****(POV)

"Here you go, little one, a delicious fruit. When we get back to the sect, I'll buy you some tasty magical ones!"

But then I notice it, the burnt stinger. Except this invisible killer of mine only fought once recently. It must have happened when the little guy administered the deadly poison in the Sun's sect young master. Oh god!

He's still alive?! But how?! No, I need to go! This realization is enough to send my entire body on alert. It starts quivering as my brain automatically makes it ready to run. But right now, I need not run. I should instead walk. I need to aim for the long term. I still have a fair distance to cover, after all.

"Hurry up! We're leaving!"

This small Gu of mine gives me a puzzled expression and is even acting cute, pitifully trying to finish its fruit before we go. I simply grab it.

"You can eat on the road. Our enemy is coming for us!... Probably."

I simply walk. I can feel my heart about to explode free from my ribcage. I'm drenched in a cold sweat. My feet hurt, my knees hurt, my legs hurt, actually, every goddamn part of my body is hurting like a bitch.

But I know I mustn't stop no matter what. Me not even seeing the shadow of an enemy doesn't mean they aren't plotting my demise. The Sun assholes are not ones to give up easily. They won't accept that I escaped their clutches alive.

My Gu senses my discomfort, but it soon manages to shake all its worries away. It does so simply every time it sees some fruit. It shows that its ancestry used to be nothing but fruit flies. Imagining this one as a simple fruit fly makes me chuckle.

Now, these guys have the deadliest of poisons and countless teeth. They are smaller than a small finger but devouring a human whole is a feat they are perfectly capable of.

I sometimes wish I could be that simple. See something I like and forget all my worries and problems. Well, some people are like that. They'll simply visit a casino, a brothel, a bar and happily forget all that is wrong in their life.

Sadly, there is too much wrong in my life. Actually, I think it's more that I set myself a goal way too big at the start. I joined the Gu Meadow to gain control of my own destiny.

I don't mind toiling all my life. I don't mind following orders either. I don't mind many things. I just want to be the one that ultimately decides my own path. I wish to know that I am where I am because I chose to and not simply because circumstances pushed me.

I joined the Gu meadow of my own volition, mostly because I was too weak back then. There were many conditions to such endeavor, but I didn't mind them. I had to accomplish missions to make the sect prosper. I had to defend our people. I had to sign my life away so I didn't betray them.

Honestly, all these conditions could sound harsh to some, but it wasn't much, really. In life, sacrifices must be made. It's all a matter of choice. As long as you decide on something yourself, it becomes easy to do.

That's why I didn't hesitate to fight the Sun guy. I thought he was more powerful than me, for sure, but I had underestimated him a lot. At first, I thought I could ally with the villagers and somehow defeat him.

Even in my initial plan, there was a chance of death. But even then, it was the easiest decision to make. I had accepted the duty to protect them, and I would. But then I got royally destroyed.

I'm sure these solar attacks of his will haunt my dreams and turn them into nightmares. It all made me feel powerless and small. Yet, such a powerhouse faked his death. That's the only way I can call it.

The 'why' doesn't make sense to me. But I'm sure my enemy is a smart man. He wouldn't have reached the point he has otherwise. It doesn't concern me to know why either. He simply made his decision.

Except that this decision of his will cause endless trouble on my end. Of that, I am sure. They will try to kill me. Either they will try to kill me to silence me or out of revenge. Actually, perhaps both.

I'm not sure if it's an individual decision or a sect initiative. On the one hand, not having a current champion makes them seem less of a threat. On the other hand, that also makes them seem weaker and more vulnerable to attacks.

I truly hate politics. I wish the world was simply about making decisions according to one's desires. No, most often, it is about making decisions to counter other people's decisions that themselves are also based on the potential decisions of a third party.

That's what I love about raising Gus. It is straightforward.

Are you ready to pay the price to raise it? If yes, it's a start for sure. Are you ready to brave the danger of taming it? Then you will either get a strong companion or die trying. Are you ready to repeat the previous steps many times crazily? Welcome to Gu taming!

It is all about decisions. Simple decisions that will either bring power or death. Well, there is also the in-between, but it is even worse. Of course, Gu tamers have antidotes ready against their own creatures.

There is one issue. It doesn't cure the poison. It simply delays the death, turning it into a long and painful agony. They say such a fate is one people wouldn't wish unto one's worst enemy. Of course, that is bullshit. The whole point is to make them suffer.

Just as I'm pondering about that, I notice something. In front is a small hut apparently placed very randomly. Right now, I'm just in the wilderness, far from any road or human settlement. Yet there it is.

I'm not even sure where I am myself. Not that it matters for my Gu can find its way back home. I just need to follow it. Without my invisible killer, I'd be lost. But then again, I'd simply be a regular man anyway.

That is when I see someone exit the small hut. We lock eyes. He clearly saw me. This means that I have a new decision to make...