The phosphorus glow of a full moon half-hidden by passing clouds lent a mystical attribute to the land beneath the luminary. Beneath such tranquil and lethargic light stood one in fierce opposition to its soothing sight. It was a shape that emerged out of the esoteric ideals and taboo dreams of diabolical and sinister conclaves. From this grim and dusky shape extended a golden sword, his chief instrument of murder. It pointed to a fleshy mass of cowering limbs and chattering teeth. It pointed to a youth whose tall stature shrunk behind the back of his only line of defense, Dongwoo. 

His arms were brandished, spread like a regal banner, and his face was taciturn. A shower of emotions rained down on him, but he was intent on keeping his stance. He could not let himself be moved by fear when confronted with the sword in front of him. This had already happened to him. In the welter of the moment, he recognized this familiar scen 

Memories of the same sword hanging above him in the desert were yet fresh and unspoiled by the passing of time. These effulgent visions formulated a sense of trust in Myungsoo, that he didn't intend to kill despite the blade held firmly in his hand. Still, his senses told him to tread carefully.

Finally, from this grisly shape, this embodiment of the dark, words proceeded, "Who is he?!"

Dongwoo hissed in a breath of air before managing to produce a reply, "He's a friend! I was lost until he happened upon me and brought me back!"

 "Tell your friend to show himself!"

After a small word of comfort, guaranteeing his safety, the stranger slowly slid into view, his feet making the most minute of noises as they crunched the sward beneath his soles. Like a cobra quietly poising itself for a strike so did his height increase as he gradually straightened himself before speaking.

"I thought it would be nice to share a meal, this deer!" he quipped as he tapped the small buck on his shoulder, "I never meant harm!"

While he spoke, Myungsoo busied his eyes by roving him with scrutiny. The speaker was tall, clad in rustic garb, and lithe yet not without muscles. His eyes were glassy, perhaps from fear of the sword pointed at him, and his hair was a hazelnut brown. Silver beams of moonlight shooting down from above bounded off his hair, casting a splendid scintillation that resembled the glimmer of diamonds. By all means he was handsome, although one wouldn't know unless they saw him stop his quivering. Most notably, his short hair allowed his short ears to be observed; he was not a faerie.

 "He told me he's an Adamah like us, and that his name is Sungyeol," Dongwoo said.

 "Is that so?" Myungsoo asked with a condescending look aimed at the tall youth.

 "Yes, I," Sungyeol stammered, dilated eyes glued to the golden tip directed at him.

The golden sword still floated midair; its bearer never showed slack despite its weight and awkward length. In fact, Myungsoo held the blade as though it were a mere wand. He motioned the sword in mocking, circular motions, entrancing Sungyeol with a bewildering fear. He was being preyed on by a sadistic satyr. 

 "Put away your sword," Dongwoo insisted with a carriage akin to that of ancient heroes. By now it was obvious to him that Myungsoo was not threatened by Sungyeol. Why his companion appeared to behave so sadistically he could not guess. His mind was too occupied with a lingering sense of danger caused by the hovering sword. "Just put away your sword," he implored, "He said he won't harm us!"

 "Not until he leaves. We have no need for him here," he replied while handling his sword with a taunting attitude. 

 Sungyeol was quick to hoist down the buck from his shoulder, and with a voice of hesitancy, he slowly receded and bargained with the barbarian, "I'll leave. Have the deer! Just let me live! By Otro, let me live!"

At his oath, the pronouncement of a god alien to the Adamah, Myungsoo glared at him with wild eyes, "Why are you leaving the deer that you worked so hard to catch? Adamah brother? Is it poisoned, perhaps?"

 "Of course not!" Dongwoo cut in.

Myungsoo ignored the boy, his vision intent on discovering a hypocrisy that was bound to exist in Sungyeol. 

 "It isn't, I swear. By Otro, Arithm, I am not lying! What must I do to prove my innocence?"

A keen and ominous intellect was at work in Myungsoo's mind. As he lifted his chin with hubris at the lad and his defender, he mused just how many secrets Sungyeol kept. He knew for certain he was lying about his race, for one. And his coincidental meeting with Dongwoo reeked of fetid deception. Why would a person lurk in a dark forest else they dealt in shady affairs? What manner of person was this trembling charlatan?

Even so, Myungsoo knew he could not press with his sword to spill an answer out of him. At least not while his sentry existed in the same space. His astute intuition, those senses trained by a century's worth of life, told him that Dongwoo would not budge as guardian. If he tried to coax the truth by means of his sword, then what if Dongwoo jumped in to save Sungyeol, afraid that he would actually die? If during such a tussle, he was mortally wounded, who would take him to Laroo?

  Several lifespans' worth of wisdom informed Myungsoo to speak thus, "I trust you, Adamah brother. You will stay and eat with us. We will all partake of the meal you provided."

Dongwoo nearly stumbled backwards, caught off guard by his friend's suggestion. He didn't think he'd relent so quickly, but he thanked Nesher that he did. Until he made that suggestion, the air had been b with a tangible tension that allowed no one there to breathe comfortably. After Myungsoo sheathed his sword, that tension was completely gone, assuring Dongwoo that he was by no means an evil person.

...

In the middle of a shadowy scape, vaguely lit by a full moon that hid behind a group of clouds, a beating heart pulsed with a dazzling intensity. That heart was a small campfire, kindled by Dongwoo, and over it a deer was being roasted.

 "It's finished," Myungsoo announced, "eat first, Sungyeol."

 The third member of their party opened his mouth slightly as cognizance of a well-thought plan drifted in. Having his back pressed against an invisible wall, he nodded in agreement. Contrariwise, Dongwoo failed to acknowledge Myungsoo's sharp cunning. He was busy enjoying the quiet ambience of a night rife with wonder in spite of an obscured sky.

 "I'll take some of this part," Sungyeol remarked while pointing at the deer with a pair of tongs, brought out from his own satchel.

 "Take as you please, but please- go ahead."

 Myungsoo's eyes traced every one of Sungyeol's subtle movements as he went from blowing on his strip of meat to the final indication of an ingested victual, the hiccuping motion of his laryngeal prominence. He nodded his head approvingly and almost praised him for his honesty, but an empty stomach could never entirely steal away his instincts. He still needed to discover what Sungyeol's true purposes were, why he decided to lead Dongwoo back to the lake and why he bore the audacity to skulk around in a forest full of lurking threats- demons and wild beasts dwelt here too.

A prevailing suspicion reflected off his eyes as he observed Sungyeol stealing glances not at Dongwoo, but at the golden plate. The clues were slowly dropping into place for him as he savagely tore into a bulk of deer meat. He listened in to stories of hardship Sungyeol retold, anecdotes of a life tried by fire, but he wasn't buying it. Dongwoo was, even to the point of shedding tears for Sungyeol, but not him. 

All lies, Myungsoo thought to himself.

When at last supper was finished, Sungyeol emphatically spoke, "I think we should sleep now right? It's been a long night, but I'll stay up as guard for my new friends!"

 Myungsoo's single brow rose in suspicion. The manner in which Sungyeol had presented his suggestion rubbed him the wrong way. "No, I'll stay up and then Dongwoo will change watches with me. But you, you've already done plenty," he said, masking his voice with a sincere and caring tone, "You brought this great meal for us, and I cannot burden you any longer. We'll stay up."

 Impressed by this pseudo generosity, Dongwoo widened his lips into a bright smile. "That's a great idea! Then we can all go to the jungle of La-"

Ere he could finish his sentence, Myungsoo interrupted with a booming tone, "Yes, we can all go deer-hunting tomorrow! But now you and Dongwoo should sleep," he added with a semi-forceful voice.

The two didn't oppose him, but acquiesced without complaint, yielding to slumber with languid yawns and drowsy eyes that gleamed like black pearls. Their hushed and sleeping breaths accompanied the occasional whistling of a breeze and crackling of the still burning fire. Myungsoo sat besides this fire, directly across the interloper, his eyes one with the dancing flames, alive and always burning with smoldering intensity. His gaze was enough to make ashes out of Sungyeol.

His intense stare never betrayed his sight, always ready to spot a peculiar twitch or move. Nothing. An hour or so passed and Sungyeol still seemed to slumber. His chin resting on his fist, he cogitated as to how to rid himself of this pest. It was while in this brooding meditation that an ingenious idea swept over him, a most crude and raw machination.

With quiet steps marked only by the muted sound of crisping grass, Myungsoo walked over to Sungyeol. He stood, not with murderous intent, but with the purpose of unmasking this farce. Now proved a most opportunistic time with Dongwoo asleep for his scheme to prevail.

A calloused and cold hand fell over the dreamer's mouth, but he was no dreamer! Sungyeol was wide awake! His eyes bulged out at the sight of the black tower that loomed over him. The yell he sought to shout emerged as faint mumbling and soon, as though by act of sorcery, he found himself lifted into the air. Myungsoo's free hand had clutched his girdle and without strain had lifted him to his feet. 

His hysterical eyes darted to and fro, only capturing blurry and splotchy images of forest and a vanishing sight of the fire as he was carried away by his abductor. In his mind blowed a whirlwind of despair, not knowing what would become of him.

His back pressed hard against a tree, Myungsoo gestured for him to remain quiet. "I will let go of your mouth and you will tell me who you really are. Do you around with the Sanritem? Are you a spy for them? Who are you? You are no Adamah rebel or escaped slave."

 Sungyeol whimpered and made Myungsoo's hands moist with tears. He nodded in agreement for fear of his life. When the hand was removed, the first thing he did was huff in mighty gasps of air. It was an asphyxiating dilemma he was trapped in.

 "I'm, I'm-"

 "Out with it, knave!"

 "Who are you?"

The ebony locks flailed like wild tendrils whence Myungsoo swayed his head with a great impatience. "That's not what I asked, now reveal your identity!" he added with an imperial tone.

In the opaque darkness created by canopies of intertwining branches and boughs, Sungyeol could not avert his eyes from those of Myungsoo's which were wide and glazed with an unrelenting rage. Anguish marked him as he bit his lips, enduring the torture of ambiguity. It was a dreeing circumstance, to not know whether he would survive the night, even if he disclosed his real nature.

At his unmoving tongue, Myungsoo grunted and pulled the dagger from its leather holster on his thigh. This steel flashed like a blinding light when a piece of the moon reflected off it. The hand that maneuvered it was taut and ready for a killing blow, but not yet. The cold tip touched Sungyeol's with a vague seductive feel, playing coy and almost shy. 

The captive gasped and was momentarily engulfed in the glimpse of an unfulfilled dream, absorbed in the final imagination produced by a brain near death: it was a cloudy vision where he stood alongside his beloved before their grandiose queen.

 The sharp tone that cut through his hallucination was more keen than the dagger, "Tell me why you-"

As he spoke, his voice was drowned by a more louder shout that echoed throughout. It was Dongwoo that cried out for his friends. 

 "I'm here!" Sungyeol replied with a racking note.

Myungsoo snarled and lightly poked the jugular of the interloper with his weapon. He failed to realize any threat, for in that moment, his focus shifted to that of the familiar sight of his sister's ghost, emerging from the shadows with a dim glow. Everything seemed to rush at him and his attention was divided into fragments. With his body failing to act according to his will, his grip over Sungyeol faltered when he locked eyes with that of the ghost and in an instant, he was shoved aside and off went his captive!

A mad chase through the forest ensued. Though Myungsoo charged with the speed and recklessness of a boar, Sungyeol proved himself a more fleet-footed person. His gliding steps was like the dancing wings of a moth, untouched and undisturbed by obstructing thickets and trees. Still, his pursuant ran without so much as a drop of sweat. Stretching his arm, he could see him caught in his grasp. Their distance was quickly closing in.

Then, like a strike of lightning, Dongwoo broke Myungsoo's chase and the two crashed onto the swarth. "What are you running away from? Where's Sungyeol?" 

 "Damn you!" Myungsoo expelled, crushing a handful of grass in a vice grip.

Sungyeol was quickly assimilating with the dense shadows while he was rising only to be detained by a hand on his calf.

 "Who's chasing you?! Is it another demon?"

 "Stay here and don't follow me!" 

Myungsoo lifted his foot but the hands refused to let go of him. Dongwoo refused to let him go until he shared the reason for his haste.

Although scant starlight dappled in through the leafy canopies overhead, the scowl which his friend emitted could not be missed. 

 "It's Sungyeol! He's not the friend you thought him to be, but he's a deceiver, and I'm intent on discovering his true purposes, so let go!"

 Dongwoo's grasp waned when his brains became a stupefied mass. Before his thoughts could be sorted, Myungsoo shot off deeper still into the forest and continued his course into the umbra.

Following some minutes, he glanced back after hearing running feet coming from behind. He could see the outline of a person desperately trying to catch up. It was Dongwoo. He ran ahead, undaunted and fully absorbed with the thought of catching Sungyeol.

It wasn't until some more time passed that a problem had arisen. He had lost Sungyeol's trail. His pace slowed to a stop as he searched for any sign of him. It was for naught. There existed no clue as to his location, no footprints were impressed into the grass nor did there exist the sound of running feet ahead. He had vanished like a vapor. 

It was at this point that he heard the sound of twigs breaking and thickets shuffling not far from where he stood. He quickly crouched and wound his hand around his sword's hilt. His slitted vision roamed about for signs of life, only to be interrupted by Dongwoo who finally caught up. Much like he, the lad was unfazed by such a dash across the forest. 

 "Why did you leave me behind?!" he demanded.

 "Quiet!" Myungsoo ordered with an eye on him and an eye on the spot the disturbance had been heard.

 "Why? What did you mean about Sungyeol-"

His question was stayed by the hand that now covered his mouth. It was pressed firm against his lips, yet not to the point of enabling suffocation.  

 "Just be quiet- this forest is inhabited by fiends as well as animals and I heard a sound some ways ahead. Stay silent and observe with me."

Myungsoo released Dongwoo from his hold and crouched, his eyes casted upon some swaying trees in the distance. It bothered Dongwoo to be silenced so brusquely, but he soon credited his companion for it. From the brush that flanked a gathering of trees, a black bulk was slowly manifesting. A snout poked forth and an inhuman cranium followed shortly. Then the earth trembled slightly with the stamping of giant paws and soon the full girth of this monstrosity was revealed as it stepped onto the glade from which moonlight filtered in.

This behemoth plodded not with uncertain steps, but with steps that were led by its sniffling nose.

 "It's a giant bear!" Dongwoo gasped.

 "Quiet!" 

The bear pricked up its ears and the deep, black orbs it had for eyes looked in Myungsoo's direction, prompting him to grip his sword handle. Fortunately, the bear turned its head around with a lackadaisical freedom. For reasons known only to it, the grisly colossus favored a tree more than the pair. It sniffed at it until it decided to stand on its hind legs. Standing well over 15 feet in height, it appeared as though it were a vestige of a forsaken age of prehistoric and savage marvels.

The hulking beast started to shake the mighty tree as though it were a mere sapling. The tree swayed side to side with a vulgarity wherein luscious leaves fell to the ground like an emerald shower. Its emblematic splendor had been desecrated, stripped of all pride- it was entirely bare, ! Except, there remained a shivering lump that clung to the tree. It was Sungyeol who kept shooing at the bear. Alas, his efforts were for naught. The bear had its sight on the lad. 

 "We have to help him," Dongwoo urged with a firm grasp shaking Myungsoo's shoulder.

Whilst removing the hand off his shoulder, he swayed his head. "He brought this upon himself. Who knows? I might've left him live if he confessed his intentions."

 "What intentions? Things like that shouldn't matter now. I don't know why you think he's a deceiver, but I saved your life without knowing whether you were a Sanritem soldier or not! We ought to save his!" Dongwoo's thighs tensed themselves and he rose with a start only to be brought down by a hand escaping his companion.

 Myungsoo swayed his head again. His tone was calm as he spoke, yet a hint of arrogance was definitely there. "Stay here. You'll only kill yourself by plunging into the bear's sight. I've killed a few before and they are terrible foes."

 "You've killed these beasts before?" Dongwoo spat with a frantic look, his fingers digging into Myungsoo's bare skin. "That means you can kill this one! Do it, save Sungyeol, for Nesher's sake."

 Myungsoo's visage contorted with a visible revulsion at the mention of the divine appellation. He quickly broke himself free of Dongwoo's clutch and scoffed. "I have no reason to save him. Like I said, I offered him a chance to explain why he decided to convene with us, but he refused my charity. As far as we know, he might have been a murderer who sought a time when we were off guard to strike."

 "We don't know that! Just-"

Sungyeol, aware of fleeting voices not far from him, pled for salvation with horrifying screams and cries. His notes were pitched with a keen sensation of impending death, sounding like the bleating of a lamb before the butcher. 

 "We have to save him, friend!"

 Myungsoo wagged his head. "He might be a cohort of the Sanritem, and if he is then he deserves to be mauled."

 Dongwoo whose pupils were well dilated with shock at his companion's disregard for life, struck him on the cheek. His words fumed with righteous anger, "He is someone's son. Think about that! You want a mother to cry for her dead son?"

With a hand caressing his cheek, Myungsoo smirked. "Well, what if the one you're intent on saving is one who made such mothers bereft or made widows out of loving wives? Would you save him then?"

 With eyes pure and unobscured, he replied with an assertive, "Yes! Even the one who murdered my father, I would save!" 

Slitted eyes viewed the speaker as though charmed by magic. The words that exasperated voice relayed were heavy with meaning. The subsequent acquisition of the weight, of the significance, was spotty. Myungsoo was unable to process a thorough understanding of Dongwoo's claim to save a murderer. Why would he? Especially his father's murderer?

A growing sense of curiosity began to nag at him. He found himself wanting to discover more about him. He struggled with this desire because he simultaneously opposed the idea of connecting with others. Even so, an undeniable connection between them, a bridge between the two, had already been constructed: both were children of murdered fathers.

 "Let's save him!"

 Myungsoo snapped back to the present moment and now kept his eyes diligently on the scene taking place some distance ahead. Sungyeol, still holding onto a shaky branch, screamed for help. 

Sick of waiting, Dongwoo finally emerged from the brush and shot at the bear. The glowing beams of light caught the behemoth between the eyes and a quickly vanishing trail of smoke bounded off its brows. But the bear didn't die. On the contrary, its vigor sparked violently upward as its deadly anger was roused. The bear roared thunderously and the sheer voice of a death incarnate stripped many trees of their emerald pride. Myungsoo and Dongwoo fell to their rear as a result.

A panic surged through Dongwoo's veins. A shudder seized him and his eyes were distended and affixed to the source of his fright, the bear.

Sungyeol's whimpers were quick and sharp while his anxious pleas were marked by real horror. It was these hysterical shouts that finally broke through Dongwoo's standstill. His cognizance was no longer dull and hazy, but alive and vivid. Ere running to rescue Sungyeol, he glanced back at Myungsoo, hoping with all his heart for him to do something, anything.

 Myungsoo watched on as Dongwoo fought the bear. His eyes followed every one of Dongwoo's attacks and evasive moves with uncanny devotion. In his peripheral vision, he spotted Sungyeol drop himself from the tree but followings his fall, he remained still. His body was slumped against a tree like a simple mass of flesh. Fainted or not, Myungsoo didn't care. His attention was glued to Dongwoo who was immersed in battle.

 Dongwoo used his light-ray edge to carve into the bear, but though it was scourged, it failed to die. The bear roared a second time and the jungle boy fell to his rear again.

Myungsoo witnessed the reaper approach Dongwoo with its sickle glimmering under the pale moonlight, poised for the harvest of a soul.

The bear had its giant paw lifted against Dongwoo and was ready for the killing blow. Myungsoo snarled and cursed as he pulled his blade out its scabbard. He shot it at the bear as though it were a five-foot long lawndart. The blade whistled a beautiful melody produced by its cutting into the air. In an instant, the point of the broadsword poked out of the bear's cranium and its giant mass was transfixed onto the tree behind it.