A large cloak with some sort of thin spikes sticking out of it shifted behind a corpse. Unhurried, it grew taller than its meal. Some monster emerged from behind the boulder-like rabbit, a blue-white light snaked past the blood dripping from its fuzzy maw.

Where are all of the souls? Mareus realized.

When a Shou beast died they should leave behind their soul but he couldn’t see any of them.

The creature stepped around the rabbit to reveal the rest of its disfigurement. A snout crossed between a bear and a wolf, one arm like an ape’s, the other like a tiger’s, its body hunched over and legs bent backwards like a bird’s. It moved with a strong limp, the spikes swaying on its back. Mareus squinted before deciding they were some sort of quills.

“What is that thing?” He unconsciously murmured.

The creature’s head snapped in his direction, one amber eye glaring at the spot he was hiding.

“We–eak.” The grumble sounded like it was in his head.

Mareus couldn’t breathe. Eyes straining to catch the smallest details. There was no room for a stray thought. The sound of hide tearing stretched passed his ears, the monster’s body rounding out as it grew slightly larger. A single slimy ear flopped out from its hood and the tearing noise stopped.

It never looked away.

“Weak.”

It spoke again before reaching into its destroyed cloak and pulling out a bottle that was dwarfed by its paw. It gingerly used its claws to rip off the top rather than uncork it. A clear liquid trailed through his fur as the drink spilled out past its bestial mouth. Clumsily washing away the red stain. After a moment it silently sighed and let out a deranged laugh to itself.

“Neeeed. Mooore.” It struggled.

Mareus wasn’t sure how long he waited to move after the creature disappeared. But as soon as his leg twitched he sprinted back towards the cave. His legs were still trembling as he tore up the soft earth.

“Not. Weak” The creature’s gravelly voice filled his mind.

Mareus tripped as the monster pounced over him. He tumbled head over foot several times before rolling back into his sprint. A disturbing laugh chased after him. Glancing back Mareus saw it hobbling towards him faster than it had any right to.

“Good hunt!” It roared.

Its voice was easily heard even with Mareus blocking his ears. It was like the cry was coming from inside of him instead of from the creature itself. A lingering laugh infected the valley while it spoke.

“Little mouse. Smell. Strong. Tasty.”

“Who are you?” He screamed back, it looked like some deformed collection of Shou parts. But if it could speak then maybe he could communicate with it. Just maybe he could get away.

“Death.” It laughed.

Maybe not then.

Mareus cut back into the orchard of heavenly fruits, weaving through the different trees to try and lose his predator.

I can’t let him follow me back to the cave. I’d be running into my grave if I did.

A rabbit larger than him leapt past him and into some bushes.

Master’s protection should still be working, so why is he coming after me?

The creature immediately lunged at the rabbit before ripping it in two.

“Just… a snack.” Its voice echoed in his head.

Mareus took the chance to change direction towards the river. Maybe if he could lose it in the water he could…

He tripped over a root and fell off a ledge onto a rocky portion of the river bank. Blood trickled from his lip as he bit down on his cheek trying not to cry out. Mareus looked down at his foot, twisted in a direction it shouldn’t be able to.

Mā de! He cursed.

He took a deep breath before ripping his foot back in place.

Tā mā de!

Quickly removing a sash he tightly wrapped his foot and limped underneath an overhang. Closing his eyes he begged to blend in with the shade and disappear. Over and over.

Low laughter grew louder until it suddenly cut off.

A chunk of earth splashed into the river to form a small island. Followed by a devastating howl. The creature searched the area above the water for over an hour when it finally gave up and lumbered off back into the trees. The sunlight was finally starting to disappear behind the mountains. Hopefully it had run off to sleep, or at the very least hunt something else.

Mareus waited until clouds blocked out the light of the Heaven’s Scar before limping back towards the cliff. The journey dragged on as he stepped as lightly as possible, both to favor his injured leg and make as little sound as possible. Stopping at the slightest sound and relying on his robes to help him blend into the dark.

The valley had a different feel to it now, he was weak and exposed with no idea on when his master would return. It could have been entirely possible for him to be injured while she was gone, that was somewhat expected. But, while that monster was here a small injury like this could mean death.

It’s too soon for me to die.

The villagers were counting on him from the afterlife. He was their only hope for peace. Even his hair began to feel heavy with everything. He looked up to the clouds. Water streaming down his face.

He had finally reached the cliff leading to his bed and now the stones were too slick to even climb. Leaning his back against the wall he looked up at the ridge that was at least three times as tall as the elder’s hall. Then he looked back out to the trees. Mulling over which option would be more dangerous at this point. Whatever his decision, he had to make it soon. It would be terrible to be caught in the open like this, but it could be worse if that creature watched him climb up to the cave only to ambush him in his sleep.

Looking around he found a tree growing out of the cliffside not too far away. It wasn’t anything special but it had a thick canopy and branches wider than his waist. Thinking that should be a good compromise he sculked closer until he would be able to quickly reach the branches. Settling into the nook of several intersecting branches, he quietly camouflaged his bed.

Mareus wanted nothing more than to sleep, but that was a luxury he couldn’t afford just yet. Instead he slipped into a surface level meditation and guided his cycling technique towards his foot. This was a technique that his master had taught him more than a year ago after he fell from a tree. It will help to accelerate his natural recovery, but even with this it will take a few days for him to fully heal.

The sky began to turn pink by the time Mareus finished his meditation. Thinking of his pile of furs that have grown over the last couple years filled him with a longing.

Only a little longer.

It wasn’t safe to stay in one place for too long, if that thing happened to come this way he would be cornered with no chance of defeating it. Focusing his senses he searched for any sign of danger. Without anything suspicious catching his eye, he began to make his way down. He didn’t rush as he descended though, testing the weight on his leg. There was still a wave of pain, but it was much duller compared to the day before.

“I’m such an idiot.” He whispered.

This was his teacher's garden, he already knew of several herbs and treasures that could heal a small injury like this instantly. The problem was that the closest one was at least a kilometer to the south west. Mareus pulled a smooth piece of black jade from his robe. Rubbing the inscription with his thumb, he remembered what his master told him before.

“This item will protect you from those with any sense of self preservation.”

He began to wonder why it still chased him yesterday even with this on. On instinct, he decided to bury it beneath the tree and picked up a similarly sized stone. Just in case.

Biting the end of his finger he drew another script that she taught him. This one was weaker and more simplistic, but with being drawn from his blood it had a sort of connection to his own internal energy. The symbol was an ancient looking character, but supposedly it could help to erase his presence somewhat. A process he had yet to fully understand.

Hopefully this will be enough. He stared at the painted rock.

Pocketing the stone, he followed the outer edge of the valley towards where he knew some of the herbs were. He didn’t take any risk with any sound that stood out and trusted his instinct to hide and wait until it felt safe to move on. As the sun dragged across the sky he could hear isolated screams from the rabbits. Keeping track of where they were so that he could have some idea of the creature's location. What was shocking was how short the intervals were despite the distance they were from one another.

That last one was closer. His chest tightened.

He frantically began looking for the herb, a violet flower with six petals in the shape of a star. It wasn’t large, maybe no bigger than his whole hand, but luckily it only grew in areas that were covered in shade for most of the day.

A high pitched scream pierced the air, far closer than any of the others before and it was rushing towards him. Mareus scurried into the hollow of a nearby tree. The space was dark and still wet from the rain the night before. The thundering of approaching strides amplified by the wooden walls. With the damp earth soaking into his knees he watched as a gray blur raced past before a much darker shape trampled it. Mareus quietly fell back and could only hear the unholy sounds of the creature dismantling the rabbit. Its laugh haunting the orchard.

Mareus gingerly crawled backwards, something soft brushed against his hand as his back pressed against the inside of the tree. He hesitated to look down, but when he did he was greeted by a purple flower staring back at him.

Of course it would be here.

Without a second thought he ripped it up, roots and all, and swallowed it. It was sour like a strong citrus with a surprisingly spicy after taste. He immediately began cycling its energy to his foot, a faint blue glow surrounding his ankle as the swelling and pain vanished.

No! He screamed silently.

Huhuhu. “Found. You.” The creature's grating voice drowned out all other sounds.

The glowing on his leg slowly faded. The creatures deformed muzzle drifting past the wood becoming shrouded by shadow.

The two stared each other down for several breaths before Mareus let out a screech. The monster instantly tearing away at the tree. Yapping and laughing as he snapped at him, each bite getting that much closer.

Mareus kept trying to make himself as small as possible. Praying that it would leave him alone. That someone would save him. His face becoming drenched as his throat ripped from his own screams.

It wasn’t until he could no longer make a sound, that he realized that everything else had gone quiet.

“You are safe, child. Come here.” A familiar voice called out.

Mareus peaked out of the tree to see his master suspending the creature in the air with her shadow. He slowly crawled out of the tree, fidgeting and shrinking himself without exactly bowing.

“Mistress, I’m glad you're back.” He couldn’t look at her, too afraid to see what her reaction would be.

“Explain.” Her voice had a new type of emotionlessness. It was like all humanity had been cut from her words.

“I have been going through my normal routine since you left. A few days ago I noticed a disturbance in the valley and came across the aftermath of this monster devouring several of the Shous.” Mareus was honest as he explained everything to his master. Though he did choose to leave out the exact degree of his terror.

“I see.” She turned to her captive, “what do you have to say for yourself?” Mareus expected for her to undo the darkness acting like a muzzle. But, no such thing happened.

The creature's eyes lit up as if it was pleading with her, Mareus could almost feel like it was actually saying something but that shouldn’t have been possible. The shadow even cut off that horrifying laugh. His gaze turned to Mareus and the voice returned.

“Didn’t. Know. Goddess.”

“That’s enough of you.” She punctured his chest with both hands, her fingers sinking into his chest painfully slowly. Then came the tear. An instantaneous and violent motion with a beam of shadow bisecting him down the middle. His two halves falling into more shadow before completely vanishing.

“Mistress, what did he mean by goddess?”

“There are as many stories about me as any other immortal, some are naive enough to worship those with power as deities descended onto Ídào. Especially those from one of the taboo paths like that death cultist.”

It. Was a death cultist?

“Is that why he looked like some monster?” Mareus asked.

“Yes, I suspect he was originally a Savanna Hound. Nothing more than a scavenger Shou.”

Mareus looked at the corpse of the rabbit, was that what a death path could do to a Shou? “They weren’t anything alike.”

“Of course not, before falling and becoming that mad thing. His original form would have been that of the next stage of his kind. Something slightly closer to man than beast.”

“...”

“Never mind it.” Fu Kong pulled Mareus in much like she did when she first consoled him. “This is my fault.”

He was confused. How could this be her fault?

“I was too soft on your training and because of that you weren’t prepared to handle something like this.” Fu Kong knelt down, her deep black eyes meeting his. “I won’t allow this to happen again, we will rework your training for the next year. I have the ideal sparring in mind for you.”

Mareus looked around to see if she had brought someone back with her, but he couldn’t see anyone so he asked. “With who, Mistress?”

She smiled and took a step back in a show of presentation. “Why, myself of course.”