Unexpectedly, the redhead whirls around and plunges him into complete blackness ...
After a few minutes of horror, the trembling boy realizes that he is still alive. He hears the growling of the wolves muffled, whereupon he carefully turns around, but he cannot see anything.
When his poison green eyes finally got used to the darkness, it is of no use to him, as he is resigned to realize, anyway. More compulsively, he raises his still trembling hand and in the next moment a magical fire flares up inside her, enveloping the surroundings in a bright blue light. In one fell swoop, Valentin realizes where he is: In a cave! In his fear he must have pressed so hard against the rock that he pushed one side of the door in with his back and turned it closed again, so that he is now in the foothills.
The redhead looks at the door sceptically. The wild animals seem to make no move to give up the hunt.// How long will it take you to figure out the mechanism? Maybe luck is on my side ... //
He looks around curiously. The cave is more like a corridor carved in stone, in that it is also quite stuffy and damn narrow. In some places it even has to duck its head, but it is not that big at all. He also pulls some cobwebs with him, while he follows the passage, which has a slight fall into the earth's interior.
// These monsters never fit in here! I am saved! //
With every step deeper, the air becomes more and more oppressive, although he has such a lack of breath due to the hunt. In the next breath, Valentin stumbles because the pressure on the walls is suddenly released from both sides and the corridor becomes much wider. And again his face hits hard rock.
The weak boy groans in surrender and just lies there. While he is resting, the redhead notices that the air has become more humid, which encourages him to get up.Back on his feet, he continues on his way. The light breeze that blows in his face and stings into his bloody scratches accelerates his pace. The corridor does not fall any further and in the distance, where there was otherwise only deep darkness, it is slowly getting lighter.
Joyfully longing for the outcome, Valentin rushes off - only to be disappointed again a little later.
// Happy too early ... //
Now he finds himself in a wide, very high stone chamber. About four meters above him there is a huge hole in the ceiling through which the moon peeps in and illuminates the chamber with its rays. A wide stone altar rises up in the center of the cave.
Valentin relaxes his hand, whereupon the fire disappears. He carefully approaches the stone box with his eyes directed towards the opening.
// I'll never get up there in my life! //
He stops just before the altar and looks down at it. Now the stone is more reminiscent of a coffin. In the rock slab there are several circular levels, which are again connected to one another by deep grooves.Nowhere is there any indication of what purpose it serves. Neither mechanisms nor a way to open it.
Deep in brooding, the boy unfortunately does not notice that large shadows darken parts of the moon. Too late he hears the murderous yowling that he had heard earlier this night. And the heavy mass of one of the red wolves is already putting a strain on his exhausted body and pressing him onto the well-cut stone edge of the altar-like coffin. The other two also follow their leader downstairs.
// Now it's over ... I abandoned Kyru cowardly! What am I still kidding myself? I ran away like a coward because I couldn't take it myself anymore ... Why? Why does fate mean us so badly? //
The first tear moistens his cheek, the others follow.
"Kyru ..."
Valentin hears a whine again, this time very close to his ear canal. His entire body spasms rigid with fear, only to be pierced in the middle of his back by the claws of one of his front paws.As if on command, the red juice of life spurts out of his mouth and spreads over the stone slab. A pleading rattle slips over his lips:
"Please, make it quick and painless ..."
With a jerk, the dangerously sharp bones slide out of his body, leaving deep holes from which the purple liquid creeps out.
The animal pulls him around with his paw and he looks through a veil of pain into the bright light of the moon that has been with him all along. Filled with an inner emptiness, the dying boy no longer even registers that the pale yellow celestial body is turning a dark wine red.
The gigantic wolf jumps back, whereupon Valentin's body, released from the burden, falls from the rock coffin. Crouched and ready to attack, the three animals watch the strange spectacle that presents itself to them.
Valentine's juice of life has meanwhile got lost in the indentations and furrows. Irradiated by the glow of the moon, the liquid blows, whereupon it warps into the interior of the stone coffin.A little later, a brightly shining groove forms below the edges and, as if guided by higher powers, the ten-centimeter-thick stone slab lifts up a little and then quickly flies into a corner of the chamber, so that even one of the wolves nervously jumps to the side .
"Hach ... the good old moon ...", suddenly sighs a deep, rough male voice in which there is a great serenity and arrogance. An extremely thin and long-fingered hand clings to the outer edge of the coffin. The skin color is so pearly white that the red moonlight is reflected from it. In a rapid sequence of different movements, so fast that not even the monstrous wolves can follow it, a slim figure has risen from the coffin and taken its place on the edge of the stone with crossed legs, which are stuck in skin-tight, night-black leather found. The hands placed on top of each other rest on the knee of the upper leg and give the ultimate contrast to the black of the pants.The white bones and the fine blood vessels shimmer through the almost transparent skin. His outer clothing consists of a strict, turquoise-green coat that hugs the lean shell with the very broad shoulders just as tightly. This is adorned by two vertical rows of golden buttons, each connected with a golden chain.
The long, lank hair, which looks so silky, is so deep black that it seems that not even the moonlight can give it shine. The stranger smiles arrogantly and greedily glares at the wild animals with his white, pupilless eyes.
Sensing the danger posed by the man, one of the red-skinned wolves sets off - towards the exit.
Really bored, the sinister figure stretches out a hand, which it then clenched into a fist. The next moment it tears the wolf, which was about to jump out of the hole, so delicate that it is more reminiscent of a bloody rain.The other two share the fate of their like-minded person.
Almost happily, the stranger jumps up from his seat and strolls to the boys who are still lying on the ground. Leaning over him, he takes the redhead's chin between his thumb and forefinger and lets the jaw drop open, whereupon he also opens his mouth a crack.
A black, misty smoke comes out of the mysterious man to enter Valentin in an arc through the mouth opening. It lifts its lifeless body slightly until the exchange is over.
Suddenly the boy opens his eyes so wide that they threaten to fall out and throw himself wildly on his side. A painful groan escapes his lips. It throws him around a few more times with loud cries of pain until Valentin finally comes to rest.
"Tsss ... thought you'd never stop!" Whispers the abyssal voice of his savior, who is now busy with the large stone slab.Valentin jumps up in surprise and looks down at himself: the deep wounds have not disappeared, but the bleeding has stopped and his strength seems to have completely returned.
He carefully turns his head in the direction from which the voice came. The boy can't think of anything better than desperately hissing at the figure:
"Who the fuck are you again !?"
Squatting cross-legged with self-satisfaction, the man just shakes his head disparagingly.
"No respect! Even though I just saved your life ..."
Valentin lets his eyes wander excitedly. Immediately he discovers the blood-spattered floor, which makes his jaw drop.
"Wow, was that you !?"
The stranger brings the plate back to its place of origin. Only then does he answer the astonished boy with a sarcastic undertone:
"No, you made the wolves cry and because they couldn't cope with their evil deed, they burst ..."Valentin stares sullenly at the two - meter - man. Unimpressed, the stranger continues:
"Don't think that I did it out of pity. This word doesn't exist for me, just like friendship, or even love ... I only saved you because I had to ..."
A diabolical grin, even the devil couldn't have done it better, flits over the black-haired man's pale lips.
"Fine! Well then, have fun getting stuck!", Valentin gushes out.
Laughing mockingly, the stranger throws his head back.
// That guy is driving me crazy! What is he actually imagining ?! If he wasn't so ... so big-eating, I would be grateful to him too, but he's really looking for it! //
The black-haired man has sat down on the coffin again and is studying Valentin attentively.
"What, you seemingly dead?"
"Okay ... Then I want to explain something to you ...", the stranger starts another conversation and points with his long finger on the blackboard."The round circles ... They reflect the moon in its full moon phase. You were rather stingy with your precious blood and only ... filled three moons ... That means you have me from now until the third full moon as your loyal servant ... Tell me what year are we actually writing? "
"Um ... 1677", Valentin stutters, completely perplexed by the sudden objection.
The man laughs again.
"So they locked me away for 333 years ..."
"They? Who are 'they'?"
Valentin is outraged by two pairs of white eyes that give him an ice-cold shiver:
"You have no idea? Why did you actually wake me up?"
"Because ...", looking for an answer, the redhead rolls his