The festival was in full swing.
Night draped over the canyon, the stars like scattered embers above, while flas from the massive bonfire flickered against the sandstone walls. The air was thick with laughter, music, and the scent of roasted ats, the sounds of drums and flutes weaving a lively rhythm through the air.
It was all for , of course.
A grand feast, an offering, a pitiful display of desperation disguised as honor.
I didn't care.
Not about the half-dressed dancers twirling around the fire, their furred bodies moving in fluid, hypnotic motions. Not about the elaborate performances, or the chants sung in old tongues, praising as the Demi-God of Destruction.
No.
My focus was on sothing far more divine.
The food.
I tore through a massive slab of braised warthog, juices dripping from my claws, my fangs ripping into the tender at as I barely chewed before swallowing. I downed mouthfuls of sothing that tasted like buttered serpent eel, its flesh delicately charred with hints of spice.
Platters of roast sand-crab legs, split open to reveal sweet, steaming at, were next. I crushed one in my grip, sucking the marrow out, the taste unlike anything I'd ever had.
And then there was the ashfruit pudding, a dark, smoky-flavored delicacy that sent a shudder of pleasure down my spine. Sweet. But not too sweet. Smooth, but thick enough to be satisfying.
Heaven.
It had been so long since I had real food.
Ever since coming to this world, it had been raw at, blood, and whatever I could hunt and devour.
Finally. Finally. A real al.
I was so engrossed that when the chief of the village timidly leaned forward and opened his mouth, I turned to him slowly, my eyes burning red.
He froze.
"What is it?" I growled, my tail lashing once against the ground.
The little rabbit-wolf anthromorph swallowed hard. "I-I was rely wishing to ask… if the feast was to your liking, Great One?"
I stared.
The audacity.
Interrupting while I'm eating?
I didn't even answer. Just kept staring, my third eye swirling, my claws still dripping with fat and at juices as I took another slow, deliberate bite.
The chief got the ssage.
He cleared his throat, turning away imdiately to the other idiot sitting beside .
"Ah, young traveler," the chief said hurriedly, "are the festivities to your liking?"
Jas, who was slumped lazily against a wooden bench, looked up blearily.
His eyes were unfocused, his face flushed, and the jug in his hand was almost empty.
A single sniff confird what had happened.
Hah. He got drunk off the village's strongest alcohol.
Idiot.
Jas blinked sluggishly, then gave a wide, lopsided grin.
"Yes! Very… very… nice."
The chief chuckled at his slurred speech. "You remind of soone," he mused. "A young human warrior I once t long ago, when he was your age. He also drank that sa spirit, thinking it was water."
Jas waved dramatically, clearly enjoying himself. "I am a warrior! I travel… with a demi-god." He gestured wildly to , then almost toppled off the bench before catching himself.
The chief's ears perked, his gaze sharpening. "Oh? And who might you be, young one, to accompany such a being?"
Jas grinned drunkenly, puffing out his chest.
"I am the disciple of the Human Avatar, A!"
The music stopped.
The entire village went silent.
The chief's brows shot up, his ears twitching. "A?" His voice lowered with awe, as if speaking the na aloud would summon the man himself.
Jas nodded eagerly. "Yup! My master is the A." He tapped his temple. "Smartest guy I know. Real strong, too. Real scary when he's mad. But nice! Most of the ti. Just don't piss him off."
The chief blinked, then laughed softly, shaking his head. "So, you are his student." He exhaled, eyes filled with nostalgia. "How ti flies… I rember when he was but a boy, traveling these lands."
I kept eating, but I listened closely now.
Interesting.
The chief's gaze softened as he looked at Jas. "You even move the sa way when drunk. Tell , how has his journey been?"
Jas opened his mouth, blinking sluggishly as the chief's words registered through the alcohol haze in his brain. He slumped back against the wooden bench, rubbing his face before exhaling a long, dramatic sigh.
"Master…" he muttered, voice heavy, "Master's been trying to figure out why the elves started this war."
The chief's ears twitched sharply, his old eyes narrowing. "I see…"
Jas hiccupped, wiping at his mouth as he pushed himself up. "It's not just conquest, you know? They're not just trying to dominate the world. Master thinks there's sothing deeper." He frowned. "He's been searching for clues, looking into old treaties, lost records… but it's like soone's erased history itself. The mont the elves turned on the rest of the world, the reasons behind it vanished."
The chief's ears folded slightly, his expression darkening. "A war with no true cause… only destruction." He shook his head, his graying fur ruffling with tension. "And with the Elven Avatar leading them, it will only grow worse."
I listened.
Between bites of roasted serpent eel, I flicked my third eye toward the old rabbit-wolf, studying the way his fingers curled into his robes, the quiet way his tail thumped once against the bench, betraying the weight in his heart.
"This year's Sacred Rite…" the chief began softly, staring at the fire. "It is ant to be soon, isn't it?"
Jas looked at him blearily. "Sacred Rite?"
The old man let out a deep breath, his fingers tightening around his wooden staff. "The sealing of the Black Dragon of Annihilation."
The night air seed to still.
Even the fire flickered lower, as if respecting the weight of those words.
Jas' drunken stupor faltered, just for a second, as he stared at the chief. "You an… the Apocalyptic Dragon?"
The chief nodded slowly, his throat working before he spoke again. "Every five hundred years, five Avatars—one from each race—perform the Sacred Rite to reinforce the dragon's bindings." His fingers drumd against the staff, his voice turning grim. "But now… with the Elven Avatar on their side… tell , young one, do you truly believe this year's sealing will be completed?"
Jas said nothing.
He couldn't.
Because he knew the answer.
The elves wouldn't just refuse to seal the dragon—they would do everything in their power to unleash it.
The final disaster.
A being whose roar alone cracked the heavens, whose flas lted entire continents, whose existence demanded destruction.
And yet…
That wasn't what interested .
No.
My fingers tapped against my plate, and I felt a slow grin stretch across my lips.
The strongest being sealed beneath the world?
I wonder… how strong it truly is?
Jas, however, wasn't thinking about that.
He sat there, hunched over, staring at his drink, his mood swinging downwards like a stone sinking into deep waters. His drunken mind swirled with thoughts too heavy for a kid his age.
The chief saw it.
And sighed.
"You remind so much of him…"
The old rabbit-wolf chuckled, shaking his head. "He ca here when he was your age. Just as reckless, just as lost." He took a slow sip of his drink, sighing. "He got drunk just as quickly too."
Jas snorted, rubbing at his face. "That… sounds about right."
The chief grinned, his old eyes twinkling. "I rember when he drank his first shot of sandfire whiskey." He laughed. "One sip and he thought his soul left his body."
Jas giggled like a fool, his shoulders shaking. "No way. Master?"
"Oh, yes. He collapsed onto the ground, rolling around like a panicked armadillo, screaming about how 'his ancestors were calling him.'"
Jas howled with laughter, pounding the table. "I CAN'T—"
The chief smirked, tail swishing. "Then he tried to spar with a rock. And lost."
Jas was crying now, barely able to breathe between laughs. "Master fought a ROCK?"
"And lost."
Jas collapsed against the table, completely gone.
I sighed, taking another bite of my food.
Idiots.
The chief chuckled at Jas' state, but then his gaze softened. "He was just a boy then. Just like you." His ears twitched. "Burdened with expectations, trying to beco sothing greater than himself."
Jas slowed, his laughter dying down.
The chief continued, voice gentle.
"A grows stronger every year. But he was not born an Avatar. He beca one. With ti. With hardship." He tapped Jas lightly on the head. "And so will you."
Jas stared at the old man, his drunken thoughts swirling, his heart aching with sothing he couldn't na.
"…But what if I can't?" he mumbled, slumping down. "What if I'm not strong enough?"
The chief smiled.
"Then keep walking."
Jas blinked.
The old man nodded toward the canyon beyond the bonfire. "The path forward is always there. So will run. So will crawl. But those who stop moving… will never reach their fate."
Jas exhaled slowly, staring at the flas.
A long silence.
"…Thanks, chief."
The chief just patted his head.
And then—
"ENOUGH!"
A furious, drunken voice shattered the mont.
Heads turned toward the source.
Standing near the bonfire, his fists clenched, his breath heavy with drink, was Lak Hok.
The hunting captain.
His teeth bared, his tail bristling, his eyes wild with defiance.
"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"
The village stiffened.
The chief's face paled instantly.
I put down my half-eaten rib and finally looked up.
Oh?
Lak Hok staggered forward, his muscles tense, his ears flattened in anger.
"I won't stand here and let everyone grovel before a re god-beast!" His voice rose, raw with frustration. "I am the protector of this village! I am the one who will keep them safe!"
Silence.
Then—
Crack.
I stood.
The wooden table beneath shattered under the sheer force, sending food and plates flying as I rose to my full height.
The music stopped. The dancing stopped. The world stopped.
I smiled.
A wicked, sharp-toothed grin.
"So, you want to duel ?"
The fear in the air was palpable.
Lak Hok stood firm.
Drunk. Stubborn. Stupid.
And yet…
I saw no fear in his stance.
Amusing.
The young mutt squared his shoulders, inhaling sharply before announcing, "et in the Duel Circle. Midnight."
The chief gasped audibly.
I laughed.
A deep, rumbling sound that echoed through the canyon walls.
"Fine." I cracked my knuckles, letting the power hum beneath my skin. "I'll lower my power to a peak first-stage fighter. Give you a chance to entertain ."
Lak Hok gritted his teeth, eyes burning with determination.
My tail lashed, smashing into the floor, sending dust and embers scattering.
This…
Would be fun.
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