He climbed up the unforgiving mountain, ignoring the cuts and scrapes that littered his hands, arms, and legs. The snow blended in with his white hair as he trekked on.
Isolation.
He was alone on this one way endeavor.
Desperation.
Nothing was going to deter him from this. He wanted to see for himself what was in the cave so many had whispered of.
Bones littered the way as he walked on a ledge. So many different types of creatures from cattle of the lower valley to the mountain goats. A few human remains were among them.
He shivered from the cold as blood red eyes appeared in the cave. "What brings you to my den?"
He hugged his arms tighter. "I-I'm Ryou. I've come to see if you were fact or fiction for myself."
A beast covered in scales stepped out of the cave. It was massive. "I am very real and very hungry."
Ryou gulped. "What are you?"
"Death."
()()()()()()
No one ever saw the boy alive after he scaled the mountain that day. Someone later found the tattered scraps of his favorite outfit amidst a pile of various bones.