The tiger was… overwhelming.
Even in the soft light of morning, it didn't feel real—more like something carved out of the forest itself than a living creature. Its fur shimmered gold between shifting shadows, the stripes along its body flowing like living patterns, each one moving with it as though they had a will of their own. Every step it took was deliberate, controlled, carrying a quiet authority that pressed against my senses. Its gaze was sharp, steady—not wild, not angry… just aware.
Far too aware.
It didn't attack.
That was the first thing that unsettled me.
It simply stood there at a distance, slowly circling, its eyes never leaving mine. My body tensed instinctively, every nerve bracing for the moment it would lunge—but it never came. Instead, it watched… studied… as if trying to understand me.
Like I was something unfamiliar.
The air between us grew heavy, suffocating, but not with killing intent. There was no hunger in it, no immediate violence waiting to erupt.
This wasn't a hunt.
It was something else.
And somehow—
That made it worse.
The circling stopped.
A low growl rolled out from the tiger, deep and steady, vibrating through the ground beneath me. It wasn't a warning, and it wasn't a threat.
It felt… deliberate.
Almost mocking.
Like it was calling me out.
My chest tightened as the realization settled in. This wasn't random. It was sizing me up, measuring me the same way I had done to others. I forced my breathing to remain even, locking my stance, refusing to show even the smallest sign of weakness.
But my body betrayed me.
Literally.
Barely holding together after a fight that should have killed me, I stood there as a meal not even worth the effort. Last time, the tiger had been the one cornered, wounded, struggling to stand.
Now—
Somehow—
We had switched places.
And that's when I noticed it.
It's upper left canine.
Broken.
Not cleanly snapped, but jagged at the edge, like it had shattered under force. Its movements, while controlled, carried the faintest drag—subtle, almost invisible, but there. A trace of fatigue it couldn't fully hide.
It had fought again.
Recently.
The growl faded.
For a brief moment, it held my gaze, as if deciding something.
Then—
It turned.
Just like that.
No warning.
No sound.
It walked back into the forest, its presence dissolving into the green until it was gone.
I didn't move.
Not even after it disappeared.
Because nothing about that made sense.
I started moving again, putting more distance between myself and the rift. Using the sun as a guide, I headed roughly south, keeping at least some sense of direction as I pushed deeper into the forest. Along the way, I came across a jackfruit tree, and although the sticky sap coating my hands irritated me more than anything, I forced myself to eat what I could. It wasn't much, but it was something.
Better than nothing.
As I moved, my senses began picking up more and more concentrations of asura beings. So far, I had managed to avoid them—either by shifting my path or hiding until they passed—but one thing became clear.
They were all moving north.
Toward the rift.
I didn't need to think too hard about it. They were being drawn there, likely to feed on the asura energy spilling into the world. That place… it was becoming a center, a gathering point for everything twisted and unnatural.
I had been invited too.
And I had refused.
This—
This was the result.
Soon enough, this entire area would be overrun.
When I thought about it more, it started to make sense. Prey animals were always the first to react to changes in their environment. If something like this was happening, they would have already begun migrating away.
That explained it.
The absence.
The silence.
The lack of anything I could hunt.
I let out a quiet breath.
"Ah well…"
The tiger, though…
It was still here.
Still trying to hold its ground, clinging to a territory that was already becoming uninhabitable.
"…that dumb shit."
A faint, strange satisfaction crept into my thoughts as I considered it. The tiger had been lingering in my mind, its presence refusing to fade.
This made it easier.
Simpler.
It suited it.
Night came quietly.
And with it—
Exhaustion.
I lay down without much thought, my body too tired to care, my mind drifting without direction. Whether I would wake up the next day or not… I wasn't even sure anymore.
All of this—
Only to die of starvation.
A dry laugh escaped me.
"Heh…"
That would be a pathetic end.
But then again—
It might be a fitting one.