It has been a few months since Elena's miscarriage. Kyle tried everything in his power to cheer his wife up. However, even with the help of some friendly neighbors from a nearby village, he was unsuccessful as his wife's health slowly and continuously deteriorated. She became unresponsive and had seemingly given up on life. Kyle would regularly see Elena huddle up by the living room's window, staring outside and disregarding bodily needs such as hunger and sleep. Scared for his wife's condition, the middle-aged warrior begged the healer from the nearby village to help out. After a few visits from the village healer, the old man recommended Kyle a temporary treatment for Elena's declining condition. He described to Kyle a list of key ingredients that could boost his wife's immune system and vitality. So, with that in mind, Kyle set off for the mountains early the next day carrying only his hunting knife and a bag. Before he headed out, Kyle left a note for his wife, detailing his trip to the mountains so that she would not worry about him though it seemed highly unlikely whether she would read this note or not. Nevertheless, he wrote that he would come back before sundown and should she feel hungry, there were a few sandwiches plated on the dinner table.

As Kyle headed towards the mountains of Kuuri, he reviewed the contents of the list. The materials, the village healer had Kyle retrieve, were mostly for increasing blood circulation and fighting fevers. Kyle had to search for meat of a Trihorn Elk which was known to be very nutritious, blood of a Rock Turtle to increase blood circulation, a few stalks of Water Bamboo as well as some sap of the Phoenix Willow to fight off infections and fevers - all of which he could locate in the Kuuri Mountains. With his energetic pace, the journey to the mountains took him only a few hours. When he reached the base of the mountains, the sun was just peeking out from the horizon. Kyle took a deep breath and savored the fresh scent of morning air. After a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, it was time to search for the materials. The easiest option on the list was the Trihorn Elk who loved to graze the moist morning grass in a grass clearing at the foot of the mountains. These animals were peaceful creatures who traveled in large groups and tended to be more "flight" than "fight" so there would be less chance of retaliation.

Kyle searched the base of the mountains for suitable grass clearings until he found one that was conveniently located by a small stream. As it was still early in the morning, the herd of Trihorn Elk had not arrived yet, which allowed Kyle some time to quickly set up a few makeshift traps. The choice of traps that the middle-aged man had decided upon was the simple swinging spiked log. After setting up the traps, the old warrior hid behind some tall bushes and waited for the animals to arrive. Unfortunately for him, animals other than the intended Trihorn Elk scurried over to graze the grass or drink from the small stream. Not wanting his traps to be tampered with, Kyle rushed out to shoo away the animals. This went on for an hour or so until finally, everything was settled down and the middle-aged man crouched behind his hiding spot once again. About half an hour later, Kyle heard some rustling and galloping sounds in the distance. He strained his eyes towards the direction of the sounds to check and smiled when he saw that it was indeed a herd of Trihorn Elk. Every animal within this herd had three horns each, regardless of gender. The only difference was the shape and size of the horns. For the males, they had deer-like antlers on each side and a curved horn in the center. As for the females, they had three straight horns of medium length with the center horn a little bit longer than the other two. These Trihorn Elks were not suspicious of their surroundings as they confidently strode into the grass clearing. As some began grazing, others skipped towards the stream to drink the cool water. While the animals lowered their guards, Kyle decided to carry out his plan. He carefully approached them at one side.

ROAR!

The middle-aged man hollered at the top of his lungs, frightening the Trihorn Elks. The scared animals stumbled upon one another as they ran away from the man...straight for the traps. Kyle dashed after the elk, carefully herding them towards the direction of the traps. As he neared a tree, he suddenly pulled out his sharp hunting blade and slashed at a rope tied to the tree. With the rope cut, a spiked log swung out of nowhere and pierced towards some Trihorn Elks. Most of the elk herd saw the incoming sharpened log and managed to avoid the deadly trap. However, there were a couple of unlucky ones who were either stabbed or knocked back. While Kyle kept herding the elk, he unleashed the second log trap. This time, the Trihorn Elks expected the trap and thus none of the elks were hit...pity, a waste of a good trap. As the remaining elks escaped into the forests, Kyle strolled towards the wounded elks. The middle-aged warrior surveyed the scene before him. Two elks dead, with gaping wounds at their sides, and three more slightly wounded. Kyle was not a greedy person by nature and thus, he allowed the wounded elks to retreat.

Quickly, the warrior went to work. He started to dissect and prepare the two elks for storage. First, Kyle sawed off the horns of the two male elks and stored the horns in his bag. Next, he slashed off the heads and dropped them into a small pit he had prepared earlier. Afterwards, he would open up the bodies and pull out all of the organs. As he separated the inedible organs like the intestines and stomach as well as the reproductive organs with the edible organs, he dumped the inedible organs into the small pit. Once he cleaned the body, he buried the inedible organs along with the heads. But he cannot rest as the preparation process was only halfway done. He still had to skin the animals and cut the meat and edible organs into manageable pieces. As soon as that was done, he would began smoking the meat and some of the organs for preservation. By the time he was finished, it was nearly noon. Kyle began to set up camp by building a fireplace using nearby stones and dead branches. He strode towards the river and searched around in the waters until finally, he pulled out a large thing plate-like stone. Washing off the dirt, he placed the slab on top of his fire. Then, he grabbed the hearts and lungs of the Trihorn Elks and grilled them over the stone plate.

Soon, a rich aroma flurried in the air. The sound of grumbling hunger erupted from within the middle-aged man. Even though he was the only one in the vicinity, Kyle still blushed with slight embarrassment. After prodding the slices of cooked organs with a stick, he nodded with satisfaction and began to eat. Kyle wolfed down the delicious food with gutso, ignoring the pain that came with the hotness. Suddenly, the middle-aged man made a pained expression. He pounded on his chest a couple of times and fervently glanced around him. Upon seeing the river, he rushed towards it and plunged his head into the waters. After taking in a couple of long gulps of water, he reemerged with blissful satisfaction. He had just suffered from eating too fast...nothing like a few mouthfuls of cool spring water to wash it down. As he washed his face and hands, his ears suddenly perked up. There was a distinct sound coming from the distance...farther in the mountains. It...it sounded like crying...a baby's crying!

Why would there be a baby so deep in the mountains? Then, Kyle remembered something he had heard from the neighboring village gossipers. Because of hard times, unwanted babies, whether they be deformed or just another mouth to feed, were abandoned in the mountains or in the forests. Could this be something similar? Kyle rushed towards his campsite and kicked dirt into the fire. Then, he packed up everything and headed towards the mouth of the Kuuri Mountains. The sounds of the baby's cries were faint but they were loud enough for a strong and sensitive warrior like Kyle to detect. The middle-aged man worried that the baby might meet some danger and hurriedly entered the mountains. Making sure he stayed on the hiking path, he rushed towards the sound of the wails. After a few minutes, he was able to pinpoint the sound coming from a cliff some distance off course away from the hiking path. As he approached the cliff, the cries stopped and a loud thud could be heard. Fearing the worst, Kyle clambered up the rocky surface. What laid before his eyes at the top was a naked baby boy, covered in dust and sitting on a pile of chipped stones. There was a dazed look in his eyes. A large, weirdly shaped boulder cratered beside the baby. The baby sat there, too tired to move or cry. His eyes met Kyle's as they stared at each other curiously. The middle-aged man slowly approached the baby, his hand held up to soothe the baby.

"Hey little fella, you alright? I won't hurt you. Are you by yourself?" Kyle crouched down and smiled at the boy. "Don't worry, you're safe now. You're safe."

As if all of his energy depleted upon hearing those words, the baby closed his eyes and collapsed asleep on the stones. Kyle quickly took off his outer jacket and wrapped the baby in it. Upon closer examination, the baby had dark brown eyebrows with cute features. His ears were small and a bit pointy at the end. Kyle saw that the baby had a distinct reddish mark on his right shoulder. The mark looked almost like the character for 'earth'. However, the middle-aged man did not think too much of it and dismissed it as just an unique birthmark. Kyle did not waste anymore time and decided to return home first so that he can find some proper help with the baby. As for the treatment for his wife...at least he was able to bring home some Trihorn Elk meat. He'll have to make do with that and forage for the remaining ingredients some other day. As Kyle departed from the scene, something occurred behind him that would have shocked the middle-aged warrior if he had seen or heard it. The large boulder that was found next to the baby trembled slightly and opened up with a low hiss. What was inside was revealed to be the bruised mess of a monster! This rock wasn't just an ordinary rock...it was a Rock Spider! The Rock Spider was dead. It looked as if someone...something had thrashed it into pulp. Just who could have done that?

..........

It was well in the afternoon when Kyle descended from the mountains. Before he went home, he visited the nearby village's elder and asked him whether or not anyone had abandoned or lost a baby. Seeing that no one claimed the baby boy as their own, Kyle decided to bring the baby home first and visit the other neighboring villages tomorrow. Upon arrival, he noticed that Elena had not moved from the window. The sandwiches were untouched as well. Kyle grimaced and sighed heavily. As he entered the living room, he dropped the bag containing his equipment and the Trihorn Elk meat. The baby boy slung over Kyle's shoulder suddenly woke up from the loud noise. The baby began to cry upon seeing the unfamiliar scene before his eyes. Kyle reached over and tried to cradle the baby in order to calm him down, but to no avail. Then, Elena appeared before him. Kyle was startled by the sudden appearance that he nearly dropped the baby in his arms. However, Elena hurriedly reached over and held the baby in her arms. An unusual expression surfaced on her face as the middle-aged woman cradled the baby and cooed him back to sleep.

"That...Elena...I found him in the mountains. I need to take him to the other villages." Kyle held his hand towards the baby but Elena spun around, hugging the baby close.

"What are you talking about? This is Kal."

"K-Kal?"

"Oh, you silly-head. This is Kal, our son."

"O-Our son...wait Elena, are you feeling alright? Our son's name is Aldred. He...he died...remember?"

"What are you talking about? How can you make such a crude joke? Aldred is studying as a student in a faraway academy. It's hard for him to contact us but I'm sure he'll return home when he gets the chance."

"T-That...."

"Besides, this is our second son. Don't you remember?"

"But...but...."

Kyle tried to refute but seeing his wife's calm and cheerful expression, a far improvement from her original state, he could do nothing but nod his head. Since Elena's mind had deteriorated so much that she now believed that their son Aldred was still alive and that the baby in her arms was their second son, Kyle didn't want to disrupt this weird peace of mind and decided to play along. The child was abandoned. That was...must be the case. The two of them might as well adopt him in order to ease the pain and suffering they had experienced. And so, the middle-aged man accepted this twist of fate. He walked towards his bags and began preparing some food. When he called his wife over for dinner, Elena strolled over and began to eat. Seeing her finally eating something, Kyle smiled.