According to my perceptions, I am not in pain. I didn't feel any pain when I was attacked by wolves or when I crushed something in my palms. I've never felt actual bodily pain since the turning point in my life. But what exactly is this? Why am I experiencing such excruciating agony right now?
A significant quantity of grains were taken from my body as a result of that single strike; it was a visible injury, one that I could feel and see, as opposed to the minor injury caused by the wolves, which my instincts warned me about.
As I raised my head to look at the offender, I found a polar bear slowly walking towards me. No, that's not it, there is no way a polar bear can wander off and live in a forest far away from any cold environments. It is rare and unusual.
The bear has brilliant white fur covering most of its body. There is a faint sign of light coming from its neck and back but it does not look as threatening. The eyes of the bear were light blue but a faint sapphire blue was present deep within the pupil of its eyes. The face also looked beautiful and cute in a way.
If one were to describe the looks of the bear in one word, it would be calming. It calms the mind when one sees the bear but that does not apply when you are getting attacked by it.
When standing on all fours, the bear was easily two meters tall and expanded to a gigantic three meters in length. As a 2.2-meter-tall being, I must admit that I am terrified of this bear. The very thought of its height when standing on its hind legs makes me shudder, intensifying the situation.
In addition to its size, its teeth were both menacing and terrifying to any living creature. Every single one of the bear's teeth looked like super sharp and huge vampire canine teeth. It resembled death itself and I rather stay away from those teeth.
Considering the terrifying beast that never left any footprints on the floor of the forest and my injury, one could say that I am scared witless. All the confidence and mental strength within me had vanished as if it did not exist just a couple of seconds ago when I was ready to hunt.
I resolved myself to get up and to form a plan of sorts whether it included fighting or escaping since my life was definitely at risk as of right now.
As I was about to get up, I see the bear charging at me once again and jump to the side knowing that I will dodge the charge of the enemy since it is not challenging once you see them charging in a certain direction.
"Boommmmmm..."
The bear managed to shift his trajectory mid-charge, hitting and tossing me towards a far tree, just as I dodged. Because of the power of the hit, my thoughts went utterly blank for a split second. My body's position was equally terrible; I had lost approximately two persons' worth of grains, my body was hurting, and I yearned for a way out of this mess.
At this point, I don't care where this bear came from and why it is so strong. This battle can not continue, it is too one sided due to the bear's overwhelming strength and battle intelligence. There are too many disadvantages, I need to run.
I make my decision and stand up from my seat, and as I look around, I notice two things. One, the tree in front of me has been cut in half, most likely by me because I was hurled with unbelievable force. Second, I see the bear charging at me again through the hole in the tree in front of me!!
I don't have much time, and the bear's speed clearly outpaces mine, so I don't stand a chance against it in a straight-up race for speed. To escape, I need to hide my presence by using shadows.
I hurriedly jumped up and sprinted towards another tree in an attempt to put more trees between the bear and myself, which should help to slow the terrible animal down. I create a really dark shadow over myself and make a dash for it as I race amongst a maze of trees. I'm hoping the beast doesn't come after me now that I'm just a moving piece of darkness.
With this hope, I run away as fast as my legs can carry me without regard for the now terrified animals surrounding the battle between the bear and I. I run and run further but can still hear the sound of trees getting crushed followed by the sound of quick and heavy footsteps.
THE BEAR IS STILL CHASING ME!!!
When I return to confirm it, I notice its gigantic silhouette narrowing the gap between prey and predator, between me and the bear. It's coming in on me fast, and I have no way of stopping it. I can't dodge, and I don't know anything about its endurance or hide resistance.
Despite the fact that I am terrified, I am still trying to think of a way out. I can only assume the bear is pursuing a cubic shadow, a sliver of darkness. I need to vanish completely from its sight. I need to disappear because it may never get tired of pursuing me.
I swiftly check around for a suitable location to cast several shadows over a greater perimeter in order to make it appear more natural. Because there was no cave or cliff-like environment available, I used a bushy location.
Because of the type of the forest, it is not a true bushy area, but it is sufficient because the distance between the trees is roughly 2 meters, if not less. Given that there are at least four trees in such close proximity, I can use the natural shadows they cast to blend into the darkness.
I swiftly get at my destination and cast a few shadows both around and within the natural shadows cast by the trees. The shadows I cast are significantly darker than the natural shadows present, but they are not apparent enough for an untrained eye to notice anything unusual.
As I hear the beast approaching, I throw one final shadow on the ground in the shape of a tree before creating a dark shadow on myself. I'm hoping that the tree-shaped shadows will serve to limit the beast's vision even further.
The shadow I throw on myself is much lighter than before, but it is good enough to blend in with the background, making me just another shadow in an ocean of shadows.
I then wait, and wait.
As time passes, the beast draws closer and closer, as my concern grows. At the time, the feeling that being found means the end of the world was very strong. The bear has slowed down, it is now walking, analyzing the shadows as it is only 7 meters from my location.
It is looking right in my direction, yet not at me directly since its eyes seem to be surveying the shadows and only the shadows. As if it knows that I rest within the darkness.
The beast gets closer and closer, tilting its head to look for any sign of movement. It has now moved into the shadows.
I am stunned, has it found me? But how? What should I do?
As I struggle to make sense of the situation, the bear walks through another wall of darkness and stares right at me.