Something stepped onto the forest floor in the darkness.
It landed steadily.
The place where it set its foot felt deliberate, as if chosen in advance.
Loose stones, broken twigs, and rain-soaked leaves covered the ground, softened by days of damp weather.
Any careless step should have snapped something. Any normal weight should have made a sound.
But this step did not.
Not a single branch cracked.
In the dark, the thing paused.
Not in hesitation—but as if it were measuring distance.
Like a trained hunter.
A pair of chilling eyes fixed on the slope above, locking onto the two teenagers sitting there.
At the top of the hill, the boy and the girl sat side by side.
They were fourteen or fifteen at most.
The last light of sunset slid slowly down the sky, brushing the girl's face with a warm red glow, as if her skin had been gently warmed by fire.
She looked healthy.
Real.
When she spoke, she hugged her knees without thinking, resting her chin lightly on them, relaxed and unguarded.
"You looked really stupid chasing that rabbit just now," Chun said, tilting her head as she smiled at the boy beside her.
Wei stood up awkwardly, pretending to stretch his arms and legs.
He was tall for his age. His skin was darkened by the sun, not dirty but deeply tanned. His shoulders were broader than most boys his age, his muscles already clearly defined. Anyone could tell at a glance that he had spent a long time living in the forest.
He frowned, putting on a show of mild annoyance.
"I wasn't stupid," he said."I just didn't watch my footing and tripped."
Chun stretched out her hand toward him, her tone carrying a natural, almost careless kind of teasing.
"Then what about the rabbit you promised me?" she said.
"I only want the one. The one with all four feet white—like it's walking on snow."
Wei scratched his head, looking troubled.
"If I promised it to you," he said,"then I'll bring it to you. I won't go back on my word."
Chun leaned more comfortably against her knees.
Her eyes held only the boy she liked.
The evening breeze moved softly around them.
Without realizing it, the corners of her lips lifted into a quiet smile.
Without them noticing, the light on the hill began to fade.
The wind passed through the leaves, carrying the coolness that belonged only to night.
"Rustle—"
A sound came from the bushes behind them.
Very soft.
So soft it was almost swallowed by the wind.
But Wei heard it.
He turned at once, his body tensing as his sharp gaze swept over the bushes.
There was nothing there.
Only then did he realize that the forest nearby had already grown so dark that he could no longer make out individual tree trunks.
In a low voice, he urged Chun,
"We should head back to the village. It's getting dark."
"I want to stay a little longer," she said, reluctant.
He hesitated, then spoke again.
"Have you noticed?" he said."There've been fewer wild animals in the forest these past few days."
"So what?" Chun replied casually.
She turned her head slightly. The last trace of sunset slipped into her eyes, flickering like tiny golden flames.
Wei didn't notice. He was too focused on his worry.
"Birds keep taking off suddenly," he continued."Don't you think something might have already come close to the village?"
"You mean a black bear? Or wild boars?"
"No," he said, shaking his head."They don't act like this. They don't attack us on purpose. Even black bears keep their distance when they see people."
"Then what else could it be?"
He hesitated, lowering his voice.
"People," he said."Other hunters. Or refugees. And maybe not just one or two."
"Wei," Chun said gently,"wouldn't it be better if more refugees came?"
"But what if they mean harm?" he argued, a hint of stubbornness in his voice.
"You always imagine the worst."
"…Yeah," he admitted after a moment.
Wei had always believed Chun was smarter than he was. When it came to thinking things through, she usually saw further.
So he stopped forcing himself to guess.
Snap.
A soft sound.
Like something being cut—on purpose.
This time, Chun heard it too.
She had just begun to turn her head when a cold, bloody stench brushed against her cheek.
The breath was close.
Too close.
And there was no frantic panting, none of the heavy breathing a beast should have.
It was too quiet.
A single crimson eye stared straight at her.
A huge mouth hung open, saliva dripping from its edges.
White teeth locked onto her throat.
It was a lone wolf.
Panic exploded instantly in Chun's eyes.
She knew what it meant to be ambushed at such close range.
To be ambushed by a lone wolf was even worse.
A lone wolf was a perfected killing machine.
It hunted alone, relentlessly, without hesitation.
And it only ever targeted prey much smaller than itself.
Something was wrong.
The thought ended there.
She understood clearly—there was no escape.
Instinctively, she looked at Wei.
At that moment, he was the only"salvation" she could think of.
Wei stood frozen.
He had not moved since the second sound.
It was not fear.
His head began to throb, one pulse after another. It felt like something was knocking on the inside of his skull.
The sounds around him slowed down, as if an unseen hand had twisted them loose. Each noise dragged out too long.
The wind was still blowing.
Chun was still breathing.
But the weight of the world had quietly shifted.
Everything stayed where it was. Yet nothing quite matched anymore.
In that instant, he saw a line.
It was not light. It was not shadow. It felt more like a mark forced straight into his mind.
He frowned without thinking. A thought flashed through him.
The damn headache again. Now it came with visions.
The line trembled before his eyes. It moved like something alive.
The next second, it made its choice.
It told Wei exactly where his hand should go.
His elbow snapped straight.
His fingers curled.
His hunting knife slid free from his waist and flew from his hand in one smooth motion.
But that line was not aimed at anything.
More precisely—
There was nothing on that line.
And yet the knife followed it.
Wei thought, If only that line had been aimed at the wolf.
Unfortunately—
It was just a little off.
Just enough to miss the wolf's head.
That sudden feeling of acting without control made his chest tighten with fear.
The world stretched into a slow-moving picture.
He saw the knife spinning through the air.
Saw the crimson eye fixed on its prey.
And then—
The wolf lunged forward, as if welcoming the blade.
Thud.
The knife pierced straight through the wolf's eye and buried itself deep into its skull.
The wolf's head snapped violently to the side.
The force twisted its body, slamming it into the ground.
Chun felt a sharp rush of air cut through the stench beside her face.
The next moment, the wolf was pinned to the earth.
The force was terrifyingly precise.
The wolf's body twitched once.
Then went completely still.
In reality, all of this happened in the blink of an eye.
Chun's mouth was still open.
But no sound came out.
It was as if her throat had been sealed shut.
Wei didn't realize he should have comforted the frightened girl first. Instead, he crouched beside the wolf's corpse, cautiously nudging it with his hand.
"Strange…" he muttered under his breath.
"It was acting… different today."