Another day passed, and Fang kept hunting. Today, he had a new objective:
Seasonings and training in magic.
Fang finished eating his rabbit skewer, nibbling on it slowly as he finally found one juicy prey.
"This is the best. If only I had some salt too."
With a deep sigh, Fang reached for his stone knife and holstered it on his belt, and went out to look for salt.
The rain was pouring all morning, but the sun quickly dispelled it as soon as it rose.
Tucking his shirt in, he jumped out of the cave's opening into the morning glory.
The rays of the sun filtered through the treetops and cascaded on his face.
The area around the cave was full of bushes, but the treeline somehow kept a distance of around 200 meters from the entrance.
"Salt, Rabbits, and more magic practice. Let's go."
He moved deeper into the forest, ears alert.
His footsteps were slow, barely making any sound.
The trees stretched high above him, blocking out most of the sunlight.
No salt found, he decided to just hunt for today.
After a few minutes, he spotted movement.
A small, twitchy nose poking out from behind a bush. Fang crouched, his hand moving instinctively.
The tendrils he needed for this hunt were already starting to form in his hands.
'Well, at least I am getting better and more natural in my Death's grab. I should try to practice fine motoric skills using them. Maybe I'll be able to craft some tools with it later on.'
The animal hopped from a bush, nose twitching, ears high. Fang did not move. His tendrils lay slack against the roots behind him, disguised among vines and dead brush. When the rabbit lowered its head to nibble, he sent one tendril forward and snapped its neck cleanly.
'This... This was easier than before. It just died instantly.'
Fang knelt beside the rabbit's remains, wiping some dirt off his hands.
Good.
He carried it deeper into the trees before working.
He set the rabbit on a flat stone and crouched.
The body was still warm.
Then he began.
Fang peeled the hide back, methodical, focused.
That was when he saw it.
Nestled near the heart, wrapped in slick tissue, was something that should not have been there.
A small core, smooth and dark, no bigger than a large nut. It glowed a bit, and a small humming accompanied it.
"What the hell?" he muttered, using his ears to listen closely.
Fang paused. He leaned closer.
It wasn't bone. It wasn't stone. It didn't belong to any animal he knew.
He plucked it free.
It came loose too easily, as if the body had grown around it rather than claimed it. The rabbit was just meat now, truly dead. But the thing in his fingers felt… present.
A cold gust of wind brushed against his palm.
He turned it slowly, watching.
"What are you?" he muttered.
No answer.
Fang rolled the core between his fingers. The hum was steady, patient, as if it had all the time in the world. He held it closer to his face, listening, watching the faint glow ripple beneath its surface.
He set it on the stone beside the carcass and straightened slightly. His tendrils twitched behind him, uneasy. The rabbit lay open and unremarkable now.
Whatever this was, it hadn't been natural.
He reached out again, slower. The moment his presence brushed it, the glow deepened. The hum sharpened, no longer passive.
Fang's eyes narrowed.
"So you feel me," he said quietly.
Curiosity won out over caution. It usually did.
He gathered a thread of death magic, thin and controlled, the kind he used to control tools.
No force. Just contact. He let it seep from his palm and into the core.
The reaction was immediate.
The hum spiked, turning harsh.
"I am going to regret this, aren't I?"
The glow darkened, collapsing inward as cracks burst across the surface with a sharp, crystalline snap.
Fang jerked his hand back as the core split, fragments lifting into the air instead of falling.
Shadows poured out, forming themselves strand by strand
It was like smoke, but colder and heavier.
It coiled upward, shaping itself instinctively.
Within seconds, a form took shape above the stone.
A rabbit.
Its body was made of drifting smoke, edges unraveling and reforming with every breath Fang took. It had no fur, no flesh, yet its shape was unmistakable. When it turned its head toward him, two eyes flared open, glowing a deep, unnatural purple.
The thing twitched its nose.
Fang froze.
The shadow rabbit landed soundlessly on the stone, staring at him. The fragments of the core clattered to the ground, lifeless now.
Slowly, Fang smiled.
"…Interesting."
It turned its head toward Fang, and instead of eyes were holes with glowing orbs, where its eyes once were.
Fang could feel it, how his mana flowed into this little guy steadily.
The rabbit didn't move.
Instead, it just sat there, quietly still, waiting for his command.
Fang's mind was deeply disturbed, but at least it didn't feel hostile.
'This is one hell of a weird week.'
Slowly, Fang extended his hand toward the creature.
The smoke rabbit perked its ears, as if acknowledging him. Fang swallowed down his unease and murmured, "Hi?"
Without a sound, the shadowy figure hopped closer,
its smoky tendrils swirling behind it, dark, thin tails made of smoke.
Fang's lips changed to a grin, satisfaction swelling within him. Maybe he didn't understand the full extent of what he'd just done, but he knew one thing for sure.
This was cool.
A wave of dizziness hit him as the Mana drainage caught up, forcing him to lean against a nearby tree.
His vision blurred, but he held his ground, determined not to lose his grip now. He forced himself to stand tall, eyes fixed on the newly created creature.
"Guess we're together for now," he muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow. The rabbit simply remained at his feet, its smoky form unwavering.
'This headache is pretty bad, though. I have to lie down a bit.'
''So much mana for a cute rabbit. Anyway, I need to get back to the cave fast."
Fang looked at the newly formed friend he had made and figured he didn't know how to use him or what the cost of his existence truly is.
"Well, at least you can come back with me for now. I will find ways to use your help later on.
But you do need a name. What should I name you?"
Fang stared at the smoky rabbit, still trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. The shadowy creature tilted its head and hopped closer to him.
It moved with a natural grace, like it was just another little rabbit.
A soft chuckle escaped Fang's lips before he could stop himself. "You're... kinda cute for a little nightmare," he muttered. The rabbit gave a faint flick of its smoky ear, and Fang couldn't help but grin.
"Guess I can't just keep calling you 'rabbit' now that you're... whatever you are," he murmured. The creature cocked its head again, and Fang found himself snickering. "You're just a little puff of smoke, huh?"
He thought for a moment, tapping his chin as the rabbit sat down, looking almost expectant. "Hmm... Smoke," he finally said, testing the word. The creature's ears perked up.
"Yeah, you like that, huh? Smoke it is," he said with a sense of finality. The little shadow rabbit almost seemed to bounce in place, as if pleased.
Fang couldn't help but ruffle its wispy ears, his own irritation fading into something softer. "Alright, Smoke. Let's see what else you can do."