Hi There (Part II)

The black wisp edged closer, prompting the leader of the Night Wolves to fiercely snap its jaws, saliva scattering in the air.

The wisp continued its advances, unperturbed.

Failing to intimidate, the Night Wolf launched itself toward the encroaching wisp, opening his maws wide to swallow it whole.

Much to the wolf's bewilderment, the wisp passed effortlessly through the attack as if it wasn't really there, and undaunted by the wolf's display of aggression, the wisp floated closer.

The wolf's continuing ferociousness was futile–snapping and clawing but not finding any purchase as they passed right through the wisp, only serving to stir the chilly night air.

Soon, the wisp hovered just above the creature's right eye, and compared to the wisp that had entered Li Ting's eye, this wisp appeared more energetic.

At first, a little protrusion poked out, swinging in the air like a leaf on a branch. The harmless wave was a gesture of welcome, but not to the Night Wolf. In short order, a hundred more protrusions shot out, immediately stretching out to reach the wolf's right eye.

When the long stretches of shadow made contact, the wolf leader flipped over and howled from the sudden pain. Clearly, the wisp didn't care about the comfort of its new host.

Subsequent squelching sounds could be heard from the wisp as its sharp projections emptied out the eye socket. Flesh splattered around the wolf's magnificent black coat, but it was quickly cleaned up by the wisp as it slurped it all up, an act resembling something trying to quench its thirst.

In shock, the four other Night Wolves watched as the lifeform, initially dismissed as a harmless wisp, dug out their leader's eye amidst its shrieking howls. When they realized they hadn't already fled, they tucked their tails between their legs and dashed off.

They were much weaker than their leader, and with him down, it was obvious to them that they'd be next.

The Night Wolves were rather intelligent, and they could determine that it wasn't worth it to face this strange peril for a small bite to eat.

Their normal prey were right to steer clear from this mountain. They wouldn't have been in this mess if not for that trail of blood that made them think that they'd find some easy food for once.

Meanwhile, Ting was watching all of this in horror.

When the wolves around her had bolted back into the forest, she realized that she was in even greater peril. Why couldn't she catch a break? She already didn't have the time to think, much less the full mental faculties at the moment to do so.

When Ting crawled up, first focusing on survival and finding a way out of there, she noticed the large wolf leader whimpering on the ground with the black… thing digging into its face. It looked like some kind of nefarious parasite that was trying to tunnel into the wolf's brain and take control of its body.

When the wisp finished, a black orb had perfectly situated itself in place of the wolf's right eye.

Although the large wolf had passed out and the others had long scampered off, Ting did not feel safe.

Her anxiety levels were skyrocketing as her hands shook, and beads of sweat leaked down from her forehead. Her pounding heartbeat could barely keep up with her rapid breathing, which let out shallow gasps.

"Hiiiiiiii therrrrrrre."

A faint voice had slithered into Ting's mind. Shock filled her face, turning it paler than a sheet of paper. She frantically looked around, but like before, she didn't see anything that could possibly be alive.

"I'm right above you, so don't look so worried. I'm not going to eat you."

With that sudden bombshell, she slowly lifted her head, dreading what she might find and praying to the Gana Theocracy's god that she may remain in one piece. Yes, she was desperate enough to pray to a god that she didn't believe in.

Looking down at her was the 'eye' that she had seen earlier when she was on the verge of death.

Only this time, 10 orange wisps and 1 red wisp were spinning around a deep, dark pupil. Although it didn't look much like an eye now, it didn't make the being look any less menacing as it looked down on her.

———

When the Eye saw the Senior Night Wolf on the ground, he blandly mused over the situation. Although he had used almost half of his remaining wisps on the seal, the outcome was favorable.

The Eye focused on the human, looking at its bloodshot eyes and pale face. The creature had gone through a lot that day, not that it really mattered to him. Well, it would be rather disappointing if it decided to leave because of those slight inconveniences, but the Eye also had another connection now, so he wasn't worried in the slightest about either outcome.

The Eye then noticed that the human's face was turning a ghostly hue of blue. Its condition looked a little weird, so the Eye decided to connect with it. 

His vision changed as a large Night Wolf snoring on the ground came into view.

With the connection in place, the Eye attempted to communicate directly into the human's mind.

"Hi there."

When his field of view started to move around in a frantic state, the Eye was a bit confused. He concluded that the human must have simply been surprised because it didn't know where the unknown voice had come from. To calm down the frenzy of blurs in front of him, he decided to reassure the human of his goodwill.

"I'm right above you, so don't look so worried. I'm not going to eat you."

After all, he wasn't like the wolves earlier who wanted to satiate their hunger with it, but in contrast to the Eye's goal, his reassurance had a different, unintended effect.

After looking up, the human passed out, falling down on the large rock as its head made a sickening crack sound upon collision.