I am once again, I found myself standing surrounded by the void. I don't know where I am or where I am going, none the less I kept walking with nothing but the endless ocean of stars to guide me in my path.

As I continued on my endless journey, I felt something calls to me. I don't know who or what that was but I followed the voice from whence it came. I walked and walked, for days, weeks, months, years and centuries not knowing where I am going or what I will see when I get there. I continued to walk until I got to the edge of the Void plain but still the whisper is still out of reach, out there beyond the vast abyss. Even if my body is compelled to walk towards the voice, with nowhere else to go but the abyss in front of me, I woke up.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I am not actually in the void, but passed out in the forest. Was that real? Is it just a dream? Well, whatever it is, the only thing that I can say is real is this unbearable pain I feel in my head.

Ouch! It feels like I'm suffering from a hangover, only many times worse.

I try to remember how I got here as I try to sit up and observe my surrounding. I recalled all that has happened to me before I got here. Being trapped in the void and engaged a crazed mage to a battle to the death. Escaping the Void only to be captured and imprisoned by the little brother of the said crazed mage. Being experimented on by a strange old geezer. Spending time with a wonderful family who is also been imprisoned. Had a death match with a friend. The explosion. Me being stabbed by a cheating bastard and the strange phenomenon that allowed me to escape that hell hole.

I only hope Vash and his family would be ok. I mean, Vash technically win since he is the only person alive in that arena since I was able to escape.

Haaahh… No point worrying myself about things I can't do anything about. It is out of my hands now.

My eyes wandered around as I take in the scenery around me. So many things happened in such a short time but it seemed like a distant past to me now. For weeks I have been locked up and haven't seen the world outside except for the castle walls. Now look at me. I am free.

I stood up but my feet are shaking from lack of energy so I leaned on a withered tree near me for support. There are a few things I noticed in myself and my surrounding. What I noticed in my body is that I remembered being covered in multiple gashes and a stab wound from my death match with Vash, but when I checked for wounds earlier, I found out that all of them have healed. The scars left by those wounds are the only sign that they were there.

The second thing I noticed is that for at least 5 meters around me, all of the trees and grass have withered. The thing is, that I would've dismissed as just effect of seasons if not for the trees and plants beyond that five meters are all green and healthy.

How odd. It looks like the very life of the plants around me has been sucked out, leaving only dried husk. Am I the reason? Did I do this? If I did, how and why? Was it related to the strange energy I felt when time seemed to stop? So many questions that I don't have any answers only made my head hurt a lot more and I lay on the ground and fell asleep once more.

When I woke up once more feeling slightly better than the head splitting head ache from before, the shadows in the forest began to become darker as the light seem to dim. It only means that the sun is setting and the day will soon be over. The plant life that surrounds me stayed the same lifeless husk as I saw earlier cementing the fact that what I see is real life and not some kind of illusion resulting from this god damn head ache.

I try to ignore the pain that I am experiencing and started to wander around the forest. No time to wallow around for I have a lot of work ahead of me. First need to find water and food. Although I am not yet hungry or thirsty, but to survive, I must secure sustenance. Then I need to find a place to make my shelter. I can't just stay sleeping in the open. I have been lucky that no wild animals tried to eat me while I was unconscious but I won't tempt fate and continue to stay where I am exposed not only to the elements but also to the dangers of the forest.

I continued to walk for hours I wasn't able to find a source of water but at least I found a bush of wild berries. They tasted sweet when I ate some of it and so far I don't feel any negative effects from eating it. So food is not a problem for now. As for something to drink, I went ahead and picked a lot of berries and wrapped it with the tattered remains of my clothes. I then proceeded to crush the berries inside my clothes to extract some juice from it which is not enough to sate my thirst but was able to wet my dry throat at least.

Darkness finally enveloped the forest and I am forced to find shelter it is dangerous enough to wander in a forest alone, then it is a lot more dangerous to wander the forest alone at night. I continued to walk in darkness and the forest is surprisingly quiet. Too quiet for my taste. After a few minutes of stumbling in complete darkness, I was able to find shelter inside a hollow tree. I cautiously approached the tree to check if it is occupied by an animal. Fortunately it looks like it was empty so I quickly went inside to rest. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep since not only am I suffering from a headache, I was also dead tired from all of this wandering around the forest. Not even a minute after I laid my head against the hollow tree, I found myself in sleep's sweet embrace.

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Once more I woke up from the intense pain in my head. It has been a day already but this damn headache is still not going away. Fuck, I don't have time for this. If I can't find a town soon, I must at least find a source of water soon. I feel parched and I don't think berry juice will quench this time.

I checked on the berries that I saved for breakfast and found out that they became dried up husks. There goes my breakfast I suppose. So with an empty stomach, I quickly got out of the hollow tree and what I saw is starting to unnerve me. I know that the trees and plant around me before I went to sleep last night are well and alive so what is it that I see in front of me? The flora that yesterday was full of vitality are now devoid of life.

I then noticed something weirder.

The forest was deathly silent. No singing of birds can be heard, nor any insect for that matter. Just yesterday when the time was frozen I was able to see that the forest is teeming with fauna as flocks of birds are perched in the branches of the trees and a bunch of deer prances around the woods and now they are nowhere to be found.

Whatever is happening with me is affecting all life around me. That's disconcerting, since I don't know why it is happening or how it even affects me. All I know is that this is bad.

I went back to the wild berry bush I found yesterday to get more berries for me to eat, but when I got there, it has already withered and died. The path that I took yesterday also sports a trail of dead grass and trees. Oh man. Does this mean I can't stay in one place and make a base? But if I do, this effect that I am causing will surely devastate the forest. I mean, I feel bad for nature but if I don't move then I will die.

Since I won't be able to get any food from the berry bush, I continued to walk in the forest to try and find food and source of water. I been walking for an hour or so when I heard rustling sound from the bushes. What was that? Are there animals still in the vicinity? I haven't encountered any since I woke up.

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I slowly creep up to the bush to check on what kind of animal is stuck there when I heard a snarling sound. Shit that doesn't sound good. I quickly jumped away when suddenly a large black shadow shot out from the bushes. It was a large black panther!

The beast pounced at me as I jumped aside to avoid getting caught with by his sharp fangs and claws. The beast almost a meter tall and at least 2 meter long. Just my luck. Of all the animals that I could encounter in this god forsaken forest and it is a damn 100 kilo killer cat. Why couldn't it be a rabbit or a deer, something that I could eat, not something that would eat me instead?

The large murder cat proceeded to move slowly, stalking around me trying to find the right moment to strike. I wore the gauntlets that was the only piece of the enchanted dwarven armor left in my possession, the gem in its socket is now darker shade of gray instead of white when it was empty yesterday. Don't know what that means, but I will think about that later. Right now I need to focus all of my attention on the cat and ignore this motherfucking headache. I don't have any experience fighting against cats or dogs but from the videos that I watched, they seem to be focused on high speed lunges in order to catch their prey with their fangs or wound them with their sharp claws.

I was slowly moving back when a loud crack was heard from a dead branch that I stepped on. It was like the signal for the panther's attack as it pounced with speed comparable with the mana enhanced Vash. I quickly jumped aside but his claws were able to score a couple of gashes on me.

Shit… this stings. Although the wounds are not deep it still register pain on me, but this is not the time to cry over cuts as the panther once more lunged at me with claws shredding the dead tree that I was leaning on earlier. Man, this cat really means business. The panther roars in anger as I continued to dodge his furious attacks. The cat's attacks are so wild that as soon as he lands on his feet, he quickly darts to me again and again.

Motherfucking cat. At least let me catch my breath!

I was able to dodge another of its claw swipes but I was unable to keep my balance and fell on my butt. The panther didn't let the chance slip away and with its' great legs, pounced at me, its' claws threatens to cut me into a million pieces. I won't be able to dodge this and I put my hand forward in a last attempt to prolong my life. Damn, all of the things I went through, fought and overcame the land's most powerful mage and survived a fight to the death with a friend and this is how it ends. Killed by an oversized kitty cat, what a sick joke.

As his paws are about to meet me, I was surprised that it wasn't able to cut through my gauntlets. How? It was able to cut through trees and stones without trouble but it couldn't even put a dent on my gauntlet? I was not one to question good fortune as even if my gauntlets were able to stop his claws I am still not away from danger. One after the other, I parry the heavy attacks of the feline and when he pounced once more and try to bite me, I ducked under the cat and using his own momentum, threw him overhead intent on slamming him to the ground. Unfortunately the panther landed on its' feet, leaving it unharmed.

Oh yeah. I forgot I was fighting a cat, a big one at that. Well shit… there goes my chance to counterattack.

The panther was furious at being thrown and once more attacked recklessly. With both of his claws forward and mouth open, he is going for the kill. I met his claws with my two hands and then kicked the oversized cat in the jaws to close it. I knew that even if the cat's attack fail, its weight added with his momentum will be enough to fallen me if his enormous body hits me. Thinking quickly, I go with the flow of force and rolled backward, letting the panther safely pass me overhead.

Yes! My attacks are working! Who would've thought that these gauntlets that the prince made me wear for my death match, will in turn save me? I must thank him if I meet him once again. Or maybe not, cause he's an asshole.

I thought the panther could not get angrier but there it is more furious than ever after receiving an attack for the first time. His paws move like lightning as quick burst of attacks rain on me and I protect myself with my gauntlet covered hands. Although the attacks are heavy, but I was able to bat them away with my hand and counter with the other.

The murder cat is above me in all categories but his attacks are pretty simplistic. He just claw away at whichever part of me is closest with some mixture of the occasional pounce which I can see from a mile away for he fully bends his legs and lower his shoulder for a second before lunging towards me.

Both of us are deathly tired but none of us gives an inch to our foe as we continued our dance of death. I was able to put in a couple of my attacks as I parry and dodge. A punch in the chin to close his mouth. A front kick when he gets too close. I still get hit by an occasional swipe, but since I am ready for the attack, I was able to avoid serious damage. In the course of our battle, I was able to get in a punch at his nose, which I thought would deter him from attacking any further. Unfortunately, the only thing that it did is stun him for a second before going even wilder than ever before. Storm of claws and fang close in on me, shredding everything that he can touch. I don't have any other option but to run.

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! That was the thought that runs through my head as I dodged another lunge that casually destroys everything in its path. Man, it is even stronger than before. I suspect the overgrown cat is using mana to reinforce its own body like how Vash reinforced his.

I can feel the panther is hot on my trail as I am about to reach a dead end as I didn't know that I was running towards the base of a cliff. Crap, I got nowhere to go. With my back against the wall and a cat the size of a truck running towards me, I took off my left gauntlet and threw it on the face of the panther as it lunges towards me. It hit the panther square in the face and hit the cliff side as I jumped to the side in order to avoid getting hit by its hulking body. The cat was still alive but dazed after crashing headfirst to the cliff and I quickly mounted its' back and mercilessly pounded his head with my right hand that is still wearing a steel gauntlet. I didn't dare to stop even after I heard a crack and the head of the panther was reduced to a bloody pulp.

"You motherfucking cat! You think you can kill me? You think you can eat me huh? Well you can't! Cause I just killed you! You overgrown house cat!" I shouted victoriously as I continued to beat the lifeless body of my enemy and the adrenaline started to fade. Once the rush of battle left me, I collapsed on the ground as if the very strength of my body just left me. My countless wounds that I ignored earlier began to hurt and I felt my consciousness about to fade due to blood loss. But more than that, I felt thirsty. A thirst so great that like my throat felt as dry as the desert.

Water! Anything just to quench this thirst… I look around and found nothing. Only me and my enemy lying on the cliff side. That is when I saw his blood flow on the ground, blood so red and inviting. I don't have a knife or any cutting tools to use. That is when I looked at the dead cat's paws. Its claw was so sharp that it was able to cut through trees and rocks like paper, so it must be sharp enough to cut through hide and fur.

So I grabbed the gloves that I threw earlier and tested my theory and moved his paws towards his neck. I pushed the back of his finger to push out his sharp claw. I then pushed his claw against his neck and with great effort, was able to make a gash and blood started to pour out. I greedily sucked the blood of my fallen enemy. I don't care if it is gross, I just want to quench this thirst!

After a few cuts in the arteries of the dead panther, I was able to quench my thirst. Next on my list is food and since I already have this large slab of meat in front of me, I might as well use it. First I broke one of the cat's leg and cut is using the claw. Then with the claws of the broken leg, I started to skin the dead panther. I always knew that learning how to butcher an animal from my father will be useful.

I kept the paw and the large piece of meat I was able to carry back to the hollow tree. I cleaned the area of dead leaves and grass and made a camp fire using the dried twigs and leaves. I started to roast the meat and once the food was cooked, I started to ravenously eat the meat of my enemy. It doesn't taste good, but at least it filled my belly. Take that you overgrown cat! This is my revenge on all the gashes you gave me! When my hunger was satisfied, I went back inside the hollow tree to have my well-earned rest and hopefully get rid of this cursed headache.

But it was not long after I closed my eyes, I began hearing snarls just out of my tree. I peeked out and saw a pack of wolves surrounding me and I quickly climbed up the tree just out of reach of the ravenous wolves who continued to jump and try to bite and pull me down from the branch I was sitting on. I continued to climb until it I felt quite safe and looked at the vicious wolves that tried to make me their dinner. I look below to check if the mutts are still there only to find out that they were intent on sleeping beneath the tree I was staying. Clearly waiting for me to come down.

Oh come on! Give me a fucking break! I just want to sleep! Why are all these vicious animals chasing after me?! Also, someone please give me some paracetamol! This headache is killing me!