• “Two young boys you say?” A voice said seeming happy. There was silence for a moment and then a second voice spoke.

    “Yes master, they’ve just passed us and they are heading to your throne room”

    As he listened, the first voice howled with laughter “Excellent! My day of freedom has finally arrived!” The two voices howled like wolves while several others joined in.

    The two boys the voices had been speaking about were now walking down a narrow hallway. The room they had just left had been full of wolves. It had been dimly lit and there was blood splattered everywhere. As the walked down the hallway they could hear the wolves howling out and as they began to howl one of the boys stopped.

    “They’re cheering…it sounds like they’re cheering…Why are they cheering?” This boy was slightly shorter than the other. He had short spiky hair shot out in several places.

    “They’re cheering because tonight they don’t have to go out hunting. They’re dinner has willingly walked into their layer.” The second boy had stopped also and had been talking with a serious face but busted out laughing as soon as he finished.

    The first boy just glared at the other one. “Don’t even joke about that, it’s not funny.” The boy looked up toward the room at the end of the hallway giving him a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Can we go now Shiro?”

    “Come on Gisei! There’s only one more room, after that we’ll leave.” Shiro began to walk down the hallway knowing that Gisei would follow him in fear of being alone. Gisei did follow but reluctantly. They slowly approached the room until they eventually passed through the doorway. The contents of the room shocked the two boys.

    The room was circular with a giant glass dome for a ceiling. There were jewels and weapons scattered across the room. Directly across from the boys was a giant statue of a wolf and behind the statue was a throne with a crown sitting on the seat.

    The two boys slowly stepped toward the statue. Shiro stopped at the statue but Gisei continued on to the throne. Shiro observed the statue with a weird feeling. “This wolf…he looks familiar but I swear I’ve never seen him before.”

    “You’re just imaging things.” Gisei was now sitting on the throne with the crown resting on his head.

    Shiro agreed but still couldn’t shake the feeling. As he observed the statue he noticed an inscription in between the wolf’s front paws. He leaned forward to read it which made him place his hands on the statue so that he didn’t lose his balance. “…Kuro…meru?” Immediately after he said this the room was filled with light so bright that it blinded Shiro. “…Gisei?” There was no answer. “Gisei! Where are you?” Slowly the light diminished and the room returned to normal. There were two differences though. Gisei was gone, but in his place was a man dressed in all black along with a strip of black cloth wrapped around his head that revealed only his eyes. The other difference was that the statue was gone.

    The man began to walk over toward Shiro which made Shiro unsheathe a small dagger. This sight made the man laugh. “You’re no match for me kid.” The man clenched his fists the released them revealing claws for finger nails. “That is just a preview of my powers. Now put away that butter knife kid before you get yourself hurt.”

    Shiro tried to do what the man said but couldn’t he was too frightened but he did manage to drop the dagger. He was so hard from his fright that he collapsed. He slowly looked up at the man seeing that the claws were gone. “Wh-where’s Gisei? What have you done to him?!”

    “Your friend has been consumed by light but it was not I who caused it. You would have been consumed also but I saved you. So if I were you I’d give my savior some respect. If you don’t I’ll just kill you myself.” Shiro wasn’t sure but from the man’s eyes he could tell the man was smiling.

    Shiro slowly rose to his feet but he was still trembling. “K-killed…Gisei’s been killed?”

    “Not exactly, he is still alive. There is one problem though. He is trapped in the realm of light which is as good as being dead.” The man saw Shiro’s gaze go to the floor grimly and he smiled because this would fit with his plan perfectly. “There is a way to save him. You must kill the man who did this but you must do it before your friend escapes the realm of light. If he escapes then he will be under the control of the man and there is nothing you’ll be able to do. I will help you but by doing so I will be trapped inside your body. In return for my assistance you must steal the man’s powers and release me.”

    Shiro’s trembling ended and he returned to his normal way of acting. “Who is this man that I must kill?”

    He is most commonly known as the Puppet Master but his true name is unknown to most.” The man walked over to Shiro and held out his hand. “So…we have a deal?”

    Shiro grabbed the man’s hand and shook it. “Deal.” As soon as he said this the man disappeared and in his place was the wolf, Kuromeru.

    Kuromeru had a smile on his face. “Keep this in mind. You must open your mind to the possibilities, darkness isn’t always evil.” Once he said this Kuro jumped at Shiro’s chest and was consume by it.

    Shiro shot up instantly waking himself from the dream. He skin and clothing were soaked with sweat along with the ground he had been sleeping on. He turned to the body beside him and saw that the man was still sleeping. I had completely forgotten about that day. It feels like you’ve been with me forever Kuro.

    It may feel that way but it’s only been ten years. Hopefully not much longer, your friend is running out of time. Until then get some sleep.