The forest seemed to be silent, as if one had ordered all life to cease making noise, even the rain lightly tapping the ground was drowned out by that 'thing'.
Beneath the trees a beast was feasting upon its prey, its large body swayed and writhed as its teeth tore apart its food, not a single critter could be found in the vicinity as their instincts scared them witless, they wouldn't make a peek even if you killed all their kin.
*Crunch* *Crush* *Rip*
The ravaging sounds were the only thing that could be heard, the distinct cracking of bones and crushing of the 'shell' bounded off the surrounding trees like a warning to anything that would dare wonder close.
It had just finished its hunt; it was not satisfied since the endless hunger that called from its very being seemed to be eating away at its own body and soul.
It finished one, then it moved to the next; It tried to bite but the 'shell' got in the way, its crazed mind didn't carry a lick of logic as it ruthlessly tore at the prey with its sharp claws until it could feel the tender flesh and blood staining its fangs.
It swallowed the bounty from its hunt yet even as the lumps travelled down its throat and it parched itself with the red blood dribbling slowly from the remains it was never satisfied, like a man stranded in the desert trying to drink water from a mirage.
One, two, three, four, it didn't count itself but that was the number this time, after it swallowed the last pile, it didn't leave, it went back to the first and made sure everything was eaten, its desire didn't allow it to miss anything.
All that was left was 'shells and stains, it lapped up all it could, but the cursed ground stole the rest, it was still hungry, the pain that wracked its very self-echoed through its essence.
It remembered there was more, more prey.
Should it follow the one that left alone? No, it will follow the larger pack.
The more food the better, the more there is the higher chance it will be sated, its current self didn't feel this, but its old instincts told it so.
It quickly followed the traces they left behind, the scent carried on the wind all but showed the prey staggering away from it, so it quickly caught up, there were four more and a few smaller ones.
They didn't react, they couldn't it was a master of the hunt, its body flashing with ethereal light was hidden from their sight, this time it didn't want any to scape.
With its instincts he felt no threat from the things they held, if it was sane it would even feel a sense of mockery as they failed to match its claws and fangs, after the first strike one fell, its head separated from the next as it fell in to the beasts stomach.
There was yelling, panic and more yet it wasn't long before the silence returned, even the smaller ones it felt a sense of familiarity ended up as quick morsels, their smaller size made them easier to consume.
*Crunch* *Munch* *Crush* *Rip*
The sound echoed once more like a verse between melodious slaughter.
It ate and ate yet still wasn't full, would it ever be full? It didn't even consider, it just needed to eat.
It was done again, nothing but a stain left, there were two more left, its eyes frantically span and bulged as they tracked the remains, they converged on a single point.
It knew where they were, its body shifted as it took on the colour of the forest, the melody will continue playing.
… … …
'Where is this thing?' Seth couldn't help but wonder as he followed the faint black aura he was seeing with his sight; he had been following the tracks for a good hour now, yet the trail seemed never ending.
He had plenty of time to take in the surroundings, but unfortunately the entire place seemed to be the same, tall trees that covered the sky and small critters running around them, fortunately he was making progress with the initial mapping so he wasn't lost yet but he hoped he would come across something soon since he was bored beyond belief.
His wish was granted soon after, his [Life Sense] skill went off, that wasn't unusual, but it wasn't the size of a tiny critter this time, it was small but strong.
'A person?' he assumed; he truly wasn't expecting to run in to a person in this place since it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere so he was surprised, nether-less he didn't approach carelessly, he drew the short sword that he had in the sheathe to his side and sent a oculi up in the air with [Far-Sight], the small ball of mana rose in the air and moved above the source of life, he stayed cautious as he peered using the oculi to scout out.
'Two men, based on what they're wearing are they adventurers? No, its matching… are they soldiers or something? Is there a settlement around here?'
Two people were huddled next to one of the trees, one was older in his late 30's at least while the other may be in his early 20's, they were both wearing similar leather armour with matching protectors, so they seemed to be part of the same organisation, though that was just an assumption.
They were wounded, not too badly but they had what seemed to be cuts on their arms and one had punctures on his forearm, they were wrapping their wounds with torn cloth and breathing heavily while their eyes darted from side to side as if watching for something.
It wasn't long before they both noticed the small ball of mana floating in the sky, they younger pointed and seemed to fall in to panic as the older one's face drained of colour, and he lost strength in his body.
Seeing this Seth almost wanted to laugh, they seemed to have mistaken his ability for something else, probably whatever hurt them in the first place.
He didn't want to scare his first possible contacts silly, so he started to walk towards their position while trying to be in clear sight, he still had his sword at the ready, but he stood in a less threatening stance.
"Hey there" He called out casually as the two appeared in his sight, his voice seemed to jolt their minds as their sight darted from the light in the air to his figure, clear confusion crossed their faces as they looked him up and down.
"You- Who are you?!" The older man yelled almost in a panic causing the younger one to place his hand over the man's mouth and whisper "Quiet it'll hear us!" causing the older man to swallow any other words as his heart stood still.
The younger man then looked at Seth again quizzingly and pointed towards the light and asked: "Is that yours?"
Seth nodded his head trying to be as nonthreatening as possible, his appearance still bordered on scarily weird, so he tried to be amiable as possible as he replied "Yup, it's a spell I use for scouting" as he held his hand up, moving it left and right while the ball of light did the same.
A sense of relief seemed to pass through the pairs faces before tension quickly returned.
"So it wasn't that thing then, you scared us half to death… who are you? We don't usually get outsiders in this place, no wait never-mind you should leave now" The younger man who seemed to have a better head on his shoulders wanted to question Seth, but survival seemed to take priority.
"Leave you say… the problem is I have no idea where I am, I was exploring some ruins and I think I triggered some old teleportation trap and now I'm here, can't even go back" Seth said as he shrugged without any feeling of tension, it was a lie he cooked up just now but it was a half-truth so it would be more believable, even if they went to the ruins he came from all they'd find would be the inscriptions for the teleportation marking and nothing else.
"Ruins? To think one of the old places around here held such a thing…" The young man said quietly, he seemed to buy it easily but whether he was just gullible or couldn't care less right now was up in the air?
"Anyway, if you can't leave you should come with us! This place is dangerous right now a dangerous beast is going around!" The young man stood up and dragged the older one to his feet as well, they had just finished wrapping their wounds and wanted to move on.
"Beast? Is it that dangerous?" Seth said with some doubts, from what he's seen so far in this forest at most there would be some small-class beasts and maybe a medium-class, he feels he would be strong enough to either kill or escape so he wasn't panicked.
"That's not a beast, that's an abomination, demon, monster!" The old man screeched almost deliriously as spitter flew from his mouth, his face was red and filled with fear.
"Shut up, you're not helping" The younger man berated the other and turned to Seth again.
"We were a group of 10 men and 10 wolves, yet we're all that remains, we couldn't even mark that thing before most of us dropped… You should get out of here with us, I don't know how strong you are but you're just one man don't get yourself killed."
Seth almost felt touched, he just met this young man yet even if it was just for appearances, he was showing worry for him, but in the end, he wasn't a human anymore so he quickly pushed the irrational thoughts down, of course he wouldn't throw away the offer to go together since it was better than being lost.
As he was about to reply his sight caught something in the distance, it wasn't clear but hazy, like a moving cloud shifting along the ground without sound.
'That black aura, it's here!' His guard went up immediately as he stood in front of the two men, he wanted to grasp everything he could about this enemy that seemed to be more than a beast.