The border between the swamp and the North Ridge wasn't marked by a fence or a wall. It was marked by silence.
Behind them, the Savage Garden was a cacophony of screeching raptors, buzzing insects, and the wet, slithering sounds of the swamp. But as Ren, Kaira, and Titus stepped across a fallen marble column that served as the threshold, the noise vanished.
It was replaced by an unnatural, terrified quiet.
The landscape changed, too. The chaotic, overgrown vines and ten-foot-tall ferns disappeared. In their place was grass—short, manicured grass. It looked like a royal lawn, kept trim not by gardeners, but by grazing herds that were terrified to eat anything else.
The trees here were massive Oaks and Redwoods, but their lower branches had been stripped clean, leaving clear lines of sight. It was a landscape designed for one thing: the hunt.
"I hate this place," Kaira muttered, her voice loud in the stillness. She kicked at a patch of perfect green grass. "It smells like perfume and kitty litter."
Titus walked in the lead, his massive feet sinking slightly into the soft earth. He wasn't eating anymore. His jaw was set, and his small, dangerous eyes scanned the treeline constantly.
"Quiet, Shrimp," Titus rumbled softly. "Leopold likes theater. He wants us to feel watched before we are seen."
Ren walked between them, his new skin feeling raw and sensitive against his tattered tunic. The molting had purged the poison, but it had left his nerves hyper-active. He could feel the vibration of the wind against the grass.
"Who was he?" Ren asked, adjusting his satchel. "Before the Wilding? You called him a Noble."
Titus snorted. "Duke Leopold. Third cousin to the King. He owned this park. He used to host fox hunts here. He liked to watch dogs tear things apart while he drank wine."
Ren shivered. "And now?"
"Now he doesn't need dogs," Titus said grimly.
They walked for another mile, the tension ratchet-ing up with every step. Ren saw signs of "civilization" that turned his stomach.
Piles of bones were not scattered randomly; they were arranged. Skulls of deer and boars were stacked in pyramids at the base of trees. Ribcages were woven into the branches like macabre wind chimes. It was art made of slaughter.
Suddenly, Titus stopped.
"We are here," the Hippo announced.
Ahead of them, the trees opened up into a vast, circular amphitheater. This had once been the Royal Pavilion—a place for outdoor concerts and picnics. In the center stood a massive stone gazebo with a domed roof, surrounded by rows of stone benches.
But the audience wasn't human.
Sitting on the benches, lounging on the stone railings, and draped over the steps were Lionesses.
There were at least twenty of them. Like the Hyenas, they were Wild-Blooded humans, but their transformation was sleek, lethal, and uniform. They retained their human shape but possessed the tawny fur, the muscular definition, and the golden eyes of apex predators.
They were armed. Not with scavenged clubs, but with fine steel spears and short swords taken from the Royal Armory.
They didn't attack. They simply watched. Twenty pairs of golden eyes tracking Ren's every breath.
"Impressive," Kaira whispered, her hand drifting toward her elbow vents. "That's a lot of chins to hit."
"Don't," Titus warned. "Look at the center."
Ren looked.
Inside the gazebo, the original stone bench had been smashed. In its place was a throne constructed from the gilded wreckage of royal carriages and white marble.
Lying across the throne was a creature that defined the word Majesty.
He was huge—bigger than the Silverback Ren had seen on the first day. He sat in a human posture, one leg crossed over the other, wearing a torn but unmistakably expensive velvet cape lined with ermine fur.
His body was a mountain of muscle, covered in golden fur that shimmered in the filtered sunlight. But it was his head that held the horror. A magnificent, terrifying mane of black hair framed a face that was a perfect, seamless blend of man and beast. The human intelligence was there in the eyes, sharp and cruel, but the mouth was a muzzle filled with fangs the length of daggers.
Lord Leopold. The Barbary Lion.
He was holding a golden goblet in one massive, clawed hand. He took a sip, his pinky finger extended in a mockery of aristocratic manners.
"Titus," Leopold purred. His voice was a deep baritone, smooth as silk wrapped around a razor blade. "You've gotten fat."
Titus stopped at the edge of the amphitheater steps. He crossed his massive arms.
"Leopold," Titus rumbled back. "You've gotten ugly. That cape does not hide the flea bites."
The Lionesses hissed in unison, a sound like steam escaping twenty valves. Leopold simply raised a hand, and silence fell instantly.
He stood up. The sheer size of him was breathtaking. He stood nearly nine feet tall, his shadow stretching across the stone floor.
"I am surprised," Leopold said, walking slowly down the steps of the gazebo. "I heard the River King had abandoned the world to sleep in the mud. And yet, here you are, escorting… pets."
Leopold's gaze shifted to Kaira, then to Ren. He looked at Ren like one might look at a stain on a rug.
"A Shrimp and a… what are you, boy? A Salamander? A fish?"
"Axolotl," Ren said, surprised his voice didn't crack. He stepped forward, remembering Kaira's advice about confidence. "My name is Ren. We are traveling to the Sanctum to fix the Great Prism. We ask for passage through your court."
Leopold laughed. It wasn't the manic giggle of the Hyena. It was a rich, genuine laugh of someone who found the world incredibly amusing.
"Fix the Prism?" Leopold mused, stepping closer. The smell of him was overpowering—musk, wine, and blood. "Why would I want to fix it, little fish?"
"Because the world is broken," Ren said. "People are dying. Monsters are eating them."
"Correction," Leopold said, his eyes narrowing. "The weak are dying. The strong are eating. This is not broken, Ren. This is corrected."
Leopold spread his arms, gesturing to the Lionesses, to the jungle, to the ruined city beyond.
"For centuries, men like me—men of noble blood, men of vision—were forced to bow to laws written by the weak. We were constrained by 'civilization.' But the Aether? The Aether saw the truth of our souls."
He tapped his own chest with a claw.
"It turned the sheep into sheep, and the Kings into Lions. Why would I want to go back to being a man in a wig, when I can be a God in a jungle?"
Ren clenched his fists. The arrogance was suffocating. "Because you're still human," Ren argued. "You're drinking wine from a cup. You're speaking language. You're not a god, Leopold. You're just a man in a fur coat."
The air in the amphitheater dropped ten degrees.
The Lionesses tensed, gripping their weapons. No one spoke to the King like that.
Leopold stared at Ren. For a second, Ren thought he was going to die. He prepared to use [Bone Lock], knowing it wouldn't be enough.
But Leopold didn't strike. He smiled.
"Brave," Leopold said softly. "Stupid. But brave. I like bravery. It tastes better."
He turned his attention back to Titus.
"I have a proposition, River King. I need a General. My Lionesses are fast, but they lack… impact. Join me. We will take the Sanctum, not to fix the Prism, but to destroy it. We will ensure this age of Fangs lasts forever. You can have the river. You can have the South. I will take the Spire."
Titus looked at the Lion. He looked at the army of Lionesses. Then he looked at Ren and Kaira.
He remembered the boy jumping in front of the poison dart. He remembered the girl punching a Rhino to save her friend.
Titus picked a piece of melon out of his teeth with a massive finger.
"No," Titus said.
Leopold sighed, a sound of exaggerated disappointment. "I feared you would say that. You always did lack ambition, Titus. You're content to float."
"I am content," Titus corrected, "not to be a tyrant."
Leopold's eyes flashed with sudden, violent anger. The facade of the Noble dropped, revealing the Beast.
"Then you are meat," Leopold snarled.
He snapped his fingers.
"Kill the boy. Break the girl. Leave the Hippo for me."
The Lionesses moved.
They didn't charge in a chaotic wave like the Hyenas. They moved with military precision. Three of them leaped from the balcony, spears leveled at Ren. Three more flanked Kaira, drawing short swords.
"Ren! Sponge formation!" Kaira yelled.
Ren didn't need to be told. He stepped in front of Kaira, arms raised.
The first spear hit him in the chest.
THUD.
It pierced his lung. Ren gasped, blood bubbling in his throat. But he grabbed the shaft of the spear.
"Bone Lock!"
His chest muscles clamped around the wood. He yanked the spear forward, pulling the surprised Lioness into range.
"Kaira!"
Kaira used Ren's shoulder as a launchpad. She vaulted over him, her fist glowing white-hot.
"Mantis Style: FLASH CANNON!"
She punched the Lioness in the face. The impact sounded like a gunshot. The Lioness was blasted backward, knocking over two others behind her.
Ren ripped the spear out of his chest. His lung healed with a wet slurp. He spun the spear around, holding it like a quarterstaff.
"I'm learning!" Ren yelled, adrenaline flooding his system.
But there were too many of them.
Titus was busy. He was surrounded by ten Lionesses. They were too fast for him to hit easily, and their spears were poking at his thick hide, looking for weak spots. He swatted them away like flies, but he couldn't advance.
Ren and Kaira were back-to-back again.
"We're getting overwhelmed!" Ren shouted, ducking under a sword swing that took a lock of his hair.
"I can't use full power!" Kaira gritted out, blocking a strike with her armored forearm. "If I blow up the arena, the roof comes down on us!"
Suddenly, a shadow fell over them.
It wasn't a cloud. It was Leopold.
The King had entered the fray. He didn't run; he leaped. He cleared the thirty feet from the gazebo in a single bound, landing directly in front of Kaira.
"Fast," Leopold whispered.
He backhanded Kaira.
It was faster than the eye could follow.
CRACK.
Kaira flew. She didn't just fall; she was launched across the amphitheater. She smashed into a stone pillar with enough force to crack the masonry. She slid to the ground, motionless.
"KAIRA!" Ren screamed.
He turned to Leopold, raising his stolen spear. "You…"
Leopold didn't even look at Ren. He simply reached out and grabbed the spear shaft. With a casual flick of his wrist, he snapped the steel weapon in half.
Then he grabbed Ren by the throat.
Leopold lifted Ren into the air with one hand. His grip was like a vice made of iron. Ren clawed at the furry hand, his legs kicking helplessly.
"Regeneration," Leopold mused, sniffing Ren. "I can smell it on you. The Aether loves you, doesn't it? It keeps knitting you back together."
He brought Ren's face close to his muzzle. Ren could smell the wine on his breath.
"But everyone breaks eventually, Little Fish. If I tear your head off… will that grow back?"
Ren couldn't breathe. His vision was tunneling. He tried to activate Bone Lock, but he couldn't get a grip on the massive paw crushing his windpipe.
"LEOPOLD!"
The roar shook the foundations of the gazebo.
Titus had stopped playing.
The Hippo lowered his shoulder and charged. He plowed through three Lionesses, sending them flying like bowling pins. He was coming for the King.
Leopold looked at the charging tank. He smiled.
He threw Ren.
He hurled the boy at the charging Hippo.
Titus had to stop his charge to catch Ren, catching the boy in his massive arms like a baseball. The momentum skidded Titus to a halt.
Leopold stood there, dusting off his hands.
"A duel," Leopold announced, his voice booming over the chaos.
The Lionesses stopped fighting instantly. They stepped back, forming a circle.
Leopold pointed a claw at Kaira, who was struggling to stand up, clutching her broken arm. Then he pointed at Titus.
"I am bored of slaughter," Leopold declared. "I crave sport. One on one. If you win, you pass. If you lose, you kneel."
Titus set Ren down gently. He glared at the Lion. "And who are you challenging, Leopold? Me?"
"No," Leopold laughed. "You are too slow, old friend. It would be boring."
He pointed a claw directly at Kaira.
The girl was swaying on her feet. Her left arm was bent at a wrong angle. Blood was dripping from her forehead. But her eyes… her sea-green eyes were burning with a hatred that could melt steel.
"Her," Leopold grinned. "The loud one. The Smasher. She thinks she has power? Let's test it against a King."
Ren stepped forward, gasping for air, his throat bruising purple. "She's injured! You broke her arm! That's not a duel, that's an execution!"
"Then forfeit," Leopold shrugged. "Kneel. And I will make your deaths quick."
Kaira spit a mouthful of blood onto the pristine marble floor.
She stepped forward, pushing Ren gently aside with her good arm. Her right arm—the one still functioning—began to glow. The vents hissed, venting steam that turned red in the sunset light.
"Ren," she rasped. "Shut up."
She looked at Leopold. She forced a crooked, bloody grin.
"Hey, Kitty Cat," she taunted. "You talk a lot for someone who's about to get declawed."
Leopold's smile vanished. His eyes went flat and cold.
"To the death," Leopold whispered.
"To the death," Kaira agreed.
She raised her fist.
"Ren. Titus. Back off. This is my fight."
Ren wanted to scream. He wanted to jump in. But Titus put a heavy hand on Ren's shoulder, holding him back.
"She accepted," Titus rumbled softly. "It is the law of the jungle now. If we interfere, the pack kills us all."
Ren watched helplessly as the circle closed.
On one side, the Apex Predator, untouched, fresh, and terrifying.
On the other, the Mantis Shrimp, broken, bleeding, with one arm left.
The Duel for the Savage Garden had begun.