It was almost eleven at night.
Deep beyond the city lay Blackwood Forest, a place surrounded by strange stories. People said that on the night of a full moon, a mysterious sound could be heard from somewhere deep within the forest—something that didn't belong to any ordinary creature.
Anya had never believed those stories.
But tonight, she had a reason to be there.
She had discovered an old map inside her father's diary. At the center of the map was a strange symbol—a crescent moon above the mark of a wolf.
Anya raised her flashlight.
“Just a few more minutes…”
Crack!
A dry branch snapped behind her.
Anya froze.
She slowly turned around.
Nothing.
“Who's there?”
No answer.
The wind suddenly grew stronger. The branches above her collided as dark clouds covered the moon.
Then she heard it.
A low growl.
Anya took a step backward.
Two glowing eyes appeared between the trees.
A huge wolf was standing in the darkness.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then the wolf began walking toward her.
Anya stepped back again, but her foot caught on a stone.
She fell.
The wolf suddenly charged.
Anya closed her eyes.
But nothing happened.
Slowly, she opened them.
The wolf was gone.
In its place stood a young man dressed in black.
His expression was calm, but there was something strange about his eyes.
“You shouldn't be here,” he said.
Anya stared at him.
“Who are you?”
The young man's eyes moved toward the diary in her hand.
His expression immediately changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“My father's belongings.”
For several seconds, he remained silent.
Then he said quietly,
“If your father showed you that symbol, it means he was finally ready to tell you the truth.”
Anya stood up.
“What truth?”
The stranger looked toward the sky.
The clouds slowly moved away, revealing the full moon.
He looked back at her.
“Your father didn't simply disappear in this forest.”
Anya's heart skipped.
“Then what happened to him?”
The young man didn't answer.
He turned and began walking into the darkness.
“Wait!”
Anya hurried after him.
“At least tell me your name!”
The stranger stopped.
After a moment, he looked over his shoulder.
“Arav.”
Then he disappeared among the trees.
Anya stood there alone.
She opened her father's diary again.
The page that had previously contained only the wolf symbol now had a sentence written beneath it in red ink.
“When the moon becomes full for the third time, the forest will reveal its secret.”
Anya's hands trembled as she closed the diary.
She didn't know it yet, but the stranger she had met that night was not a coincidence.
He was the first key to the mystery her father had left behind.
And somewhere deep inside Blackwood Forest, something had just awakened.