“Let’s get through this forest fast,” Silver remarked, as they ran through the razor leaves. “I gotta admit, this forest’s way more intimidatin’ than the st I been through it… like it’s grown darker.”

  The sun could not be seen through the canopy of the trees which created night in the ndscape of the sinister forest. Pressing forward, they moved through the hostile terrain. The air was thick with the putrid stench of decay, like something long dead and left to rot in the heat. It had clung to them since the entrance, saturating everything. Each breath for Silver was a struggle, the rancid odor coating the throat like a film of filth. Silver let out a quiet cough, pulling his red cloak tighter around his snout, his ears flicking at every distant creak and groan from the shifting ndscape. Dante, however, remained unaffected. He walked with unnatural ease, unbothered by the air or the razor-edged foliage that loomed too close.

  “That death smell gettin’ closer!” Silver excimed with a sniff from his powerful nose.

  “Sure is,” Dante replied with a nod.

  They moved cautiously through the tangled undergrowth, and the stench grew more pungent, leading them to the lifeless body of a Ferenzial. Vines penetrated the body and its head. Upon closer inspection, the vines were absorbing the corpse bit by bit. Its once-vibrant fur was matted and decayed, a grim testament to the forest’s peril.

  Silver, ever the opportunist, wasted no time. With a practiced hand, he rummaged through the pockets of the fallen Ferenzial. After finding a few coins, he tucked them into his leather pouch with a mischievous grin. “Poor fellow, well he won’t be needin’ it anymore. Ya never know when a few extra coins might come in handy,” he remarked his tone light despite the grim discovery. Dante watched in disbelief, but Silver merely shrugged.

  Curious about Silver’s gear, “What else you got hiding in that cloak?”

  With a sly grin, Silver revealed the concealed yers of his armor beneath his cloak, most notable was the bckened gauntlet that equipped his left arm. He drew a dark-bded katana with a flourish. “Never underestimate the value of good gear,” he said, twirling the bde to demonstrate its bance and sharpness. Dante admired the skillful dispy.

  “Are you some kind of ninja?” Dante asked.

  “A ninja? What’s–” Silver hushed quickly as their conversation was interrupted by a series of unsettling noises from deeper within the forest. He began to sniff towards the sounds, he motioned his paw for Dante to be quiet while they trudged through the forest. Stealth wasn’t going to work here since their presence was already known by the trees.

  They approached a small clearing, simir to the clearing Dante woke up in when he came to the world. However, it was much darker and crowded with dark metallic pnts. They came into contact with what initially seemed like a harmless pnt. The pnt-like creature, disguised with vibrant flowers and lush leaves, raised its petals.

  “Careful,” Silver warned.

  “Aww, it’s cute,” Dante said as he reached to touch it.

  “Stop!” Silver hushed a whisper and sliced through the pnt. It dropped to the ground, its mouth opened wide, exposing rows of razor-sharp teeth, ready to snap shut on anything within reach. Silver’s eye widened. “Watch out for its venomous needles,” he advised.

  The decapitated creature’s vines twitched and pulled into a patch of bushes. “Not good, Dante! Watch out!” A barrage of deadly, barbed projectiles flew from the bushes. They dodged with agility, weaving through the dangerous barrage. They took cover behind a boulder, all to be met with a heavy scent of death. To their surprise, they found themselves within a living graveyard. Multitudes of different Chimerans could be seen. Some were hanging, blood dripping out of the various holes that the wicked vines protruded from. Some were left rotting on the forest floor, slowly being devoured by the roots of a nearby tree. It became more and more apparent that this forest had been quite busy as they looked up into the canopy at several more of the dangling Chimerans that were slowly dissolved by the monstrous creatures. The killer pnts were eating the unfortunate Chimerans who stumbled upon this pce – which happened to be quite a few. One would think a warning would be put up saying not to enter such a pce. Well, there was, they just didn’t notice it was overgrown and mutited by the pnts.

  “Uh… Dante… I think we shoulda tried our luck with the kes…”

  “You think!?” His eyes were wide as suddenly multiple malevolent pnts emerged from the shadows. They were quickly surrounded by vicious monster pnts that screeched and nipped at them.

  “I ain’t goin’ down without a fight!” Silver growled as he brandished his dark katana.

  “Right…” Dante said, looking at his hands and limp wings. “Let’s do this.”

  They quickly darted towards their enemies. Dante swung his razor-sharp wings, each ssh sending severed vines and spttered pnt matter flying.

  Silver, nimble, and precise, wove through the chaos, his katana screaming as he severed gnashing mouths from their metallic stalks and cut writhing tendrils before they could ensnare him. He flung shurikens and kunai into the mass of wriggling flora, embedding them into pulsating, fleshy bulbs that shrieked as they burst open, spilling viscous, bck ichor onto the ground.

  Dante was forced to py guardian, using his near-useless wings to shield Silver as barrages of poisoned thorns and jagged, spined darts shot toward them from the treetops. Many monstrous pnts spit steaming acid in thick, getinous globs, sizzling through the metallic bark and dissolving whatever they touched. One particurly massive vine, thick as Silver’s torso, lined with jagged serrations, shed out like a whip. He intercepted it mid-swing, slicing it apart in a single, brutal motion of his wings. The bisected vine filed violently, spilling a writhing nest of smaller, parasitic pnts that immediately tched onto a nearby corpse, burrowing into rotting flesh and making sickening squelch noises.

  The deeper they went, the worse it became unsure whether they should turn back. The path behind them though had been closed off. The pnts were trying to trap them. Hanging from the bckened canopy above were more of the desiccated remains of Chimerans, their mangled bodies entangled in the carnivorous vines that pulsed as they drained what little was left of them. Their hollowed-out skulls swayed, lifeless eyes staring down as if silently warning the intruders of their inevitable fate. Some still had flesh clinging to their bones, gnawed away in chunks by smaller, gnashing blossoms, their petals lined with rows of needle-like teeth.

  Beneath their feet, the ground heaved and trembled, shifting with life. The stench of decay thickened as they neared deep pits where more Chimeran corpses y in grotesque heaps, their bodies at varying stages of decomposition. Some were skeletal, their ribs picked clean and gleaming wet with pnt secretions, while others still twitched—unfortunate souls not fully dead, but too far gone to fight back. Parasitic vines burrowed into their torsos, feeding on their dying breaths, others sprouted from within their very bodies, rupturing through skin and muscle in an obscene dispy of unnatural cruelty.

  Silver, normally unfazed, nearly gagged as he leaped over a rotting Chimeran whose chest had been split open like a blooming flower, its innards now a breeding ground for pulsating, flesh-colored tendrils. “I done seen some bad stuff,” he grunted, dodging a snapping vine that nearly took off his ear, “but this here? This gotta be the worst.”

  Dante didn’t respond—his attention was locked on the next threat. A cluster of massive, pitcher-like pnts had begun to stir, their lids peeling open to reveal bubbling, green stomachs lined with writhing, cwed tendrils. The moment they sensed movement, they convulsed, spitting out long streams of corrosive bile that burned holes straight through anything it touched, including the metallic trees.

  Dante kicked off the ground, wings fring as he intercepted the first glob in midair, slicing through it. As it spattered on his wings, it simply sizzled and faded away. “Silver! Stay behind me!” he barked, barely deflecting another acidic projectile before it could melt his arm clean off.

  “Hells no! I ain’t dyin’ here like no damn cattle!” Silver spun on his heel, vaulting over a nest of writhing tendrils and nding on the back of a massive, trunk-like vine. He used it as a springboard to unch himself into the air and pivoted mid-flip to hurl a trio of kunai into the gaping maws of the pitcher pnts. They exploded on impact, their acidic contents spshing across the battlefield, searing through the lesser flora like wildfire.

  Dante grinned despite himself. Even in the face of absolute horror, Silver was still Silver.

  But the forest was far from finished with them. The ground rumbled again—this time more violent than before. Something enormous was waking.

  “We need to run!” Silver shouted as they darted towards a long tunnel of trees which hopefully became an exit.

  Behind them, the situation escated rapidly. It could be seen slithering around them like a cobra.

  “What… is… that?” Dante stuttered with eyes wide.

  “It’s the guardian of the forest!” Silver called out.

  A colossal pnt monster emerged from the dense undergrowth, its massive maw gaping wide, lined with rows of jagged teeth. The creature’s immense size and intimidating presence effectively blocked their path to the exit. The forest closed around them, leaving them with no option but to confront this new threat.

  The pnt monster’s vines shed out with terrifying speed and force, swiping through the air like living whips. They struck with stone-crushing power, smashing into the ground and sending splinters of wood and debris flying. The ground beneath them trembled with each impact, and the creature’s monstrous roar rippled through the forest, a chilling noise that spoke of its predatory hunger.

  Adding to the chaos, the monster reared back and spat a stream of poisonous acid from its gaping maw. The corrosive substance hissed through the air, burning with a noxious green glow. Dante’s reflexes were quick, but a few droplets grazed his face, sizzling against his hardened skin. The acid’s touch was intense, but Dante remained unfazed. His supernatural resilience allowed him to brush off the acid, the corrosive effect having no sting impact on him.

  With a powerful thrust, Dante's wings sliced through the nearest vines with a crackling swish. Each cut released a burst of pnt blood and a shower of green slime. The monster roared in pain and frustration, but it pressed on relentlessly. The thick, thorny vines were not easily subdued. They whipped back, some striking Dante’s wings and leaving shallow scratches, though the razor-sharp edges fended off most attacks.

  The pnt monster swung again, this time he was not so lucky as the vine struck his torso. The force of the blow threw Dante into the brush. The smaller pnt monsters dove in after him, biting at his arms and legs. “Argh! Get off!” he shouted as he stood up, picked up the various pnt fiends, and crushed them in his hands. Each death enraged the rger pnt monster, directing its attention to him.

  The big pnt smmed its vines upon him, pinning him to the ground. It allowed the smaller pnts to attempt a feast, but his skin was too tough. The pnts soon gave up on trying to eat him and turned their attention to the softer-bodied Ferenzial.

  “Oh no ya don’t” he barked as he darted in and out of the monster’s range, his bckened katana fshing as he severed additional vines. He threw shurikens with deadly accuracy, targeting the monster’s more vulnerable spots. The shurikens embedded themselves in the pnt’s fleshy hide, causing it to convulse and thrash more violently. The smaller pnts quickly targeted him as the big pnt attempted to trip his feet.

  Silver kicked the smaller pnts left and right and sliced them vertically, showering him in pnt blood. He was surrounded by the pnt fiends but wasn’t sure what to do next. He pced a few swipes but the little creeps dodged.

  Dante noticed that his new friend was in immediate danger. He darted towards the group, lifted into the air, and swung around. His wings became propellers as he spun around – chopping the pnts to little bits like an ultra-speed weed whacker. More pnt blood rained down on the both of them, but Silver was jealous.

  “Hmph! I coulda done that!” Silver taunted.

  Dante’s tornado strike cleared out the remaining creatures until there was only the big one left. “Alright Silver, let’s give it all we have!” He shouted.

  The monster’s maw snapped open and shut, attempting to catch Dante in its crushing bite. He used his wings to deflect the creature’s attacks, his movements a blur of defense and offense. The pnt monster also sprayed venomous acid sporadically, forcing Dante and Silver to remain constantly on guard. The acid, when it struck the ground, hissed and bubbled, adding to the forest’s already dangerous environment.

  The once-vibrant vegetation was now drenched in the foul-smelling blood of the monsters and the debris and corpses of the Chimerans as they dropped from the canopies in an attempt to hit the attackers. Despite the relentless assault, the intruders' determination and skill began to turn the tide. With each swipe of Dante’s wings and precise strike of Silver’s katana, the monster’s defense weakened. Its roars grew more ragged, its movements slower and more erratic.

  The massive pnt unched itself at Dante and wrapped its mouth around him. It squeezed as tightly as it could, but he was far stronger. He forced his sharp wings through the roof of its mouth, sticking himself to it. The creature squealed and writhed in agony as it tried to spit him out. He punched at the inside of its mouth, breaking out teeth and throwing them down its throat like darts. The pnt monster retaliated with a shower of acid. He didn’t want to lose his clothes again and dodged away, narrowly escaping the acid bath.

  “Look there, Dante! That’s the main vine. I think if we sever that, this battle is won!” Silver pointed out.

  “Okay! Let’s do it!” Dante concurred.

  Silver threw a handful of shurikens at the pnt's vines – distracting them it to chase him. Dante swooped around the back. Finally, with one st, powerful strike, he cleaved through the monster’s central vine, causing it to writhe in its final death throes. The creature colpsed with a thunderous crash, its massive maw closing one st time before falling silent. The forest fell eerily quiet, the only sound was the distant rustling of leaves and the raspy breathing of Silver’s smoker lungs.

  “Gettin’ too old for this…” he chuckled.

  “What the heck was that thing?” Dante said as he threw off some lifeless pnt parts from his shoulder.

  Silver, exhausted and covered in the monster’s grotesque remains, kicked the corpse. Fortunately, the pnt didn’t budge. “Forest guardian, I’ve never seen one before, but I heard about it. Most of the time, if ya see one, ya don’t live to talk about it.”

  “What was it guarding?” Dante asked.

  “No one knows. No one’s lived to find out.” He said while trying to sheathe his katana. It was caked with pnt tissue, “Bet it’s treasure. Bet there’s more of ‘em.”

  “We should keep moving then.” Dante motioned with him toward the exit.

  “Yeah, let’s get outta here,” Silver excimed, wiping the foul-smelling slime from his face. They hastened their pace, eager to escape the forest’s treacherous embrace.

  Amidst the wreckage, the sinister forest was littered with the remains of their fierce battle and rotting corpses. Exhaling a peaceful aura, the oppressive atmosphere lifted slightly as they headed for the exit, leaving behind the remnants of their grueling fight.

  Through the tunnel, the two felt an unease quickly unfolding. Their victory was short-lived as the forest violently turned against them. The trees, once mere observers, now shed out with venomous leaves and ensnaring vines. Dante’s razor wings opted to be a formidable defense, slicing through the attacking foliage, while Silver skillfully cut through the creatures with his katana and shurikens.

  “Quick! The exit. It’s right there!” Silver shouted as he cut through more of the vile pnt vines.

  “It’s like the entire forest is trying to eat us!” Dante said after shredding through a moving tree.

  “Did ya not see all the dead!? That’s exactly what it's tryin’ to do!”

  The relentless assault made every step a battle, the exit seconds away. They could see vines closing in on the exit. Dante unched himself forward, revolving into a tornado, and bsted his way through the vines. Silver quickly followed him out. They rolled down a slight hill until they finally reached the bottom. They stayed on the ground for a moment, Silver noticeably exhausted.

  As he wheezed for breath, his smoking lungs not able to keep up with the rest of him, Dante stood feeling calm and collected. He reached his hand for a paw, “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just need to… huff… catch me breath. Ya amazin’ out there. Where’d ya learn to fight like that? I thought ya just a brick wall… but huff, yer wings… just simply amazin’.”

  Dante looked at his lifeless wings, “I’m not sure. Just kinda happened. At least these useless wings are good for something. But yeah experience always beats brute strength.”

  Silver sat on the ground and panted, “Sure… sure, but if ya never get tired, no amount of experience can match that. We should spar… huff, sometime.”

  Dante nodded, “Fine with me. I’d like to learn a thing or two from you.”

  “Ha, right.”

  “Yeesh, that forest though… what the hell? They’re not all like that, are they?”

  “Not tely… I woulda heard ‘bout all the dead in there. I swear I thought I saw some friends… I mean them forests always be deadly but to that extent?”

  “So this just started happening? Why do they even try!?”

  “It only recently got worse… didn’t know it was this bad. The dark forests be the only way in and out of Artemis roost.”

  “Yeesh… well let’s not try anymore.”

  “Them dark pces… huff… all over our side of the world. No idea about the human side. But yeah…puff… let’s try to avoid em as best as possible.”

  “Why don't you all just burn them down?”

  “Think we… huff… haven’t tried? Those leaves be fire-resistant!” He said as he id his head back, panting, tongue wagging about. “Nah, the only thing workin’ is clearin’ out the other forests.. huff… to prevent the spreadin’”

  “Someone should probably do something about those…” Dante said as he looked back at the vicious vines that twisted around a tree. He shuddered.

  “Huff, be my… guest!”

  They stayed there a moment longer, then they began to sniff themselves.

  “Whoa… that is just… foul! What is this grimy goo!?” Dante said, picking off pieces of the pnt particles and goo from his armor.

  “Pnt entrails…” Silver stood and stretched, “I’m good now; we should keep goin’. There’s a small stream down the way that we can wash up in.”

  Dante nodded, “Good idea – not sure if you’ve noticed, but we smell pretty bad.”

  “We look pretty bad too!” Silver bellowed.

  They made their way towards the stream, the oppressive atmosphere of the dark forest gave way to a tranquil setting. The air, once thick with decay and the sickly scent of metallic flora, now carried the faint, crisp freshness of flowing water. The tangled, metallic undergrowth gave way to a clearing with craters and drag marks in the ground. It soon came to moss-covered stones and patches of soft earth.

  Eventually, they arrived at the stream, where the clear waters glistened under the light of afternoon. The gentle current murmured over smooth rocks, its song a liberation from the eerie silence that stalked them through the metallic trees. The sight was untouched, unspoiled, a little pocket of the world that had been spared from the onsught of the contagious dark forests.

  “Say, are we going to cause problems washing off in this water? You know, spreading this stuff?”

  Silver shrugged, “Hasn’t done anythin’ to the waters that I know of. I think them trees might be a bit repulsed by it.”

  Dante knelt by the water’s edge, cupping his hands to spsh his face and arms, the cool liquid washing away the remnants of their struggle. The sensation was a relief. He watched as the water ran dark for a moment, pnt guts and grime dissolved instantly as it floated downstream. It was evident, the dark trees didn’t appreciate being anywhere near water from what he could remember.

  “Hmm… maybe… just throw water on the pnts?” He asked.

  “Hey, thems an idear… would ya like to go back through to Artemis Roost n’ let em know?” Silver asked.

  Dante gave him a raised eyebrow and started to ugh.

  Silver, standing nearby, maintained his weapons and crouched beside the stream, rinsing them like someone who had done this a thousand times before. The sound of the water mingled with the quiet clink of metal as he scraped off stubborn bits of pnt remains. He flicked a piece off his bde with a grimace. “Ya ever think about how some fights make ya question yer life choices?” He held the weapon up to the light, inspecting it. “I mean, I expected a lot of things in me life—ambushes, assassins, the occasional lunatic with a grudge—but hackin’ me way through an army of angry pnts? Not on the list.”

  Dante rubbed the st of the grime from his fingers. “Yeah, this ranks high on my list of ‘things I never thought I’d be covered in.” He held up his hands, now mostly clean but still feeling tainted. “You think this stuff is gonna seep in? What if I start growing leaves?”

  Silver smirked, his tail flicking zily behind him. “Then I be forced to prune ya.” He swished his wet bde through the air for emphasis. “Or worse—turn ya to compost.”

  Dante narrowed his eyes. “You’re a real friend, you know that?”

  Silver chuckled, shaking his head as he sheathed his katana. He rolled his shoulders, gncing around at the stream and the light shimmered across its surface. “Strange, though. Feels like we walked straight out of a nightmare and into a paintin’.”

  Dante followed his gaze, his smirk fading into something more thoughtful. “Yeah… after all that, this pce looks peaceful.”

  Silver shot him a sidelong gnce, something close to amusement in his golden eye. “Not that I mind a good fight, but I prefer my enemies to be a bit less… leafy.”

  Dante huffed. “Next time, I’ll request a more traditional ambush. Maybe some rogue assassins, a gang of mercenaries—” He gestured vaguely toward the trees. “Something that bleeds normally.”

  Silver snorted. “Right, because nothin’ says ‘easy fight’ like trained killers with a vendetta. What next yer friend be a dragon?”

  Dante hesitated. “Funny you say that… Ezekiel might be a dragon.”

  Silver blinked. “Wait. What?”

  Dante rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, I saw him do something dragon-like. There was emerald fire, and his eyes went reptilian, it grew wings. Plus, the way he moved, the way he looked at me, it’s totally dragon-like.”

  Silver gave him a long stare. “And yer just mentionin’ this now? I thought he just a flying Rezzo!”

  Dante shrugged. “Oh did I forget to mention the fire-breathing bit?”

  Silver exhaled, shaking his head. “Great. So not only do we have to deal with carnivorous pnts, but now dragons are on the table.”

  Dante sighed. “Yeah. So much for progress.”

  He muttered, “At this rate, I’ll start assumin’ everyone’s secretly something ridiculous.”

  Dante smirked. “Well, if you were in my world, you’d be a walking-talking wolf man.”

  “Puh, just good looks,” he said, waving him off.

  They finished cleaning themselves off and departed the stream. There was still quite a distance between them. Multiple paths could be taken, fortunately, Silver knew the way. It made Dante gd to be accompanied by him. Their friendship flourished as they told each other stories of their pasts. One particur interest was Silver’s upbringing – a start to how he came to be.

  The old wolf expined that he was 1 of 7. But they’re all gone, and he’s all alone. He’s been alone for a very long time.

  “Bet ya can’t guess me age, eh Dante?”

  “37?” Dante shrugged.

  “Heh, add 30 more years.”

  “What!? No way, you are not 67 years old! That’s just…”

  “Impossible? Didn’t I tell ya that we age slowly? Compared to humans though. Those guys don’t age at all.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, they figured out a way to not age. Ya don’t know that?”

  “No… back in my world, age was what everyone wanted to stop but couldn’t ever do it. With age, we grew wisdom, so to speak.”

  “Interestin’, what else can ya tell about ‘em?”

  “Well, in my world there were a lot of unhappy people, poor, homeless, crime. Just seemed like everyone wanted to be entertained, at all times, by something—anything really.”

  “Sounds like a dreary pce.”

  “Yeah… I miss it.”

  “Hm.” Silver was silent for a moment and chuckled.

  “What?”

  “Just got me thinkin’ ’bout me own life. I’ve been meanderin’ pce to pce for decades. Lookin’ for lost treasures and where I can get a stiff drink. I stopped thinkin’ about where I come from. Too much hurt, me thinks.”

  “Are you not able to go there?”

  Silver sighed, “Ya, but not much point. I keep it as me hideout. But it always gets me feelin’ sad.”

  “Oh… I’m sorry. I can rete a bit...”

  “Indeed. Now. Anyway. Let’s see.” Silver stopped to check his route.

  The trail meandered along ancient ridges that once followed a fertile valley. The path was well-worn by the many Chimerans who traveled it. The duo passed by many travelers on their way to other cities.

  “Don’t go through the forests,” Silver advised, “they be certain doom.”

  “Ah, what? Get over. Me and me mates go through them forests all the time. Ain’t nothin’ to it.”

  “Your loss…” Silver said with a smirk.

  Poor saps…

  They passed by many human remnants of ages past – rusted machinery covered in moss and ivy.

  “Hey… it’s an old car! Wow… this world really does seem to be like mine. They had cars! Wonder what kind of car… looks like all the details have disintegrated away.”

  “Caw-are? What’s that?” Silver asked curiously.

  “A car… c-a-r. It’s what the humans used to get around. Beats walking, especially when you have miles and miles of road to get through.” He said, still in wonder about the scrap heap.

  “Puh, gotta keep me figure. I’ll stick to walkin’ much thanks.” Silver stuck his nose in the air.

  They then came to a crumbling stone bridge over a raging river.

  “Wow… so how are we doing to cross this, Silver?”

  “How else? We jump?” He said, smugly.

  “What… you can make this?”

  “Ya. Watch!” He said as he took a few steps back, then hurled himself across the bridge to the other side.

  Dante was taken aback by the feat, “Wow… the Chimerans sure are amazing creatures.” He said as he simply unched into the sky and glided down gently.

  Silver was quite impressed by the feat, it wasn’t said outright, “I coulda done that if I had wings!”

  They then came to a fork with Wild, untamed slopes with paths to secret glens filled with wildflowers and untouched orchards. Nature had truly taken over. It was then that darkness fell, so they found a suitable spot to make camp. The crackling of the fire provided a comforting backdrop to the quiet of the night within the glen.

  Silver rummaged through his supplies, pulling out some rations. “Ya should eat somethin’,” he suggested, tossing Dante a piece of dried meat.

  Dante caught it but shook his head. “So I thought I saw a butcher back in Artemis Roost… that was a cow, right? Not a uh…”

  Silver stared at him in disbelief, “Surely you don’t think… I’d eat our people… do you?”

  Dante began to ugh, “No, of course not, I’m just curious.”

  Silver pulled out his pipe, filled it, lit i,t and gave it a deep puff. “It’s a cow, Dante.”

  “My world, we ate animals… like cows. Pigs. Ahem— some even ate dog.”

  Silver's ears perked up, “What now!? Y'all ate dog!?” He whined.

  “Well, I didn’t! Other countries did… I stuck to cows and pigs.” He said, trying to hold back ughter. “So this world has livestock. Interesting.”

  Silver grinned, “Us carnivores can’t survive on pnts.”

  It looked tasty, but Dante wasn’t feeling it right now. “I’m not hungry, thanks though” he replied as he stuffed it into his pocket, his eyes drawn upward to the vast expanse of the night sky. He then noticed something floating in the sky. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to a bright light shining among the stars, far rger and more luminous than anything else in the great darkness, even the moon.

  Silver followed his gaze. “That? It’s where the humans came from,” he expined, his voice tinged with awe and bitterness. “Built by ‘em ages ago. Accordin’ to legend, they were the first to live here and then they were sent into the stars after they made the world a terrible pce to live. Remember me tellin’ ya that?”

  Dante stared at the glowing mass in the sky, trying to piece together the fragments of history he was only beginning to understand. “Right, humans existed first… wrecked the world… sounds familiar…” he murmured. “Then they came back and tried to take over.”

  “Yup. Humans always wantin’ Power, control—take yer pick,” Silver replied, his voice tinged with bitterness. His eye, however, revealed the depth of the resentment he harbored. “When they returned, they saw the Chimerans as lesser. So they started exterminatin’ us.”

  The fire crackled loudly, filling the silence that followed Silver’s words. Dante let the information sink in, these humans sound like my humans… is the human race just so… devastating to any world they live in? He thought while poking the fire with a stick.

  “That’s when Sebooro helped…”

  “Yup, he be our savior, creator, teacher. Him n’ Artemis. She be the only reason they haven’t attacked again me thinks…”

  “She’s that great huh… I hope I meet her one day.”

  “Yup, well, what do I know? But ya, that’s the past. We’ve got our battles to fight now.” He leaned back against a stump.

  For a while, they sat quietly, each lost in thought as the fire warmed the cold reality of their conversation. The fmes danced in rhythm with shared resolve, forged through hardship and the challenges ahead.

  Finally, Silver broke the silence. “We should rest. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.”

  Dante nodded and y back, his gaze drifted to the stars above. Focused on the floating object high in the sky.

  What a world… what a strange yet familiar world.