By dark-kingxu
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But before he could rest, the threads trembled.
> Something's coming.
From the thick underbrush, two more beasts emerged—low, silent, predatory.
Their eyes glowed like dying embers. One was a Shadowmane Panther, lean and silent as smoke, its muscles rippling with coiled power. The other—a Stonehide Serpent, thick and armored, its fangs dripping with venom potent enough to melt steel.
They paused at the edge of the clearing. Their eyes locked on Xu Ming—bloodied, barely standing.
But he stood.
He raised his dagger, its chipped edge catching the moonlight. The threads danced again in his sight, each one pulsing with rhythm—weakness, movement, openings.
He smiled.
> "Let's keep testing."
> "Come."
---
The panther vanished.
Not a step, not a sound—gone like mist.
Xu Ming didn't flinch. The threads around him twisted, his vision sharpening—
Behind!
He spun, dropping low just as a black blur soared past where his throat had been. His dagger lashed up—CLANG!—scraping against the beast's claws.
But the serpent struck then.
It lunged low, fangs aimed at his leg. Xu Ming twisted mid-roll, jamming his palm against its lower jaw.
> Thread Pulse!
A flash of Qi burst into the beast's nerves. It shrieked and thrashed, jaw clamping down inches from his foot.
Xu Ming stumbled back. His lungs screamed for air.
> "One mistake and I die."
The panther reappeared—straight above. Its claws gleamed.
Xu Ming stepped forward instead of back.
> "Too close—too confident."
He slammed his elbow into its throat mid-air, forcing it off-course, then plunged his blade into the thread behind its right shoulder.
SHLUNK!
The panther crashed into the dirt, twitching violently.
One down.
But the serpent had recovered. It coiled with frightening speed, scales clinking like armor. Then it struck—straight at his heart.
Xu Ming's vision blurred.
But the thread showed him everything.
He stepped to the left—not away, but into the serpent's path—angled his dagger, and drove it upward with both hands.
KRSHHH!
The tip pierced beneath a loose scale and buried deep.
The serpent writhed. Blood poured from its side as it slammed into a tree, tail flailing wildly.
Xu Ming held on, pulling the blade free just before it shattered in his hands.
The serpent thrashed once more.
Then stopped.
---
The clearing fell still again.
Beasts dead.
The scent of blood thicker than ever.
Xu Ming dropped to his knees.
This time, no more beasts came.
No more eyes in the dark.
Only the moon.
He stared at his trembling hands. His arms were covered in cuts. His legs barely held weight. But he had survived again.
Not by luck.
Not by mercy.
By threads.
By sight.
By will.
He turned to the two fallen cores pulsing within the beasts.
> "They keep coming."
> "Then I'll keep killing."
He reached out, dragging the cores close, and pulled them into his ring and lay down against a tree, eyes barely open.
> "Let the forest bring its worst."
> "I'm not done yet."
Darkness took him. But it was not fear, nor weakness.
It was rest well-earned.