"The world was peaceful when the Eternal Guardian guarded the door to the Endless Void with her pack. However, something changed a thousand years ago. The Eternal Guardian disappeared along with her pack, creating a void in the world. And so began our adversary."
A loud rumbling could be heard beyond the towering walls. Civilians in the Rivarian Stronghold huddled together in their homes, watching the smoke and steam covering the sky. An old woman hugged her panicking grandson, patting his shivering shoulders as she spoke.
"However, those adversaries also failed to break the walls she built… so, baby, don't fret. We are forever protected by her."
Despite trying hard to hide the distrust oozing into her mind, the old woman gritted her teeth, injecting hope into her grandchild.
Similar actions were happening in all households, oblivious to the fact that the adversary they dreaded had already broken through the protection of their Eternal Guardian…
The whole world was going to be plunged into darkness by the beings of the Void. That's when a divine light pierced into the ground, splitting the sky in two.
*
* *
Above the upper grounds of Rivarian, below the towering mountain of snow that covered the entire Snowland, a lone figure staggered as it walked.
Its figure towered over six feet, with a length of eight. Snow-like fur decorated its entire body, supported by thick arms that extended into sharp claws. Glowing like twin frozen moons, its pair of pupils flashed with sharp electric arcs.
"Yip… yip…"
It looked back at a small furball trying anxiously to catch up.
Helena took a deep breath.
"Grrr…" She then let out a deep growl, making the white furball stop its movements. A pair of lightning-blue eyes stared at her in accusation. Then, seeing no further action, it pushed out a few drops of tears.
Helena rolled her eyes in exasperation. She had no idea what kind of creature this white furball was. It had no scent of their wolf kind, yet it was eerily similar to their cubs.
A small gem on its forehead resembled those of the beings of the Void. If any other Guardians saw it, Helena doubted they would let it live.
Somehow, Helena hated the thought of the little creature dying.
That's why, despite finding the little creature both cute and lonely and also sketchy, she decided to abandon it in the inner lands.
Perhaps its parents might find it. That was what she hoped. However, the little abomination seemed adamant about following her.
No matter how fast she ran, it would always catch up to her somehow. And now, the two of them were almost near the city gates of Rivarian.
The large snow wolf shook its body, shifting into the figure of a young woman.
Her snowy hair cascaded down to her shoulders, and a snow armor covered her entire body. The little creature looked at her in wonder, then thought for a moment before shaking its body as she had done.
It waited for a few moments before circling around, expecting something. Then, it glanced up at Helena, whimpering as tears fell like petals.
Helena let out an exasperated sigh again, this time with helplessness. Then bent down to pick up the furball.
It accepted her touch with a soft cry, licking her fingers and rubbing off the snow and dirt from its body. Helena twitched her lips.
"Why are you following me?"
"…"
"Oh, I forgot. You can't speak."
"Momma…"
"You can speak!" Helena suddenly jumped in fright, almost dropping the little monster in surprise. In her startled state, she failed to comprehend what the little creature had just said.
"Yip… yip… Momma." The little fur ball appeared to be in a good mood as it blinked its eyelids faster. Helena studied the monster in her hands.
Except for the gem on its forehead, it appeared to be a snow wolf cub. Hell, she even felt it resembled her in some ways.
'No way… I'm still a virgin.' She blushed. 'And there's no chance I gave birth without noticing.' She looked down at her belly before shrugging.
The little monster rolled in her palms, making happy noises that somehow calmed her anxiety.
Helena glanced down. The city was still being invaded by the beings of the Void, though the western parts were protected by the Snow Mountains.
The scout guardians, like her, were deployed in the mountains in case any of the Voidlings breached them. Fortunately, because of the creatures deep within the mountain, no Voidlings could reach Rivarian.
That made her question—how had this little creature arrived here?
That too, near an area under the control of their Snow Wolf kind!
Had its parents abandoned it?
Helena looked down at the little furball in pity. Perhaps that's why it followed her—thinking of her as its mother.
She felt her motherly instincts kicking in as she hugged the little monster to her body.
The little monster seemed to like that, rubbing against her and asking for gentle pats. Helena smiled, running her fingers through its soft fur.
Then, her brows furrowed at the sight of the almost transparent gem on its forehead.
Unlike shapeshifters or humans, Voidlings were classified not only by their ranks but also by their bloodline.
There were ten colors representing different bloodlines, but there was no transparent color among them.
She channeled her essence into the little monster, hoping to determine its origin. Helena breathed a sigh of relief when she found that the little fur ball had no scent of a Voidling.
Then what kind of monster was it?
The little fur ball seemed to sense her restless expression. It reached out with its tiny paws, patting her in return.
Warmth spread through Helena's chest as she couldn't help but place a small peck on its head.
"Yip… yip…"
The little fur ball was smart—it quickly noticed its "mom" staring at its forehead in worry. It thought for a moment before nodding.
Then, to Helena's surprise, the gem on its forehead disappeared.
Helena watched in shock as the little monster in her hands completely transformed into what appeared to be a normal snow wolf cub.
Except its fur was thicker, and its white coat was purer than freshly fallen snow.
"Momma…"
And that day, the infamous mighty white howl of the Snow Wolf pack in Riverian returned from an expedition with a baby white howl.