Tthor Prayer and the Orffelios' paila

19- The ruins

   Tthor was carefully placed on a large, flat rock that lay under the shelter of leafy trees, whose tall, gnarled, veined trunks formed a kind of protective wall around him.

   The dog seemed to observe, for several seconds, the boy's unconscious face. Then he sniffed his calf, right at the gashes that the branches of the bush had caused, going through first his pants and then his own pale skin. The cuts didn't seem to have any depth. The dog continued sniffing other parts of the young boy's body, until the sound of a branch breaking, a few meters away, put him on alert. He moved his ears, pricking them up to hear more. He turned his eyes to the side and let out a menacing growl.

   Yellowish fangs flashed through the branches of a nearby bush. Several more pairs of fangs appeared from behind.

   The black dog took a few steps back, deliberately seeking to soak its paws in the pool of blood that Tthor had left on the path, looked askance at the child who was still asleep, and ran at full speed down a narrow path that descended into the valley. A complete pack of wild wolves emerged from the thicket and began a chase race against the dog that seemed to run faster; Well, the wolves, compared to him, looked hungry, mangy and seemed to drag remains of chains hanging from their necks and legs, which made them even slower.

   A cold and somewhat violent breeze hit Tthor in the face, just at the moment when a heartbreaking howl came from the same direction where the pack had gone. The young man moved a little but did not open his eyes.

   Suddenly, the breeze turned into dense smoke and turned blood red that enveloped the boy until it completely covered him, just as a pair of straggling wolves appeared along the path. They sniffed the air, the fresh blood of Thor on the way. And without wasting time or noticing the fainted young man, they began the race, following the trails of the dog and the pack.

   A few seconds later, the dense smoke that covered Tthor rose in a spiral and disappeared, as if absorbed, passing through the mirror that protruded from the young man's open backpack, lying a few centimeters from his body. And just as the cool breeze that was now blowing again on Thor's face, shuffling footsteps were heard approaching, somewhat clumsy.

   An injured body fell next to the boy and trembling hands began to shake him.

   "Tthor!!! Wake up! Please, Tthor!"

   But the boy didn't seem to react.

   "Please!!!" the voice cried. "Don't let him be dead!!! May he not be dead!!!"

   Tthor gave a soft groan and half opened his eyes.

   "You're alive!!!" Said his voice and brought a canteen filled with fresh water to his lips.

   Tthor took a few gulps and felt his mouth and throat clear. He opened his eyes a little wider and saw who was helping him.

   "Lee- Won!" He pronounced coughing. " I came to... rescue you..."

   The young dark-haired man smiled through his tears and whispered:

   "Yes, I can see it."

   Lee-Won didn't know whether to worry more about the cuts on Tthor's face, the gash on his calf that was still bleeding a lot, or the fact that the boy was still coughing almost compulsively.

   "Drink a little more water," he suggested.

   Tthor took several long drinks before fully recovering. With quite some effort he sat down on the stone on which he had been lying. And when he set his feet on the frozen ground, he noticed the cut in his pants.

   "What happened to you?"

   " It was... with a bush," Tthor remembered, while he checked his leg- And then...