???

Huuuu...

The wind maliciously shrieked as it rushed past the rocky terrain of a cold, snowy mountain. The late-night blizzard simultaneously bit at the skin of every living thing while burying the world in white. Dense, rapid winds rendered it almost impossible to see past a few feet ahead, the few rays of moonlight that struggled through, the only solace to any creature stupid enough to remain outside during the terrible blizzard.

Despite the fact that it was certainly suicidal to remain outside during the blizzard, three silhouettes could be seen seated close to the mountain's summit. The silhouettes, one large and two small reacted differently to the tormenting wind. The large silhouette was calm, without a single shift in its muscle, whereas the little silhouettes trembled, often curling up in a futile attempt to conserve their body warmth.

Upon closer inspection, the silhouettes were revealed to be that of a bare-chested young man with his eyes closed, accompanied by two young kafu cubs. The young man's scattered hair danced freely in the wind, occasionally revealing a gnarly scar that ran down his face. The scar lent credence to the cold, unfeeling aura that chilled the already frozen tundra around himself. The cub by the man's left's beautiful white fur blended with the snowy blizzard , whereas the cub to his right bright brown fur was barely visible through the snow collected over him.

The white cub, teeth chattering, looked up at the stoic man with fear in his eyes. He'd managed to hold back so far out of fear of retaliation, but at the moment, his desire trumped his fear. "R--R-Razznik-san." The stoic man's eyes snapped open. A pair of irritated blood red eyes fixed on the little kafu. The cub's spine instantly chilled beyond anything the cold winds could bring. Paradoxically, despite the cold, the cub's fur instantly soaked with thick sweat.

Indifferent to the little kafu's plight, Razznik coldly demanded, "What?"

The cub hiccupped, his answer caught in his throat as Razznik brows slightly furrowed. Still, despite his fright, the cub was aware that if he did not speak up, he would most likely not live through the night. Mustering up his courage, the cub stammered, "I-I-I'm cold."

Razznik glared at the young cub, then turned to his right to inspect the other kafu, only to realize the brown cub was even worse off. Sheets of ice had formed on the kafu's fur, the young cub too weak to even shake off the ice. However, despite the deathly trembling, and sickly pallor, the young cub had a ruthless stubbornness in his eyes. It was obvious he had no desire to rest despite the torment.

Razznik looked from the brown cub to the white. With a slight shake of his head, he lightly tapped the earth. A large mandala spread out from his fingertips to occupy an area of roughly 20 square meters. A dome-like, stone structure rose from the earth, and enclosed the trio within. Razznik got to his feet, and tapped the roof of the dome. Another mandala spread itself over the walls. With a red flash, it blended into the walls. A second later, the walls began to emit heat, instantly warming the inhabitants of the dome.

Razznik glanced at the white cub who had quickly snuggled up against a wall. He walked over and nonchalantly grabbed the cub by the scruff of his neck. He unceremoniously dropped the cub at the center of the dome next to his brother. Razznik glared at the white cub. "Cathek, what is your brother's condition?"

Cathek glanced at Razznik with question in his eyes before taking a good look at his brother. As expected, just like Cathek himself, his brother suffered a severe shiver. Upon closer inspection however, Cathek's heart nearly leapt to his throat. His brother's situation was far worse than his own.

His brother's fur had begun to gray at its roots, belying the terribly high fever of the little kafu. Cathek's brother's violently chattering teeth rendered him incapable of speaking a coherent word. Even worse, the young cub's eyes were glazed over and unfocused, as if he could not see anything. However, even though the cub looked like he was only a second away from death's door, the stubbornness in his furrowed brows revealed his obstinate resolve to power through, through sheer force of will.

Cathek shrieked in fright as the reality of his brother's state dawned. Tears poured down his eyes as he grabbed Razznik by the hem of his trousers and pleaded, "P-please save him! Don't let Barthul die please! You can save him!"

Razznik looked down at the snot-nosed kafu. It seemed fear was a strong motivator for this one. First, it was the fear of his own death. Then the fear of losing his brother. Though, judging by how he was grabbing Razznik's pants, the fear of losing his brother was a stronger motivation.

"No." Razznik coldly rebutted as he brushed off Cathek's grip with a light kick. Razznik's cold eyes bore into the young cub's terrified, pleading gaze. Razznik grunted and turned his back to the devastated kafu. "Do not fret. Your brother shall survive."

Cathek's eyes widened, sparkling like large goblets filled with water. "Really!? He'll live? He'll be fine?" Cathek questioned excitedly as he looked to his forever stubborn elder brother.

"This Time," Razznik grimly stated. He turned around and glared at both cubs. "If you two are to survive this period, you must learn a few things." Razznik gaze fixated on Cathek. "First, you. Your talent far surpasses that of your brother, but you are mentally weak and you often cower

behind fear. With that attitude, you will not survive long in the world. Your fear also mandates you remain so self-absorbed, you failed to realize the plight of your kin until it was too late." Razznik glanced over both cubs. "You must understand this. I am not your babysitter. If you do not watch out for one another, you will surely perish."

"In your case," Razznik said as he looked at Barthul, who struggled to keep his gaze fixed on the larger man. "I can understand your drive to be strong. Even more so when you have a brother as talented as yours. " Razznik gave a rare, approving nod. That quickly turned to a hard frown. "Your willpower is exceedingly strong. This, if not handled well is a doubled-edged sword. It is imperative you learn the difference between tenacity and stupidity or you will end up either dead or crippled with nothing to show for your efforts." The future demon lord crossed his arms. "I could heal you, but I shall not. Suffer. Remember this pain. It will guide you while you seek your body's limits."

Razznik looked at the silent children. Both had so far managed to maintain eye contact, but he could tell it was only because they were vehemently fighting the subconscious pressure he exuded. Still, for children their age to be able to meet his gaze for so long, it could be seen just how seriously their mother took their training.

With a snort, Razznik made a series of gestures with his hand and a bag appeared in his hand. He threw the bag onto the floor then turned to leave. "You will find food in there. Eat, then sleep. We leave at first light." Razznik touched a section of the wall and it crumbled to the earth to form a small open door. The blizzard never got a chance to enter the shelter however, as a timely translucent mana shield occupied the little doorway. The shield was designed to keep the blizzard out, but let in fresh air every few minutes.

Cathek sat by his brother's side as he watched the intimidating frame walk into the blizzard, doubtless to continue his training. The young cub looked at his brother, at the stone dome, the food satchel on the floor, then to the doorway. A small smile lit up the side of the little cub's shivering lips. Indeed, although that back was scary, it was just as, if not more reassuring when it protected you from the world's terrors.

This was a back the little cub was certain he would follow for a long ti-

--

"No! Come Back! Don't leave us!"

Within the snowy blizzard, a weak, shaking, white-furred arm reached out to a familiar silhouette. The arm owner's vision dimmed, his world slowly turning dark. He let out one last desperate cry at the cold, fading back before he slumped to the earth and succumbed to the darkness.

****

???

Within the corridors of a certain palace, the eyes of a white-furred kafu sprung open with a start. Cathek, dressed in a modified, white priest armor raised his head and pushed off against the wall he had been leaning on.

"I must be getting old," Cathek muttered with a resigned smile. "To think I would dream of him again. Must be because the time is near." The kafu shook his head then proceeded to walk down the corridor.

Cathek observed the cracked and broken walls with mirth. The cracks and holes in the palace walls told the story of a place besieged numerous times over the centuries, yet somehow holding its ground. Most of the visible cracks were more recent however, as recent as a few decades to a decade ago.

However, perhaps because of the paintings placed next to the cracks, or the sculptures along the corridor, Cathek found something about the palace inviting, warm even. The kafu greeted a number of warriors and priests along his path, most of whom were daeben. Despite the daeben being the cast majority of the population, the warriors and priests from the other races only had wide, satisfied smiles on their faces when chatting with their daeben counterparts.

Here, strength was key. No one discriminated based on race. The strong were respected and acknowledged. In some select places, a few orkhs could be seen chatting with other warriors, without the suppressed inferiority often found in their kind's eyes.

Cathek often wondered what it would be like if the Chaos Order actually achieved their ambition. Would the world be like this island, completely rid of discrimination and war? Would all the bloodshed and lives lost be worth the couple centuries of peace they would have bought?

Cathek did not have much time to ponder further as he came to a halt in front of a massive double door. The door had a mural of a gargantuan drider, the patron goddess of the daeben tribe. The drider species were beasts with the upper body of a human (often female) and the lower body of a spider. The species were cunning vicious creatures adept at shapeshifting, and traps. Skills they often used to lure in unsuspecting prey before sucking them dry.

A pair of ruby gemstones placed in the mural's eyes shone with a red light. The red light scanned the entity that stood before it. Finding no problems with the identity, it flashed once again and the doors slid open.

Cathek looked down at the red carpet with the drider sigil. He took a deep breath, then stepped on the carpet and made his way to the throne at the end...

************

A/N: I'm testing out these shorter chapter, quicker update style. The hope is that it'll let me update faster, cuz sometime when writing long chapters, you can get stuck at a few spots, and it'll drag on for a long-ass time even if you've already written two normal (wattpad) length chapters. So, let's see how it goes eh?

Thanks.