The fog hung low over the sanctuary.

  Not mist. Not dew.

  Something older. The kind that didn’t lift with the sun.

  Ko Mala once told Rell it only came when two souls were about to cross a line they couldn’t come back from.

  Now Rell walked through it alone.

  No pack. No girls. No beast backup.

  Just him — and the vines brushing his shoulders as he moved through the dense brush.

  He stepped into the clearing — thick with roots and silence. No birds. No wind. Just stillness.

  Umbwe was already there.

  Four paws planted firm, silver mane catching the fog. His golden eyes tracked Rell, unblinking.

  He didn’t growl. Didn’t posture.

  Just spoke.

  Umbwe: “Do you forget why you here? What you’re meant to do?”

  Rell: “I know why I’m here… but I’m human. I’m tryna figure it out.”

  Umbwe: “There isn’t time for you to figure. You need to balance the world. Not waste time.”

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  Rell: “You think this fun for me? I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask to be dropped into this world like a weapon. I’m a person. I got choices.”

  Umbwe: “Despite the circumstances, the fact remains — you *were* chosen. Maybe by accident, but this world chose you. And now it needs you to do your job.”

  Rell: “My job!? I don’t get paid for this. I didn’t sign up for this. I’d be happy in my own life — shit, even the afterlife.”

  Umbwe: “You walkin’ a selfish path. The humans, the girls — they’ll bring nothin’ but trouble to the forest.”

  Rell: “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. And I won’t let you talk bad about them. At the end of the day, despite how I look — I’m a grown man. You’re not my parent. I can do what the fuck I want.”

  Umbwe didn’t flinch.

  His tone dropped cold.

  Umbwe: “Then why you still act like a child?”

  Rell’s jaw tightened.

  He stared long.

  Then turned.

  Rell: “I’ll figure it out on my own.”

  He walked.

  Didn’t look back.

  Didn’t need to.