In a forest filled with massive trees, dozens of bears were gathered. There were all kinds of bears: black, brown, white, red, panda, the list went on. One bear stood out because it was standing on a massive boulder that all the other bears were surrounding. It had a hulking figure, one that was almost as large as an adult dragon. Its body was covered in scars, the scar tissue preventing fur in those areas from regrowing.

“A new dragon has entered the tower,” the hulking bear said and swept its gaze over the gathered bears. “It is slaughtering and eating our brethren on the eleventh floor. As part of the United Bear Alliance, does this news not cause flames to grow in your chest? Are you not angry?”

“We’re angry!” one of the bears in the crowd shouted.

Another bear stood on its hindlegs and roared at the sky. “I’m raging mad!”

“I’m ready to smack some sense into that dragon!”

The rest of the bears roared and shouted in agreement. The leader of the bears, the hulking one, nodded. It roared towards the sky. “Let us go save our brethren!”

***

Vur plucked the nutrient off of a bear’s head and popped it into his mouth like it was a piece of candy. After he was done snacking on the blood and flesh, he took the glowing green crystal out of his mouth and placed it against his chest. The crystal dissolved, liquifying and sinking into his skin. Vur raised an eyebrow as Stella, who was sitting on his shoulder, trembled and swayed from side to side with small motions like a stricken tuning fork. “Are you okay?” Vur asked the fairy that was practically buzzing.

“Okay?” Stella asked. “No, I’m not okay. I’m better than okay!” She flew into the air and somersaulted three times before landing on Vur’s head. She patted the bat skeleton that was clinging to his hair and laughed. Her arms stretched towards the sky, and her bloodshot eyes widened. “I feel strong enough to destroy the whole world!”

Vur blinked and glanced down at the frozen bear by his feet. He turned his head around to look at the pile of bears that had been loaded up on Diamant’s earthen hand, which had grown several times larger. Then, Vur looked at Sir Selddup and Ashley. They were both staring at him with blank expressions. Vur shifted his gaze away towards Stella. “Is that enough nutrients?”

“For now,” Stella said and flew into Vur’s chest. “I have to distribute some to Mervin; I bet this’ll boost his growth!”

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Vur nodded and examined his piles of bears once more. Every single bear was massive; after all, Vur had let the smaller ones go free, so they could grow big enough to be eaten later. With this pile of food, his group wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry for several weeks.

“Are you finished hunting?” Sir Selddup asked and sipped up the line of drool coming out the corner of his furry mouth. “Can we eat one now? All this running around has worked up my appetite.”

Vur placed his hand on his stomach and furrowed his brow. “Let’s bring them back to the residence first,” he said. “Tafel has the spices.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Sir Selddup said, his eyes lighting up. “Hop on. I’ll take us back before you know it.”

Vur got on top of the white dog’s back, and it took off. The legs underneath the earthen hand bent as they ran, chasing after Vur while trampling over everything in their way. One or two legs would occasionally trip with each step, but the sheer number of them more than made up for their mistakes. Sir Selddup didn’t get very far before a loud roar shook the area, causing the ground to tremble and the trees to sway.

Vur turned his head towards where the sound had come from, and he raised an eyebrow. “A whole bunch of bears are running at us.”

Sir Selddup sniffed the air. “Oh, I smell them,” he said and wrinkled his snout. “What’s the plan? Should I keep going? They’re fast, but not as fast as me.”

Vur looked back at his pile of bears. Since the hand holding them up could expand, it wouldn’t be a problem to add another sleuth of bears to his food preserves. “Stop,” Vur said. “Let’s catch them all.”

“If you possessed another residence, I bet you could raise some bears there,” Sheryl said from the sunlike runes on Vur’s shoulder. “You wouldn’t have to eat frozen bears all the time. Also, when the tower’s connected to Erde, you can have Gloria visit the residence to pick out a bear as a pet. I’m sure she’d love it.”

Vur tilted his head to the side. Sheryl’s suggestion wasn’t a bad idea; it was only a little more work to capture bears alive instead of freezing them solid.

A deep roar rang through the forest once more, shaking the trees. A massive figure came into view, revealing a dragon-sized bear covered in scars. “Hey! Dragon!” the bear shouted. “Where are you hiding? Are you only brave enough to pick on the weak!?”

Vur tilted his head back to look up at the bear. At the same time, the bear glanced down at Vur. Its gaze shifted onto the frozen pile of smaller bears stacked on top of the earthen hand, and its eyes widened. “Despicable coward!” the bear shouted before pointing at Vur. “Where’s the dragon? I can sense its aura on you.”

Vur blinked, and lowered his head to look past the massive bear’s feet. Behind it, there were hundreds of bears of all sizes: some towered over the treetops, some were only as large as the big bear’s paw. A furrow appeared on Vur’s brow. “Stella,” he said, glancing down at his chest. “Do you see this?”

“Yeah,” Stella said, her voice ringing in his head.

Vur scratched his head. “Am I being attacked by food?”

“That’s what it looks like.”

“Huh.” Vur blinked at the massive bear. “This is weird.”