Spirit Silhouette

The beast unleashed the blast, a beam of spiritual energy that tore through the underbrush. Trees splintered; rocks vaporized—the ground itself scarred by the attack's path. Ao didn't hesitate. He flung his dagger upwards once more, not as a weapon but to free his hand. His free hand stretched out, and he channeled his spiritual energy into a nearby log, wrapping it in a shell of spiritual energy. He pulled, and shot the log shot into the beam's path.

The blast struck the log, the force splitting the wood into fragments. The explosion that followed was a wall of pressure, a shockwave that threw Ao off his feet once more. His small body cartwheeled through the air, leaves and debris whipping past him. His back slammed against a rock, the solid crunch of impact knocking the breath from his lungs.

Pain. Sharp and immediate. His vision swam, dark spots crowding the edges. His mouth opened, but the only sound was a thin wheeze.

The Tachi didn't relent. Its massive form blurred forward, as it closed the distance. Ao's mind raced, his small body screaming in protest as he forced himself upright. His vision wavered, but he grits his teeth, adrenaline drowning out the pain that pulsed through his every nerve.

He didn't have time to think—only to react.

With a flick of his wrist, Ao grabbed two rocks from the forest floor, his spiritual energy weaving through them. The rocks trembled, lifted by the spiritual energy, and shot forward to intercept the beast's charge. They weren't meant to stop it—nothing could—but they might slow it down, even for a heartbeat.

The Tachi barely hesitated. Its red eyes narrowed, and its claws flashed, slicing through the stones as if they were made of paper. Shards of rock scattered, embedding themselves into the trees and soft earth, but the beast remained unphased, its momentum carrying it forward, but it needed to slow down to do that slice, barely.

But barely was enough.

The instant the rocks shattered, he had shifted his stance, his hand outstretched, a ball of compressed spiritual energy forming in his palm. The blue light pulsed, a tight, concentrated sphere. There was no time to focus, no time to refine the energy—he simply needed to strike.

Aim for the nose.

He fired. The energy shot forward, a streak of blue light that slammed into the Tachi's snout. The effect was immediate. The beast's head snapped back, a yelp of pain escaping its maw. Tears welled in its bloodshot eyes, and it stumbled, its balance momentarily disrupted.

Ao's muscles burned, but he pushed forward. His dagger, still wrapped in a faint aura of spiritual energy, glinted in his grip. He sprinted toward the beast, his movements quick and sharp, each step deliberate and controlled. The world around him seemed to slow, the rustling leaves, the whisper of the wind, the soft crunch of his feet against the earth—all of it drowned out by the singular focus, he needed to strike now, no matter what..

If I run, I die. If I fight, I might live.

The dagger arced forward; its tip aimed for the Tachi's throat. He had read about the weak points of spirit beasts, how their throats were vulnerable, how a precise strike could sever the flow of spiritual energy, destabilizing their form.

But the Tachi wasn't done yet.

The beast's chest expanded, and Ao felt the pressure shift in the air. Its lips curled back, and with a low growl, it expelled a gale-force wind. The blast hit Ao like a wall, the air crushed from his lungs as he was thrown backward. His body twisted mid-air, the forest spinning around him in a blur of green and brown. His small frame crashed into a tree, the impact sending a shockwave of pain through his ribs.

The breath was knocked out of him, his chest tight and unresponsive. His vision doubled, the world splitting into overlapping images. He fought the darkness that crept at the edge of his sight, his fingers clawing at the dirt as he forced himself to move.

But the Tachi wasn't finished.

The beast's jaws opened, and Ao saw the flicker of orange and red deep within its throat. Flames licked between its jagged teeth, and before he could react, a sphere of fire materialized, the heat of it searing the air.

The ball of flame shot forward, almost like a comet. Ao's body moved on instinct, his free hand stretching out. Spiritual energy surged, wrapping around a fallen log nearby. The wood glowed with a faint blue hue as he pulled it between himself and the oncoming blast.

The fire collided with the log, an explosion of embers and ash that washed over Ao. The force of it sent him skidding backward, his skin prickling with burns, the edges of his clothes singed and smoking. His arms shook, the skin red and raw where the heat had grazed him.

But he was still breathing.

Through the smoke, the Tachi advanced, its red eyes glowing with a cold, predatory light. Each step was slow, mocking Ao like it did in the beginning of the fight, the earth trembling under its weight. The beast's tails lashed behind it, venom dripping from the spiked tips, sizzling where it met the ground.

Ao's breathing steadied, each inhale drawing in more than just air. His lungs filled with spiritual energy, every breath a measured pull of the ambient aura around him. Respira and Spirit Cycle worked together, creating a loop of rejuvenation and enhancing. His burns cooled slightly, the blisters pulling back, skin knitting slowly but surely. His bruises lightened, and the tight ache in his chest from cracked ribs began to ease, all this did was mix spirit cycles act of removing negative spiritual energy which removes negative ailments, and Respira's enhancement of his normal body function, which included his body's natural healing which was already faster than the average person since he was a demi-human.

But there was no time to wait for full recovery. The Tachi moved again, enclosing the distance in a split second, its claws cutting through the air with a sound like ripping fabric. 

Ao's feet dug into the forest floor, every step sending dirt and leaves scattering behind him. His lungs burned; his body was still much smaller than the beasts despite the enhancements, so it was struggling to keep up with the sheer speed required to evade the Tachi. His Spirit Sight remained active, and it was only enough to keep him alive—not to turn the tide.

Ao narrowly avoided another slash, the beast's claws cutting through a tree trunk as if it were paper. Splinters exploded outward, a sharp rain of wood that scratched at his exposed skin. He felt the sting, but the pain was distant, his mind too focused on survival to let it break his concentration.

I can't beat this thing. I can't even scratch it...

He had tried using his spiritual energy to wrap it around the beast's head like he did with his dagger and the tree trunks, to pull it down, to at least slow it. But his power was nothing compared to the Tachi's. His spiritual energy was a candle flame to the creature's wildfire. The moment he attempted to grip it with his energy, the beast's own aura simply broke the spiritual energy with its own and rendered his attempt useless.

The realization stung. For the first time since he had awakened into this strange, conscious state as a child, AO couldn't do a single thing to overcome this obstacle, not evade it, wait till later to deal with it, fight it, outsmart it, nothing.

What should I do? Coming here was a mistake in itself... I wish I stayed home... I'm not cut out for this.

The thought gnawed at him, a bitter truth that threatened to root him in place. But even as doubt tried to take hold, his body moved. He ran, his instincts guiding him, his Spirit Sight warning him of every incoming threat.

A surge of spiritual energy behind him—a ball of condensed power. His eyes widened, but the blast hit the ground ahead of him, exploding in a shower of dirt and raw force. The shockwave threw him off his feet, forcing him to spin through the air. He crashed into a bush, the brambles scraping against him, leaving thin red lines across his arms and cheeks. His breathing was getting heavier, making it harder to use respira and he could taste copper in his mouth.

The Tachi was on him before he could rise. It stood above him, its massive form blotting out the sky, shadows pooling around its feet. Venom dripped from its spiked tails, each drop sizzling against the earth. Its breath was a wet rasp, green mist curling from between its jagged teeth.

Ao scrambled back, his hands clawing at the dirt. His daggers were gone, lost somewhere in the chaos of his fight. His spiritual energy reserves were low, his body hungry from maintaining Respira and Spirit Cycle for so long. His vision blurred, the world swimming in and out of focus.

The beast's claw rose, the sharp edges of its black talons gleaming.

I'm going to die.