However, despite the outcome that Akira believed would happen, what followed was a thick silence that hung heavily, as if the forest itself was holding its breath.

  The monster, coiled up on the tree as if it were his throne, simply stared at the boy and his rugged attire for a while, then it… closed its eyes?

  As if Akira simply wasn't worth the effort.

  He was left dumbfounded for a few moments before letting out a small chuckle, his situation was almost ironic.

  “hahaha… HAHAHAHAHA!” Akira let out a hollow laughter, however, it was not of joy, it was of something deeper, something twisted inside of him that had formed inside that cave.

  “What?! What’s wrong you damn bastard?! Am I not good enough for you to eat?” Something inside of him broke.

  What the hell was he saying? His wicked obsession with survival was what got him this far, it was what pushed him far enough to leave behind his morality in order to live, yet his words sounded suicidal.

  Suddenly his expression changed to a frown. “Don’t mess with me, you damn monster! I did what I had to in order to get this far! Is that not enough?”

  Who was he speaking to? The snake? Himself? At that moment even Akira didn’t know, he just let his heart roar.

  The snake’s amber eyes flickered once more, this time with a subtle shift, as if it were acknowledging Akira’s minor presence.

  It slowly uncoiled itself from the tree, its immense body sliding downward, the weight of it pushing the branches aside with ease. Akira’s breath caught in his throat.

  Was it moving closer?

  No.

  It wasn’t moving toward him at all. It was leaving.

  The snake slithered away through the giant tree trunks, its massive form disappearing into the thick underbrush, vanishing into the shadows like some spectral horror. The silence that followed was deafening.

  The terrifying predator that should have ended his life had instead chosen to simply slither away.

  “...It left.” He said to himself quietly, his voice no louder than a whisper. “IT JUST… IT FUCKING LEFT!” He screamed out, his lungs burning.

  Akira stood there in stunned silence, his mind refusing to process what had just transpired.

  The overwhelming relief he should have felt barely registered, buried beneath the chaos in his head.

  That enormous beast, one that had the power to end him in an instant, had simply slithered away.

  As if he were nothing more than an insignificant blip on its radar.

  Was he... relieved? Shouldn't he be relieved? A part of him screamed that he should be celebrating, that he should be thankful for this gift of life. But instead, all he could feel was a strange emptiness, like the escape from death had come at a cost he couldn't comprehend.

  Akira looked down at the crystal as it lay on the ground, its soft glow as ethereal as when he picked it up in the cavern.

  His silver eyes fixated on the glowing red crystal at his feet, its light pulsing faintly like the beat of a slow, steady heart.

  He crouched down, picking it up, feeling its smooth, cool surface against his hand. The quiet radiance was a stark contrast to the roaring chaos in his mind. The crystal seemed almost mocking in its unchanging glow.

  He clenched it tightly and let out a shaky breath. As his pulse began to settle, his thoughts unraveled.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Akira felt like he was barely clinging to sanity, a small thread against the weight of everything he’d endured. “If I’m stuck here, then so are you too.” He muttered to the inanimate object, his voice laced with bitterness.

  The boy stood up, the crystal back in his left hand and the claw hanging loosely in his right as it dragged on the ground.

  Akira once again started his senseless march.

  As he trudged forward, the crystal glowing softly in his grasp, his mind felt like it was slipping further into chaos.

  Every step felt like a struggle, as if his feet were weighed down by invisible chains of frustration and confusion. His body ached, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the gnawing void in his chest.

  The jungle around him flowing with life, sounds from nearby and faraway, both disheartening and melodic, the jungle did not care about Akira’s problems as it continued its endless cycle of life.

  Suddenly he stopped, a bush full of fruits in front of him, his previous meal was nearly not enough, especially since he was interrupted, not to mention the disgusting bitter taste still lingering in his mouth.

  Planting the mantis claw in the ground in a softer spot where it would stay upright, Akira used his now free right hand to take one of the fruits.

  His skinny fingers grabbed one of the fruits, and with a weak thug it ripped right off its root, it was a snug fit in his palm. The fruit had shiny green skin and an elongated shape like an oval.

  “Whether it's poison or not, doesn't really matter much, does it? I’ll die of starvation if I don’t eat anyhow.” Akira muttered to himself before taking a huge bite, the fruit was very juicy however its skin was pretty tough and bitter.

  He chewed a bit more, the taste itself was a mix of sweet and sour leaning more towards sour, but despite that it definitely felt edible. The inside of the fruit was a pale-ish yellow color and it had black seeds the size of Akira’s eye in its flesh. “Better than monster flesh, well, I guess anything is better than that.” But who knows, perhaps one day monster flesh would be Akira’s only source of nutrition.

  Akira took another bite, forcing himself to chew through the thick skin and past the sourness.

  As he ate, his mind began to quiet, dulled slightly by the simple act of filling his stomach. It wasn't a feast, but it was a relief to have something to eat that wasn’t slimy or putrid.

  After he finished the fruit, he wiped the sticky juice from his hands onto his grimy tunic, leaving faint smears on the fabric.

  He picked up the mantis claw again, and for a moment, he simply stood there, looking at it. The serrated edge was crusted with tiny dried remnants of his fight, a reminder of what he’d done and what he’d become.

  With a grimace, he tried to shake off the thoughts clawing at the edges of his mind.

  Just then, a sudden rustle came from above, and he glanced up instinctively. The jungle canopy shifted with movement, branches swaying, though no wind seemed to be causing it.

  Tiny eyes flashed in the shadows of the branches, following him with curiosity and a strange sense of… intelligence?

  Akira’s eyes squinted, however it was hopeless, the shadows of the leaves hid the figures perfectly, not even showing the slightest outline.

  The eyes, there were more than one pair as they watched him with an unsettling stillness. He couldn’t discern the intent behind them.

  They were too hidden, too clever in their positioning, they were not like a predator that acted on instincts but instead like a creature that had intellect, at least on a primitive level.

  Just how long had those creatures been watching him for? He was oblivious to their presence up until one of them made a misstep. Had they watched him the whole time he was eating without him even noticing? No, maybe even longer?

  Suddenly the sound of a giant beak vibrating came from one of the many creatures in the treetops, it was frightening enough to make Akiras bones shiver and his muscles tighten.

  Suddenly the flapping of wings could be heard from the creatures’ direction, it was loud and booming like thunder, a manifestation of just how big and magnificent the beasts were.

  The flapping came closer, the air around him vibrating with each heavy beat.

  Shadows danced as the creatures descended, their forms still obscured but gaining definition.

  In the blink of an eye, one of the creatures descended in front of Akira, barely ten meters of distance between him and the gargantuan creature which stood at around twelve meters tall.

  Its body, stretched thin and sinewy, was cloaked in a skin so pale it seemed to shimmer in the light, giving it an almost ethereal glow, especially now that the sun had started to descend over the horizon, giving the light a slight orange hue. This creature, both a marvel and a nightmare, its wings folding against its sides like great sheets of silk.

  Its head was a masterpiece of both terror and beauty framed on a neck that stretched long like a serpent.

  A long, blade-like crest jutted backward from its skull, lending it an alien, regal profile.

  Amber eyes, cold and calculating, burned with a sharp intelligence, as if it were weighing the worth of everything it surveyed.

  Its beak, sharp enough to cleave flesh from bone, gleamed in the faint light, whispering promises of death to any creature that dared to cross its path.

  Despite its monstrous proportions, wings stretching wide enough to block out the rays of light, it carried itself with a grace that was almost hypnotic. Its taloned feet left deep impressions in the earth, yet it barely disturbed the ground as it stood on all fours, its front limbs longer than its hind legs.