Two days had passed since Rowan had given Leo his answer.
The Wolf Clan had spent those two days recovering from the battle. The wounded were slowly getting back on their feet, weapons were being repaired, and preparations for the journey were already beginning. There was still an uneasy feeling hanging over the camp, however. Everyone knew they had only a week.
And now, two days of that week were already gone.
Inside one of the huts, Kieran sat beside Alya.
The little girl was quiet, watching him with an expression that made it difficult for him to hide what he was feeling. Kieran had never been particularly good at showing weakness, but around Alya, pretending was becoming harder.
He placed a hand gently on her head.
"Don't worry. We'll be back in no time."
His voice carried a reassuring warmth, even though the sadness in his eyes betrayed him.
Alya remained quiet.
Kieran gave her a small smile, trying to convince her—and perhaps himself—that everything would be fine.
Before he could say anything more, the cover of the hut was lifted.
Kieran turned his head.
Leo stood outside.
His expression was calm, but there was a sense of purpose in his eyes.
"Time to go, Kieran."
Kieran looked at him for a moment.
Then his gaze shifted toward Alya.
He slowly got to his feet.
"Alright."
Kieran stepped out of the hut and followed Leo.
A few other wolves were already waiting outside.
They had their weapons with them, prepared for whatever they might encounter.
Leo led them away from the camp.
Their destination was the underground lake.
The same place they had searched for more than two weeks.
The same place that had given them nothing.
At least, that was what everyone believed.
Leo had never been convinced that there was nothing there.
Ever since he had seen the carving near the shrine, one particular thought had remained in his mind.
Mobius.
The Wolf God.
A lonely child.
A raised palm filled with tears.
And the moon.
Everyone had interpreted the carving differently. Some believed it was simply part of the legend surrounding Mobius. Others had searched the lake for hidden passages, cracks, tunnels, or anything that might explain the strange flow of water.
But Leo had approached it from a different angle.
What if the moon in the carving had never actually been the moon?
What if Mobius had only thought he was seeing the moon?
If he had been a child, crying with tears gathered in his palm, the reflection of the moon on that small pool of water could have looked exactly like the moon itself.
A child seeing the reflection of the moon in his own tears.
And believing that the moon had fallen into his hand.
That was Leo's theory.
The wolf statue represented Mobius.
The lake represented his tears.
And if that interpretation was correct, then the answer should reveal itself when the moon reached the right position.
Leo had spent the last two days calculating it.
Tonight was the night.
They eventually reached the underground lake.
The familiar cavern opened before them, its walls surrounded by darkness and ancient stone.
The wolves spread out around the lake, their eyes moving across the water.
Kieran stepped closer to Leo.
Leo remained focused on the lake.
He wasn't looking for anything beneath the surface.
Not yet.
He was waiting.
The moonlight gradually shifted through the opening above.
The light moved across the cavern floor.
Closer.
Closer.
Until finally, the moon aligned directly above the lake.
The light struck the water.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the entire surface began to shine.
The lake reflected the moonlight with an intensity that made it seem almost unnatural.
The wolves stared.
Kieran's eyes widened slightly.
Leo's lips slowly curved into a smirk.
"Just as I thought."
His voice was quiet, but the satisfaction in it was unmistakable.
Kieran looked at him.
"What is happening?"
Leo didn't answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on the lake.
The reflection was exactly where he had expected it to be.
The carving.
The tears.
The moon.
Everything was beginning to fit.
But then—
The surface of the lake moved.
Not from the light.
Something was moving underneath it.
Kieran's expression immediately changed.
The other wolves noticed it too.
The glowing water rippled.
A large shadow passed beneath the surface.
Then disappeared.
Another ripple followed.
This time, it was closer.
The wolves instinctively stepped backward.
Kieran tightened his grip on his weapon.
Leo's smirk vanished.
The shadow beneath the water continued to grow.
Whatever was beneath the lake was enormous.
The surface suddenly erupted.
Water exploded upward as something massive burst out from beneath it.
A gigantic white snake emerged from the lake.
The creature's enormous body rose higher and higher, water cascading from its pale scales as it continued to straighten.
The wolves stumbled backward.
Some nearly lost their footing.
The serpent towered over them.
Its body seemed almost endless as it continued rising from the water, its massive head eventually hanging above the cavern.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Kieran slowly raised his head.
Leo did the same.
The snake's enormous body straightened completely.
Then its head began to lower.
Its eyes moved across the wolves.
One by one.
Until they stopped.
Directly on Leo.
Leo's body stiffened.
The enormous serpent stared at him.
Leo swallowed.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
The snake suddenly lunged.
Its massive head shot forward with terrifying speed.
Leo's eyes widened.
Before the serpent could reach him, something slammed into the side of its body.
Rowan.
He drove his shoulder into the serpent's side, forcing its head away from Leo.
The impact made the enormous body of the serpent shift violently.
Its scales bulged slightly where Rowan had struck it.
But the creature barely seemed affected.
Its massive head twisted.
One of its eyes shifted toward Rowan.
The serpent stared at him from the side.
Then—
It lunged again.
This time, toward Rowan.
Leo's eyes moved between the serpent and the lake.
And then he saw it.
The opening.
He didn't hesitate.
Leo turned and ran toward the underground lake.
"Kieran!"
The name escaped his mouth before he even realized he had called out.
Kieran's head snapped toward him.
Leo was already moving.
He reached the edge of the lake and jumped.
The glowing surface swallowed him.
Kieran stared for only a moment.
Then his expression changed.
"Leo!"
Without thinking any further, Kieran followed.
He sprinted toward the lake and jumped after him.
The other wolves could only watch as the two disappeared beneath the shining surface.
The lake rippled once.
Then became still again.
As they descended deeper into the lake, the light from the surface gradually disappeared behind them.
The world around them became darker with every stroke.
Kieran moved beside Leo, pushing himself downward through the cold water. The deeper they went, the heavier the pressure became against their bodies. Neither of them knew how far the lake actually went. They had searched this place before, but they had never managed to find anything that explained where the water was leading.
And yet, something felt different this time.
Leo continued swimming downward, his eyes scanning the darkness ahead.
Then he saw it.
A faint light.
At first, Leo thought it was simply the reflection from the moon above, somehow reaching this far beneath the surface.
But it wasn't.
The light was coming from somewhere ahead.
Leo slowed.
Kieran noticed and stopped as well.
Both of them stared into the darkness.
The faint glow grew clearer.
There was an opening.
An actual opening in the depths of the lake.
Leo's eyes widened.
He remembered this place.
They had searched these waters before.
There had been nothing here.
No opening.
No passage.
Nothing.
Kieran turned toward Leo.
Even underwater, the confusion on his face was obvious.
Leo looked back at him.
Neither of them needed words.
Kieran pointed toward the opening.
Leo nodded.
They began swimming toward it.
The closer they got, the brighter the light became.
The opening seemed to lead somewhere beyond the lake itself, its edges almost impossible to make out beneath the strange glow.
Leo reached his hand forward.
He was almost close enough to touch it.
Then he felt something.
A sudden pull.
His body shifted forward.
Leo's eyes widened.
Kieran felt it too.
The current wasn't moving around them.
It was pulling them toward the opening.
Kieran immediately turned around and tried to swim back.
Leo did the same.
But the moment they tried to move away, the force became stronger.
Kieran kicked hard against the water.
Nothing.
Leo stretched his arm backward, trying to push himself away from the opening.
His body barely moved.
The pull intensified.
Kieran looked toward Leo.
Leo looked back.
For the first time since entering the lake, there was genuine uncertainty in his eyes.
They tried again.
Harder.
Still nothing.
The current dragged them closer.
Leo reached toward Kieran, but the distance between them was already increasing.
Kieran fought against the pull, his movements becoming more desperate as the opening drew them in.
But it was too late.
The light suddenly became brighter.
The force seized both of them at once.
Leo's body was pulled forward.
Kieran was dragged after him.
Neither could resist it anymore.
In the next instant, both of them were swallowed by the glowing opening beneath the lake.