Darkness.
It was neither comforting nor frightening.
It was simply... endless.
For what felt like an eternity, there was no sound, no light, and no sensation.
It was as though his consciousness floated within an infinite void where even time had ceased to exist.
He could neither remember where he was nor understand why he remained trapped in such silence.
Then...
Warmth.
A gentle warmth slowly enveloped his body, pulling him back from that endless darkness.
It spread across every part of him like the embrace of a soft blanket on a freezing winter morning. Along with that warmth came unfamiliar sounds.
A slow heartbeat.
Another heartbeat.
Then another.
They surrounded him from every direction, rhythmic and steady, creating an oddly soothing melody.
His consciousness gradually returned.
"...Where..."
The thought appeared within his mind before he could even finish it.
He instinctively tried to open his eyes.
Only a narrow slit of light greeted him.
The world before him appeared blurry, almost dreamlike. Colors blended together while shapes refused to take form.
Everything seemed covered by a thick layer of mist.
He blinked repeatedly.
Nothing changed.
His vision remained terribly underdeveloped.
Confusion quickly replaced relief.
’What... happened?’
Fragments of memories surfaced one after another.
A bustling city illuminated by countless neon lights.
The loud music inside a nightclub.
People dancing.
Glasses clinking together.
His coworkers laughing as they celebrated another exhausting week finally coming to an end.
He remembered sitting alone for a brief moment, staring absentmindedly at his drink while wondering whether this monotonous life would ever change.
An ordinary office worker.
Twenty-five years old.
Working endless overtime.
Living paycheck to paycheck.
Dreaming of a better future while doing absolutely nothing to change it.
He had only wanted one carefree night before returning to work the following morning.
Then...
Nothing.
No accident.
No pain.
No warning.
His memories ended there.
His breathing became noticeably faster.
’Am I... dead?’
Panic surged through him.
He immediately tried to sit upright.
Or at least...
That was what his mind commanded.
His body completely ignored him.
Instead of raising himself, he merely rolled sideways with an awkward little tumble before landing against something unbelievably soft and warm.
"...?"
His thoughts froze.
That wasn’t right.
He attempted to lift his right hand.
Nothing.
His left hand.
Nothing.
His heartbeat accelerated.
He tried again with greater urgency.
Still nothing.
Instead...
Something furry shifted beneath him.
A strange sensation spread through his body.
He couldn’t feel fingers.
He couldn’t feel palms.
He couldn’t even sense arms in the way he remembered.
Only four tiny limbs responded to his thoughts.
His breathing stopped for an instant.
"No..."
He desperately tried to speak.
To shout.
To ask for help.
To scream.
What escaped his mouth was nothing more than...
"Mew..."
A tiny, pitiful whimper.
His entire body froze.
That sound...
Had come from him.
His eyes widened as much as his underdeveloped vision allowed.
’No... no... no...’
He attempted to speak again.
Another helpless cry echoed inside the cave.
It sounded nothing like a human voice.
It sounded...
Like a newborn animal.
His heart sank.
Fear unlike anything he had ever experienced consumed him.
He lowered his head, trying to look at himself.
Although his blurry eyesight prevented him from seeing clearly, he could still make out tiny snow-white paws resting beneath his body.
Tiny claws.
Soft white fur.
A small tail instinctively swaying behind him.
He wasn’t dreaming.
He wasn’t hallucinating.
Somehow...
He had become...
A wolf.
His breathing became uneven.
His human mind desperately rejected the reality before him.
’I became... a wolf...?’
Questions flooded his thoughts one after another.
Why?
How?
Where?
None of them had answers.
He closed his eyes tightly, hoping that perhaps everything would disappear when he opened them again.
Several seconds passed.
Nothing changed.
The warmth surrounding him remained.
The steady heartbeat continued.
A faint scent unlike anything he had ever smelled drifted into his nose.
It was strangely pleasant.
Fresh snow.
Pine trees.
Clean air.
And something else...
Something that instinctively made him feel...
Safe.
His stomach suddenly growled.
A powerful sensation spread throughout his tiny body.
Hunger.
Not ordinary hunger.
An overwhelming urge that dominated every instinct within him.
His human mind immediately understood what it was.
’I need food...’
Yet before he could think further...
His body moved on its own.
Without permission.
Without hesitation.
His tiny paws instinctively crawled across the soft ground toward the source of the comforting scent.
"W-Wait..."
His thoughts protested.
But his body ignored every command.
His nose twitched repeatedly.
His instincts guided every movement with astonishing precision.
His rational mind wanted to resist.
His newborn body refused.
For the first time since awakening...
He experienced the terrifying conflict between two identities.
One belonged to a human who had spent twenty-five years living in modern civilization.
The other belonged to a newborn predator whose instincts had been engraved into its very blood.
Neither side surrendered.
His human consciousness screamed that this was wrong.
His instincts whispered that survival came before dignity.
Step by tiny step...
Instinct won.
His small body finally reached an enormous wall of unbelievably soft white fur.
A gentle warmth radiated from it.
Then...
Something large moved.
His body froze.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the cavern.
Each step carried astonishing weight, vibrating faintly beneath the icy floor.
His instincts reacted before his thoughts.
Danger.
Every tiny hair across his body instinctively stood on end.
His heart pounded violently.
Although his eyes remained blurry, he could make out an enormous white silhouette slowly approaching him.
Massive.
Elegant.
Powerful.
Compared to his tiny body...
It resembled a moving mountain.
His human mind instantly entered survival mode.
’Run!’
But his tiny legs refused to obey.
The giant beast lowered its head.
Its icy blue eyes calmly observed him.
He couldn’t move.
Couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t even blink.
Then...
A warm tongue gently licked the top of his head.
His entire body became soaked in warm saliva.
Before he could react...
The massive wolf rubbed her cheek affectionately against his tiny body before carefully pulling him closer with surprising gentleness.
Warm.
Soft.
Comfortable.
Every trace of fear disappeared almost instantly.
An indescribable feeling of safety spread through his body.
His instincts relaxed.
Without realizing it...
He leaned closer to the enormous wolf.
She lowered her head once again and carefully licked his tiny ears before letting out a quiet, comforting growl.
Not threatening.
Not aggressive.
Gentle.
Affectionate.
Motherly.
The realization struck him almost immediately.
’She’s... my mother...’
Despite everything his human mind had experienced...
Despite the impossible situation...
An unexpected warmth filled his heart.
He had lost his previous life.
Yet somehow...
In this unfamiliar world...
He wasn’t alone anymore.
The warmth surrounding him gradually calmed the storm raging inside his mind.
The giant snow-white wolf continued grooming him with remarkable patience, carefully licking his tiny body clean before gently nudging him closer against her thick fur.
Every movement was filled with an instinctive tenderness that no words could ever describe.
Although he had only known her for a few moments, his racing heart slowly settled beneath the comfort she provided.
His human mind still struggled to comprehend the impossible reality before him.
Only hours ago, he had been an ordinary office worker living a repetitive life on Earth.
Every morning had begun with the sound of an alarm clock, followed by crowded trains, endless meetings, impatient managers, and dreams that always seemed just beyond his reach.
Nothing about his life had been extraordinary, yet it had been familiar.
Now everything he had ever known had disappeared, replaced by an entirely different existence where he no longer possessed hands, a human voice, or even a human body.
He could not help but wonder if anyone on Earth had noticed his disappearance.
Had someone found him?
Had his coworkers assumed he simply failed to show up for work?
Did his family know what had happened?
Those questions lingered inside his heart without answers, slowly fading beneath the powerful instincts of his new body.
His attention was suddenly drawn toward another presence approaching from deeper within the Crystal Cave.
Unlike the gentle footsteps of the female wolf beside him, these footsteps were heavier and carried an unmistakable confidence.
Even before the newcomer appeared, every adult wolf inside the cave instinctively turned their attention toward the entrance.
The massive wolf finally stepped into view.
His body was considerably larger than the female’s, with powerful shoulders, thick muscles hidden beneath pristine white fur, and piercing blue eyes that radiated quiet authority.
A faint scar extended across the bridge of his muzzle, suggesting countless battles fought throughout his life.
Although his appearance was intimidating, there was no unnecessary aggression in his movements.
Every step was calm, measured, and filled with natural dignity.
The cub instinctively tensed.
His human consciousness immediately recognized him as another apex predator.
The enormous wolf slowly approached.
His heartbeat accelerated.
For a brief moment, he wondered whether this beast had come to inspect him or determine whether he was somehow different from the others.
Instead, the giant wolf lowered his head until their foreheads gently touched.
The touch lasted only a second.
It was soft.
Gentle.
Almost... affectionate.
The adult wolf released a quiet rumble before giving the tiny cub a single reassuring lick across his forehead.
Then he simply sat beside the female wolf.
Watching over them.
The young cub remained frozen.
His instincts had already understood something his human mind was only beginning to accept.
"...Father..."
Although no words were spoken, the meaning behind that gentle gesture had reached him clearly.
A strange warmth spread through his chest.
He had lost one family...
Only to awaken within another.
Gradually, more wolves entered the Crystal Cave.
Some carried fresh prey in their jaws.
Others returned from patrols beyond the forest.
Several females carefully curled around newborn cubs nearly identical to him, gently cleaning their fur while ensuring every tiny body remained warm despite the freezing world outside.
No wolf behaved recklessly.
No one fought over food.
No one acted selfishly.
Every individual naturally fulfilled a specific responsibility.
Some guarded the entrances.
Some watched over the mothers.
Others distributed food among returning hunters.
The entire cave functioned with remarkable coordination.
Watching everything unfold before him, the cub slowly realized that his first impression had been completely wrong.
These were not ordinary wolves surviving through instinct alone.
This was an organized society.
Every member possessed a role.
Every action served the pack.
Every decision strengthened the collective rather than the individual.
The hierarchy was invisible, yet unmistakable.
Respect flowed naturally rather than being forced.
His previous world often described wolves as intelligent animals, but compared to what he witnessed now, those descriptions barely scratched the surface.
This was civilization.
Not built from stone walls or towering castles...
But from loyalty.
Trust.
Discipline.
And absolute unity.
Before he could continue observing, an unfamiliar pressure suddenly filled the cave.
The conversations between the wolves immediately ceased.
Every adult simultaneously turned toward the entrance.
Even his mother slowly rose onto all four legs, gently shielding the newborn cubs behind her body.
Moments later, an even larger wolf entered the Crystal Cave.
The newcomer’s sheer presence instantly dominated the surroundings.
His snow-white fur shimmered like polished silver beneath the glow reflected by the surrounding crystals.
Thick battle scars crossed his powerful body, each one silently telling the story of countless life-and-death struggles.
One particularly deep scar stretched diagonally across his forehead, stopping just above his left eye, making his already commanding appearance seem even more intimidating.
Yet it was not his size alone that captured everyone’s attention.
It was his eyes.
Calm.
Steady.
Unshakable.
They possessed the confidence of someone who had stood at the top for many years.
The moment he appeared, every adult wolf lowered its head respectfully.
Even the cub’s father.
Even his mother.
Neither hesitated.
Neither questioned the gesture.
Respect came naturally, as though breathing itself demanded it.
The young cub quietly watched everything unfold.
"So this... is their leader."
No introduction was necessary.
No announcement was required.
Authority alone identified him.
The Alpha.
At that moment, the cub finally understood something that completely shattered every remaining misconception he carried from Earth.
The Snow Wolves were not simply packs wandering through frozen forests.
They possessed leadership.
Hierarchy.
Territory.
Culture.
Traditions.
Perhaps even laws.
This race had developed into a true civilization entirely different from humanity’s, yet equally sophisticated in its own way.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a long howl echoing from somewhere beyond the Crystal Cave.
The sound was sharp.
Urgent.
A warning.
Every wolf inside reacted instantly.
Another howl answered.
Then another.
Within seconds, the peaceful atmosphere vanished completely.
The Alpha lifted his head, his sharp gaze fixed toward the cave entrance.
One of the scouts rushed inside, breathing heavily as fresh snow clung to his fur.
The scout released several rapid howls accompanied by body movements that the cub could not understand, yet every adult wolf immediately grasped their meaning.
The Alpha’s expression hardened.
His father stepped forward without hesitation.
Several experienced hunters gathered behind him.
Although the cub understood none of their language, instinct and observation painted a clear picture.
Something dangerous had entered Blackfang Forest.
Curiosity overcame fear.
Using every ounce of strength his tiny body possessed, he crawled closer to the cave entrance.
Beyond the swirling curtain of snow, an enormous silhouette slowly emerged from the blizzard.
At first, he mistook it for a moving hill.
Then the figure stepped closer.
His breathing stopped.
It was a bear.
No...
Calling it a bear felt almost insulting.
Its body stood several times taller than any wolf present, with muscles resembling sculpted boulders beneath layers of thick white fur.
Crimson eyes glowed ominously against the endless snowfall while enormous claws effortlessly carved deep trenches into the frozen earth with every step.
The surrounding air itself seemed heavier beneath its presence.
The Ice Bear released a thunderous roar that shook the surrounding forest.
Snow cascaded from nearby trees.
Birds scattered into the sky.
Even the frozen ground beneath the cave trembled faintly.
The cub’s pupils contracted.
"So this... is Aethelgard."
There were no humans.
No cities.
No police.
No hospitals.
No laws protecting the weak.
Only predators...
And those struggling not to become prey.
The Alpha stepped forward until he stood directly before the colossal Ice Bear.
Behind him, dozens of Snow Wolves silently spread into perfect formation.
No panic.
No hesitation.
Only absolute discipline.
Watching those fearless warriors prepare to defend their home, the tiny cub unknowingly tightened his small paws against the icy ground.
For the first time since arriving in this world...
He understood a simple truth.
If he wished to survive...
If he wished to protect those who had accepted him without question...
Then someday...
He, too, would have to become strong enough to stand beside them.
To be continued...