Chapter 1 — The Chosen Hearts
The Nightmare
Snow fell silently beyond the slopes of snowy Mountain
Dark clouds gathered above the frozen mountains while icy wind howled through the night like a warning waiting to be heard.
Then came the fire.
A bus burned violently in the middle of the road.
Students screamed behind shattered windows as flames swallowed the vehicle from within. Smoke twisted into the stormy sky while melting snow hissed against the burning metal.
And inside the fire…
a girl was trapped.
“Help me!”
Emre ran toward the bus.
Fear pounded through his chest as the heat crashed against his skin. Snow and ash exploded around him while the girl slammed desperately against the glass.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, everything else disappeared.
“Please!”
Emre grabbed the door handle.
Pain shot through his hand instantly.
Too hot.
The flames rose higher.
The girl screamed again—
Then suddenly—
BOOM.
The bus exploded in a wave of fire.
“No!”
Emre woke with a violent gasp.
Morning light leaked faintly through the curtains of his bedroom as the sound of his alarm echoed beside him. Sweat rolled down his forehead while his chest rose and fell rapidly.
Another nightmare.
But this one felt different.
Real.
Breathing heavily, Emre slowly looked toward the framed photograph resting beside his bed.
His parents smiled warmly back at him.
The fear inside him softened instantly.
“Mom… Dad…” he whispered.
For a few seconds, silence filled the room.
Outside the window, the city was beginning to wake. Cars moved through the streets below while the distant morning adhan echoed softly across Istanbul.
Everything looked normal.
Yet a strange feeling lingered deep inside him.
Emre exhaled slowly and pushed the blanket aside.
Cold air brushed against his skin as he stood up from the bed. The nightmare still lingered inside his mind, but he forced himself to move forward.
But eventually, Emre forced himself to move.
Like every ordinary morning, routine slowly took over.
He washed his face, changed clothes, and tried to bury the strange unease still lingering deep inside his chest.
A few minutes later, dressed in a black hoodie and faded jeans, Emre grabbed his backpack from the chair beside his desk.
Before leaving, he paused near the photograph once again.
A faint smile crossed his face.
Then he stepped outside.
The streets of Istanbul were already alive beneath the grey winter sky. Vendors prepared their shops while students hurried across the sidewalks.
The Blacksmith
The streets surrounding Hagia Sophia buzzed with life beneath the pale winter sun.
Tourists moved through the crowded roads while distant voices, street vendors, and the sound of traffic blended into the heartbeat of the city. Above them all, Hagia Sophia stood proudly against the sky like a monument guarding centuries of forgotten history.
Emre slowed his steps for a moment.
No matter how many times he passed it, the sight still left him speechless.
Ancient.
Timeless.
Powerful.
A cold breeze swept through the street as he continued walking through the crowded market roads. Then suddenly, a metallic sound echoed nearby.
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
Emre turned his head.
A small blacksmith shop stood between the older buildings, glowing faintly from the fire burning inside.
Something about it caught his attention instantly.
Without thinking, he stepped closer.
“Salam, uncle,” Emre greeted warmly as he entered.
The old blacksmith looked up from the glowing iron resting on the anvil.
“Walikum salam, Emre,” the man replied with a smile.
Emre paused for a moment.
A faint look of confusion crossed his face.
He had never seen the old man before.
Then how did he know his name?
But before Emre could think too deeply about it, the blacksmith simply returned to his work as if nothing was unusual.
Before Emre could ask anything else, the blacksmith lifted a strange metal plate from the fire.
Bright sparks scattered through the air.
“What are you making?” Emre asked curiously.
“A special order,” the blacksmith replied.
He nodded toward several unfinished metal masks resting near the wall.
“An old man asked me to forge them.”
Emre stared at the masks for a moment.
Something about them felt unusual.
Ancient patterns had been carved carefully into the metal surface.
Almost like symbols from another time.
“Need help?” Emre asked.
The old man smiled.
Moments later, Emre stood beside him, gripping a heavy hammer while flames danced across the workshop walls.
CLANG.
The hammer struck the glowing metal.
CLANG.
Sparks exploded into the air.
“Bismillah,” Emre whispered quietly as he raised the hammer again.
The blacksmith smiled proudly and said.
“Alhamdulillah.”
The sound of hammering echoed through the workshop like an ancient rhythm forgotten by the modern world.
CLANG.
“Bismillah.”
CLANG.
“Alhamdulillah.”
Each strike echoed through the tiny forge like the beating of an ancient heart.
The old blacksmith remained silent for a moment.
His eyes lingered on Emre longer than they normally should have.
Not the way a craftsman looked at a customer.
The way someone looked at a memory.
Or perhaps a prophecy.
A strange expression crossed the old man’s face.
Recognition.
Surprise.
Maybe even concern.
“Interesting...” he murmured beneath his breath.
Emre frowned.
“What?”
The blacksmith simply shook his head and returned his attention to the glowing metal resting upon the anvil.
“Nothing,” he said calmly.
But for a brief moment, his ancient eyes seemed to hold secrets far older than the city surrounding them.
After several more strikes, Emre wiped the sweat from his forehead and leaned against the wooden table, exhausted from the heat.
The old man glanced toward him briefly before reaching for a small silver flask resting beside the furnace.
Without a word, he poured its contents into a dark copper cup.
The liquid shimmered strangely beneath the firelight.
Not red.
Not gold.
Something in between.
Something alive.
“Drink,” the blacksmith said calmly.
Emre looked uncertain.
“What is it?”
The old man’s lips curled into the faintest smile.
“A warrior should never carry fear inside his heart.”
The answer only confused Emre more.
Still—
For reasons he couldn’t possibly understand—
he trusted the old man.
Slowly, he took the cup.
The metal felt unusually cold against his fingers despite the blazing fire surrounding them.
Then he drank.
The effect came instantly.
A powerful heat surged through his chest like wildfire racing through frozen land.
Emre gasped softly.
The exhaustion inside his body disappeared.
The fear he had carried for so long—
the uncertainty,
the weakness,
the hesitation—
all of it seemed to dissolve into nothing.
And suddenly—
the fire inside the forge rose violently.
For one impossible moment, the flames twisted into the shape of a giant wolf standing within the furnace itself.
Its glowing eyes locked onto Emre.
Not threatening.
Watching.
Choosing.
Then the flames collapsed back into normal fire again.
Emre hesitated, stepping back.
The old blacksmith continued working as if nothing had happened.
“You felt it, didn’t you?” he asked quietly.
Emre stared at him speechless.
The old man finally looked up.
His eyes no longer seemed ordinary.
They looked ancient.
Filled with secrets buried deep beneath centuries.
For a few moments, silence lingered between them while sparks drifted through the forge like burning stars.
A strange feeling moved quietly through Emre’s chest.
Not fear.
Something stranger.
As if the world around him had suddenly shifted in a way he could not understand.
The flames.
The wolf inside the fire.
The old blacksmith’s words—
none of it made sense anymore.
For a brief moment, Emre felt as though unseen eyes were observing him from somewhere far beyond the forge itself.
He exhaled slowly and rubbed his hands together, trying to clear his thoughts.
He wondered if the heat inside the workshop was getting to him.
Or perhaps it was just fatigue.
Without another word, he straightened his jacket and headed for the door to leave; a little uneasy about the strange feeling that had gripped him.
Behind him—
CLANG.
The hammer struck steel once more.
The old blacksmith casually returned to his work as though nothing unusual had happened.
“Where are you rushing off to this morning?” he asked calmly.
Emre paused near the doorway.
“College.”
The old man nodded slowly.
“May Allah guide you on your path.”
But somehow—
those words no longer sounded like a simple blessing.
They sounded like destiny itself had already begun moving toward Emre.
The basketball court
Early in the morning, beneath the open sky, the college campus was bustling with activity.
Students filled the courtyard in noisy groups while laughter echoed between the buildings. Some rushed toward classrooms while others relaxed near the fountains and benches scattered across the campus grounds.
Emre walked through the crowd calmly, his bag hanging over one shoulder.
At first glance—
everything looked normal.
Until a sudden burst of nervous laughter echoed from the far side of the courtyard.
Emre glanced up immediately.
A crowd of students had gathered near the old basketball court.
Phones were out.
Some people laughed awkwardly.
Others simply watched without interfering.
Something felt wrong.
Emre slowly pushed his way through the crowd—
and stopped.
Three terrified freshman boys stood surrounded by a group of senior students.
One freshman sat frozen on a plastic chair while a senior roughly shaved off half his moustache using an electric trimmer as everyone around them laughed and recorded videos.
Another frightened boy stood shirtless nearby while someone had drawn humiliating sketches across his chest and back using permanent marker.
The youngest among them looked seconds away from tears while seniors forced him to shout ridiculous things loudly in front of the crowd.
“Louder!”
“I can’t hear you!”
The seniors laughed again.
One of them shoved the frightened boy hard enough to nearly knock him to the ground.
The crowd laughed nervously.
Nobody stepped forward.
Nobody wanted trouble.
Then one senior grabbed the trembling freshman by the jaw aggressively.
“You think you’re a hero now because you joined college?”
The boy lowered his eyes silently.
“Answer me!”
The senior raised the trimmer toward the boy’s eyebrow.
That was enough.
“Stop.”
The voice cut cleanly through the noise.
The courtyard slowly fell silent.
The seniors turned.
Emre stood near the edge of the crowd, calm and expressionless, his college bag resting over one shoulder.
One of the seniors smirked immediately.
“Well look who’s here.”
Another laughed.
“You wanna join too?”
Emre’s eyes moved toward the terrified freshmen first.
Especially the youngest one still trying not to cry in front of everyone.
Then he looked back at the seniors.
“I said stop.”
Something in his voice changed the atmosphere instantly.
The laughter faded.
Even the surrounding crowd grew quieter.
The tallest senior stepped forward slowly.
“And if we don’t?”
For a brief second—
Emre said nothing.
Then he calmly removed his bag and dropped it onto a nearby bench.
“This becomes my problem.”
The senior swung first.
Fast.
Angry.
But Emre moved faster.
He caught the punch midair and slammed the senior hard against the metal fence beside the basketball court.
CLANG.
Gasps erupted through the crowd.
Another senior charged toward him aggressively—
Emre stepped sideways and drove his elbow directly into the boy’s stomach before throwing him onto the concrete.
The third tried grabbing Emre from behind.
Big mistake.
Emre twisted violently, grabbed the senior by the hoodie, and slammed him across a table hard enough to send the thing crashing everywhere.
Students screamed and stumbled backward.
Phones lowered instantly.
Nobody laughed anymore.
The tallest senior struggled back to his feet angrily and rushed Emre again—
but Emre struck him once across the face.
Hard.
The senior collapsed immediately onto the pavement.
Silence.
Complete silence.
The remaining seniors backed away slowly, shocked by how quickly everything had turned against them.
Nobody wanted to continue anymore.
Not with Emre standing there.
Breathing calmly.
Unshaken.
The frightened freshmen stared at him like they had just witnessed something unreal.
Emre walked toward the youngest boy quietly and picked up the fallen trimmer from the ground.
Then he looked directly at the seniors.
“If you need respect this badly…”
His voice remained cold.
“…earn it.”
Nobody answered.
The courtyard stayed silent as Emre handed the trembling freshman his jacket and helped another collect his scattered books from the ground.
“T-Thank you…” one of them whispered weakly.
Emre nodded once.
Then he picked up his bag and walked away through the silent courtyard as though nothing had happened.
But this time—
Whispers followed Emre across the basketball court as students stared at Emre differently now.
Not with fear.
With admiration.
But Emre simply adjusted his bag and continued walking toward the college building as if nothing had happened.
But while the campus slowly returned to normal…
someone else was already fighting a battle of his own.
The baseball field,
The library remained silent except for the soft turning of pages and the distant ticking of a clock.
Tahir sat alone near the back corner, surrounded by open books and scattered notes. His focus never wavered as he wrote carefully across the pages in front of him.
Calm.
Precise.
Disciplined.
Then suddenly—
A scream echoed faintly from outside.
Tahir looked up instantly.
Out on the baseball field, a group of rough-looking boys had cornered a girl.
It was his girlfriend—Ayla.
Fear flashed across her face as she tried to push past them.
Tahir stood up so suddenly that his chair crashed onto the floor behind him.
Students turned in shock.
But Tahir was already running.
By the time he burst out of the library doors, rage burned in his eyes.
“Leave her alone!”
The strangers turned.
One of them laughed mockingly while gripping his girlfriend’s wrist tighter.
Wrong move.
Nearby, a group of students stood frozen beside a small baseball field, their equipment scattered across the pavement.
Without slowing down, Tahir grabbed a metal bat from one of the boys.
“Hey!” the groupprotested.
Tahir spun the bat once in his hand smoothly.
“I’ll bring it back.”
The metal bat rested against his shoulder as he stepped forward.
The strangers exchanged uneasy glances.
Something about Tahir’s eyes suddenly felt dangerous.
“You should walk away,” Tahir said coldly.
One of the men smirked. “Or what?”
Tahir tilted his head slightly.
“It’s not the bat you should fear.”
Silence fell.
Even the noise around them seemed distant now.
For the first time, the strangers looked uncertain.
Tahir stepped closer.
“You touched her,” he said quietly.
That was enough.
The boys slowly backed away and, without uttering another word, vanished into the crowd.
The moment they vanished, Tahir’s girl friend rushed toward him tearfully.
“Tahir…”
His expression softened instantly as he pulled her into his arms.
“You’re safe now Ayla.”
The metal bat still rested against his shoulder while the cold wind swept through the street around them.
Around him, students slowly began whispering again as if the tension had never happened.
Meanwhile, somewhere else on the same campus…
another kind of chaos was already shaking the college grounds.
The Boxing Court,
Loud cheers thundered through the wrestling gym as students crowded around the training arena.
“COME ON, BORIS!”
Inside the ring, Boris slammed his opponent onto the mat with enough force to shake the floor beneath them.
The entire gym erupted.
Sweat rolled down Boris’s forehead as he stepped back, breathing heavily. Even exhausted, the giant grin on his face never disappeared.
His coach laughed from outside the ring. “One day you’re going to break my gym.”
Boris grabbed the edge of his sweat-soaked shirt and pulled it over his head before throwing it aside carelessly.
The crowd reacted instantly.
Several girls near the front exchanged stunned glances while others whispered among themselves, unable to look away from Boris’s heavily built wrestling physique.
From the crowd, a guy shouted, “Dude, his body looks like a tank!”
Boris just laughed, completely oblivious to the fact that everyone was staring right at him.
“Then tell the college to build the walls out of steel,” he replied proudly.
The students standing around him burst into laughter.
A few minutes later after finishing the practice, Boris walked across the campus courtyard carrying an absurd amount of food from the cafeteria.
Three sandwiches.
Two bottles of juice.
And an overloaded tray of barbecue meat.
“Now this,” Boris declared dramatically, “is the breakfast of champions.”
A nearby student stared at the mountain of food in disbelief.
“Dude... just how much do you eat?” Boris gazed earnestly at his massive tray.
“I train hard.”
Then he shrugged.
“And Allah blessed me with legendary hunger.”
The students nearby laughed loudly.
As Boris continued walking through the crowded courtyard, laughter suddenly caught his attention near the cafeteria stairs.
An elderly campus cleaner knelt on the ground, struggling to pick up spilled cleaning supplies after his bucket had tipped over.
A few nearby students stood laughing.
“Watch out there, Uncle,” one student mocked, pouring the contents of a Coke bottle onto the ground right next to the old man before tossing aside the empty can. “The floor is actually cleaner than your sense of balance.”
The old man lowered his head quietly and continued gathering the scattered supplies without saying a word.
Boris stopped walking.
The smile on his face disappeared instantly.
“Hey.”
The students turned.
One of them shrugged casually. “Relax. We’re just having fun.”
Boris slowly stepped closer, his broad shoulders towering above them.
“Then laugh at something funny.”
The atmosphere shifted immediately.
The students exchanged awkward glances.
Even without anger, Boris looked intimidating enough to silence the entire group.
A moment later,
one of the boys quietly picked up the empty Coke can and awkwardly stuffed it into his pocket. The second boy picked up the fallen bucket and handed it back to the cleaner; then, without another word, the group quickly walked away.
The old cleaner looked up gratefully.
“Thank you, son.”
Boris smiled warmly before placing part of his food tray into the old man’s hands.
The cleaner blinked in surprise. “No, no… this is yours.”
Boris grinned.
“I can always eat more later.”
The old man laughed softly.
For a moment, the noise of the campus seemed lighter around them.
Then Boris adjusted the towel over his shoulder and continued walking across the courtyard, casually eating barbecue while students moved aside to let him pass.
Some feared him.
Most admired him.
But Boris barely noticed either.
Far away from the noise and chaos of the crowded college courtyard, another part of the campus existed in complete silence.
The Archery range,
The archery range rested beneath the soft afternoon sky like a world separated from everything else.
No shouting students.
No loud music.
No rushing footsteps.
Only wind.
Focus.
And the sound of arrows piercing targets in the distance.
Demir stood alone near the center of the range, a bow resting firmly in his hands.
The light of the rising sun cast a glint upon his sharp eyes, while an arrow remained drawn tightly against the string.
His breathing slowed naturally.
Steady.
Controlled.
Everything around him faded away little by little until only the target ahead remained.
“Focus…” he whispered quietly to himself.
The campus disappeared from his mind completely.
Only instinct remained.
His fingers loosened slightly against the bowstring—
Then suddenly—
A violent metallic crack shattered the silence across the grounds.
SCREEEECH.
Students screamed somewhere nearby.
Demir’s eyes snapped instantly toward the main sports arena beside the courtyard.
A massive metal hoarding hanging above the entrance had broken loose.
The giant banner displayed the upcoming college mountain trip—
and above it, the image of a giant wolf stared across the campus beneath the bold name:
AKDENIZ.
One of the heavy support chains had snapped completely.
The enormous metal structure tilted dangerously forward above a crowd of students gathered below.
Panic exploded instantly.
People froze.
Some screamed.
Others stumbled backward without knowing where to run.
The remaining support cable strained violently under the weight.
One more second—
and the entire structure would collapse directly onto the students beneath it.
Demir moved instantly.
Without a moment’s hesitation, bow and arrow in hand, he spun around swiftly.
The world around him slowed.
Noise disappeared.
Fear disappeared.
Only the target remained.
The broken hoarding swayed violently against the wind while sparks burst from the damaged support frame.
Demir inhaled slowly.
Then released.
FWIP.
The arrow tore through the air with terrifying precision.
CLANG.
It struck the weakened metal lock attached to the support mechanism.
The damaged chain snapped free instantly—
and the entire structure swung sideways instead of collapsing downward.
The giant hoarding crashed harmlessly against the empty side barriers of the arena.
BOOOOM.
Dust exploded across the courtyard.
Students screamed and scattered backward in shock.
Then—
silence.
Everyone stared toward Demir.
Even the sports instructors looked frozen.
Demir lowered the bow calmly, his expression unreadable as if nothing unusual had happened.
One shaken instructor hurried toward him breathlessly.
“You… you just saved them.”
Demir glanced quietly toward the fallen hoarding.
“Someone had to.”
Far across the campus, life slowly returned to normal again.
Students gathered in frightened groups, whispering about what had just happened.
Near the crowded main building, Emre disappeared into a sea of moving students.
Close to the library corridor, Tahir rested a metal bat across his shoulder while watching the chaos from afar.
Near the cafeteria stairs, Boris laughed loudly while carrying enough food for three people at once.
And far away from all the noise—
Demir stood alone with a bow in his hands…
and impossible precision in his eyes.
None of them noticed the unseen presence watching from beyond the mountains surrounding Istanbul.
Far above the campus, hidden somewhere within the dark forests and rocky cliffs…
something waited in silence.
The Buzz in Courtyard,
By lunchtime, the entire atmosphere across the campus had transformed completely.
Whatever strange tension had lingered throughout the morning slowly disappeared beneath waves of excitement spreading through every corridor, classroom, and courtyard of the college.
Lectures continued—
but barely anyone paid attention anymore.
Half-open classroom doors echoed with whispers, laughter, and endless conversations about the upcoming trip to Mount Erciyes.
Students secretly passed chips and chocolates beneath desks while exhausted professors struggled to keep anyone focused for more than five minutes.
Near the back row of a history classroom, Boris nearly fell asleep during a lecture before a crumpled paper ball smacked directly against the side of his head.
The entire row burst into laughter instantly.
“Wake up, beast,” Demir whispered jokingly.
Boris lazily grinned before launching the paper ball straight back across the room with enough force to nearly hit the projector.
Even the professor struggled not to laugh.
Elsewhere on campus, Tahir quietly packed his books while the students around him argued loudly over who would get the best seats on the bus ride toward the mountains.
“The window seat is mine.”
“No chance.”
“You’ll sleep through the whole trip anyway.”
Tahir shook his head faintly while slipping his headphones around his neck.
Then his eyes briefly drifted toward Ayla.
She sat nearby listening to her friends chatter excitedly about the trip, occasionally brushing loose strands of hair behind her ears while hiding small smiles of her own.
For a brief second—
their eyes met.
Neither said anything.
But Tahir’s expression softened slightly before he looked away again.
On the other side of the classroom, Emre leaned comfortably back in his chair while classmates gathered around nearby desks showing mountain photographs, travel videos, and ridiculous ghost stories connected to Mount Erciyes.
“They say strange lights appear there at night.”
“My cousin swears he heard wolves howling in the snow.”
“Forget wolves,” another student laughed. “I’m more scared of freezing to death.”
Suddenly, Tahir shouted from across the room—
“Yo, Emre! If Akdeniz shows up, are you fighting him or running first?”
The classroom erupted with laughter instantly.
Emre smirked casually.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether Boris reaches him before me.”
The room exploded with laughter once again.
Outside, the courtyards buzzed with life beneath the cold Istanbul sky.
Students crowded around giant notice boards while teachers finalized attendance lists and repeated safety instructions nobody truly listened to anymore.
Right in the center of the main courtyard, the massive billboard—which Demir had saved from toppling onto the crowd—was undergoing repairs; it advertised a trip to Mount Erciyes.
Beneath the image of a colossal, silver-hued wolf emblazoned on the billboard, a long range of snow-capped mountains stretched out; the wolf itself gazed intently toward the horizon.
Above it, written in large letters, were the words:
“AKDENIZ” — A Trip to Mount Erciyes
According to ancient legends, the immortal wolf had protected the land for centuries against enemies hidden deep within darkness itself.
Naturally—
the entire college had become obsessed with the story.
Near the cafeteria stairs, Looking toward Tahir, Boris proudly rolled up his sleeves and declared—
“If that wolf shows up, I’m wrestling him personally.”
Ayla burst into laughter.
While Boris continued boasting dramatically to the others, Ayla quietly stepped closer toward Tahir.
A playful smile lingered on her lips as her fingers lightly brushed against his cheek, pretending to wipe away something invisible from his face.
Tahir immediately caught her wrist gently and pushed her hand away before anyone noticed too much.
“You’ll just end up as his dinner,” he said dryly, looking toward Boris.
Ayla laughed softly beside him.
Not loudly.
Not teasingly.
The kind of laugh that made Tahir avoid looking directly into her eyes for a second longer than usual.
Standing nearby, Demir muttered dryly—
“If Akdeniz sees Boris, he’ll probably migrate to another mountain.”
The group burst into loud laughter again.
Emre—stood near the edge of the courtyard with his hands buried inside his hoddie pockets, quietly listening to the conversation.
But unlike the others—
his eyes occasionally drifted toward the giant wolf on the hoarding.
Something about it felt strangely familiar.
As evening slowly settled across the campus,Golden sunset light spread across the college buildings while students poured out of classrooms laughing, shouting, and making endless plans for the journey ahead.
The cafeterias remained crowded far longer than usual.
Groups gathered around tables discussing snowfall, ghost stories, mountain legends, and absurd theories about the immortal wolf of Erciyes.
Near the sports grounds, Boris challenged two students to arm wrestling while an entire crowd gathered around cheering loudly.
Nearby, Tahir walked quietly through the corridors beside Ayla while listening to her complain that everyone was packing far too many winter clothes for the trip.
As Emre stepped out near the main gate, He paused for a moment, for a cool breeze was once again drifting gently across the courtyard.
For a brief moment, Emre felt as if the wolf was looking directly at him.
As darkness began to descend upon Istanbul, the campus lights flickered on one by one against the evening sky.
Eventually, the students began heading home—their bags stuffed with snacks, cameras, and winter jackets—brimming with excitement for the adventures that awaited them the following morning.
By late evening, the once-bustling campus had fallen almost completely silent.
And above the silent grounds—
the giant hoarding still stood beneath the night sky.
The massive wolf in it stared endlessly toward the mountains.
The Bus to Erciyes
Next Morning arrived with a wave of noise and excitement across the college campus.
Students flooded the entrance grounds carrying backpacks, cameras, winter jackets, and enough snacks to survive an entire week in the mountains.
Laughter echoed everywhere.
Some students took group photographs beside the college gates while others rushed toward the large white tour bus parked near the entrance.
Its engine rumbled softly beneath the cold morning sky.
Teachers moved through the crowd checking attendance lists while trying unsuccessfully to control the growing chaos around them.
“Don’t push!”
“Your bags go underneath the bus!”
“If anyone gets lost on the mountain, we are leaving you there!”
The students laughed loudly at the warning.
Near the center of the crowd, one of the teachers lifted a microphone and finally managed to silence everyone.
“Alright, listen carefully!”
The noise slowly faded.
“This trip to Mount Erciyes is part of your winter field program,” she announced firmly. “Nobody separates from the group.
Respect the mountain environment, follow all instructions, and stay inside your assigned teams at all times.”
A few students nodded seriously.
Most barely listened.
Their excitement had already taken over.
Near the front of the bus, Emre stood beside the old driver helping load heavy bags into the storage compartment while casually asking questions about the dangerous mountain roads ahead.
“You’ve driven through Erciyes during snowstorms?” Emre asked.
The old driver chuckled proudly.
“More times than I can count.”
Not far away, Boris stood dramatically on top of the pavement divider holding up a tiny packet of chips like evidence in a courtroom.
“This,” he announced loudly, “is not enough food for a human being.”
Students burst into laughter around him instantly.
“It’s a six-hour journey, Boris!”
“Exactly,” Boris replied seriously. “Survival matters.”
Ayla laughed so hard she nearly dropped her coffee.
Standing beside her, Tahir quietly shook his head while slipping both hands into his jacket pockets.
“You packed three bags,” Emre reminded Boris.
“One is emergency food.”
“The other two?”
“Also emergency food.”
Even Demir smiled faintly at that.
The cold morning wind moved softly through the crowded parking area while students rushed around carrying luggage, blankets, cameras, and backpacks toward the buses.
Near the entrance steps, Ayla suddenly grabbed Tahir’s scarf before he boarded.
“You’re wearing it wrong again.”
Tahir sighed quietly while she fixed it properly around his neck.
“You’d literally freeze to death without me.”
“I survived before meeting you.”
“Barely.”
Emre smirked nearby while Boris immediately shouted—
“OHHHH.”
Ayla threw a paper cup directly at him.
The group burst into laughter again.
For a brief moment—
everything felt normal.
Simple.
Peaceful.
Just friends preparing for another college adventure.
None of them realized destiny had already begun moving quietly toward them.
One by one, students finally boarded the bus while excited voices echoed through the vehicle.
Window seats were claimed like battlefield victories.
Snacks immediately began changing owners between rows.
Someone started playing music from the back speakers before the bus had even left the parking lot.
Then finally—
the doors closed.
The engine roared beneath the cold morning sky.
Cheers exploded inside the bus as it slowly pulled away from the college gates and disappeared into the crowded streets leading toward Central Anatolia.
Far beyond the city…
hidden somewhere between endless forests and frozen mountains…
something unseen continued watching silently.
The journey to Mount Erciyes turned the bus into complete chaos within the first hour alone.
Whatever calm atmosphere existed earlier vanished beneath nonstop music, shouting, laughter, and arguments echoing from one end of the vehicle to the other.
Someone connected their phone to the speakers.
Old Turkish songs instantly filled the bus.
Students clapped loudly while others sang lyrics completely out of tune without caring at all.
Near the middle rows, Boris somehow organized an arm-wrestling tournament using the foldable tray tables between seats.
“You’re all weak,” he declared proudly after defeating another student in seconds.
“You literally train against walls,” someone shouted back.
“That sounds like jealousy.”
Laughter exploded again.
A few rows ahead, Emre sat beside the window while Tahir and Ayla occupied the seats across from him.
At one point, Ayla fell asleep briefly against Tahir’s shoulder while he quietly stared out toward the snowy highways passing beyond the glass.
Boris noticed immediately.
“Oh, this is cinema now.”
“Shut up,” Tahir muttered without looking at him.
Even Emre laughed softly.
Meanwhile, Demir remained quieter than the others—
though even he occasionally smiled while listening to the chaos surrounding him.
At one point, Boris suddenly dropped into the empty seat beside him holding an enormous bag of chips.
“You’ve been silent for three hours,” Boris complained dramatically. “Are you secretly a mountain monk?”
Demir looked toward the nearly empty chip bag.
“You finished half your food already.”
“That’s unrelated.”
Even Demir laughed quietly at that.
Hours passed.
The crowded streets of Istanbul slowly disappeared behind endless highways, frozen hills, and distant mountain roads stretching deeper toward Central Anatolia.
Outside the windows, daylight slowly faded beneath heavy clouds drifting across the mountains.
Inside the bus, the noise gradually softened as exhaustion finally began replacing excitement.
Some students slept against the windows.
Others remained awake quietly watching snow begin falling outside beneath the darkening evening sky.
By the time the bus finally reached Mount Erciyes, it was already late at night.
The moment the doors opened—
freezing wind rushed violently into the bus.
Students immediately began shivering.
“Why does the air feel like knives?” Boris complained dramatically while hugging his jacket.
Several students laughed tiredly as teachers organized luggage outside near a massive wooden guest house standing beneath the dark mountains.
Warm golden lights glowed through its windows against the endless freezing night surrounding it.
One after another, exhausted students carried their bags inside.
The smell of hot soup, grilled meat, bread, and steaming tea instantly filled the air.
Within minutes, the dining hall became noisy once again as hungry students attacked the food after the long journey.
Even Demir stayed longer than usual while quietly eating beside the others.
For a while—
the mountains outside no longer mattered.
Only warmth.
Friendship.
Laughter.
And the feeling that this trip might become one of the best memories of their lives.
Outside, cold wind moved silently through the dark forests surrounding the guest house.
But deep within the mountains of Erciyes—
something ancient had already begun to awaken.
And beneath the laughter filling the warm wooden halls…
none of them yet realized they had already crossed the doorway into destiny.
The Last Normal Day
Morning sunlight stretched across the snowy slopes of Mount Erciyes while laughter echoed through the mountain resort beneath the cold winter sky.
For the students, the exhausting journey from Istanbul had already become worth every second.
Fresh snow covered the wooden cabins, frozen pathways, and endless white slopes surrounding the resort while distant pine forests disappeared beneath blankets of silver.
Everywhere around the guest house, students rushed excitedly through the snow carrying cameras, hot drinks, scarves, and absolutely no intention of behaving responsibly.
Teachers tried organizing groups from the beginning.
It failed almost instantly.
Snowball fights erupted near the cabins.
Students slipped across icy paths while their friends laughed instead of helping them up.
Music played near the skating area while groups gathered for photographs and social media videos beneath the falling snow.
Near the lower slopes, Boris proudly marched through the snow carrying four cups of hot chocolate.
“Important delivery,” he announced dramatically. “Try not to cry from gratitude.”
“You look ridiculous,” Tahir replied calmly while taking one of the cups.
“That’s because greatness confuses ordinary people.”
Ayla laughed softly beside Tahir before stealing a sip from his cup without asking.
Tahir looked at her.
“That was mine.”
“You survived.”
“You drank half of it.”
“You still survived.”
Boris looked deeply offended.
“This relationship lacks respect.”
The group burst into laughter.
Only minutes later, Boris somehow started a full snowball war near the skating rink.
Chaos exploded instantly.
Snow flew everywhere while students screamed, slipped, and ran through the white slopes laughing uncontrollably.
One snowball accidentally struck Demir directly in the shoulder.
He slowly turned toward Boris.
For one dangerous second—
silence.
Then Demir calmly picked up snow, shaped it perfectly, and launched it straight into Boris’s face with terrifying accuracy.
The entire slope erupted with laughter.
“You traitor!” Boris shouted dramatically while wiping snow from his beard.
Even Demir smiled faintly.
Farther up the mountain paths, Emre walked beside classmates taking photographs of the endless snowy landscape stretching across Central Anatolia.
Cold wind brushed through his jacket while distant laughter echoed from below.
For the first time in days—
everything actually felt peaceful.
Hours passed beneath the bright winter sky.
The resort remained alive with music, camera flashes, running footsteps, and nonstop excitement.
Students rode snow tubes downhill at terrifying speeds while teachers slowly gave up trying to control anyone and simply enjoyed the trip themselves.
Then evening arrived.
And somehow—
the atmosphere became even better.
Warm golden lights illuminated the resort grounds while loud music echoed through the mountains.
Near the skating area, workers prepared a massive outdoor concert stage beneath the falling snow.
“What’s happening?” Emre asked.
“A live concert tonight!” someone shouted excitedly while running past.
Within minutes, the entire resort exploded with energy.
A famous Turkish rock band climbed onto the brightly lit stage as students screamed beneath the snowfall.
Colored lights flashed against the mountains while music thundered across Mount Erciyes.
Near the front rows, Boris once again became the center of chaos, dancing wildly while students around him laughed uncontrollably.
Nearby, Ayla grabbed Tahir’s hand and pulled him closer into the crowd before he could protest.
“I don’t dance,” Tahir warned.
“You do tonight.”
Before he could answer, Ayla laughed and pulled him forward beneath the flashing lights and falling snow.
Even Tahir eventually smiled.
Nearby, Emre laughed as classmates dragged him deeper into the celebration while Demir quietly watched from the edge of the crowd before finally joining them too.
For hours, the frozen mountain transformed into something unforgettable.
Music.
Snowfall.
Laughter.
Friendship.
And somewhere beneath the glowing lights of Mount Erciyes—
the four unknowingly stood together during the last normal night of their lives.
Then—
the weather changed.
At first, almost nobody noticed.
The wind slowly grew stronger.
Snowfall became heavier.
Dark clouds gathered silently above the mountains while the concert continued below.
Then suddenly—
the lights flickered.
The music cut for one brief second.
Students looked around in confusion.
And the wind roared violently across the resort.
Snow blasted through the concert grounds as screams erupted instantly.
The peaceful atmosphere shattered within seconds.
Teachers shouted desperately for students to return to the guest house while visibility disappeared beneath the raging storm swallowing the slopes around them.
Panic replaced excitement almost immediately.
Students slipped across icy ground while others became separated from their groups inside the blinding snowfall.
Near one of the upper mountain trails, Ayla pushed through the storm desperately.
“Tahir!”
“I’m here!” Tahir shouted somewhere nearby through the white chaos.
But the storm swallowed every sound.
Within moments, nobody could see anyone anymore.
The mountain had become a wall of snow.
Elsewhere, Boris nearly lost his footing as a violent gust slammed into him.
Emre grabbed his jacket before he could tumble down the slope.
“Stay together!” Emre shouted firmly.
The storm became unbearable.
Nobody could see more than a few feet ahead anymore.
Finally, through the raging snow, the four friends found each other again.
The wind roared around them like an angry beast.
“Can anyone see the guest house?!” Emre shouted.
“I can’t see anything!” Tahir yelled back.
Boris looked around nervously.
“Oh no… we’re lost…”
“Stay calm,” Demir said firmly, though even his voice carried tension now.
The four pushed forward blindly through the storm.
Then suddenly—
CRACK.
The ground beneath Boris collapsed.
“BORIS!”
Snow exploded upward as he disappeared over the edge of a hidden ravine buried beneath the blizzard.
At the very last second, his hands caught a frozen rock.
Half his body dangled above darkness.
“Tahir!”
Without hesitation, Tahir threw himself forward and grabbed Boris’s wrist.
The sudden weight nearly dragged him over the edge as well.
“Don’t let go!” Boris shouted.
“I wasn’t planning to!”
Demir immediately grabbed Tahir’s jacket while Emre dug his boots into the snow beside him.
The wind screamed around them.
Snow poured into the ravine.
For several terrifying seconds it felt as though all four of them would disappear into the abyss.
Then finally—
Boris crashed back onto solid ground.
The four collapsed into the snow, breathing heavily.
Nobody spoke.
For the first time since arriving at Mount Erciyes—
they truly understood how close death was.
Then Tahir suddenly froze.
His eyes widened.
“Ayla?”
The others looked around.
She wasn’t there.
“Ayla!”
No answer.
Only the storm.
Only darkness.
Only endless snow.
“Ayla!”
Panic flashed across Tahir’s face for the first time.
The four immediately began searching.
They pushed through the blizzard shouting her name again and again.
“Ayla!”
Nothing.
“Ayla!”
Nothing.
Every footprint vanished beneath fresh snow.
Every trail disappeared.
Minutes passed.
Or perhaps longer.
Nobody could tell anymore.
The cold became unbearable.
Their legs felt heavier with every step.
The storm showed no sign of weakening.
Even Emre began struggling to stay focused.
His vision blurred.
Every direction looked exactly the same.
Every path led nowhere.
For the first time that night—
doubt entered his mind.
Maybe they weren’t getting off this mountain.
Maybe the storm would bury them here forever.
Then—
through the raging snowfall—
he saw it.
A light.
Faint.
Golden.
Hidden deep within the blizzard.
Emre stopped walking.
His eyes widened.
“Guys...” he whispered.
The others followed his gaze.
Far beyond the storm...
something was waiting for them.
Akdeniz — The Watcher in the Storm
The storm swallowed everything.
Wind howled violently across Mount Erciyes while endless snow crashed through the darkness like waves in a frozen ocean.
Emre, Tahir, Boris, and Demir stumbled desperately through knee-deep snow, barely able to see each other anymore.
Every direction looked the same.
White.
Endless.
Deadly.
“We’re going in circles!” Boris shouted over the storm.
“We just need shelter!” Emre yelled back while shielding his face against the freezing wind.
Another deafening crack echoed somewhere across the mountains behind them.
The avalanche was getting closer.
Snow thundered down distant slopes while the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Tahir’s breathing grew heavier.
“We’re not going to survive this…”
“Don’t say that,” Demir snapped sharply.
The freezing wind roared louder.
Then suddenly—
a low growl echoed through the storm.
The four froze instantly.
At first, none of them could tell where the sound had come from.
Then another growl emerged from somewhere within the white darkness surrounding them.
Closer this time.
Boris and Demir slowly turned.
And there—
between the snow-covered trees—
stood a massive wolf.
Its fur moved violently beneath the freezing wind, grey and white like the storm itself.
Its glowing yellow eyes remained fixed directly on them.
None of the four moved.
None of them even breathed.
The creature looked enormous.
Ancient.
Almost unreal beneath the raging snowfall.
“is that Akdeniz?” Boris whispered fearfully.
The wolf took one slow step forward.
Then another.
Snow crunched beneath its massive paws while the storm howled around it.
Tahir instinctively stepped backward.
“ is that true?”
Emre instinctively stepped in front of the others.
Not possible. if He is Akdeniz he will not harm us He said
The wolf slowly walked closer.
One step.
Then another.
Yet strangely…
it showed no sign of attacking.
It simply watched them.
Calmly.
Intelligently.
Emre felt his heartbeat pounding inside his chest.
For some reason, the creature’s eyes felt familiar.
Like they had been watching him long before tonight.
But strangely…
the wolf showed no sign of attacking.
It simply watched them.
Calmly.
Intelligently.
