44 Chapter 43: Some Insights

Being brought back to the topic at hand, silence prevailed over the area.

"That...." The great wolf hesitated to answer. "This is a messy matter. I'll continue calling you child if it's okay with you?"

Leila nodded at the name. She doesn't care much about how she is called or titled. Like how she was banished due to being identified as a goddess that brings death and darkness, being called as a child is hardly something she could make some protest to. It is the most pleasant thing than others used to call her after so long. And not that it's a bad experience anyway, nobody dared to call her that back when she was still a goddess.

"How do I describe this..." The wolf ponders a while, looking over the sky above the ceiling.

The great wolf stood unwavering— immoveable perhaps. It gazes at the expense of the vast universe. As if asking for permission to tell what secrets it holds. As if it saw the signs it was looking for, it once again focused its gaze into the girl's figure.

"The creatures who had ties with the old are awakening." The wolf said as it closed its eyes, seemingly listening to something unheard of by others. "Not a very important phenomena, at least for the age of past. But now that everything is all messed up, it's really a devastating matter all together." The wolf said as it stalks near her. A wisp of mana flew out if it's mouth.

The mana then formed itself a vague form of beasts of different shapes. The figures were fierce despite not being too detailed. It then fought each other, fiercer than the last until a winner seemed to emerge from the rumble. Then after the champion was known, a new round began once again and again.

Leila watched it all with a serious glint in her eyes. The whole thing is a familiar sight and she is not really bothered seeing all that. Only that she doesn't know what its significance is. Because no matter how maddening everything was, something must have been a reason for it to repeat again and again.

"Think of it as a cycle child. Like gathering of beasts yearly, old lines or descendants of sacred and demonic creatures also come out in a sequence. Sending the most powerful of our kind every time it comes around, we fight for supremacy....like where we originated. Most of the time it ended with a draw—a stalemate. Every destruction brings new beginnings. This whole thing is what keeps the valley alive for ages. The aftermath paves way for new vitality, although a shabby imitation of what our ancestors could do. It calms us down, reminding us of our roots and keeping the embers of hope that we'll be noticed by the deities above." The great wolf's voice was subdued as it said the upcoming rumble in the valley.

"The next one is near?" Leila asked as she rubbed her temple. If that is the case, she had to make adjustments to keep her group safe. From what she gathered, every creature in the forest is scrambling to avoid the upcoming battle.

No wonder the beasts from the center circles of the lakes were behaving so strangely. Why the animals around were smaller in number than she remembered the last time she visited. And why the forest's mana felt so weird when she arrived.

"Yes. The next one coincides with this year's gathering. The beasts will still gather not for the usual reasons why they do so, but to increase their chances of survival." The great wolf said as its gaze fell upon the human in front of it. Perhaps minding her current identity, it tactfully added.

"In our view, humans are stuck in the middle. Although we don't have the most amiable relationship, they are often the one who suffers the burnt of our clashes. With the tales about us mostly forgotten in time, they don't know the aftereffects, cause and consequences, the reason and the fact we are only doing what was expected of us. Many are bound to die everytime we come out of our dwellings."

Leila was left thinking of how devastating the magnitude of each clash could be. The humans of this world are smarter and resourceful than her previous world, the question of how resilient they actually are is the real issue.

Back there unless one was a direct casualty, most of the humans in Reilas were survivors of various calamities.

In a world where things are dependent on some higher beings, things are naturally very hard. Depending on the existing ethos and doctrines of the gods one follows, many man-made tragedies had occurred. Wars were the most popular trend and peace is the most sought stranger that every commoner seeks.

Natural disasters and Divine punishments are also a common phenomenon too. Earthquakes, tsunamis, storms/typhoons, plagues and ect. almost happens in intervals. Compared to earth, the humans of Reilas are very tough cookies.

Cases of people living normal lives after amputation, crippling and other unfortunate circumstances are numerous. Some even become kings and significant people in history. A feat that leads new eras and relative periods of stability before another [event] makes their entrance.

Not that cases like those didn't also happen on this earth, but from the statistics Leila saw that one time she was curious, there are too many people who choose to end their lives in depression. The sheer number of deaths related to them not able to come in terms of their state was staggering. The former goddess then concluded that the human of this world is more emotionally fragile than of her previous world other than being physically weaker.

"Well I'll be out when that happens though. I will not mind it much. But I have to forewarn my grandparents of this. This way the casualty in humans will not be so enormous. But considering how ignorant and arrogant people of this age typically it's the least I could do." Leila examined the wolf's reaction. Eyes curious of the choices of words of the old creature.

"Very well. I suppose that is a sound judgement to make." The great wolf said as it beckons the black haired girl to some other place. "Follow me. Since you are someone found worthy of trust by my pup, there are some things that I need to show you."

The silver haired giant wolf took her to the area where the young wolf cub was last seen. Leila didn't make a noise and wordlessly followed along. It took them several minutes before they arrived at the place where the wolf needed her to be.

Wolves of various sizes were slumbering in the open field that the young wolf pup was chasing with a huge yellow butterfly. A weird sight that made Leila have a bad feeling. A gut instinct that usually doesn't end well every time it rears its head.

"They…" Leila tried to form words, but ultimately failed to do so.

To what she perceives, the sleeping wolves are more dead than alive. The mana around them suggest that their current state was happening for a very long time. Chances of them waking up was close to null. And if they do wake up it would take a long time for them to recover.

"Yes." The great wolf said sadly. "This is one of the many aftermaths of our clashes. Our numbers had been greatly reduced. For so long that foolish pup of mine was the only one born."

Leila was speechless and unsure on what to say. The words of the mother wolf were too devastating on various labels. From the howls she heard a while ago, there are about ten or so wolves still alive somewhere in this hidden world. Very few if you compared it to the number of slumbering wolves in this clearing.

The giant wolf observed her reactions over the words it just spoke. It was a test to know the mentality of the child whom its pup may follow to escape this vicious cycle. The only hopeful the mother wolf had seen for its own cub.

And its pup's vision is indeed good. Not only the child had some ties of the past glorious genesis of theirs, she was also a genuine kind soul. Although she is currently weak, her potential is indeed too [ Limitless ] to describe. She is the perfect person to take its cub out.

Speaking of the young wolf, it had seen them when the two stopped a good distance away from its position. It looked at them curiously and was conflicted whether to go to them or continue chasing the butterfly that it was playing with. After a few moments, it decided to go to its friend and mother. With a mad dash it headbutt its mother's leg in a playful manner.

Maybe out of habit, the mother wolf responded quite playfully. It gracefully avoided the upcoming cub and then held it in its mouth. Obviously the young wolf didn't like being manhandled and resisted the hold excitedly. Spending its energy this way, it felt tired for a while and dozed off while it was being held by its mother.

Leila watched all that with a warm gaze. But the background of the heartwarming scene is a cruel reminder of the reality these wolves are in. They are close to extinction.

Perhaps the mother wolf knew that this isn't the best place to continue to talk, it led her back to its caves. Out of respect for the owner of the cave, Leila waited near the entrance. There she awaits the giant wolf to emerge again after it tucked in its cub to safety of their home.

"This year….you are the one to be in the battlefield." Leila said as a matter of fact. Glancing at the foolish appearance of the young wolf, she knew the purpose of why the giant wolf went to so much trouble to talk and answer her questions. "You want me to take care of your pup."

"I had the intention. But with your eyes now, I know you will refuse." The mother wolf said with understanding. The child has no responsibility over them, and she has every right to refuse whatever favor it calls upon the other. Besides the girl is too young, she might not be very ready to bear something as heavy as this. No matter what sort of creature she was.

The mother wolf was more than expecting to be rejected, but words it heard blooms a future it never imagined.

"I can help. But I ask you to be alive and well in summer. Can you do that?"