The cold air of the cave woke Fang up.
He rolled on the rough stone floor, his muscles hurting from another night on the hard ground. As his eyes opened, he looked toward the spot where Smoke had been sitting at the night before.
guarding him like a good boy.
But now, the spot was empty. Fang was worried as he sat upright, eyes looking everywhere in the dark cave. No sign of the little smoke rabbit anywhere. Instead, there was just a small, dark stone where Smoke had been.
it was glowing with purple light but was very dim.
"What the hell?" Fang muttered, crawling closer and grabbing the stone. It was cold, and an uneasy feeling spread in his body. Had something happened during the night? Did Smoke just… vanish?
"No way…" He tightened his grip, frustration filling his mind. Just when he thought he was finally getting somewhere with his powers, the one successful thing he did disappeared.
He held tightly onto the stone, knowing to remember this day.
But as his thumb brushed the stone, something echoed inside him. An odd sense of familiarity.
Hesitant, he focused his energy, guiding a thin string of mana into the stone. The reaction was instant.
A soft, dark mist flew out from his palm, swirling around his wrist and reforming into the familiar shape of Smoke.
Fang blinked; his grip tightened as the mist solidified into the ghostly rabbit, its glowing violet eye orbs glancing up at him. Smoke twitched his ears, then tilted his head as if to ask why Fang looked so freaked out.
"Oh, thank Asu," Fang breathed, a relieved giggle escaping his lips. "I thought I lost you, little guy."
Smoke rubbed against Fang's hand with his nose as if completely unaware of the scare he'd caused. Fang sat back against the cave wall, processing what had just happened.
'So, Smoke wasn't just a permanent companion.
He needed to be charged. The stone must act as some sort of core, storing energy until it is fed enough to bring Smoke back to life. I need to check how much mana it can take at once.'
"Looks like you run on mana, huh?" Fang mused, scratching his head. It clicked. His undead weren't self sufficient; they needed power to function, and that power had to be actively maintained.
"Well. If I need to recharge it constantly I will need to learn to see it's mana capacity but I guess only Asu will be able to teach me that. For now, I'm starving and I am not going to eat another mushroom today.
Time to hunt." Said Fang, grinning at the thought of eating meat again.
He hoped he could hunt another pig, but he was practical.
"Alright, breakfast first," he said, heading out to find something that is breathing, hoping to make it his next meal.
As he moved through the forest, a thought came at the back of his mind. What would happen if he reanimated something bigger, something more powerful? Would it also need to be charged like Smoke, or would it eat up his mana just to stay intact? and what is the origin of those stones?
He pushed the thought aside, focusing on survival for now. As he picked his way through the underbrush, he couldn't help but feel a little better knowing he wasn't completely on his own anymore.
Smoke was by his side, hopping along intensely to catch up to Fang.
They walked for a while, Fang's mind wandering as he considered their next move. Smoke seemed to be staying close, following Fang's every step. The silence of the forest was broken only by the birds angelic sound.
Fang's eyes scanned the trees, searching for movement. A pig, maybe?
His attention was quickly pulled to a rustling noise ahead of them. His sharp eyes locked onto the wild pig just a few meters away, grazing lazily. It was bigger than the last one, its thick black fur scaring Fang quite a bit.
Fang smiled to himself, adjusting the knife made of bones in his hand. He crafted it last night using the bones of the pig carcass he butchered a few days ago.
As he got rid of the body, he ripped out some of the ribs to sharpen them up for a makeshift knife.
He crouched, preparing to move in for the kill. But just as he was about to make his move, a loud growl was heard. Fang's instincts flared, and he turned around to see another boar charging straight at him. It was fast, way too fast for Fang.
Its ivory tusks were the scariest thing Fang saw after Asu, and it was headed straight for him.
Fang's eyes widened. There was no way he could get out of the way in time. Damn it!
But just before the boar could reach him, something strange happened. A thick cloud of smoke erupted from beside him. Fang felt a gust of air whip around him, and the charging boar screeched to a halt, its eyes wide with panic.
The creature stepped back, confused and thrashing against the smoke.
It snorted and charged again, but the smoke didn't fade.
It enveloped itself around the boar's head, filling its nose, and choked the creature's breath. The pig began thrashing with no restraint, its desperate grunts turning into panicked squeals. It tried to turn, to escape, but the smoke was relentless, suffocating it in a tight grip.
Eventually, the boar managed to break out of the smoke screen and ran with the last of his dying breaths in his lungs.
Fang's eyes widened in shock. "Smoke!" he shouted.
Fang watched as the boar tried to sprint away, and he remembered the other boar he was there to hunt but it ran away in the commotion.
"Smoke!" Fang repeated, shaking off the shock as he dropped to one knee, his hand stretched toward the dissipating mist.
The little smoke rabbit materialized beside him with a soft puff of violet smoke, looking completely unbothered by the chaos it had just caused. It twitched its ears and nuzzled against Fang's hand, as if it had done nothing more than chase a squirrel.
"You." Fang could not find his words, still in disbelief. "You just… did that?"
Smoke tilted his head, those violet eyes blinking slowly as if to say, of course. It seemed like Smoke was more than just a companion.
'Did he just invent spells of his own? I didn't think of making a smoke screen out of my death magic. This is genius, It can help trap enemies and disorient them.'
"Alright," Fang muttered, still processing. "This is insane."
He stood up, brushing himself off. "We need to talk about boundaries, Smoke. No more choking out wild animals without a warning next time. Got it?"
Smoke gave a low, rumbling sound, which Fang could only guess was a form of agreement. Or perhaps just an excuse to get more of Fang's attention.
'How can I be mad at this cutie patootie?'
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Fang said, grinning despite himself. His hand moved to the back of his neck, his thoughts circling. If Smoke could do that to a boar, what else could it do?
Fang took a deep breath, gathering his resolve. He was no stranger to dealing with the unknown. He had no choice but to adapt, just as he had before.
"Alright, let's get that pig," he said, looking forward to scouting again for the pig from before.
"Stay close, Smoke," he murmured, eyeing the shadows of the trees.
The little smoke rabbit hopped beside him, its small paws hardly making a sound on the forest floor, blending with the shadows of nearby trees.
Fang kept his senses sharp as he moved forward, very keen on eating meat today.
He could feel Smoke's presence beside him. unseen, but always there. It was reassuring, and yet... strange. Was Smoke more than just an extension of his power now? He could feel the mana presence of Smoke with his own body.
A few minutes later, A soft grunt broke his concentration, and Fang's eyes snapped to the left.
There it was, the boar from before, grazing near a small cluster of bushes.
This time, the boar was more alert, its tusks gleaming in the sunlight, but still, it didn't seem aware of Fang's presence yet.
Fang nodded to Smoke, signaling the plan. He'd get the first strike, but Smoke would need to keep the boar distracted long enough for him to get in close.
Without a sound, Fang crouched low, his bone knife ready. Smoke, sensing the moment, darted ahead.
A thick cloud of violet smoke erupted from the little rabbit, swirling in the air, blinding the boar. The creature snorted and pawed at the ground in confusion, trying to push through the smoke but only getting more disoriented.
The boar grunted, thrashing around in panic, its tusks jabbing into the air. Smoke's smoky form danced around the creature, staying just out of reach, leading it deeper into the confusion.
Fang grinned. Perfect.
With the boar thoroughly distracted, Fang moved quickly, closing the distance. He felt the familiar, dark surge of energy from within him, his mana pooling into his hands. His fingers curled, and tendrils of darkness shot out from his fingers, snaking on the ground toward the boar.
The tendrils wrapped around the boar's legs, dragging it down into the dirt with terrifying speed. The creature's voice erupted in surprise, struggling to free itself, but the tendrils tightened, holding it in place. It tried to thrash against the black smoke, but its efforts were in vain.
Fang's heart beat faster, the sensation of power rushing through him. He could feel the creature's life force draining into the tendrils, its body weakening as the death mana consumed it.
With a final squeal, the boar perished.
Smoke, having finished its spell around the boar, hopped back to Fang's side, watching with passive violet eyes as the boar finished his journey on this land.
Fang stood over the dead boar, his tendrils returning to his palms.
He let out a long breath, feeling the relief of the kill. "Well, that was easier than I thought. Thanks to you, smoke."
he said while wiping his hand on his pants. Smoke rubbed his nose against Fang's leg, giving a little hop, as if proud of their work.
Fang looked down at the boar with a mix of satisfaction and hunger. "Not bad, Smoke. You were a great distraction. And me, well, I guess I'm getting the hang of this whole 'death magic' thing. Though this is quite shit to feel like the bad guy here but a man gotta eat."
'It's weird how easy it became for me to kill. Like, it isn't even a big deal. Is the death mana affecting my humanity, or is it the loneliness?'