The tall tree trunks rose through the light mist that surrounded the area, giving the forest a brownish-gray tone. Not a single insect or bird could be heard; only the sound of Karon's breathing and footsteps echoed.
The oppressive atmosphere of the forest seeped into one's bones, and the extreme silence kept him constantly on edge.
Karon suddenly shivered.
"This forest really makes it hard to keep your sanity."
He continued on his way, constantly looking around.
Karon, who had been searching for a suitable place to live in the forest for several days, had reached a dead end. He hadn't found a proper cave or a water source. For this reason, he kept exploring new areas and investigating them.
As his fatigue and patience clashed, Karon spotted a small hill in the forest and began approaching it.
At the entrance of a wide cave stood a ball of feathers… At first glance, it looked like an item someone had left to mark the cave. However, the bones surrounding it proved that it was not an object, even before taking action.
Covered in foul-smelling mud, Karon circled around the cave, committing both the cave's and the creature's characteristics to memory.
After observing for a while, he moved a little farther away and set up a camp.
The camp was 5–10 minutes away from the cave. Next to a fire circle formed among the tall trees, there was a log and a small cupboard. A simple wall made of branches and leaves surrounded the fire circle. In the top of one tree, Karon's rhythmic breathing could be heard.
Bags had formed under his eyes. Karon watched the ball from inside a bush by the river, taking notes on its movements.
Despite the days of observation, he hadn't even managed to fill two pages.
***
The young man bathing in a small lake muttered to himself, trying to find a solution.
"This ball's boring life even bothers me. Don't you need some kind of entertainment if your intelligence is so low? All it does is eat and sleep.
The things I can do are really limited: fire, direct combat, or more exploration.
Fire doesn't seem convincing; I doubt a creature would die from flames. Direct combat is impossible. More exploration, however, is exhausting.
Ah… I'm really at a dead end."
During the days he spent observing the ball, Karon realized that it was powerful enough that he couldn't confront it on his own. From the animals entering the feathers, only bones came out. This was not the kind of experience he wanted to test.
Although Karon knew more exploration was his only option, he preferred to eliminate other possibilities through self-talk and thought.
Unconsciously, after entering the forest, Karon's self-talk increased, and he began overthinking even trivial matters.
***
Returning to the camp along the riverside, Karon didn't see the expected brown tone. For several days, he had mapped out the ball's schedule, and it should have been hunting in the river at this hour.
Freshly bathed, he swore as he stepped into the mud.
He also checked the ball's cave, but there was no one there. Karon waited with great anticipation.
After a while, a two-meter-tall brown feather ball appeared on the right side of the cave. Seeing it, a glimmer of hope lit up Karon's face.
The ball glanced briefly at the cave and continued on its way. This time, it headed toward the left side of the cave. Karon suppressed his excitement and began following it.
The gray mist completely surrounding his field of vision gave a sense of the unknown and fear. Even trees and rocks seemed to vanish without a trace into the mist.
While watching the ball check the mist around it, Karon drifted into thought. He had never seen anything like this in his life.
"It's as if whatever enters the mist becomes one with it…"
The ball's return snapped Karon out of his thoughts, and he left the mist to head back to the camp.
The next day, having confirmed that the ball went hunting for food, Karon set out toward the right side of the cave.
***
After the sight he saw on the left, he was both fearful and curious about the surprises that might appear on the right.
After a 10–15 minute walk, Karon advanced cautiously and suddenly shivered, hiding behind a tree.
Having trained with his father for a long time, Karon was sensitive to sounds; however, the forest's silence had dulled this reflex.
As the sound of clashing continued in his ears, he cursed at the absurdity of his reaction and moved toward the noise.
The smell of burnt blood filled the area, and the clash of teeth and claws grated on his ears. A white owl and a hairless bear filled the scene.
The owl hovered in the air, attacking the bear with flaming claws, while the bear stood on its hind legs, opening its meter-long mouth filled with teeth to counterattack.
The teeth were the size and sharpness of kitchen knives, threatening enough to tear apart anything that entered the mouth.
Karon, unsure how to react to the scene, was filled with fear, curiosity, and excitement when he saw the flaming claws and that mouth.
Eventually, fear prevailed, and Karon shivered regretfully as he retreated.
From a safer distance, he continued watching the fight, his eyes dazzled.