The rain wouldn't stop.
It fell over Takshash Jungle like the sky was trying to erase the world. Mud dragged at my feet. Thorns tore at my skin. My shirt hung in shredded strips, soaked with rain and blood.
And I kept running.
I didn't need to look back to know it was still there.
But I did.
The corrupted sabretooth wasn't hunting me.
It was enjoying me.
It perched on a thick branch above the path, tail swaying lazily, glowing eyes locked onto mine. Black veins pulsed beneath its fur. Its breath steamed in the cold rain.
It wasn't hungry.
It was entertained.
A bitter laugh clawed its way out of my throat. If I survived this, I'd rip that monster apart. Tear it into pieces. Somehow. With what? My incredible, world-shaking weak arms? Brilliant plan, Goel.
The laugh that escaped me sounded wrong—sharp, cracked, almost manic.
Even the sabretooth paused.
For a second, it tilted its head.
Like it was wondering whether I had already lost my mind.
Lightning split the sky.
And then it dropped.
One moment it was above me—
The next, claws tore across my chest.
From one bicep to the other.
Pain exploded through me so violently I tasted blood in my mouth. I screamed.
And then I screamed louder.
"COME ON!" I laughed, half-choking. "Call your friends! Let's make it fair!"
If I was going to die, I wasn't dying quiet.
Branches snapped as I stumbled forward, barely keeping my balance. Blood mixed with rain, warm against freezing skin.
I couldn't fall.
If I fell, it would end slowly.
There was only one place left.
The ruins.
I remembered the hunters in the tavern, drunk and loud, whispering about ancient structures hidden deep inside Takshash Jungle. They said strange energy surrounded the place. They said beasts avoided it.
Some claimed men had searched for years and never found it.
Others swore the ruins did not appear to everyone—that they revealed themselves only to those marked by fate… or doomed by it.
Most of them could barely stand straight when they said it.
I hadn't believed a single word.
But if there was even a one percent chance to rewrite the ending of my life… then fate could try and stop me.
The sabretooth's growl rolled through the jungle behind me as I burst through a wall of thorns.
And then—
I saw it.
Massive stone structures rising from the earth like the bones of something ancient and long dead. Blackened pillars. Cracked walls. Symbols carved so deep the rain could not wash them away.
The ruins.
For a moment, something like hope flickered inside my chest.
And died just as quickly.
The entrance was sealed.
Giant stone pillars had collapsed across the doorway, blocking it completely.
I slowed.
Rain streamed down my face.
Behind me, the sabretooth stepped into the clearing.
It didn't rush.
It didn't need to.
It knew.
The game was over.
For a second, everything inside me went hollow.
No more running.
No more pain.
No more failing.
The world felt quiet.
And then—
I started laughing.
Not because it was funny.
But because something inside me had finally snapped.