*Mehr Augustus’ POV*

I kept running through the forest while keeping my attention on the surroundings. I had been on the run for around an hour now. I looked behind me to see the mild light in the distance coming from the burning mansion. I checked the area as I decided to rest for a little while. I was sure that people from the mansion wouldn't look for me. The death of Dorian and the arson would probably lead them to believe that some robbers had attacked. And a single child slave disappearing wouldn't be that odd.

I took the water pouch from the side and took a swig before preparing to catch a meal for me. I hadn't had food since the morning after all. I had seen footprints of a beast that I imagined to be a wolf by the shape and size of the paw. So, I started searching for its den. By the sound of the stream nearby, I imagined the den to be fairly closeby.

I started to look around while trying to soften the sound of my footsteps. It was pretty difficult as my body was lacking control and strength that I had been used to. Even simple running had been strenuous enough to make my lungs scream.

I had looked around for some time before finding the pawprints of the beast. I followed them stealthily, as stealthily as my malnourished ,weak and tired body would allow. I didn't have to walk for long before encountering a very welcome sight.

The wolf was sitting in its den licking its wound. It looked injured, probably because of some other beast in this forest. This was an incredible opportunity. I had been hesitant before and even tried to find some animals, but had come up with nothing but failure. And now I had found a source of food that would last me for a couple of days, at the very least.

I slowly closed in on the opening of the den and calculated all the various scenarios that could unfold in this fight. I steadied my breathing, calmed my mind and cleared the distracting thoughts. I crouched down and started walking, as slow as a slug, towards the wolf.

As I inched closer, I noticed a few bulges behind the wolf. It was dark and I couldn't properly see what the bulges were, but kept moving forward and got into the position to attack it. I was planning to end it in a single strike to its neck before it found out that I was even here. But I guess, even a task as mundane as killing a beast was too difficult for the current me.

As soon as I jumped, I noticed that the wolf snapped its neck in my direction and stood up in a crouching position. I had imagined that if it managed to locate me before I had stabbed its neck, it would take either of the two options, jump at me trying to shred me with its jaw or strike its claws while standing on the ground. Wolves were aggressive by nature and I had removed the possibility of it backing down.

But its action had sent signals flaring in my head. It just stood in its position while growling at me. I couldn't register the situation properly until I noticed the bulges behind it moving. They were its babies, and the wolf was trying to protect them.

I hurriedly put mana in my legs as I tried to shift my direction in mid air. I had already coated the blade in my right hand and my left arm in mana. The wolf swung its claw with as much ferociousness as it could muster in its injured state, but I managed to strike it with my left hand. I thrust my blade, clad in mana, as I tried to stab its neck.

However, the wolf plunged at me, with such speed that I didn't know it was capable of, that it made me disoriented. The wolf had bit my side and I believe that a few bones had broken along with shredded flesh. I hit the wolf with my left elbow and proceeded to pierce its eye with my blade.

I buckled to the side as I stumbled for support before sliding my back down with the support of the den wall. I noticed that the young wolfling had come up to its mothers body and was rubbing its head against her body. I felt sorry for the little guy but for me, my life was more important.

I had covered the wound with mana to cease the bleeding, but that was just a preliminary aid. It wouldn't take long before I ran out of mana and I had to find a way to patch up the wound before that. The young wolfling was glaring at me, trying to convey its hatred through the almost silent whimpers. I tried to get up with the support of the wall before I noticed the sound of footsteps approaching my direction.

It was dark in the den, with the moon being the only source of light. I couldn't quite make out the physical appearance of the person that was coming towards me. His steady gait revealed that he was a well trained individual, a hunter perhaps?

I tried to steady my breathing and took on a stance that clearly portrayed that I would attack him if he came any closer. But my pained expression and bloody side must have given away the ruse as the person didn't even flinch walking. Or it might have been the fact that I was a literal four year child. Who could know?

The most frustrating thing about the ordeal was that he could see my face, yet I couldn't see his. The moon shone behind him as he slowly approached and tilted his head to look at the dead wolf, alive wolfling and an injured child putting on a facade of bravery, me. He stopped right in front of me, and snapped his fingers gently. The den brightened instantly, as if the moon itself had stepped in to grace this dreary cave with its presence. The man sat down, as he looked into my eyes and said, “Two eyes of different colour, a black and a blue. How intriguing. What is your name, child?”

I looked at the man, who looked no older than 25, his head covered in shiny white hair, almost coming off as glazed silver. His blue eyes looked at me and appeared to peer into my very soul. I also noticed that the man was a normal human, as no mana stuck to his body. No, it looked like mana was actively avoiding touching this man. Didn't he just use magic to light up this cave? Without mana?

I pushed these thoughts aside as I answered his question, “Mehr.. that is my name, Sir.”

“Mehr.. what an unusual name. Do you know what your name means?

“The first light of dawn, Sir.

The man looked at me for a moment, smiling gently. He put his hand on my injury and I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

“What did you do…?”

“Hmm? Ah it's nothing much,Mehr. I'm sure that you will learn these things in the near future. Tell me a bit more about yourself, will you?”

The man said as he picked up the young wolfling and started walking out of the cave. My mind started racing as I tried to put the situation in clearity. Some man just found me out of nowhere, saved me using a very strange magic that doesn't use mana, and now just wants to know about me. Everything about this was fishy.

I tried to come up with all sorts of possibilities of who this man was, but nothing made sense. So, I decided to go along with his whims to fish out as much information as I could. Anyway, if he wanted to hurt me, he wouldn’t have saved me.

“I am nothing but a slave, sir.”

“A slave? And what is a slave doing so deep into the forest that leads to the western badlands?”

Badlands? Isn't that dangerous unchartered territory? Whew… looks like I was walking right to my death.

We had reached an open area as we kept walking out of the cave. The man gestured to me to sit down. As I started to sit down on the soil, the man laughed a little as he raised his hand slightly. The earth trembled beneath my feet as a flat rock emerged. I sat on the rock as I noticed the man was simply rubbing the wolfling’s fur while he looked at me for an answer.

“Master’s house started burning suddenly. And so I ran away from the fire because I was scared. I will go back to my master's house but please don't tell him that i ran this far.”

I tried coming off as a scared slave child would. I didn't know if it was successful though. The man looked almost amused at my answer. I knew that he wasn't someone from the merchant’s house that housed me as a slave, but a four year child shouldnt come off as mature and knowledgeable, and this also worked in the case that my assumption was wrong.

The man looked at me as he sat down and answered very simply, “Hm? Oh, I'm not from your master’s house. And I'm very sure that you aren't going back there.”

Very sure that I'm not going back there? Is he another slave trader? Someone who will abduct me and sell me to a different party. That is the only way that he would be sure that i'm not going back there.

“Sorry sir, but may I know who you are?”

The man looked at me for a moment. It felt like he was deliberating over something. I waited quietly for him to speak. The man took his eyes off of me and looked down at the wolfling, and said in a voice that felt laced with regret, “I am just a ghost of the past. I have no name. You can call me anything you want, Mehr.”

“Sir Ghost… why are you asking me all these questions?”

The man, who had been giving strange answers and whom I had amusingly called Ghost because of his self introduction, looked away from the wolfling and stared into my eyes. His smile had dimmed down significantly and the expression of, what I could only perceive as, sadness took over his face.

“I am in a dilemma, Mehr. And I can't seem to put my thoughts to a proper end. I can't decide if I should kill you, the Star of this generation.”

What….. What the fuck?