The next morning came colder than he expected. The smell of morning dew clouded his senses, and birds released a cacophony of melodies that eased his heart a little.
It's still hurting since he couldn't grieve the loss of his father properly, but he couldn't just stay still and cry all day forever, wishing his father would return.
He will always keep his father in his heart and start focusing on building this city.
Grumble...
"Oh, I haven't eaten anything since yesterday," Veric mumbled to himself. "I can't start thinking of building a city with an empty stomach."
So Veric got out of the tree, took off all of his clothes, and transformed into his proper beastman form.
Ythra—the first beastman that ever existed before humankind.
They were born from the earth's will and the essence of chaos. Unlike other beastmen that exist, Ythra possessed the power of chaos, a force strong enough to put the world into darkness and annihilate it.
Ythra beastmen served as both guardian and destroyer—acting only when balance was threatened.
That's probably why the king of Nethir, Morvath Drazan de Nethir, felt incredibly threatened.
He gets close to his father and strikes him when his father didn't expect it. The king must've known about his existence, because who wouldn't know about the last two kinds of Ythra that exist only in the kingdom of Nethir?
That's why he decided to move as far as he could from the kingdom so the king's knights couldn't find him.
Veric tried to stretch his new limbs after finishing transforming. His dark teal-colored fur coated his entire body, and since he's just a pup, he looked like a ball of fluff.
He transformed into a small wolf with two tails, bright turquoise patterns spreading across the sides of his body and above his head—clear evidence that he's a pure-blooded Ythra.
Veric picked up his clothes that had dropped on the ground between his small jaws before trotting toward the south.
He learned from a book he picked up from his father's library that Ythra initially stayed in warmer places, and Veric thought he preferred that to the constant rainy season in the west, where the land of Nethir resides.
During his journey, he enjoyed nature and tried to distract himself from his father's death. The scent of wet moss, hearing the rustle of leaves, and the distant scurry of prey filled his senses in a way only his beast form could.
Hunger eventually got the better of him, and he chased a hare. He continued this routine for days. Walking, hunting after prey, drinking water from rivers or puddles he came across, and continuing.
For days.
Until he eventually felt the air became different.
The southern mountains began to loom in the distance, and Veric beamed. He gripped his clothes tighter in his jaws and started running. Hours—maybe days—passed in a blur, and he realized the sun grew hotter around these parts. He's here, in the southern lands.
"AAA!"
"!!!"
When Veric was about to move again, a scream startled him. It sounded so near.
His ears perked up, and his two tails went up in alert. Without thinking, Veric bolted toward the voice, small paws pounding against the dirt. He could smell the scent of fear growing stronger, and when he finally went over to the top of the rocky hill, his eyes widened at the sight beneath him.
A small figure—a young fox beastman was trembling.
And towering over him was a massive orc, a crude axe raised high, its roar made his ears ring.
Veric's golden eyes widened, and for a moment, he froze.
And then, the world snapped back into motion when the fox let out another yelp, covering his face with his small hands.
He needed to save him!