The boys' story starts in the lower slums at an orphanage run by the city's local government. A run-down orphanage operated by a man and two women found a loophole by exploiting these children for funds. They took most of the funds and left enough to feed 20 children at all times.
Today, a homeless man came to the orphanage holding a bag. He knocked on the door five times, but no one opened it. Finally, he started to use force until the door opened, and he was greeted by a man with glasses and short black hair wearing a suit.
"Enough with the knocking, you useless bum. This is an orphanage. We don't have enough money to feed the kids as it is, so go bother someone else," the man yells and tries to shut the door.
But the homeless man holds it. "I know this is an orphanage, so I came." The homeless man yells while holding the bag and shoves it at the other man's hand.
"Isn't your job to take care of kids? I found this one in the dumpster, so take care of it," and walked off without caring anymore.
The other men were horrified by the bag because it was fully sealed, with no way to breathe inside. He opens it quickly and looks inside; sure enough, a baby is inside. He looks around, finds a crowd of people looking at him, takes the bag, and goes inside. He opens the bag fully, thinking the baby is dead, but suddenly, once he takes the baby out of the bag, he notices it's breathing. The man, astonished, hurriedly called the other 2 women, and they all gathered to decide the baby's fate.
Soon the 3 people who run the orphange gather around the baby "What are we going to do?" asks the man.
One of the women says, "What do you mean by that qustion? We don't have enough funds for this one. So throw him, of course."
"Why is he so peaceful, though? Is he dead?" the other woman asks
"The one who threw him fed him enough drugs to make sure he stayed out of it for days. He is alive, alright; I checked. But one thing is for sure, they didn't know he was alive," the man added.
"Feeding drugs to a baby, is he even going to wake up? But we could blame the bum for bringing us a dead baby," one of the women added.
The other woman says, "People saw that bum handing us a baby. So we can't throw him; killing is not an option because the vindicators will know."
"Do you have to throw him without anyone seeing you?"
"Yes, we will just say the baby was dead when the homeless brought him," the man answers lastly. I will get rid of him; don't worry."
"Remember, you can't kill him yourself," the woman added.
"I know I'm not that stupid. I will just throw the baby; I won't get marked by a Vindicator for it," the man said with a serious face. The woman nodded in agreement, relieved that the man understood the consequences. "Just make sure it's done discreetly," she warned. The man nodded with a determined look as he prepared to take action.
The man waited until it was dark enough outside, gathered the baby in the same bag it came in, and slowly made his way outside the walls. He looked around him every so often, making sure no one noticed him with the bag. Once near the wall, he reached the gates that led outside. Once he was in front of the door, the guards yelled halt.
A guard with a stern face and a blue and white uniform with a big castle logo on its chest approached him. "You can't leave the gate without permission. Or be an adventure. What brings you here?" One of the guards asks.
The orphanage's director starts sweating and nervously explains, "I'm the director of the orphanage of the East Slums. I'm here on a mission to urgently buy a black bear kidney from one of the adventurers outside one of the stalls to cure one of the children with a high fever."
"A black bear kidney for one of the orphans, you say? Are you trying to pull my leg? Since when do orphanages give such expensive items to one of the orphans? Leave immediately, or I will punish you."
The doctor hurriedly added, "It's for one of the kids who tested positive for a light attribute."
The guards ask, " so let me clearify. You are telling me one of the kids who has a chance to become an oracle who controls the light in an orphanage is sick?" with a questioning face.
"Yes, sir. I swear."
Okay, it's your funeral anyway. I don't have to warn you to never leave deep into the forest. We don't always have the perimeter secured."
"Yes, thank you, sir. Thank you," the director says, trying to thank the guard.
He starts moving to the 16-meter door and marvels at its size and width, watching the flux of adventure in and out. Each one has a crest of an adventure on his chest.
Making his way outside the gate, he started moving toward the forest. The director knew this route very well, as he had traveled it before.
After 15 minutes of walking deep into the forest, he takes out the still, unconscious baby and puts him down. He slowly backs off. But once he is 2 meters away, the baby somehow wakes up and starts crying, screaming loud enough to be heard for a mile.
The director is dumbstruck by what is happening to the baby. He runs as fast as he can before the voice attracts something bad and makes his way back to where he came from.
As he runs, the director can't shake the feeling of unease, wondering what could have caused the baby to suddenly wake up and cry. The baby's cries echoing through the forest only add to his sense of urgency as he hurries back to safety.
That day, some forest adventurers swore they heard a baby crying in the forest, which sent chills down their spines. In their imagination, they thought a monster was mimicking a crying baby to lure them near it to eat them. There is no way in hell in their imagination that a baby will end up in the forest here. The eerie thought of a potential danger lurking in the forest sends shivers down their spines as they quicken their pace to get out of the area. The unsettling feeling of unease stays with them long after they have left the forest, leaving them with a lingering sense of dread.
The baby's crying went on for half an hour. Soon, a herd of wolves larger than 3 meters each made its way through the forest near the sound. Once they got near the sound, they were greeted by the sight of a human cub crying alone.
A pack of brown wolves, each spanning 2-3 meters, surrounds the baby. The alpha is a great wolf taller than 4 meters with muted grey fur. He has a big scar on his face, a shiny green eye, and jagged teeth that are each a foot tall. He approached the baby with saliva running down his face. His name is Grey in the pack.
The wolves sniffed the baby curiously, their eyes filled with interest and concern.
Grey, the alpha, said, "One of these foul creatures, cubs, somehow made its way into our territory. I can't stand them and their smell. I'm going to sink my teeth into it until it stops this horrible sound."
Once Grey is close enough to the baby, he opens the big bag slowly.
But soon enough, something changes in Grey's eye once he is close enough to the baby. "This smell. His smell is not horrible at all. Was it abandoned because it didn't smell like them?" Grey thinks, feeling a sudden pang of empathy towards the abandoned cub. Despite his initial instinct to attack, Grey's curiosity about the cub's origins and circumstances begins to outweigh his concern for territory.
"I. I can't kill it. I mustn't. Sigh..." Grey finally decided.
"cub that was abandoned by its pack."
Gray stands there for a minute, thinking about what to do. Finally, he has an idea. "Will Tasha like it?" Grey thought
"Well?" Suddenly, the other wolves asked. "What is it, Grey?"
"It's a human cub that was abandoned. I'm taking it as my son," Grey proudly declares, head high.
"I see. It is an abandoned cub of these foul humans, and you wish to adopt it as your son... WAIT, WHAT? The other wolves yell, "Grey, have you gone mad at a human?" All the other wolves chip in.
Soon, a wolf named Fang approaches Grey. "Grey, I supported every decision you have made, no matter how stupid. But this?"
Grey looks at Fang. "I'm very thankful for that old friend, but this one is different. He doesn't smell like the other humans. I don't know how to put it. He is very different from the other humans."
Fang gets angry and barks, "Smell! What does Smell have to do with anything? What do you mean he's different? A human is a human. Once grown enough, he will corrupt this forest and slowly take away its life for his selfish desire." Fang finally adds while Start gets agitated and mad at Grey's decision.
Grey gets frustrated. "I don't know how to explain it, Fang. Just smell him, and you will know."
Fang approaches Grey and looks at him sternly. "I think you have become muddleheaded, my friend."
"I'm not. Just approach the baby," Grey urges.
Finally, one of the other wolves with one ear missing approaches the baby. "Fine, I will do it. Since Fang hates human smell that much." Once the wolf gets close enough, something changes in its eyes, too.
"Hmm, he does smell pleasant and weird. You know what? I don't hate this one, Fang. I support you," the wolf added.
"Thank you, Dakna," Grey added while feeling proud.
"You two Dakna? What is wrong with you guys?" Fang starts to question reality.
Soon, all the other wolves expect Fang to approach the baby, and they all have the same opinion: they like him.
Finally, Fang caves in and approaches the baby; soon, something inside him changes, too. "Sniff. Hmmm, what a weird human cub. Is that why it was abandoned?" thinks Fang. "Sigh. Fine, do whatever you want, old friends. Besides, you and Tasha haven't had a cub until now; you deserve this one.
Fang's heart softened as he watched the baby human, feeling a sense of protectiveness towards him. He realizes that maybe this little cub was meant to be a part of their pack after all.
This starts a new journey for the abandoned baby by becoming a part of the pack.
Grey approaches the baby and notices that he has long been asleep. Grey begins to sniff the baby. "The cub has been drugged and put to sleep by these vile creatures," Grey cried.
Fangs looks over and says, "Then how could he be crying if he was asleep?"
Grey ponders a little and finds no answer. "I don't know; something is very weird about him."
Fang rolls his eyes at him and adds, "Of course, something is weird; everything is weird about this cub."
Grey sighs and says, "Anyway, let's move along. I don't know if a human is nearby, but it's better to get moving to where the pack is. Let's go." He carries the baby with his mouth and starts running toward the wolf den with the other wolves.
The pack moved along the forest, far deep into it, to parts where humans would never set foot on it. Soon, they reach a clearing surrounded by big rocks. The river runs just one mile away from this location.
The pack is greeted by small wolf cubs chasing each other and the older wolves resting around. This is the biggest wolf pack around these parts; the ancestral brown wolf's pack is strong enough and has enough food to feed even the old ones. It is known as the leader of this part of the forest, protected by a few of the strongest wolves in the forest. Once the cubs see the hunting party is back, they run to them to greet them.
"Uncle Grey is back!" "Father is back." "Mom is back." They yell and run to the hunting party with their tail wiggling. Once the hunting pack sees the little ones, they forget all the danger outside and fondly play with them.
The older wolves enjoy the scene, knowing that the cubs bring joy and energy to the pack. Grey smiles at the playful interaction, grateful for the unity and love within their wolf pack.
Grey added, Don't tell them yet; I have to get Taisha's approval first."
"Ha ha, of course, you are." Fang laughs.
Grey rolls his eyes at Fang and gives a tickle to each cub with a lick. Grey hurriedly moves the baby to his small cave, where his partner waits.