The bear charges at me, its mouth dripping with blood—my blood. It roars, eyes wild with rage, and I barely have time to raise my weapon before it slams into me.
Pain explodes through my body. Claws tear into flesh. My vision blurs.
Then, silence.
I gasp, choking on nothing. I stand in an endless void. The throne before me is empty.
Beira is gone.
I reawaken.
The bear is dragging my body toward a small cave.
I force Var into my arm, flames bursting to life. Heat sears my skin, but I don't stop. I slam my burning fist into the bear's side. It roars, dropping me.
I hit the ground hard but roll to my feet. The bear charges. I brace myself.
It swipes—I duck. Its claws tear through the air just above my head. I drive my fist into its gut, flames licking at its fur.
The bear roars again, but this fight isn't over.
Flames flicker and die as the bear swipes again, its claws tearing through my throat. Blood spills, hot and thick. I try to reach for it, try to push back, but the world fades.
The bear looms over me, its growls the last thing I hear before everything goes black.
Then an empty throne.
I stand facing the bear, my heart racing as its massive form looms ahead. It's not just any bear—this one's different. Its fur seems to shimmer with a heat I can't explain.
It roars, the sound shaking the ground beneath my feet, and before I can even react, a blast of fire bursts from its mouth. Flames lick the air, bright and wild, coming at me like a beast itself.
I stagger backward, my thoughts scrambling. How can it do that? Bears don't breathe fire.
I try to block the flames with my arms, but it's useless—the heat cuts through me like a knife. I should have been able to dodge it.
My soul, my power… I try to focus, but my body is burning, searing, the pain overwhelming.
In a flash of clarity, I realize what's happening. The pearl… It's been absorbing it. The very power I thought it would grant me. Every time I die, it absorbs it.
The fire isn't just the bear's attack; it's mine. My own destruction. My body burns with the same flames that should have been my strength.
I fell to my knees. The flames wrapped around me like a cocoon.
The pain is unbearable. The world begins to blur. I feel my soul slipping away. The fire consuming everything, until there's nothing left.
It begins as a searing heat that gnaws at my skin, each flame a cruel finger tracing paths of torment.
The burn feels as if my nerves are being set alight, every inch of my flesh ignited in a dance of pain that refuses to let go.
Then an empty throne
I wake with a sudden jolt. The air around me is damp and heavy..
I push myself up. A sharp pain pulses from the back of my skull.
It's dark, but not pitch black. I can make out the rough stone walls of the cave.
The fire. The bear. It attacked with that scorching blaze again. I can feel the heat still in my bones. The burn of it lingering beneath my skin.
I focus on the cave's entrance. A small crack where the light spills in, just enough to remind me there's still a world beyond these walls.
I freeze, listening. The bear. I hear its heavy steps as it comes closer, the ground shaking with each one.
I'm not ready. I know that. The fire isn't far.
The bear comes into view. Its claws scrape against the stone as it takes another step toward me.
"Not this time," I mutter under my breath.
To me, this is a battle—an endless fight against a monster.
To it, I am an infinite meal. A feast that keeps regenerating, over and over again.