Noah had finally found a peaceful moment during the night he spent deep in the forest with Yeti. The bond between the two beings grew stronger with each passing day. The time they spent apart created a great sense of emptiness for both of them. Yeti's calmness helped Noah deal with his loneliness, somehow making him forget the pains of his past. Not only did Yeti's exterior resemble Noah's, but his soul did as well; both needed protection and to be protected. There was a deeper understanding between them than words could express.
Yeti carried deep traces of loneliness and pain in his eyes; with every step, he felt the weight of the forest and thousands of years. Being alone in this world made him feel both like a protector and a prisoner. Though he appeared threatening from the outside, the fragility inside Yeti burned not only with a desire to protect nature, but also with a desire to be accepted as a being.
But this peaceful moment was coming to an end. Doubts about Noah's disappearance had started to grow within his family. It wasn't unusual for Noah to run away from home, but disappearing in the middle of the night was out of the ordinary. His father called all the neighbors to search for his missing son, and those who had seen Noah said he was heading toward the forest. His father decided to grab the hunting rifle and venture into the forest in the middle of the night.
Noah and Yeti were walking through the forest, observing the silent and peaceful beauty that emerged at night. The wind blowing from the depths of the forest whispered to the leaves, and Yeti, like a hunter, moved carefully, watching over Noah's safety with every step. The sky was gradually darkening, signaling that something was wrong.
Suddenly, Yeti stopped. There was something… a sound. Yeti's ears caught the distant noise. Noah looked up in surprise and stared at Yeti.
"What… what is that sound?" he whispered.
Yeti carefully examined the surroundings. The sound of breaking branches between the trees seemed like the footsteps of a group quickly approaching. Human footsteps. Slowly, the silhouette of Noah's terrified family, who had been forced to leave the forest, appeared. But this time, they were different. They were holding weapons.
Noah's father had finally tracked down the sounds from the depths of the forest. As Noah's eyes coldly looked at his father, he felt a great internal dilemma. His father, that old stern man, approached with his rifle in hand and a gaze that revealed his fear. But then, he said something Noah never expected:
"Go, Noah. Come here, now. I'll save you from that creature! Your father's here, you're safe now."
Yeti's terrifying but deeply understanding gaze was telling Noah something. But this time, he had to focus all his attention on his family's worried eyes. Everything felt so different in that moment. He was caught between the trust he gave to Yeti and his family.
Noah's father moved like a man holding fear in his eyes. After years of living in the same town, seeing the creature in the forest's depths reminded him of how dangerous everything could be.
"Noah, my son, don't be afraid, come here," his father called out helplessly. "That creature will kill you!"
Noah's heart tightened. But at that moment, he saw how afraid his father was. He realized how indecisive his father was. But Yeti, bent low to the ground, was shrinking himself even more, just like an animal, to protect Noah. His heart was torn in two. On one side, Yeti, who had alleviated his loneliness and pain for years, and on the other side, his family, whom he had always known and loved. But protecting one meant risking the life of the other.
Then, his father impatiently aimed the rifle. "I'll shoot that creature," he said firmly.
His father tightly gripped the rifle, trembling, trying to hide his fear while fighting the responsibility of protecting the town. But silencing the screams inside him made him even more indecisive.
Everything suddenly exploded. Noah screamed as he ran toward his father: "No! Don't shoot him! He's not a bad one!"
But at that moment, his father turned the gun toward Yeti and pulled the trigger. As the bullet slowly traveled, Noah screamed "No!" His heart shattered. The flames from the bullet set the fire inside Noah, engulfing everything around him.
Yeti suddenly tilted his head back and screamed in pain. But this cry awakened not only Yeti's pain but also the dark power coming from deep within the forest. Vibrations from beneath the earth echoed to the town's walls with a loud roar. An earthquake started. The Heart of the Forest had heard Yeti's scream.
A powerful tremor disrupted the balance of everything. Trees began to fall, and the earth cracked open. The force answering Yeti's cry seemed as if the soul of the forest had woken up after a long time. This cry returned to the town as a natural disaster. The peaceful face of nature suddenly darkened like a storm and became a warning for the entire town.
Noah fell to the ground, but he knew how terrifying everything was. His father, looking around in shock, whispered, "What… what is this? What's happening?"
At that moment, Yeti rose in fury. As the entire town trembled with the earthquake, Yeti's eyes were now turned not only to Noah but to the town as well. Yeti took a deep breath and shouted with a mighty roar, "Run, get away now!"
However, Noah's father considered Yeti's warning as a threat. Gripping his weapon tighter, the townspeople and others became even more enraged, determined to stop Yeti.
There was no fear in Yeti's eyes. In his place, only pain remained. A pain mixed with fear, an end to everything. But he knew the time had come. No one would hear Yeti's cries in this life anymore.
Noah immediately picked up his son and tried to run away from the forest. However, he could hear footsteps coming from behind. These steps were not human… nor were they from Yeti. Too many steps were being taken at once… like a spider.
When Noah's father looked back, he saw a giant spider chasing them. The spider's eyes glowed darkly. Every movement was a threat, touching the ground with its massive legs. Everything around them felt small and helpless in the spider's world.
"I WARNED YOU! I WARNED YOU!" The spider's speech was indistinct and unintelligible.
The horrifying sound of the spider seemed like an omen of disaster coming from the depths of the forest. This being was not just a hunter; it was a force that disrupted the balance of all nature.
Noah's father struggled with all his might to pull himself and his son out of the forest.
"I'm sorry, Dad, it's all my fault… I'm sorry," Noah thought they would both die. He sobbed.
As they neared the edge of the forest, the spider lunged forward.
"DON'T RUN! YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"
Noah's father's leg got tangled in a massive spider web and he fell to the ground. As he fell, he threw Noah forward.
"Run, son! I'll take care of it. Go warn the town. This forest must be destroyed!"
Noah cried, frozen in place. Then, he slapped himself and started running. His father's life depended on him. He ran with all his strength, shouting to wake up the town.
"HELP! WAKE UP! MY DAD IS TRAPPED IN THE FOREST, HE'S ABOUT TO DIE, HELP!"
Noah's father was trying to tear the web from his leg. It was slowly coming off, but the giant spider was very close. Seeing that Noah would wake the town, the spider was about to catch him, but his father fired the rifle. With two shots, he shattered four of the spider's legs. The spider screamed in pain, and another earthquake occurred. This time it was less intense but lasted longer. The tremor allowed Noah's father to break free from the spider's web, and he chased after Noah. The spider was very close but stopped. The forest was their boundary, and they couldn't go beyond it.
The townspeople ignored Noah's screams. They thought it was just a meaningless dream that Noah had seen during the night and slammed the doors in his face.
But when they saw Noah's father limping back from the forest, wounded, they were shocked. The man was trying to walk with a large wound on his leg, using all his strength. His face showed the painful look and his eyes were bloodshot. They quickly found someone who knew first aid and tried to heal his leg in the middle of the town.
"When I went to look for Noah, I found him with a creature that resembled a giant bear. It was clear it was preparing to eat Noah. It had sharp teeth and massive claws. Its body was excessively large. When it saw me, it stared at me for a long time. When it saw the light and the weapon in my hands, I think it was shocked. It also threatened us when the earthquake occurred. It said, 'RUN!' It told us to leave the town. WE REBUILT THIS TOWN WITH SO MUCH EFFORT AFTER THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE YEARS AGO. NO ONE WILL BE AFRAID OF THAT FILTHY CREATURE AND RUN AWAY!"
Noah's father riled up the crowd, planning to set the forest on fire. The entire town hated the forest and the creatures inside it. Yet, the real problem in that peaceful place, full of beauty, wasn't those creatures, but the HUMANS!