Chapter 201: Nox’s dream

Moon looked at the man lying beside him and couldn’t help wondering what was going on inside that head of his.

Surely, it wasn’t the mind of a twenty-something little pup.

Right?

Of course not.

.

.

.

The moment his consciousness faded, Nox found himself beneath a vast sky.

It looked like an open meadow, or perhaps a mountain range stretching endlessly into the distance.

He gasped and tried to move.

He wanted to be a wolf.

He tried to throw his arms and legs around, but nothing happened.

He couldn’t even lift his head.

He could hear the wind, feel the warmth of the sun, and sense the weight of a tree above him. Yet he could not move a single finger, open his eyes, or even turn his head.

He struggled desperately, but there was no body for him to control.

Then he realized something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

He had become the earth.

He could feel the roots spreading beneath the soil, the tiny creatures moving between them, and the water traveling through the ground.

The world above him was clear, but he couldn’t see it in the ordinary way.

Every footstep, every falling leaf, and every change in the air reached him through the ground.

Nox wanted to cry.

"No, no, no! I want to be a wolf! A wolf, not the earth!"

But his screams went unnoticed. Instead, he a small pair of feet walking all over him.

A small pair of feet ran across the courtyard.

Nox sensed the child before he understood what he was seeing.

The boy stopped beneath a willow tree and crouched beside its roots.

His long black hair fell around his small face as he leaned forward and carefully pressed something into the soil.

It was a seed.

The little boy used both hands to cover it with soil, patting the earth until it was firmly planted.

He even removed a few small stones from the surrounding soil before poking the soft earth with his fingers.

Nox felt a tickling sensation, and suddenly, he found himself less resistant to being the earth.

"Puki, puki..." the little boy mumbled as he began to mold the soil with water, smearing mud all over his face and clothes.

"Mooney, what are you doing?"

A woman came running over and pulled him away, scolding him in a gentle voice.

"I told you not to play with mud."

"Mummy, it’s so soft!"

The little one, however, continued hopping beside her, proudly showing her his grand work resting on his palm.

Nox wanted to keep that little palm and place the palm mark on his body.

But he had no body, only his consciousness.

He felt as though he were everywhere.

Suddenly, Nox felt the earth beneath them grow warm.

Then warmer.

And then the earth began to scorch.

It wasn’t the sun. There was fire everywhere.

The flames spread like a sea, rushing through the courtyard, swallowing the plants and climbing the wooden structures.

The heat seeped into the soil, scorching the grass and drying the earth around Nox.

He could feel the burning courtyard from every direction, and the roots above him were beginning to suffer.

Then he heard a woman scream.

"Mooney! Where are you, Mooney?"

Nox looked through the flames and smoke.

The little boy was curled up beneath the tree, and the woman’s voice gradually faded into the distance.

But Nox could still sense her.

A man was carrying her deeper into the courtyard, toward a patch of damp soil that felt old and forbidden, where the fire could not reach.

Her hand hung lifelessly at her side as he carried her away.

A fluffy white tail trailed behind the woman, swaying as she was carried past the sharp darts and burning debris scattered along their path.

Nox knew the woman had been searching for Moon only moments earlier.

He wanted to shout and tell her that the child was right there, beneath the tree, inside a cocoon of vines.

But he couldn’t speak, nor could he stop them.

Then the ground cracked again.

The sound was so loud that Nox felt it through every part of his consciousness.

A deep fissure opened beneath the courtyard, cutting through the soil and breaking apart the roots of the willow tree.

The tree tilted.

The child stumbled as the earth shifted beneath his feet.

He tried to hold on, but the ground continued to split, and the courtyard began to collapse into darkness.

Nox could feel the boy falling.

He tried to follow him through the broken earth, but the sensation changed too quickly. The burning courtyard vanished, and the familiar warmth of the soil disappeared.

There was no ground beneath him anymore.

Only darkness.

Then came the cold.

Nox felt water rushing around him, and a moment later, he sensed a body sinking through the depths.

The boy was no longer beneath the willow tree.

He was somewhere far away, surrounded by water, with his arms reaching upward.

Nox recognized the frightened eyes.

He wanted to reach the boy, but the water carried him farther down.

The boy’s fingers searched desperately for something to hold, and his movements grew weaker as the darkness closed around him.

Nox tried to follow.

But he couldn’t.

In desperation, he swept his consciousness across the vast land, searching for anything that might help him reach the boy.

Just then, the earth shook.

He noticed a strange sight that seemed entirely out of place amidst the surrounding beast tide.

A white silhouette stood on top of a distant mountain.

Nox could see him clearly because he was the earth beneath the man’s feet.

The man’s robe billowed in the wind, his jaw was tight, and his gaze was cold.

For a moment, Nox felt as though the man were looking toward the distant lake where Moon had just fallen.

In his hand was a broken necklace, its shattered pieces clutched tightly in his large fist.

Nox wanted to look more closely.

But the man suddenly lowered his gaze, as if he had sensed Nox’s presence. His eyes narrowed sharply, and Nox felt as though a whirlwind had sucked him in.