From afar, Vayu exhaled shakily. He had just witnessed something far more terrifying than any arena battle. A true demonic awakening. Deep inside, even he knew— If he wanted to survive this world, he would have to become something just as monstrous. The baby bear roared once more, a final thunderous cry that shook the forest. Then, as the threat vanished, its enormous body began to shrink. Bone and muscle compressed, golden light slowly fading away from its body, until it returned to its original size. The moment the transformation ended, the cub collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. The mother bear rushed forward immediately. Without hesitation, she grabbed her cub and began dragging him deeper into the forest, vanishing between the towering trees. From afar, Vayu watched in silence, when those two colossal beasts had stood face to face, his instinct screamed that he should run. Every cell in his body had begged him to flee, but he had forced himself to remain still— without making any movement, because even a small sound or movement could have drawn their attention towards him. Only after they disappeared did he finally breathe again. His heart pounded violently, what he had witnessed wasn't just strength. It was survival in its most terrifying form.
He had thought the jungle was the safer place. Now he knew how wrong he was, if he had been even a little closer when those two beasts clashed—he would have died without question. The realization sent a cold shiver down his spine. Vayu stayed hidden for a long time. Three full hours passed before he finally dared to move. Slowly, he crept forward using the shattered rubble and earth as cover. His eyes never stopped scanning his surroundings. The battlefield was eerily silent; the sheer violence of the clash had driven every other creature far away. He headed towards the center, to search for traces, to him even a drop of blood would be enough. When he reached the spot where the snake had lashed out and wounded the mother bear, he froze. A dark stain spread across the ground. In some places, it had even pooled; it was the mother bear's blood.
Greed burned in his eyes, he dipped his finger into the blood and brought it to his lips, licking it without hesitation and swallowed. A sharp ding echoed in his mind and the blue status window materialized before him.
A new entry appeared besides Kitsune.
[Demonic Earth Bear]
Vayu's lips slowly curled into a smile, on his very first day he had gained something truly powerful. Although he was happy, a trace of sadness soon surfaced in Vayu's eyes. If he had managed to gain something from the snake… or from the baby bear that would have been an incredible stroke of luck. He let out a quiet sigh and began walking back, towards the way he had originally entered the jungle. Every step was cautious, and he even breathed slowly, as if he feared the snake was still hiding somewhere. His eyes never stopped searching as he looked everywhere, hoping to see another drop of blood or even a chunk of flesh , but there was nothing as if he had already used up all his luck for today.
Then— a faint sizzling sound reached his ears, Vayu froze as his foot suspended midair. Slowly, he turned and rushed toward the sound and there, he saw it. A single drop of green liquid boiled violently atop a thin, almost transparent golden screen. The screen flickered weakly, struggling under the liquid's toxic nature. Vayu's heart raced as he saw the golden screen, but he dared not to pick it up, for he knew the moment he touched the green liquid, he would die instantly.
But the golden screen…
If he could devour that— he might gain the baby bear's ability his breathing quickened as he pondered for a solution. Suddenly he got up and grabbed a large stone and smashed it at the green drop. To his shock, the stone passed through the green liquid and sank inside, causing the blob to swell in size. Panic flashed in Vayu's eyes as his plan backfired and the sizzling intensified—but this time it was not on the surface, but inside the green liquid. The rock within the green liquid began to dissolve. As the stone vanished, the green blob shrank slightly. Vayu stared at it, stunned with the progress then the understanding struck him and without hesitation, he picked up another large rock and threw it in.
The same thing happened again and again. Each time, the stone dissolved and the green liquid grew smaller. At last, the toxic mass was reduced to the size of a tiny green pearl, resting safely on the golden screen—which now looked stable, as it no longer flickered.
Vayu exhaled sharply as he looked towards it, seen from a distance it looked as if a golden plate held a single green pearl within it. Without wasting a second, Vayu grabbed the golden screen and sprinted toward his hideout. His body shifted mid-run, fur erupting across his skin as he transformed into a fox-man and ran with long strides without stopping. When he entered the city, several people glanced at him with curious expressions. But the moment their eyes fell on what he carried, they lost interest and returned back to their work. Gold and pearls were abundant in the shapeshifter kingdom—nothing about it was worth attention. Soon, Vayu reached the forest near his hideout. He quickly slipped behind a tree, transformed back into a human, and then approached the underground entrance carefully without making a sound.
He paused, looked left then right and saw no one, then in one swift motion, he slid inside. As if something had sucked him inside. As he descended, the golden screen slipped from his hand and the green pearl fell from the golden screen, Vayu's hand immediately reached out, but the green liquid passed right through his hand, burning a hole. Vayu roared in pain as he opened his fist, not wanting to grab it anymore. He knew the black liquid below was somehow alive—and the green pearl was extremely toxic, the black liquid had helped him a lot , he didn't want it to turn toxic.
The pearl fell with a PLOP!
It dropped straight into the black liquid and a sharp sizzling sound erupted, and Vayu rushed forward, grabbing the golden screen and trying to retrieve the pearl before it contaminated the black liquid. But what he saw stunned him it was not the black liquid that was evaporating but the green pearl. The sizzling grew fiercer as the pearl began to melt away, shrinking rapidly under the black liquid's influence. Vayu reacted instantly, scooping it back onto the golden screen just before it vanished completely. His eyes widened in shock the black liquid… it was far more corrosive—and far more toxic—than the snake's green venom.
The black liquid stirred, its surface twisting into an uneven, slimy face as it rose slightly, as if observing Vayu then it leaned toward the pearl wanting to devour it but Vayu quickly pulled the golden screen away, stopping it from coming any closer. At first, Vayu had never intended to consume the green pearl. But after witnessing the terrifying properties of the black liquid—and remembering that he had already digested the black liquid, his mind changed. If he could digest the black liquid… then maybe he could digest this too and even if something went wrong the black liquid would heal him, just as it always had.
Without hesitating further, Vayu bent down and placed the small drop of green venom into his mouth and swallowed.
He waited for the blue screen to appear, but nothing happened
"Status window" and a blue screen appeared in front of him. Vayu checked it himself but nothing, no new entry, no new change. Disappointment flickered across his face, but when his gaze fell on the golden screen, a faint smile slowly appeared once again although the snake was strong but the baby bear was even more stronger.
Who needs the snake when I already have the baby bear? Vayu thought.
He reached out to grab the golden screen— but his hand froze. His body convulsed violently as he vomited a massive amount of blood, thick chunks of torn flesh and shattered organs splashed onto the ground. He couldn't even scream. More blood poured from his mouth as he collapsed, clutching at his chest, gasping desperately for air. His fingers trembled as they became soaked in his own blood. His body wiggled on the floor like a fish thrown onto dry land, writhing in unbearable agony. From the black liquid, the distorted face formed once more, silently rising as if observing his suffering. Vayu looked towards it, his eyes begging for help but the face didn't moved, Vayu lifted his hand trying to grab it but his hand fell down lifeless.
Then—
The black liquid surged upward it rushed straight into his mouth, a violent sizzling sound erupted as the liquid flooded his body. But instead of growing paler, Vayu's skin slowly regained its color. The pain dulled and his breathing steadied. After a long time, Vayu weakly pushed himself upright, sitting there in silence as he heard a DING! sound and a blue screen appeared in front of his face and a smile appeared on his face.