The forest was still pitch-black, with the lantern's light now dimmed due to the damage.
They were surrounded by pine-like trees. The flora wasn't particularly dense; this wasn't a tropical forest.
Iyas shook his lantern, hoping it would light up properly. He stared at it, shook it again, then looked at it once more.
Icam stood silent, even though he had just told the two of them to start running immediately.
Alif smiled innocently, like a little ray of sunlight in the middle of the dark night. He stood upright.
Behind them, the strange wolf approached. They weren't running at full speed; it seemed to be moving cautiously.
"Seems like this lantern works differently from the ones we're used to," Iyas muttered, still shaking it.
He was surprised that the lantern was still capable of producing light despite its condition. Apparently, it worked differently from the lanterns he knew—or the ones we knew.
"Of course it does. It's Grandma's lantern, not Mr. Jokowi's," Icam retorted, briefly puffing out his lips in annoyance because his two friends still hadn't followed his orders.
Alif turned around completely, startled to see the strange wolf getting closer.
He looked back at his friends.
"Quick! That wolf looks like it's coming over here!"
Iyas turned around as well, pointing his lantern toward it. He couldn't see very well, so he squinted while saying,
"Where? Ain't seein' anything."
"Lip, Yas! Come on!" Icam shouted, immediately getting their attention. "Let's run toward that hole!"
"Okay!!" Alif yelled.
He then ran—but not toward the hole. He went in a completely different direction, though thankfully, not toward the wolf either.
"Hey!" Iyas shouted, making Alif stop in his tracks.
"Where are you going? Don't run off!" he said.
Alif ran back toward them.
"Do we really have to go into that hole under the tree?" he asked.
With his hands on his hips and his eyes slightly narrowed, Icam answered,
"No. We might be able to hide in there."
Alif and Iyas suddenly nodded in agreement, then sprinted toward the hole.
As they passed Icam, he immediately followed them.
Leaving the two wolves behind as they continued down the slanted surface, almost as if they were carefully picking which position to take.
Closer.
Closer still.
The three of them hurried forward with determined steps, somehow managing not to slip.
And when they finally reached the hole, they slid straight into it.
The three crouched down, with Iyas leading the way.
Icam was in the middle.
Alif was at the very back.
Inside the hole, it was damp, cramped, and even somewhat stuffy.
It felt like a bear's den, though it really shouldn't have been this deep.
"It's so cramped!" Icam complained, continuing to crawl forward while his forehead furrowed uncomfortably.
"Yeah, it's cramped as hell, like a debt payment deadline! Wahaha!" Alif blurted out, letting out a brief laugh at the end.
"What are you even talking about?" Icam retorted.
Iyas struggled through the narrow passage, but continued making his way forward.
Then—
A brilliant light appeared.
"WHOA! THE GATES OF HEAVEN!" Alif shouted, trying to stick his head out.
This forced Icam's body tightly against the left side, making the already cramped space even worse for him.
Icam immediately smacked Alif on the head, annoyed that he had suddenly stuck his head forward.
They had reached the end of the tunnel.
It was considerably more spacious, with a fairly large chamber beyond it.
But the most surprising thing was that the light came from a floating orb.
And inside this chamber, four children were sitting there in silence, staring at the three of them.
Two girls and two boys.
One of them was Josh.
When he saw them, his face turned into a slight frown. He wasn't surprised, but he did look a little annoyed.
Meanwhile, the other three backed away in fear.
They were probably wondering whether these people had actually come to rescue them.
"So you guys were the ones shouting outside?" Josh asked casually, giving them a rather cynical look.
"Not us. I was the one shouting," Iyas replied. He crouched down, approached them, and sat with them.
"Same thing," Josh replied.
"Oh! Oh! If you're talking about me, I was the one who shouted 'Heaven!'" Alif exclaimed, even bumping his head against the ceiling.
"Didn't ask," Josh replied flatly.
One of the girls tapped Josh on the shoulder.
"Josh? Who are those people?" she asked weakly. "Are they going to save us?"
Josh turned toward her and gently patted her head with a smile.
"No. They're just weird people."
His answer left the girl confused.
So did the others.
"S-So! Th-They... th-they're n-not b-bad p-people?" another boy asked, his words stumbling. It wasn't just because he was scared; he seemed to naturally stutter, with a slight lisp on top of it.
"No," Josh replied.
Icam and Alif sat down beside Iyas, forming a line in front of the children and blocking the entrance.
Iyas then pointed at them with a smile.
"You guys? You're the missing children, aren't you?" he asked.
Josh looked completely uninterested, one eyelid half-closed.
"Obviously. Isn't it clear enough?" Josh replied, keeping the same expression.
Icam looked disappointed for no apparent reason. His hand rested on the ground as he idly spun his index finger around in the dirt.
"Why are you disappointed?" Josh asked, mirroring Icam's expression.
"Who are you guys?" Alif asked with a smile.
Josh opened his eyes wide, preparing to introduce everyone properly.
"I'm Josh Arlen."
Josh pointed toward the timid-looking boy who was simply standing there with his mouth hanging open.
"That's Dave Firmis."
His finger then moved toward a short-haired girl with green hair.
"She's Wanry."
Finally, he pointed toward a little girl with long white hair and blue eyes.
"And this one is Sahrelia Zarvanne."
Josh looked back at the three of them.
"You're introducing them like you're pointing at objects," Icam grumbled.
"You asked," Josh replied.
"I didn't ask!" Icam shot back.
Josh stared at him cynically.
"Speaking of which, what's that glowing white thing floating over there?" Icam asked, looking at the dim white light. He wasn't afraid to stare directly at it.
"Sahrelia's magic. Pretty cool, right?" Josh said proudly.
Icam's eyes widened in shock.
"Huh? Magic? Wahaha! HAHAHA!"
He burst out laughing, still clinging to the laws of logic from his previous world and dismissing magic as nothing more than a myth.
Josh fell silent, rather stunned by Icam's spontaneous reaction.
Meanwhile, the two little girls simply stared at him like they were watching some crazy guy standing outside a street stall.
"Hey, d-don't wh-whisper... th-the big wo-wolf m-might come th-through," Dave pleaded, holding one index finger in front of his mouth to signal them to be quiet.
Icam immediately obeyed and shut his mouth.
Iyas waved his hand dismissively.
"Ah, don't worry about it."
"Why not!?" Wanry asked, her voice slightly louder.
"If we're talking about the wolves, they already know we're here!" Iyas said smugly, completely unconcerned.
All four children raised their heads in shock.
"What?" Josh exclaimed.
"They do?" he continued.
Wanry looked like she was about to cry.
Dave tried to comfort her by rubbing her back, but Wanry brushed his hand away.
Apparently, Wanry didn't like Dave very much, because her sadness instantly disappeared.
"You guys really shouldn't be so loud," Josh pleaded, his cynical expression returning.
"SORRYYY!! SORRRYYY!! YEEE!!" Iyas shouted, sticking his head out toward the children just to provoke them.
Bwuaaaghh!!
A wolf's front leg tried to squeeze into the hole!
"Wahh!"
The two girls instinctively screamed.
"Aaaaaa~!"
Dave froze in shock.
Josh covered his face with his arm, only to lower it again a moment later.
Alif, who was closest to the entrance, immediately moved away in surprise.
"See? Iyas was right," Icam remarked casually.
"Wait, or was it someone else who said that?" he wondered.
The strange wolf struggled desperately to squeeze itself through the opening.
But its efforts seemed completely pointless.
No matter how hard it tried to get inside, the only thing it accomplished was making the entrance even more of a problem for itself.
Seeing this, Iyas looked back at Josh with a completely flat expression.
"Yeah. Maybe you were right about that earlier," he said casually.
"Seriously?" Josh asked.
"You've got an axe, dude," Icam pointed out.
Iyas immediately added,
"Oh, right!"
END!
WOW! WOW! WOW! Someone is trying to get inside while waving its leg around, even though it clearly doesn't fit!
So remember: when you're working, stay within your limits. Don't overdo it, or you'll just end up suffocating yourself.
Be honest with yourself. If you think you can't do something, then maybe you really can't.
Don't be like this strange wolf. It already knows it's too big, yet it still insists on squeezing itself in there with the children and three complete idiots.
So, what happens next?
How are they going to get out of this situation?
Will the strange wolf actually manage to get inside?
Stay TUNED!