He is me

Before the sun could fully sit on the sky, the leader woke their guests and invited them for breakfast. The meal was as extravagant as the dinner they had the other day and there was no reason for them to hold themselves back. After the breakfast they could feel that they were surprisingly refreshed and full of energy.

"I will accompany you to the keeper," the leader announced which stopped the group while looking at him with questioning eyes. "The keeper is a being with the power to control to light," he added as an answer to their questioning gaze.

Karina looked at Arthur and with seemingly the same thought they nodded at each other. They've said their main purpose in entering the forest but did not expect them to immediately lead them to this so called 'keeper' who was also a being that had the power of light.

"This being of light, is it a human?" Arthur stepped forward and asked the werewolf.

"You should ask him personally," the leader did not speak further and only turned around and walked to a certain direction.

They silently followed the man and entered a narrow dirt path hidden by the same plant they saw surrounding the werewolf village.

"This plants, what are they called?" Vira could not help but ask the man leading them.

Without turning his head the leader spoke, "these plants are called Anhaw, it only grows in this place. We use it for decoration, medicine and as cover for our houses."

Vira nodded and did not ask anymore. They continued walking for almost half a day before they reached somewhat luminescent place. In the center of this place was a large Drowsy Weeping Pendula tree that must have grown for at least a hundred of years. Its hanging branches were full of green, shiny and luminescent leaves that had almost touched the ground. Butterflies were all over the place making it almost magical. They stood a few meters away from the tree and briefly admired the scenery.

"The keeper appeared three years ago, during that time, this forest had been plundered so many times that many of our rare herbs, plants and trees had been almost picked into extinction. In our fear that we might be discovered by the humans, we were not able to do anything. We watched as one by one, the animals and our precious herbs disappear and at the time of desperation, he appeared. A barrier appeared around this place trapping the unlucky hunters inside and eventually driving them insane. Our place suddenly regained its life and the precious resources we had slowly recovered." The leader looked at the huge tree with admiration and awe. It shows how important this 'keeper' was to them.

"Aren't you werewolves? You're definitely stronger than humans so why didn't you fought back?" Endo asked with a confused looked on his face.

The leader shook his head and scrutinized this young man in front of him. He could clearly see that he was still inexperienced and doesn't know anything about the true cruelty of the world. "Humans are the number one cause of our bloodline's disappearance in Prism Continent. We were once feared and ruled over a nation just like the humans right now but because of their greed and hunger of power, they destroyed us. You know, humans would do anything in order to achieve their goals even if that means using the darkness as their own." The leader spoke in a dark voice and the look on his eyes slowly turned cold. Endo did not open his mouth for the second time as he vaguely understood the man's meaning.

"Enough of this unpleasant topic," Karina cut in to divert their attention to another topic. "By the way, have you ever seen this 'keeper'?" her gaze focused on the man.

The leader shook his head, "no, he only communicates with us through his thoughts and we never dared to approach him. He is someone we can't casually meet or see."

Makes sense, if they revere this keeper, they would think of themselves unworthy to face him. The leader led them a little bit closer but did not make any move to go with them. The group did not force the werewolf to come with them and continued to walk towards the tree.

Karina parted the thick hanging branches with her hands and they slowly reached the center of the tree and saw crevice on the tree's trunk that can fit an adult person. Inside the crevice was a bright light that dispelled the darkness caused by the overlapping branches surrounding the trunk.

Arthur was faster than Karina as he stepped forward to see what was inside the crevice. A small body was curled inside, judging by the body's build, the child must be at least five or six years old. As if knowing that someone was watching him, the child opened his eyes and blinked twice before he sat up. His back was still facing Arthur, and he could see the child rub his eyes to remove his sleepiness before he turned around and face the man watching him.

Arthur was stunned the moment his eyes met those familiar blue eyes. He froze in place and stood there like a statue. The child blinked his eyes and tilted his head to the side. "Are you my guests?" a childish voice rang through the place and even the other remnants were stunned to hear a child's voice coming from the crevice which was blocked by Arthur.

Karina saw that Arthur was not moving and did not answer the question. With a frown on her face, she strode to where Arthur stood and was about to speak when a speck of blue caught her attention. The second time she looked at it, she was also rendered speechless at what she saw. Dreigh and the others looked at each other in confusion. They also walked towards the two and heard Karina's voice.

"Your highness…" her shaky voice made Dreigh and the others frown even more. "Is it really you?" her voice cracked and a tear formed at the edge of her eyes.

She moved to touch the child but stopped and instead she covered her face to hide her tears that had started to fall as a thought suddenly crossed her mind. 'Their prince had already died and this child is only a spirit' this though made Karina stop and an overwhelming emotion struck her. Arthur on the other hand was unmoving and currently unresponsive.

The child looked at them curiously and slowly moved out of the crevice. He stood on the ground with a long blue coat with golden flowers embroidered on it covering his body. "I'm not 'your highness', I'm the 'keeper'. They all call me the 'keeper'." The child grinned and the light energy surrounding him brightened.

"Then what are you, a spirit or a human?" Karina's question was muffled by her hands covering her face but the child still heard it clearly.

The child put on a thinking face with furrowed eyebrows, he did not know how to answer this question since he himself doesn't know what he is. "I also don't know."

Before any of them could speak to the child once again, his gaze landed on Dreigh and all of a sudden he happily ran towards him and hugged his legs. "You came! Are you going to finally fetch me?" he explained with happiness on his voice.

Dreigh was stunned at the sudden turn of events and wasn't able to answer the child. "Did you hear me?" the child looked up with glassy eyes.

Dreigh hesitated for a moment before he found words to answer the child's query, "I'm not here to fetch you though."

The child frowned and was about to cry, "why? I have been waiting for so long."

Arthur broke out from his stupor at the child's action, "do you know him?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes! I know him. In fact I have been waiting for him. The werewolves had led so many people here but none of them was the person I'm looking for not until I felt that person crossing the barrier I made." The child eagerly explained still not letting go of Dreigh.

"How can you be sure that I am the person you are waiting for?" Dreigh asked in puzzlement at the child's answer. He did not know anyone with the child's feature.

The child gave them a confused look, "what do you mean? I'm sure that you are the one I'm looking for because I knew it. I can't mistake you for anyone!"

"But I have never seen you before," Dreig shook his head to deny the child's claim. Nevertheless, he didn't know this child no matter what he says.

"Maybe he is just a little bit confused?" Rond spoke amidst the awkward atmosphere that was being formed around them.

"I'm not! I'm telling the truth!" the child became indignant and pouted in frustration. He was sure that he got the right person but they did not believe him. He was not lying. "I'm sure of it because he is me!" he suddenly shouted in annoyance at the pitying look these people gave him.