The biting cold wind howled through the gaps in the leaves, sweeping past the dry branches that resembled bare bones.
These winds, cold and indifferent, cut through the forest like thin blades, slicing into the flesh, piece by piece.
The small creatures here had no choice but to huddle in their crude burrows—silently hiding, waiting for the gusts to pass.
Though simple, these burrows were not devoid of warmth.
Inside, the small beings were not alone, for they were surrounded by others of their kind, their pack, their species.
They huddled together, sharing the familiar warmth of family—an intimate warmth that was enough to banish the biting cold screaming outside.
However—
Contrary to this scene of closeness, in a dim, secluded corner, amidst the thick snow and withered trees, a tiny figure quietly curled up in a cold stone hollow.
Alone. Isolated.
No warmth. No embrace. No comforting words...
Only the empty space, the howling wind through the night, and a silence so heavy it suffocates.
The young girl curled herself into the dark corner, her body frail, her face pale, her eyes empty, as though all emotions had been drained from her.
Her thin frame suggested she hadn't had a proper meal in days.
Yet, it seemed she didn't care about that.
Hunger? Cold?
All of that faded in comparison to what gnawed at her mind—
Pain.
A pain etched deep into the core of her being.
In her cloudy eyes was an abyss without end, a place where pain and loneliness tormented her fragile soul.
It was not just the cold of winter, but the cold of being lost.
It was not just the hunger of the body, but the hunger of a soul that had run dry of hope.
She was so alone that even the cold wind must envy her—because it could never cause the pain that the emptiness in her heart did.
Alone…
The girl—Kyouno—curled up inside a freezing stone cave.
The wind howled through the cracks like the wails of lost souls.
For the past week, all she had done… was walk.
Walk endlessly, aimlessly,
Dragging her weary body through the endless white of the snow-covered forest, not knowing where she was heading.
At times, in the emptiness of her mind, two familiar figures would surface—
Two warm, gentle embraces
As if guiding her back to the place called "home."
But then—
Her mother's final farewell echoed once more…
That moment of separation stabbed into her heart like a blade.
And after that—came the suffocating realization—
From the deepest part of her soul, she feel it—
Her mother… was gone.
The home that once burned like a flame in winter—
Now, nothing but memory.
The house she once called shelter,
Now lay in ruins, reduced to lifeless, cold ash.
"...."
"..."
"BANG!!!!!!"
Suddenly, amidst the heavy silence, a loud explosion tore through the stillness.
The sound of earth and stone being blasted apart echoed throughout the lonely cave.
Near the entrance—where the wind howled each night—something had just happened.
Kyouno, huddled deep within the cave, heard it clearly.
Her lifeless eyes flickered, but her expression remained blank.
It seemed that even the Grim Reaper appearing before her now wouldn't be enough to stir fear in her heart.
And yet, a faint spark of curiosity stirred within.
So she forced her frail body off the freezing stone floor, her legs trembling as she dragged herself toward the cave entrance.
And then—
A scene of destruction lay before her eyes.
Dust and rubble filled the air.
The outer wall of the cave had collapsed.
Debris lay scattered and broken.
Cold wind howled through the newly opened breach, slashing at the skin like invisible claws.
But Kyouno didn't care about the wind.
What caught her eye—
Was the devastation before her—
Among the broken rocks, a creature lay sprawled.
A… white-furred wolf.
A snow wolf—one of the mountain beasts that roamed the icy peaks.
Judging by its aura, it was only at Adept tier.
Its pristine white fur now stained red with blood and caked in dirt.
Its body pinned beneath fallen rocks, its left flank crushed—ribs shattered.
One hind leg twisted unnaturally, trembling with pain.
Its mouth hung open, tongue lolling, gasping desperately for breath.
But its eyes—
Its gaze never left the figure towering before it.
A giant silhouette loomed amidst the drifting mist.
A beast.
Massive. Grotesque.
As if it had crawled out from a nightmare.
Its hulking body stood as tall as an ancient tree, covered in thick, matted grey fur soaked in blood and stinking of rot.
Its glowing yellow eyes gleamed with madness—like a hellish fire burning slowly in the dark.
Every time its gaze swept past, the air seemed to freeze.
Its maw opened—
A deep, gaping pit filled with spear-like teeth embedded in bleeding gums.
A swollen purple tongue slithered out, long as a monstrous leech, drooling foul slime onto the ground.
Before such a beast, the snow wolf's fate was sealed.
As for Kyouno—her body trembled. Her pupils contracted.
In that very instant, she realized—
It was Gravelmaw.
A monstrous bear-like creature—
The terror of the frozen mountains.
When she was little, Kyouno had heard about it from her mother—
A savage, arrogant beast.
A predator that delighted in tormenting prey until their bones were crushed,
Then twisting their necks and savoring them slowly.
They wielded Earth-element magic—
Completely immune to all physical attacks.
And the most terrifying thing—
Through her magical perception, Kyouno knew without a doubt…
This one had reached the Master Tier of Earth magic.
An Master-Tier beast—
A living death among the snow.
.....