Zolthar saw with his own eyes how Aunty Zhao, Han, and Greta almost seed dead inside.
One lost her husband, other 2 lost their father.
A few days passed, and eventually to feed both Han and Greta, Aunty Zhao had to start working, unless she wanted her children to go hungry. At one point even Zolthar’s two friend started doing minimal work here and there to help their mother.
Zolthar’s heart ached to see this miserable situation. Unfortunately, he was also a small kid who could do nothing.
But what happened next was the true terror. An army of Bandits attacked their village late at night. They began killing people left and right, looting everything from everyone, they started raping all the married and unmarried won everywhere.
Most people including all the children were being captured one after another. He even saw at one point Aunty Zhao was being raped in front of everyone naked, he could not take it anymore, and he ran away with all his might, tears and snot stuck onto his face. He ran into the forest non-stop, At one point he even saw the back of his two friends, He shouted to them with his full might but his friends seed unable to hear him. After running with all his might for an unknown amount of ti he could no longer see the back of his two friends.
He stopped for a mont and thought carefully, what he saw was it truly them? Or was it a fignt of his imagination? Zolthar indeed did not see Greta and Han back in the village, after rembering carefully, he found that Aunty Zhao was also pointing in this direction.
Yes, that’s right that was the reason he ran in this direction to save his friends, he did not abandon the kind Aunty Zhao out of fear, he did not. He convinced himself by saying these things again and again.
But then he frowned, if they were truly here, he should have reached closer to them by this ti, yet now he saw no signs of them in this dark forest. Suddenly he was overco with another fear, didn’t Uncle Zhao get lost in this very forest? What if they were lost just like him? It was only because 4 bright moons were shining above his head that he was able to see things despite being deep in the forest.
He again ran in the sa direction hoping to find his friends. His little body could not keep up with either the ntal or physical exhaustion and he fainted abruptly in the middle of the forest, right at the illuminated night.
After an unknown amount of ti, Zolthar woke up. Barely opening his tired eyelids, he rubbed his eyes. His entire body was aching. The first thing he felt after waking up was fear, extre fear. He said to himself, "What a terrifying nightmare."
His young mind was unable to cope with the brutal reality, after waking up he thought what happened beforehand was perhaps all a very bad dream. But when he looked around carefully, he shuddered in fear as he jumped back.
He was inside the forest, and in the distance, he could see the sun had started rising just now. It was dawn. But when he looked slightly forward, what he saw made his entire body shake out of uncontrollable panic and fear.
He let out an extrely loud and frightening scream, "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
He fell to his knees as tears ca out of his eyes out of the overwhelming fear.
About 30 ters away from Zolthar was an extrely large being, it was as large and tall as a mountain. The being was sitting on so kind of wooden or Tree throne, It was humanoid in shape and had 2 legs but 4 arms in total. Its body was stone-like, and countless tree vines were covering its body.
The first word that ca into Zolthar’s mind was "Titan", then he muttered in a low breath, thinking about that one story that Uncle Zhao had told him once long ago, "The Insidious Forest Titan."
Before he could reminisce about that story an extrely deep and dark voice rang throughout the forest which shook the tree’s violently.
The voice was so ominous and powerful, that Young Zolthar’s body was involuntarily pressed onto the ground and he almost fainted. His entire being shivered in so much fear that the young boy did not know it was even possible to feel fear of such magnitude.
"So, you have heard of , Human!"
Zolthar kept his head lowered like an obedient dog, and did not respond or perhaps the being in front of him did not expect him to respond either.
Then the Titan’s voice rang out again, this ti slightly more serious.
"What do you want? Human."
Zolthar was in fear again, despite feeling like a mountain was being pressed onto his body, this ti he had to answer. His instincts were screaming at him that if he dared to offend this being in the slightest, it would be an outco he might regret for the rest of his life.
He responded to the Titan, his voice barely a whisper, "I wish to find my friends."
The Forest Titan looked at the human intently for a mont and said, "I can send you to your friends. But you have to pay a price."
Zolthar gritted his small teeth, of course, he also knew the Titan would say sothing like that. It was also similar to this in the story he heard. Regardless he had to find his friends no matter the price he had to pay.
"I am willing, but what price do I need to pay?"
"You do not have sothing valuable in you to pay in the first place, you will know of it later on." replied the Titan in a slightly mocking tone.
Zolthar had no choice but to obediently nod like a dog, a part of him wanted to ask about Uncle Zhao but he was afraid to do so and could only reply, "Understood."
Then he suddenly felt pain assaulting his entire being, Unbearable pain that could not be described by re words. He started screaming so loudly that his lungs were about to burst.
Sothing started changing within him, He could feel it. Sothing deep, dark, and cold was invading his entire being. Turning him into sothing else, Sothing inhumane.
The bones inside of his body were expanding, his body was visibly growing. He was mortified, his skin was turning darker, and his vision changed. Not only that, but his breathing, senses, and everything. The little human nad Zolthar who did not know any better, felt being reborn into sothing else. He thought for a mont, was this the price?
In the next mont, without even knowing he had appeared sowhere else and there was no trace of the Titan, as if he was teleported sowhere else. He suddenly heard a gut-wrenching scream similar to himself right behind him and what he saw made his blood run cold. It was Hansel he was writhing on the ground and rolling around in pain. Just like him, his body was growing bigger, his skin was turning dark, and he was also transforming.
If not for the fact that he had seen his face barely right before the transformation completely happened, he wouldn’t even recognize his friend. Zolthar imdiately went closer to him and helped him with encouraging words till the transformation finished.
After Hansel finished transforming, looking at him closely Zolthar realized wasn’t this a Dark Elf? Had they both been transford into Dark Elves? Hansel looked at him strangely and said, "Who are you?"
Zolthar’s expression sank to rock bottom and a flower of despair started to bloom within him. "You’re joking, right? Its Thar or Zolthar?" Hansel nodded calmly and said in an even tone, "Nice to et you Zolthar, however, I do not recall ever knowing soone by that na, I am sure of it."
Just as he was about to shout at him about his parents and sister and everything, his words got abruptly stuck in his throat. He could not speak. Then the familiar sound of the mighty Titan rang in his Ears.
"This is the price for your Bargain. Many other Elves will appear slowly and all their previous mories will be gone. They were all your village mbers. You will be the only one to rember and cannot talk about the past with anyone."
The Titan added, "Your objective will be to help your friend Hansel grow strong enough and eventually escape the Hidden Forest. There is a mural in the Dark Elves area in which you will find all the information about the forest."
Tears kept falling from Zolthar’s eyes nonstop, He let out an indignant cry. He was confused and afraid, he was chained. He was in utter despair. What had all of them done? For the insidious Titan to turn all of their village into a rat Experint, why? Why? Why? Why?
Hansel tried to calm him down despite not knowing or understanding anything himself. Later on, as he cald down after a few days, they both found a mural and strange writings in an unknown language, where all the basic things about the hidden forest were explained. The four areas of the forest and a barrier in each area that separates them from the rest, the conditions of being able to escape, and about the Fae who had existed here trapped, long before them.
Then more Dark Elves appeared in that area one after another, the more the entire area started to be covered in True Darkness. Zolthar recognized so of the Elves as certain persons of the Village and so he did not recognize. But there was no trace of Gretel or Uncle Zhao or Zolthar’s own Uncle and Aunt.
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