The air was thick with the musk of predators, every breath heavy as though the forest itself held its lungs.
Having left their temporary abode, Kai and Asha crouched low behind a tangle of trees and thick undergrowth, careful not to snap even the smallest twig.
Ahead, the forest rang with a chorus of piercing roars and bone-deep growls that shook the morning air. Each sound rolled over them like a wave, rattling the leaves, making the soil quiver underfoot.
They scanned the dense tangle of ferns ahead. Through the layered veil of leaves, flashes of movement tore at his vision—a striped blur, a bulk of rippling grey muscle, each colliding with bone-shaking force.
Through gaps in the foliage, Kai's sharpened senses painted the scene in unnerving detail.
The sabertooth tiger was monstrous—its shoulders stood higher than his own head, a mountain of pale-gold muscle rippling beneath black stripes that flowed like shadow over its frame.
Two curved fangs, long as daggers, gleamed with a predatory sheen. It moved with unnerving grace, leaping and twisting as if gravity had no claim over it.
With every bound, it used boulders and thick-trunked trees as launchpads, pouncing in blurs that exceeded any natural beast's speed.
Facing it was a grizzly bear that dwarfed even the tiger—at least twice its size, a living fortress draped in thick black fur that bristled like steel brambles.
Its forelimbs ended in claws longer than Kai's forearm, hooked and sharp enough to shred a tree into ribbons with a single swipe.
The bear stood its ground like an immovable wall, absorbing the tiger's lightning-fast strikes with its dense fur and sheer bulk, countering with earth-shaking swipes that split bark and sent splinters flying like shrapnel.
The clash was apocalyptic.
The tiger's leaps were answered by the bear's stomping charges, each attack colliding with such violence that nearby trees cracked in half and boulders fractured into a rain of sharp fragments.
Chunks of stone and wood peppered the ground where Kai and Asha hid, forcing them to duck low as debris tore through leaves overhead.
It was the first time either of them had witnessed such a battle—power, speed, and savagery beyond human reckoning. Awe and fear tangled in their chests.
Kai instinctively focused on activating his Nature Sense.
After days of experimenting, he believes he has a grasp on what it does now.
To put it simply, it can detect the presence and strength of life within a certain distance.
As for detecting a precise location, he was still fine tuning that.
But in this moment, his Nature Sense flared in a way it never had before, a blazing awareness that poured into his mind like molten light.
These creatures radiated vitality so dense it was almost blinding—an overwhelming, throbbing pulse of life-force that dwarfed anything he had ever felt.
Being near them was like standing too close to a roaring fire; the sheer intensity made his instincts scream at him to flee.
"We need to move back," Kai mouthed, his voice low but urgent.
Asha's knuckles whitened on the basket's strap. She met his eyes, jaw set. "Not without you."
He gritted his teeth—this was no time for pride, it was unrealistic to get involved.
Before he could agree, a sudden eruption of sound split the air. The bear's massive paw connected with the tiger mid-leap, a blow so powerful it sent the striped predator spinning through the air like a ragdoll.
Kai's senses spiked. His hair stood on end.
Something massive was hurtling straight toward them.
He lunged without thinking, slamming into Asha and dragging them both aside just as the tiger's enormous body crashed through the brush above them.
The shockwave of its impact rattled Kai's bones and knocked the wind out of Asha.
The bear roared, charging after its foe—which now meant charging straight toward them.
"Up!" Kai barked in panic, hauling Asha to her feet.
They ran, weaving through roots and low branches as the forest around them exploded with flying debris.
Rocks and splintered wood pelted the ground like arrows, some whistling past close enough to tear at their clothes.
A chunk of tree trunk spun toward Asha; Kai swatted it aside with his crude spear, the blow jolting his arm to the shoulder and demolishing the spear in the process.
Every step was a gamble in a minefield of shrapnel and shockwaves. The thought of being caught between those two titans was enough to make his chest ache with dread.
Only after they had put a wide stretch of forest between themselves and the fight did they slow, chests heaving, cold air burning their lungs.
Kai turned back, his eyes narrowing, focusing his senses to be sure the beasts weren't pursuing—
—and behind him, Asha's breath caught.
High in the canopy, a thick-bodied snake lay hidden, its emerald scales blending perfectly with the foliage. It was coiled tight around a branch, unmoving except for the slow, deliberate sway of its head.
Its unblinking eyes locked onto the movement below.
Then, with the patience of a predator certain of its kill, it raised its head and spread its jaws wide, fangs glinting faintly in the dappled light.
Kai didn't see it.
His mind was still locked on the fading roars of the titanic beasts, his Nature Sense stretched out toward them, making sure their fierce clash wouldn't inadvertently crash their way again.
His attention tunneled so tightly that the world above him didn't exist.
But Asha saw it.
Her eyes widened, heart jerking in her chest. There wasn't even time to think.
"Kai!" she cried, throwing herself forward.
Kai blinked, startled, just as she shoved him hard in the shoulder. The force sent him stumbling aside.
Then a flash of green streaked through the air.
The hiss was almost dainty, a soft whisper compared to the thundering chaos of the tiger and bear behind them—but the strike was brutally fast.
The snake's fangs punched into Asha's forearm just below the elbow.
Asha's breath hitched in shock, pain flaring hot up her arm. The snake latched on, its long body uncoiling from the branch above to wrap around her arm in a tightening spiral.
Kai's mind blanked for a heartbeat.
What— no. No, no, no!
"Mom—!" His voice broke, the word raw with disbelief.
He lunged, grabbing the snake just behind its head, fingers digging into the cold, muscular flesh. He wrenched back hard, forcing its jaws open.
Twin streams of blood and venom dripped from its fangs as he pulled them free from her arm.
The serpent didn't retreat. It whipped its body tighter around Asha's arm, squeezing with a crushing strength that made her wince.
Kai's chest ignited with fury. "Let go of her!" he snarled, ripping at its coils.
The snake hissed, striking again at empty air, its tail lashing like a whip. He could feel the raw muscle in its body fighting against him, refusing to yield.
Rage roared in his ears. This thing had dared to sink its fangs into his mother!
Unforgivable!
With a violent twist, he tore the coils loose and hurled the snake to the ground. It writhed once before he stomped on its head, again and again, until the forest floor went still beneath his boot.
His breaths came harsh and uneven. His hands trembled—not from exhaustion, but from the rush of panic and guilt clawing through him.
I should've seen it. I should've been watching. Protecting her—that's my job!
Asha, still clutching her arm, looked at him through the pain. There was a flicker of something almost soft in her expression.
"For once… I protected you," she murmured, the corner of her mouth twitching despite the strain.
That almost undid him.
He dropped to his knees beside her, fumbling at her sleeve.
"Don't talk—don't—" His voice cracked as he saw the angry red punctures, already swelling.
He didn't think. He pressed his mouth over the wound, trying to draw the venom out, spitting bitter fluid into the dirt.
But even as he worked, her skin was losing color. Her breathing was changing.
"No… no, no, no." His heart pounded in his throat. "Stay with me—please—"
Her hand touched his cheek briefly, weak but deliberate. "It's… fine. I've… had worse," she lied, her voice thready.
Kai shook his head fiercely. "Don't—don't you dare say that. I'm going to fix this, I swear—"
But the truth hit him like a blizzard: he didn't know how. He didn't know what kind of snake it was, how fast the venom worked, or what could counter it.
And the helplessness burned worse than any wound.
Behind them, the battle of titans raged on, but in Kai's mind, the forest had gone silent except for the frantic beating of his heart.