[126]

The telltale cackling signifying the presence of yemlins grew closer through the trees. The chirping of the birds stopped one bird at a time until only silence filled the treetops. Zeirdin padded along the forest floor. His mood soured at the presence of the yemlins. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he hated yemlins. Much of his pain and suffering in the jungle could be blamed upon the vile creatures. He would need to wait until they got closer before they could scare them off. The troupe burst into view, snarling and cackling.

Their fangs glistened as they gnashed their teeth in the air. Zeirdin focused his urge to tear every single yemlin into pieces. Then, for a brief moment, he expanded his aura three meters in every direction in a hemisphere. In that brief moment, colors grew sharper and more vivid, the air shimmered slightly, and every creature inside the bounds of the hemisphere weaker than Zeirdin was filled with complete and utter terror. Every single one of the dozen or so yemlins briefly froze before bolting back to the trees.

Zeirdin smiled to himself. The roles were reversed, now they feared him. Three months had elapsed since his arrival to the jungle. The progress he’d made was beginning to add up. In the beginning, he lived in constant fear of yemlins. They tore him to shreds dozens of times, sometimes even consuming his flesh. At first, he was only able to take one down with him. Then a handful. Then eventually, he could tear an entire troupe to shreds with his bare hands.

And finally, he could overwhelm an entire troupe into fleeing with just his aura. Under average conditions, he could destroy a grovewalker android 10 out of 10 times. All that remained was the mangler that had slit his stomach open. It was unlikely for him ever to encounter the many other miscellaneous androids that had flatlined him again. He hoped that mangler androids were generic enough like grovewalkers so he could encounter another one and exact revenge. Escape from the jungle was beginning to be within reach. Zeirdin clutched the amber necklace that hung around his neck. Orange and pure, the stone glinted in the noon sunlight. He’d replaced the string multiple times over the month since he made it.

The very last of the cicadas were beginning to finally die off. The constant ringing in Zeirdin’s ears was finally beginning to subside.

“So, you must be the undying human child,” An oily, gravely metallic voice wheezed. Every single hair on Zeirdin’s body stood on end. A chest of electricity went up his spine. His mind almost went into panic mode, formulating a contingency plan, all in the span of a second as he whipped around toward the voice. 10 meters away stood a massive horned creature.

“Haa~, I must finally be going insane,” Zeirdin said aloud. The creature was some sort of giant elk. He couldn’t tell for sure from the distance, but he guessed that it was at least two and a half meters tall at the shoulder. Its antlers stretched outwards at least as far. The elk was just as much flesh as It was a machine. Pipes, tubes, moss, and fungi covered the body of the animal. One eye socket was hollow while the other emitted a yellow glow, visible even from Zeirdin’s distance. The creature was disconcerting, to say the least.

“Your ears do not deceive you, child,” the voice wheezed. The deep male voice carried some sort of accent. The intonation at the end of each syllable was reminiscent of old Vilmek but spoken with a modern lexicon.

“Oh. Crap,” Zeirdin was at a loss. It had been three months since he’d heard any voice other than his own. The first voice he’d heard in months was from a weaponized elk that was probably hundreds of years old. Gracefully, the elk made strides forward. Zeirdin sensed no hostility but didn’t completely let his guard down. He wasn’t about to get skewered by a robot deer for free.

“Do not fear, faede touched one. I come forth with a proposal I believe beneficial to both parties.” Zeirdin stopped the circulation of his mana that he had started unconsciously.

“Alright,” Zeirdin was wary but held no animosity for the beast. He was merely curious as to what the elk could possibly offer him.

“I shall introduce myself then, as is custom for your kind,” The elk stopped, standing two meters away from Zeirdin. Its head towered over him, antlers obscuring the sun. This was perhaps the only creature Zeirdin could describe as grand and corrupted. Its regal stature instilled a feeling of respect for the elk. He could now see more detail on the beast. Once pearly white, the branching antlers were covered in scratches with moss hanging down from them like green beards. Black tubes snaked all over its half-metal body, the armor plating absent in certain places.

“I was once called Zriga. I am the Guardian and caretaker of this jungle.

“I am honored,” Zeirdin bowed his head slightly in a sign of respect. Guardians were rare throughout Laurentia. A small handful of neofauna with mana capabilities could become connected to the underground lifeforce rivers of the land over hundreds of years. Eventually, they would become a part of the land, maintaining balance within their territories. Certain neofauna had the capabilities to develop human speech if they were close enough descendants of the first generation of artificial war monsters. It was even rarer for a guardian to possess human intelligence.

“I have a proposal for you, human child. In return for killing me, I will show you how you may exit the jungle.” The deal sounded too good to be true.

“Can you elaborate?” Zeirdin asked.

“With each passing day, I grow ever weary and resentful. My authority in this jungle wanes with the slow exodus of the underground river.” Zriga paused, turning his head toward the sky slightly. “I have been watching you from afar ever since the twisted ones delivered you. Nearly 500 years have passed since Axarion posted me here. Unable to perish, I live out my days in hollowness. I should have died in Nalenbar five centuries ago. No foes have had the strength or potential to end me in this cursed place. But I see a black all-consuming fire in you. I shall train you until you possess the strength to best me in mortal combat. I will give you permission to absorb my zinnia. In return for ending my pitiful existence, I will provide you with the information for the safest route through the jungle and to the floor exit.”

“I am deeply humbled by your grace and wish to accept your proposal,” Zeirdin said.

“You are wise to accept, human child. Follow me,” Zrig began to walk and Zeirdin followed. With each graceful stride of the elk, Zeirdin took five steps. Both inhabitants of the jungle were equally inaudible in their footsteps. Zeirdin was quite surprised at how Zrig traversed the jungle so effortlessly and quietly. Then he remembered how the elk had been observing him the entire time without him ever noticing a thing.

They walked for an hour. Multiple times, yemlins or rogue androids greeted them and were sent away by Zrig’s piercing gaze. Zeirdin still wasn’t sure how they sent away the androids. The roar of water grew louder with each step. At last, they pulled through the dense jungle greenery. The jungle cleared, revealing a massive waterfall that flowed into a crystal clear pool. Like gray behemoths, massive boulders and river rocks were peppered all around the pool and the stream flowing out of it.

“Welcome to the sanctuary.” Zeirdin stood in partial awe. It was beautiful and serene. He wondered how he had never come across the place.

“You cannot reach the sanctuary with normal means, just as you cannot leave the jungle,” Zrig spoke. This came as a shock to Zeirdin.

“Wait, for real?”

“I do not jest, child. If the jungle were mundane, you would have exited by now with your attribute of undying out of sheer luck. Now, I have matters to attend to. I recommend that you rest and do not leave the sanctuary, however, if you do, I can find you. I will return at dusk and we shall begin your training.”

“Alright, I’ll stick around here then.” With that, Zrig regally turned around and the jungle absorbed him without a sound.

The cool evening breeze ushered out the humid air of the day. Zeirdin darted around Zrig’s long legs, peppering him with quick light attacks while he sorted out his mana. Half the strikes landed but were of no consequence. The rest Zrig dodged lazily.

“You still fight like a human,” Zrig wheezed. “You have something that makes you more dangerous than any sane human.” Zeirdin leaped backward, avoiding a halfhearted kick from Zrig’s front leg. Despite the lack of enthusiasm, Zrig’s strikes had the power behind them to be devastating.

“And what is that?” Zeirdin asked between breaths, heart rate elevated.

“You can afford to take any hit.” It was true. He could take a fatal or crippling blow and not be permanently maimed. While it would hurt terribly, most damage to his body would heal within eight hours. “Fight like it.” Ugh, fuck it. Zeirdin immediately changed his style of fighting. What was he even afraid of? He charged forward, mana violently swirling within his legs. His target was Zrig’s back right leg. Out of all four of his legs, he had never kicked with it once. The massive elk rotated its body slightly, turning its head to see Zeirdin’s advance. He began to separate mana flow into two streams in his arm. It danced and flowed within him like sentient water.

He flung his fist toward Zrig’s upper hind leg, mana coursing through his entire arm. The large beast jerked out of the way at a speed uncharacteristic of a creature so huge. For a brief moment, blue flashed brightly, lighting up the meadow. Zeirdin’s strike missed, but the mana continued its spiraling trajectory through the air slamming into Zrig’s leg with a slight whoosh. A black scorch mark remained on the armor of the mechanical leg.

Only visible in the dark of night, dim fading particles of blue slowly fell out of the air, marking the trajectory of the strike. Zeirdin was satisfied with the small win. He looked at his arm, and to his surprise it was intact. His entire hand was slightly burned, especially the knuckles, but otherwise, it wasn’t spewing blood or covered in bruising.

Zrig paused and looked at Zeirdin with his one orange eye, “That was an impressive strike, human child. Had it landed, I may have been in trouble. However, you clearly telegraphed through your actions that you were about to throw a powerful attack.” Zeirdin panted as he listened, leaning down on his knees. It was a valid criticism.

The two continued the training late into the night. Zeirdin eagerly absorbed Zrig’s advice, hungry for improvement. He was drenched in sweat, skin steaming. Gradually, Zrig began to fight back more and more. Zeirdin was beginning to sustain more wounds. A cracked rib here, broken pinky there, it all piled up. Not to mention that none of his double helix attacks had landed. His knuckles were charred and black and some of the skin on his arms was torn. He flicked the blood off of his brow as he maintained his distance from Zrig.

“You’re too fatigued and stopped committing to any attacks. We’ll end this session shortly. I will attack you seriously now.” Zeirdin nodded. Zrig’s entire demeanor changed. The giant elk charged towards Zeirdin, antlers down. Quickly diverting mana to his legs, he hastily sprung out of the way, avoiding the attack by only a hair's width.

Zrig dug his hooves into the ground, skidding as he redirected himself. Every part of Zeirdin’s body was heavy. He felt like he was moving through honey. He scratched at the mosquito bites on his back as he prepared for Zrig’s next charge. He needed to get out of the range of his attacks. Most of Zrig’s back was vulnerable to attack but it was out of Zeirdin’s reach on the ground. Zrig didn’t charge again. Instead, he walked toward Zeirdin and then stopped three meters away. Suddenly, he was paralyzed and couldn’t breathe.

Terror gripped his heart, a powerful energy pressed down on him, suppressing his own. It showed just how much of a gap there was between him and Zrig. Move. Move! MOVE! No matter how much he screamed inside his head for his body to move, not a muscle budged.

“This is part of the training. I saw you do this to the yemlins, but it appears that you do not have much experience resisting.” Zrig closed the gap in one long stride. “Good night child, we will resume this tomorrow.” Then without warning, a hoof dug into Zeirdin’s solar plexus with the speed of a bullet. It didn’t stop, ripping muscle, shattering bone, before sending him flying backward. It was like the force of industrial machinery compressed into a hammer the size of a dinner plate.

Zeirdin’s lungs seemed to have collapsed as time flowed in slow motion and he couldn’t breathe. Pain filled his entire body. He kept flying backward until suddenly, it was as if the lights of the world turned off. The curtains of unconsciousness quickly took Zeirdin as he slowly slid off the boulder.