"Dreleon!"
The name sliced through the humid air of the Savannah Jungle like a blade.
Deep within the woods, a boy who appeared no older than six years old was anchored to the earth in a stance that would have shattered the joints of a trained soldier. His muscles were taut, and his skin was slick with a sweat that appeared unnaturally dark, almost like liquid shadow.
"Why are you not answering me?" a teenage girl demanded, stepping through the dense path madeup of dirt and dry grass.
"I am coming," Dreleon replied. His voice was unnervingly clean and loud for a child his age, devoid of the playfulness expected of his years. He stood up, his gaze cold and distant, already far beyond the simple concerns of the human tribe.
"Did you forget what day it is?" she asked, her expression hardening with a mixture of concern and urgency. "Today is your beast pact ceremony".
Dreleon didn't blink. He knew the weight of the day. In this world, the ceremony was not just a rite of passage; it was a desperate gamble for survival. For a human like him, the pact was the only way to transcend the physical limitations of his biology and gain the power to face the radioactive undead and the alien remnants still hiding in the stars, the only way to prove himself as a men worthy to make a pact with the princess, and the only way to salvation; for whole human tribe.
"You have to summon at the Ancient Tree," the girl—a maid of the royal household—urged as they began the trek toward the heart of the jungle.
As they walked, the jungle itself seemed to pulse with life. This was the domain of the Jungle Lion Tribe, and at its center stood the Ancient Tree, a sentient behemoth whose roots acted as the nervous system for the entire Savannah. It was more than a plant; it was one of the Top 10 lords of the world, a guardian whose intelligence was as deep as its unknown age.
As they approached, the scale of the tree became apparent. It was a hundred meters wide, its massive branches serving as throne-rooms for the lions of the tribe. At the base of the trunk sat a figure of absolute dominance: the Princess.
She was a lioness, beutiful to every lion but dreleon was unable to feel much; he was the slave here, and by destiny got to make pact with princess by chance.
Dreleon stepped forward and knelt. To the rest of the world, he was a cold enigma, but here, he lowered his head. "Princess, I am very sorry for coming late".
It's not that he was not cold in her presence but, if he showed his coldness then his whole tribe can end with a order.
The Princess looked down from her stone seat, her expression carefree. "You don't have to say sorry, Dreleon. You are only thirty seconds late".
Before he could respond, a roar erupted that seemed to shake the very foundation of the earth. It was the Divine Jungle Lion king, the tribe leader, announcing the start of the Five Elements Tribulation. He was a gaint lion golden in colour, his mane a mix of brown and golden giving the primal feel with immense pressure that no one was able to capture his face.
"Now, begin the ceremony!" the leader commanded in his heavy voice like a thunder shock.
Suddenly, the tranquil branches of the Ancient Tree began to stir. They moved like a sea of golden serpents, coiling around Dreleon and the Princess, weaving a cocoon that isolated them from the outside world.
Through the thick walls of the cocoon, the Ancient Tree's voice echoed directly into Dreleon's mind: "I can help you with the thunder of the sky, but I cannot help you with the attack of the five elements. Bear the pain of transcending".
Outside, the sky turned a bruised purple as monstrous thunderclouds gathered. A massive silver bolt of lightning—a giant sword of electricity—fell from the heavens, only to be absorbed by the tree's now-golden bark.
But deep inside Dreleon, a different battle was beginning. A misfortunate spirit, sensing an opening, tried to seize his consciousness. "Finally, I shall rise again and the horned rabbit tribe will once again revive under me," the spirit began laughing wickedly, only to scream in sudden, absolute terror. "His heart's blood... it's not red. It's black! It's—".
The spirit was sucked dry in an instant, consumed by the demon in Dreleon's veins.
In the sky above, the silver lightning was replaced by an anomaly—a light so bright it began to warp the weather itself. It condensed into a pulsing sphere of gravity and electricity, a small version of a black hole throwing thunder in every direction.
The Ancient Tree groaned, its form shifting. It shed its bark, transforming into a gargantuan golden dragon that rose to meet the black hole, its jaws opening wide to swallow the bead of destruction.
The tribulation had truly begun, and Dreleon, sitting in the lotus position, felt the first wave of inhuman pain wash over him as his soul power broke like a dam.