3 Chapter 3: Reincarnation

Chapter 3: Reincarnation

"I yearned to be reborn," the young white wolf murmured.

"To be reborn into a life of freedom, guided by strength, and unburdened by limitations," he continued, envisioning a serene and unrestrained existence.

However, reality seemed to play a trick on him. "Wait, hold on! Wasn't that the wish I asked for?" he exclaimed, his confusion evident.

"Am I trapped in a dream or is this tangible?" the wolf questioned himself, slowly opening his eyes to survey his unfamiliar surroundings—the heart of a mysterious forest.

"How did I end up here?" he wondered aloud, grappling with the puzzling circumstances he now found himself in.

In an instant, a strange sensation filled the air, an inexplicable feeling tugging at his instincts.

"It's sweltering... way too hot!" he cried out in shock, his eyes flying wide open to behold a raging forest fire encircling him.

"Now it makes sense, the scorching heat," he whispered, grasping the severity of the situation. Panic crept into his voice, "I'm trapped! The fire surrounds me from all directions!"

'What do I do now!?' he panicked, frantically scanning for an escape route. To his surprise, he found himself face to face with a large, white creature lying just ahead.

'What…'

'What the heck is this? Big white…?', he questioned, his young eyes struggling to fully discern the creature before him. As he looked closer, he realized it was a big white female wolf lying peacefully in front of him.

At only 4-5 days old, he was a tiny wolf pup, vulnerable and lost amidst the raging forest fire.

Though unable to see his reflection to fully grasp his state, the tiny paws made him aware that he was some sort of animal.

'I have no idea what has happened, but it's best to find an escape route first...' he thought to himself, determined to navigate through the perilous situation.

'I need to be careful though, I can't just run into that fire blindly... gotta be smart about it,' he continued, his eyes scanning for any signs of escape route. 

He knew that being dumb and running randomly could only end up killing him by the redness.

But he didn't get any time to even plan as the blazing flames rushed right towards him.

'I must get out before the flames get me.'

Uncertainty fueled his dash through the inferno, frantically seeking refuge from the blazing forest fire.

What happened to being smart? 

'Weird...something is different...' 

He saw a small space opening up in the fire as he ran, but even in that situation, few fire-flakes fell on him - they should have burnt him in the process, however, he felt no pain nor did such a thing happened.

Ahead, as he was running, he spotted a small lake. Relief washed over him at the sight, thinking that he could find safety by jumping into its cool waters and escaping the fiery threat. However, little did he know that his path would be obstructed by a group of humans, standing in his way. 

He put on the brakes, coming to an halt all of a sudden after spotting the humans.

In fact, he froze when he saw the towering humans blocking his path to safety. They were like two walls standing between him and the lake.

'They feel like giants…', he told himself, realizing how small animals view the humans.

He stared, for a second. His first thought should have been running away, but his hazy mind forced him to do something idiotic.

He walked forward, approaching them!

Suddenly, he heard the sound of something whizzing through the air, and before he knew it, arrows had pierced one of his legs.

"Ahhhh! What the hell!?" he yelped in pain as he stumbled back.

Blood oozed out relentlessly, signaling the severity of the injury caused by the arrow that had skewered straight through.

"Have you lost your minds! Why would you do such a thing!?"

Glancing back up at their menacing figures, he noticed they were readying yet another arrow. A wave of dread crashed over him.

'Are these humans trying to kill me?' he wondered with a mix of fear and confusion.

'Wait… Of course they are! I am not a human!'

As he tried to make sense of the situation, another arrow flew towards him, this time aimed at his head. 

Fear overtook him, and he thought to himself, 'This is it. I'm going to die.'

He closed his eyes tightly, accepting death. It was not new, so, it was rather easy to accept. But it was then that a loud howl made its way to the young pup's ears.

*AOOOOOOOOO*

The young wolf pup opened his eyes to witness a huge white wolf being struck by an arrow mid-air.

The arrow had pierced it's chest, close to it's heart. The pristine white fur was red due to the blood that oozed, drops of it falling down and beginning the process of creating a puddle. 

But that was not the only wound.

Shin, who saw the wolf was terrified, not because of the gigantic sharp teeth, but all the arrows that had pierced it's body - 31 arrows.

The white wolf then shifted its gaze towards the pup, who was staring at her, oblivious to everything happening around him.

"Are you alright?", the wolf asked which Shin understood, but didn't reply.

Scared, he glanced at the wolf, a word coming out subconsciously, "Monster."

While in his terms, it would be a praise, but the wolf standing in front of him, flinched upon hearing that. Both his ears that stood tall, fell… in sadness. It's eyes filled with tears momentarily.

Moments of silence surrounded them, only the flicker flames audible. But the silence broke as a cry pierced the air.

"Attack!", one of the humans shouted.

Hearing this, the wolf shook his head, bidding farewell to his tears as he too, shouted at full volume, "RUN!" sending the tiny white puppy into a sprint toward the nearby body of water.

'What's happening?', Shin was confused as this action of his, was out of his control. 

With unparalleled instinctual ferocity, the baby animal leaped into the air and hurdled itself directly into the tranquil lake below.

The larger white wolf stood guard valiantly, intercepting another arrow launched from afar. Terror-stricken, the little pup watched helplessly as the giant arrow thudded deep into the wolf's chest, this time, right into the heart.

Its heart, once beating with courageous purpose, stilled.

'That wolf… protected me.'

'But why?'

But before he could piece together the fragments of truth, the unforgiving waters claimed him and dragged him deeper into the unknown abyss beneath the surface.

'I... I can't breathe!'

The young wolf pup was struggling to stay afloat in the icy cold water. Panic set in as he thrashed about blindly, flailing arms and legs futilely attempting to break the surface. The harsh realization hit him - he never learned to swim.

'A-am I going to die...? Is it for real this time?'

A sense of hopelessness engulfed his consciousness; no amount of thrashing or flailing seemed capable of reversing his fate. He wondered if this was the end for him, if death was truly imminent.

Just as he was ready to let go of life and welcome oblivion, something stirred within him. A sudden, unexpected turn of events changed the course of his future.

*Ding*

[SUPREME PREDATOR SYSTEM has been activated.

- Collecting all information about the host.

- Detecting irregular physical conditions.

- Activating Emergency Safety Mode.]

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept across the surface of the water. The wind grew stronger and stronger until it formed into a towering vortex that lifted water high into the air.

The wind and water entwined in a dance of elemental fury. The water rose up in a giant spiral, and the wind roared around it, whipping up a storm of foam and spray.

It spun like a wild cyclone, picking up water from the lake and whipping it into a frenzy of droplets and mist. 

The humans, stunned and confused, watched as the tornado-like force moved towards the opposite side of the forest fire, seemingly extinguishing the flames in its path. 

"W-what in the world just happened?!" one of them exclaimed in shock.

"Was that a water dragon? It can't be possible...right?"

The others immediately got scared and fled in terror with all their might. They knew they stood no chance against a being that was classified as an S Rank beast and dominated the water element. 

The mere thought of facing such a powerful creature sent shivers down their spines and they knew they had to escape before it was too late.

But little did they know that it was the pup of a white wolf who had used something so strong to survive. And in this case, it had summoned a massive water dragon-like vortex, a force to be reckoned with.