The overcast sky, with its sour-faced clouds, made an ear-piercing sound. A rumble of thunder seemed to be nature's accompanying music for Lian and the bear.
Lian, facing the six-hundred-pound giant creature, felt his body tremble; his hackles rose, his eyes bulging. Indeed, he had desperately wanted to meet a bear, but not in a condition like this... He had only two choices: fight to the death, or run.
Lian had made his choice. If he ran, it meant giving up. Bears were creatures that could run fast despite their large bodies, so the bear would definitely catch him. If running meant death, then what was the difference if Lian chose to fight to the death? Either way, both choices led to death.
But by choosing to fight to the death, Lian still had a slim chance of winning, however small. If he won, he might be severely injured. Even so, he still chose to fight to the death. He seemed not to care what would happen if he died. Who would protect Meilin? Who would take care of her? Who would hunt for her? Who would carry her?
No, no. Lian didn't think about that. His mind seemed to have forgotten about his sister.
"Calm," Lian whispered to himself, his voice merely a hiss of the wind. His body moved with trained automatism. His tall bow, an object that was already like an extension of his own arm, was raised with a fluid motion. His arrow, with a sharp stone blade that had never been honed, was nocked onto the bowstring. The world narrowed down to three points: his eye, the tip of the arrow, and a spot behind the beast's left shoulder. The target for the heart and lungs.
The bear snorted again, hot air blasting from its moist nose. Lian understood the threat. He wasn't afraid, but angry. An anger that seemed to stem from his deepest heart; he imagined the bear as the Captain, making him seemingly forget what fear was.
Lian pulled the bowstring. The muscles in his back and shoulders coiled, as if possessing a life of their own. He held his breath, half-drawn.
Then, the bear charged.
It, the thick-furred creature, didn't run, but glided—a six-hundred-pound furry projectile closing the twenty-step distance that shook the earth. Lian released.
The arrow flew, a dark flash against the sky that had begun to weep. It found a target, but not the expected one. The bear, with a speed unthinkable for its body size—impossible for a creature that large—tilted its shoulder. Instead of burying itself deep in the chest cavity, the arrow lodged in the thick shoulder muscle with a sickening dull thud, like an axe chopping into wet meat.
The beast roared, its deafening voice forcing Lian to cover his ears as if his eardrums were about to burst. Full of rage and burning pain, the bear didn't slow down. If anything, it got faster; blood was now soaking its brown fur, making it look black and glistening.
Seeing the bear accelerating, Lian panicked, like sharp ice piercing his gut. He didn't turn to run away; instead, he pivoted. His feet gripped the loose soil while grabbing another arrow. There was no time to aim properly. He just let it fly.
The second arrow flew and struck the bear's neck, a shallow wound that seemed like a mosquito bite. That mosquito bite only enraged it further. The beast was now within range.
The smell. A fishy odor, dirty fur, and the foul breath of rotting meat hit Lian, making him choke. He tried to retreat, but a root trapped him. He stumbled backward as the bear's claws swung down toward him.
The world exploded into white and red.
The pain wasn't immediate. First, there was a crushing pressure, like being hit with a sledgehammer, on his left side. Then, a dull tearing sensation, and finally, a wave of pain so immense it made him scream until his lungs felt like they were detaching. His heart beat furiously as if about to explode. Those claws, as long as daggers, had landed on his shoulder and left arm. He watched, with unreal horror, as the hooked claws swept through, ripping skin, muscle, and tendons like thread.
He was thrown to the side, hitting a tree trunk so hard his breath was knocked out. His bow flew from his grasp, landing several feet away. His crushed left arm hung by a few strands of muscle and bone fragments, useless, spraying arterial blood furiously, showering the leaves in crimson.
The bear stood over him, roaring in victory, saliva dripping from its open mouth, revealing long yellow teeth. Blood from its own wound dripped onto Lian's face, warm and salty.
At that moment, Lian thought this was the end. He could feel it. A piercing cold had begun creeping from his remaining fingertips. But a wild, stubborn, stupid anger flared up inside him. He wouldn't die like this, as a snack for a beast in the forest where the Land of Memories stood.
With his right hand still functioning, he grabbed the knife tied at his waist. It was the final weapon, a six-inch blade against a titan.
The bear leaned down, its mouth gaping to bite. Lian, driven by adrenaline and survival instinct, pushed himself upward, into the beast's deadly embrace.
He plunged his knife into the base of the bear's neck, stabbing and twisting with all his remaining strength. Warm, thick blood flooded his hand.
The bear roared again, this time more out of surprise than pain. Its mighty front paw swung, slapping Lian's side like a toy. He heard and felt his ribs crack, a dry and horrible sensation like biting on gravel. New pain pierced his lungs, and he coughed, sprays of blood decorating his lips.
He fell onto his back, the world spinning above him. The bear staggered, the knife still stuck in its neck, but not deep enough to kill. The six-hundred-pound furry creature approached, its heavy breath now sounding like a hiss. Its black eyes glittered with murderous intent.
Lian crawled backward, his body dragging a wide trail of blood on the ground. His crushed left hand touched something hard and long—a broken tree branch, as thick as his calf, the end broken into a sharp, jagged point.
Inspiration, desperate and insane, struck him.
He stopped retreating.
"ARGHH!!!" He screamed, a cry drawn from the depths of his wounded soul, a final challenge.
The bear, accustomed to prey that fled, paused for a moment, confused.
In that pause, Lian acted. With his right hand, he gripped the broken branch, lifting it like a heavy, awkward spear. He didn't try to stab. He knew he didn't have the strength for that. Instead, as the bear approached once more, opening its mouth to bite his head or chest, Lian propelled himself forward.
He shoved the sharp end of the branch into the beast's open mouth.
The wood went in, piercing the soft palate behind the teeth, driving toward the brain.
There was a moment of strange, suspended silence. Then, the bear made a horrible sound, a choking, gurgling noise, like drowning from the inside. Its massive body went rigid, legs shaking uncontrollably. Its mighty claws clawed the air, inches from Lian's face, tearing at whatever they touched, almost grazing the whistle necklace hanging around his neck.
Lian held the branch tight, pushing it deeper, feeling the wood move and crunch inside the beast's skull. Blood and brain tissue flowed out of the bear's mouth and nose, dripping onto Lian's arms and chest. It felt hot and thick.
The beast collapsed to the side, its massive body hitting the earth with a deep thud that shook the ground. Its legs still trembled, its terrible claws gripping and releasing handfuls of dirt and roots. Lian, still holding the branch embedded in the bear's head, immediately let go, not letting himself fall asleep beside the giant creature.
The light in those small black eyes faded; anger and awareness were replaced by emptiness, then nothingness. A final tremor rippled through the bear's body, and then, finally, silence.
The sudden quiet was almost more terrifying than the noise of the battle.
Lian let out a long, heavy breath. His emerald green eyes stared at the large brown furry creature—helpless, dead. The bear's blood, thick and hot, soaked the earth, forming a small pool, as if creating a final bath for the bear.
"Ha. Haha. Hahaha..." Lian suddenly laughed. He looked up at the weeping sky. His crushed arm, hanging only by a few strands of muscle and bone shards, looked ready to detach from the joint.
"Father! Mother! Brother!" Lian screamed with all his might, pouring all his remaining strength into that shout. "LOOK! THIS STUPID AND STUBBORN SON OF YOURS MANAGED TO DEFEAT A BEAR. LOOK, SIBLINGS, THIS STUPID AND STUBBORN BROTHER OF YOURS MANAGED TO DEFEAT A BEAR. THE GIANT CREATURE I ALWAYS DREAMED OF IS NOW LYING HELPLESS ON THE GROUND... HAHAHA..."
Lian's vision suddenly blurred; his emerald eyes seemed to flicker. He collapsed to the ground, his left arm finally detaching from his body. Thick, dark red blood gushed out, soaking the soil of Harmonious Alba with human blood.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..." Lian breathed heavily. No, even breathing was extremely difficult; his chest hurt as if the organs inside were about to burst. "I... have succeeded... Forgive me, Meilin..."
Lian's vision slowly went dark. The whistle necklace hanging around his neck shifted and fell into the pool of blood.
Suddenly, the cricket-sounding whistle vibrated, cracked, and shattered, as if it were just a hard shell. A small creature resembling a cicada emerged from the broken whistle, flying with beautiful wings, hovering over Lian's body.
Although his vision was blurry, Lian could faintly see the cicada. "W... what... is that?"
The cicada had a body of golden yellow and dark blue, as if made of glass or crystal, reflecting a soft light around it. Its large, round eyes had different colors: the right one gold, and the left one dark blue. Its long, thin wings shimmered softly like a pearlescent surface, radiating a gold and dark blue glow that looked almost like a fusion of spring and winter.
The cicada suddenly entered Lian's chest. A sensation of warmth and cold spread throughout his body.
[Congratulations, you have been chosen by The Nightmare]
[Will you accept it?]
[Say: Yes/No]
A few seconds after the cicada entered, a voice echoed in Lian's ears, who was already nearing death. He saw a blurry, complicated holographic display in front of his darkening eyes.
"What... is actually happening?"
[Will you accept it?]
[Say: Yes/No]
"Hah... hah... Yes..."
[Preparing trial...]