That day was almost perfect. Even the birds sang happily as they flew up above the emerald forest. Every chirp and every flap of their wings created a wave of sweet music. A kind that could definitely free the souls and bring joy to all the spectators. In the middle of a small glade was a young man. He was laying on the grass while basking upon the radiance of the sun. Though he only looked to be a little over twenty, his eyes held another story. The glint in his eyes belonged to a wise, old man who had lived for decades. His dark hair became a bit messy when the strong breeze suddenly blew. It created a mini tornado with dust particles in it. Gavril had to cover his caramel brown eyes to protect it from the sand. Doing so, he came in contact with the small scar that almost crossed his pointy nose to the other side of his face. He ignored it, though.
Gavril smiled. Spring had finally arrived in Agaron, and for once, it wasn’t a raging rain that welcomed the new season, unlike the past years. He paused for a moment and let his body join the serenity and quietness of the ground. That was when he felt the rich energy from the trees.
He peeked at the horizon. The sky resembled a perfect, protecting dome. Its silver and puffy clouds stretched to the infinite and served like a blanket for the land. While the giant sun watched over everything.
Its rays painted his skin warmly. Gavril scanned the area. The trees were dancing like ballerinas, each dressed with verdant hues, even more dazzling than any luxurious designer could ever craft. They softly moved, choreographed by the soft breeze, in perfect time with each other. They are the life and soul of this beautiful morning, and Gavril wondered how many hues of green his eyes are witnessing. He stretched his arms, fingers spread toward the sun and slowly closed his eyes with a smile on his face. It was at times like this that he truly felt alive.
He hoped that this serenity would last. However, he learned the hard way.
The next thing he knew, dark flashes suddenly hit the trees around him. He was jolted awake by the sudden intrusion. The first thing he saw was the giant trees that split in half.
“What in the world!”
From a distance, he heard the agonising howls of his pack members. It was followed by heavy footsteps that ran towards his direction. It did not take long before the small glade to where he stood was overrun by werewolves.
“What happened?” Gavril tried to ask, but no one listened. They looked like a swarm of ants as they all ran in a myriad directions. Probably to seek a safe place. Their tails were completely tucked in between their legs, and their eyes were as wide as a saucer plate. In them, he saw the panic and confusion as they continuously glanced at the sky while trembling in fear.
It was then when Gavril finally noticed a strange, red-like glimmer reflecting to the ground as well as in the eyes of the beings around him. He finally stretched his head upwards towards the sky to find the source of this terrible aura.
"By the eternal majesty of the goddess’s creations!" As soon as he saw the sky, a cold chill immediately run down his spine. He unknowingly halted his own breath as he stared wide eyes upon the terrifying sight.
“What in the world was that thing?” The majestic sun was nowhere to be found. The sky was now dark and clouded. What got his attention was the large and face-shaped thing that was completely composed of black fire. Gavril had no idea what it was as he had never seen anything like this in his long life.
The face was tremendous. It easily covered the whole forest. It had two giant, pointed horns that were erupting and flaring with giant red flames that looked like meteors. Its huge mouth was wide open as it continued to spew out bolts of red lightning. The two eyes of this monstrosity were pitch black. It had a small button like nose completely composed of fire like the rest of its features.
Gavril’s body trembled. He had no idea how to fight against a monstrous entity. His mind was completely blank. He could not think of anything that could possibly explain this. In his perspective, the thing looked like the face of the devil.
“Was this the end for our race?” Gavril was snapped out of his trance when he was suddenly pushed to the side.
That was when he finally came back to his senses. He was now the only one left in the area. Being too fixated on the monstrous face, he forgot to escape.
He could sense some survivors that were already far away as possibles, however, the ground was now littered with burnt bodies of his pack. The carnage snapped something inside of him. A wave of violent fury rose as he clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened. His brows met in the center as he quivered with frustration. At that point, his eyes were switching from pitch black to his normal caramel eye colour.
The members of his pack that he was supposed to protect in the absence of his Alpha was no more. The worst part was, he could not even do anything about it. He looked up and met the gaze of the monstrosity.
Gavril saw its fiery eyebrows pushed together as it leered down upon him.
He gritted his teeth. He had no choice, but to fight. Though his strength was clearly not enough to defeat it, at least he tried. Dying for his pack was better than dying without doing anything at all.
“What would you do if you were here, Cassian?”
He smiled. Being with that man for over two centuries, Gavril already know the answer.
‘Let’s do it!’ In the back of his mind, he heard the growl of his wolf, Cobium. Like him, he was also ready to sacrifice his life for his pack. His family. Without any second thoughts, Gavril fell on all fours. His clothes were instantly ripped apart while his hones felt like they were being cruelly crushed. His face was distorted in pain. This was something that he could not get used to even after two centuries. Not a second later, a huge wolf with grey fur emerged. In place of caramel eyes, was pitch black with a red slit at the center.
“Howl!” Gavril gave out a loud growl that resonated in the entire forest. Notifying the other nearby pack of the immense danger.
However, before Gavril could do anything, the fiery countenance in the sky opened its mouth even wider than before. It seemed that the thing was also up for the challenge. The monstrosity pulled back its bolts of lightning. Doing so, its red razor sharp, and pointed fangs were exposed.
Gavril narrowed his eyes. Those fangs reminded him of vampire’s fangs.
“Were the vampires responsible for this monstrous thing? But how?”
Gavril once more saw a dark light that emanated from an ever growing fireball that resembled a black sun.
There was a loud, sizzling sound and the noise of a malevolent explosion. From the mouth of the fiery devil came a huge black flame the size of a meteor shooting down and heading directly towards him. Gavril gritted his teeth. His sharp claws sank unto the soft ground. He needed to move, fast. Not even his ashes would remain once the thing hit him. However, he knew that there was no escaping this disaster. In the end, he closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate.
‘This is it, Gavril. I had a good life thanks to you.’ Cobium smiled. The two shared an interesting life for the past two centuries. He would certainly choose to die an honorable death.
‘Dying with you is an honor. See you in nirvana.’
“Beta Gavril! We’re here to assist you!”
His eyes snapped opened when he heard the voices. In front of him, he saw the five strongest warriors of their pack, already in their battle suit and transformed features. His eyed widened in horror.
“No! Get out of here! That’s an order!”
He screamed on top of his voice, however, it was already too late. He looked up and saw the tremendous meteor descending at a rapid pace. The forest could not withstand the overwhelming impact. The group saw how the nature instantly melted, even before the huge meteor could reach the ground due to the intensity of its flames. Everything around them burnt to crisp. Not even ashes were left.
Seeing that, Gavril growled even more. He eyed his fellow warriors one by one. They were all stupefied. Probably because they also had no idea how to deal with such a thing.
He had to do something! But how?
The meteor was already a few meters away from them. At this distance, all the fur’s in their bodies slowly caught fire. The intensity of its flames overwhelmed them. They felt like their bodies would explode at any moment. The only thing that’s holding Gavril was his willpower to survive.
“Arg!”
Right in front of him, two members of the pack suddenly exploded. His eyes widened as he watched how their internal organs spewed everywhere. Their blood sprayed like a waterfall and hit their bodies.
“No!”
Seeing the terrible scene, the remaining warriors growled as loud as they could. Their eyes were burning in fire as all of them stared at the incoming meteor.
“Growl!”
Gavril readied himself. It was now, or never. Just then, blue energy surrounded his body. It grew bigger and bigger until it formed a huge barrier.
“Beta Gavril! Don’t do it!”
Realising what he was about to do, the three warriors tried to stop him, however, it was already too late. Gavril who was prepared to die, launched at full force upon the ball of flames. Before he could reach the thing, his visions suddenly darkened. Maybe because of the bright light. He had no idea.
***
Gavril was awoken by the loud sound of something.
“Urg! What happened?” He clutched his head. it's like being split in two. His throat was parched. Not even his saliva could pass through. Even his lips were almost cracked.
“Where am I?” He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the white ceiling.
“Why am I here?” His whole body ached. As though he was hit by a huge boulder. Scanning his surrounding, he instantly recognised this place. He was a frequent visitor when he was still training to become a warrior for his race.
He was about to lie down when suddenly, his eyes widened in shock. Floods of memories started playing in his mind.
The forest. The monster that came out of nothing. The huge meteor that was made of black flames. His two dead warriors!
“Shit!” Gavril sprung up like a spring metal. He ignored his weak body and quickly ran towards the door, expecting to see total destruction. However, what he saw outside was not anything like he imagined. The place was overrun by pack doctors and nurses who are busy tending the wounded. There, he saw the bodies of his fellow wolves who agonised in extreme pain. Most of them had half of their bodies burnt to crisped. Some were missing their limbs. While the others were already covered with white cloths. The strange part was that their abilities to regenerate themselves seemed pointless. As though they became mortals, not powerful shifters.
His heart sank at the sight. The reality slapped him, hard. He failed them. He failed the responsibility that his Alpha tasked at him.
“What am I going to tell Cassian?”
Gavril was in that state when he heard the voice of his wolf.
‘It was not your fault. We had no control over the situation. That thing suddenly appeared out of nowhere so how was that our fault?’
He was right. Still, as the second in command, he was responsible.
Before he could answer, a faint link suddenly entered his mind. It was followed by the raspy voice of Gamma Barret.
“Beta Gavril. Pardon us for the intrusion, however, you might want to see this.”
Gavril‘s velvety dark brows met at the center.
“What happened?”
“Sir, it would be best if you see it for yourself.”
“Location?”
"We are about 15 kilometres away from the pack village, sir."
“I’ll be right there.”
Despite his condition, his curiosity got the better of him. Getting out of the clinic, he quickly transformed and ran as fast as he could. Soon enough, he finally reached the entrance of the forest. However, his heart sank even more as he took in the scene in front of him. The once verdant forest that looked like the passageway towards a fantastical garden was no more. The place was now desolated and devoid of any living organisms. It felt like he was standing on an ocean of black sand. Another thing, was the scorching heat that felt like the devil’s sauna.
The monotony of this parched desert was difficult to explain. It looked like a bone-dry basin of vastness and death. There was only dark sand as far as his eye could see. The immensity of it was buried into his mind.
With a heavy heart, Gavril continued forward. He only focused his attention on where he’s going.
It was not long until he found the group. They were all occupied with something.
“Beta Gavril. You are finally here!”
He was greeted by a tall, muscular man. With a long dark hair that was braided like a thick rope, and a face that was almost full of scars.
“What’s the emergency?” Gavril asked as soon as he transformed back to his human form.
“Sir, allow me to report in detail.”
Gamma Barret now had a serious expression. Gavril knew the man. He would only make such a face if it was really important.
“After you suddenly collapsed, we all thought that we would die. We waited for the impact, however, none came. What happened next shocked us to the core. The monstrous face suddenly vanished in thin air, as though it never existed in the first place. It was followed by an earth shattering explosion. Like something smashed in the horizon. Next thing we knew, a person suddenly fell from the sky.”
“A person?”
“Yes, sir. To be more precise, a human.”
“What? A human? And you thought that I would believe you?”
“That was why I asked of you to see for yourself, sir.”
Gavril immediately walked past Barret in a hurry. His mind still battling whether or not to believe the guy. However, he was almost stricken with shock as soon as his eyes laid on the human that they were just talking about.
On the stretcher was a young girl who was covered with her own blood.
