Rihan's memory flashed vividly across his mind. It happened after the Virah fully overran Irricester Mountain Range and nowhere was safe.
All along the mountains, groups of refugees were making their way southward toward the Aysel Stronghold, where they hoped their lives would become easier somehow.
Rihan had decided to return to Irricester City instead of going further south since that seemed like a better place than anywhere else.
That decision changed everything for him though because soon thereafter, a group of Virah chased him to the city's central part.
During his desperate attempt to escape, he stumbled into the Golden Pavilion which is in ruin now—the same building whose might was admired by all throughout Irricester.
That wasn't what caught his attention, however. What did catch it was a big black dog that was chained up in the Grand Master's Room.
This black beast stood guard outside the wooden door leading to another room full of scrolls, books, and ancient weapons.
Rihan never found out about the history behind the black dog or its species. All of this paled in comparison to his surprise when the monster saved him by killing all the Virah that pursued him!
The moment it pounced on them with its jaws opened wide, two bodies fell lifelessly onto the ground with blood pouring from their wounds while others scattered fearfully away from it.
The remaining few retreated as quickly as they could until one unfortunate Virah stepped too slowly compared to the rest.
"Haha!" Rihan watched the unfortunate Virah fall when the black dog bit down hard and savagely tore off half of its torso and neck before leaving it to die slowly.
He was shocked beyond words and at first didn't know how to react; but then something strange happened. When the dark canine sniffed around his body, its tongue moved across his arms and legs caressingly.
Its fur felt cool against his skin. He hadn't seen anything like it before, but it sure seemed like the animal had grown attached to him.
"How long were you chained for?" asked Rihan quietly after a little while. "Did your master abandon you?"
As soon as those questions left his lips, the dark canine perked up its ears excitedly. It turned towards the wooden door once more which meant it probably heard someone or something coming.
A small puppy suddenly appeared in front of him like a mirage, and her little tail wagged back and forth in excitement.
Her head looked a lot like the giant black dog in front of him except for the size, which was much smaller.
"Woa, little guy." Rihan smiled and crouched down to pet the adorable creature who happily licked his fingers playfully.
The pup jumped onto his lap where she sat down obediently beside her big friend without even trying to run away.
When she looked up at him with big, innocent eyes, the pup barked playfully, licked his nose, and ran toward the wall.
She circled the area for a while before returning to him and the black dog, presumably the mother, Rihan thought.
Rihan realized that this was not just any ordinary puppy or pet or whatever you may call it, although it did resemble that of an ordinary dog, only bigger.
In fact, this creature acted more like a wolf than a domesticated canine—a very powerful one too judging from the way it savagely killed a few Virahs single-handedly.
Yet despite its ferocity, the beast behaved almost cuddly towards humans and its child.
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Then it hit Rihan, "This is no ordinary beast," and the realization pounded into his mind like thunder, "This could be my ticket to escape safely!"
Rihan tried to free the Black Dog from the chain holding it but couldn't because the collar around its neck was made out of some thick unknown metal whose clasp was embedded deep inside the animal's skin.
All attempts ended in failure though since neither ripping off nor cutting through the skin around the collar produced results.
Maybe the beast knew that only a human can free her from her shackles.
While trying to think what else might work, Rihan noticed the beast's stomach grumbling loudly enough so that even the little dog beside him became curious and sniffed curiously at its belly.
"Well, I do have some leftovers on me." He reached for his pouch which held several pieces of meat wrapped with a bit of paper towel and fed them to the Black Dog and its puppy which seemed to enjoy eating ravenously.
After giving them each a few mouthfuls of food they both licked their chops before looking up at him with bright eyes full of expectation.
"You must've been hungry." Rihan patted the black fur between the black dog's eyes; who closed hers after being caressed by him. "Here you go,"
Rihan took a good look at the dog's condition when she finished eating, it was very malnourished; her fur looked dull, unclean, and had lost most of its shine.
Her body was also quite thin as if she hadn't eaten anything solid for weeks. This was bad, but not too surprising given the state of Irricester City and how hard life was.
"Hey, are you feeling better now?" asked Rihan while patting the black dog behind the ear softly.
The beast blinked twice and gave out short yaps. It walked toward the wooden door to guard it again, much like the first time they met.
"Okay then, take care." He placed his hands under his knees and jumped from his sitting position onto all four feet to stand in front of the wall with the puppy.
When he saw this happen, the formation that was carved throughout the building lit up one after another until an image formed from their colours emerged against the stony structure.
Rihan didn't understand what he was looking at but assumed that it might be something useful because nothing else happened except a slight quake at the stony surface which wasn't noticeable.
However, he committed to memorizing its form since maybe there would be a need later. He could still see part of the outline imprinted on the backside of his closed eyelids. The images were surprisingly detailed.
After exploring the whole building—which contained the various part of the Golden Pavilion's formation arrayed inside its stone walls along with the entire building.
Rihan pounded fiercely against the wooden door leading into the other room where scrolls and weapons rested peacefully.
Soon enough, the final piece of the Golden Pavilion's Array ends with the Black Dog standing guard within the room, at the centre of the Golden Pavilion.
"You must be the final piece to the puzzle within the Golden Pavilion," thought Rihan as the dog stood up straighter than before. Then she barked several times before sniffing her surroundings while walking toward him slowly.
A rumbling sound filled the air and soon became louder.
At first, Rihan feared that it was caused by a battle somewhere else, but when his ears heard the source clearly, it soon dawned upon him.
This was no ordinary rumbling sound but a huge wave of Virah!