifted her head.
She did not dare move.
She did not dare breathe.
Another growl sounded.
This time, it was closer.
Her heart pounded violently against her chest.
What is that?
She had encountered many dangers in the forest surrounding her home, but she had never heard anything like this.
The growl deepened.
Then something moved between the trees.
The little girl turned her head.
A massive creature lunged out of the shadows.
She barely had time to see its enormous shape before instinct took over.
She ran.
Branches struck her face as she plunged through the undergrowth. Her feet slipped against the uneven ground, but she forced herself forward, stumbling and scrambling between the trees.
She did not know what was chasing her.
She did not want to know.
She only wanted to survive.
A sudden flash of white appeared beside her.
Before she could react, a gigantic claw swept across her arms.
Pain erupted through her body.
She stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
Blood poured from the deep gashes carved into her flesh.
For a moment, she could only stare at her injured arms in disbelief.
Then she heard another growl.
She ran again.
She could not afford to stop.
Not here.
Not now.
She pressed her wounded arms against her chest and continued forward, tears blurring her vision.
The creature had disappeared.
But she could feel it.
Somewhere behind her.
Somewhere beside her.
It was following her.
Watching her.
Playing with her.
Every time she thought she had escaped, it would suddenly appear from between the trees and attack.
A flash of white.
A blur of claws.
Another wound.
Then nothing.
It would vanish as quickly as it had appeared.
The little girl began to understand.
The creature was not trying to kill her immediately.
It was toying with her.
Like a predator playing with an injured animal before finally deciding to devour it.
The realisation filled her with a terror that threatened to overwhelm her.
She was too small.
Too weak.
Too injured.
There was no way she could fight something like that.
She could only run.
So she ran.
Even when her legs began to tremble, she continued.
Even when her lungs felt ready to burst, she continued.
Even when the blood loss made her head spin and the forest seemed to sway around her, she continued.
Her wounds multiplied.
Blood soaked her clothes and dripped onto the ground, leaving a trail behind her.
Yet she refused to stop.
She did not want to die.
Not yet.
Not before she returned to her mother.
The thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Her mother.
She had almost forgotten.
She had left the hut to find help.
She had wanted to find someone who could help her give her mother a proper burial.
That had been the reason she entered the forest.
That had been the reason she entered the cave.
And now, after everything that had happened, she was running for her life in a place she did not recognise.
Why?
Why was this happening to her?
What had she done to deserve any of this?
She was only a child.
She had never hurt anyone.
She had never asked for anything.
All she had wanted was enough food to survive and enough time to take care of her mother.
Was that too much to ask?
Her vision blurred.
For a moment, she nearly stumbled again.
But then she clenched her fists.
No.
She could not give up.
She had already lost her mother.
She could not abandon the last thing she had promised herself to do.
No matter what happened, she would return to that hut.
She would find a way to bury her mother.
And only then—
Only after she had fulfilled that final duty—
Would she allow herself to rest.
Even if it meant dying afterward.
That was her decision.
The little girl gritted her teeth and continued running.
Behind her, the creature let out another low growl.
She did not look back.
She did not notice the cruel glint in the eyes watching her from between the trees.
And she did not realise that the creature had begun to grow impatient.
---
She did not know how long the chase lasted.
Minutes became hours, and every passing moment drained more strength from her already battered body.
Her legs felt as though they were made of stone.
Her arms were slick with blood.
Her breathing had become so ragged that every inhalation felt like swallowing broken glass.
Still, she continued.
Until—
Something enormous appeared directly in front of her.
She had no time to react.
Her small body collided with the creature's massive leg, and she fell backward onto the ground.
For several seconds, she could only stare at what stood before her.
Then she slowly raised her head.
And her mind went blank.
It was a fox.
Or at least, it resembled one.
Its enormous body towered above the surrounding trees, standing nearly forty feet tall. Its snow-white fur was stained in places with the dark colour of the forest, while its three enormous heads moved independently, each surveying its surroundings with unsettling intelligence.
Nine razor-sharp claws extended from its massive limbs.
Its six eyes glimmered with a cold, cunning light.
There was nothing ordinary about this creature.
It was a monster.
A genuine monster.
The little girl had never heard of anything like it.
She had never imagined that such a creature could exist.
And yet it stood before her, so enormous that she seemed no larger than an insect beside it.
She could not even begin to comprehend the difference between them.
It was like an ant standing before an elephant.
The fox lowered its three heads.
Six eyes examined the tiny, blood-covered girl lying at its feet.
There was no anger in its gaze.
No obvious excitement.
Only a cold, calculating curiosity, as though it were deciding whether the creature before it was worth the effort of eating.
The little girl tried to move.
Her body refused to respond.
An oppressive force descended upon her, far heavier than anything she had experienced in the cave.
But this pressure was different.
The cave had filled her with an instinctive terror, something that seemed to reach beyond her understanding of the world.
The fox's pressure, however, was something she could almost comprehend.
It was the crushing weight of a creature whose existence stood so far above her own that she could scarcely imagine a way to resist it.
Her limbs grew heavy.
Her chest tightened.
She could barely breathe.
She was trapped.
The fox tilted one of its heads.
A faint, almost amused expression appeared in its eyes.
The little girl stared back, trembling uncontrollably.
She wanted to beg.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to run.
But she could do none of those things.
The creature lifted one of its enormous claws.
The movement was casual.
Almost effortless.
To it, she was nothing more than a weak, injured creature that had wandered into the wrong place.
Then the claw descended.
A sharp impact struck her head.
Pain exploded through her skull.
Her tiny body was thrown to the ground, and blood immediately began to flow from the wound.
Her vision darkened.
She could no longer feel her fingers.
The world around her became distant and indistinct.
So this is it...
The thought drifted through her fading consciousness.
She had failed.
She would never return to her mother.
She would never bury her.
Perhaps this was simply how her life was meant to end.
A meaningless death in a forest where no one would ever find her.
The fox lowered its heads toward her.
She could feel its breath against her skin.
One of its mouths opened, revealing rows of enormous teeth.
The little girl shut her remaining eye.
Mother...
She waited.
But the expected pain never came.
Instead, a sharp sound split the air.
It was followed by a heavy thud.
The oppressive pressure vanished.
For a brief moment, the forest fell silent.
The little girl slowly opened her eye.
Something lay on the ground in front of her.
White fur.
A massive head.
Six lifeless eyes staring into nothingness.
She stared at it without understanding.
It took several moments for her mind to process what she was seeing.
The fox's head had been severed.
The enormous creature that had chased her through the forest, wounded her repeatedly, and nearly crushed her beneath its pressure—
Had been killed.
Just like that.
The little girl tried to scream.
No sound emerged.
Her gaze shifted weakly toward the side.
Someone was standing beside her.
She could not see his face clearly. Her vision was fading too quickly, and the blood loss had left her barely capable of keeping her eye open.
All she could make out was the vague silhouette of a man.
A man who had appeared without her noticing.
A man who had killed the enormous fox with a single strike.
He looked down at her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then the man let out a faint sound of surprise.
"Huh?"
His voice was calm, almost casual, as though he had stumbled across something mildly interesting during an ordinary walk through the forest.
"What do we have here?"
The little girl tried to answer.
She wanted to ask who he was.
She wanted to ask where she was.
She wanted to tell him that her mother was waiting for her.
But her lips would not move.
The man's voice grew distant.
The trees blurred.
The ground seemed to rise toward her as her strength finally deserted her.
The last thing she felt was the faint sensation of someone reaching toward her.
Then darkness swallowed her once more.