Ezekiel: "Yawn, these duds are taking too long, did they pass out during the corrosive gas?"

Leaning back ever so slightly, his legs postioned overhead due to the fitting structure of the Elk, the calm headed beast chewed on blue berries, giving his tongue a purple shade. Beginning to feel impatient at the arrivial of his friends, he started nervously ticking with his feet.

Ezekiel: "That aside, I wonder if Lily fell for the hare trap, that would be hilarious. It won't work if it's anyone else, has to be Lily, a sweet memory for her alone. I might even ease up on my order to her if she gets caught."

Spouting out his favorite isolated topics, the beast was simply letting his thoughts flow in an act to distract his anxiousness. While at the highest point of the Elk, 80 meters high over the jungle, there was no awareness to the outside. He was in the dark when it came to his friends and their conditions, Ezekiel had an esteemed standards for each of them, thinking none of the trials should have harmed them much. Granted he's never been inside of the funk bomb gas, nor has he actually seen how the hare trap works, he merely allowed his whimsical celverness to take ahold of the battlefield.

Ezekiel: "Maybe I should go check just in case, i'll make sure to hide myself well, the perfect stalker."

Letting out dark humor fit for a child of his own age, Ezekiel frowned slightly, there was something bothering him, eating away at his sanity. Was it a voice? Ezekiel had no clue what or where the entrancing sound, no, maybe it was a sensation he thought. Whatever the case may be, action needed to be taken to avoid dwelling on such surreal expositions, thus Ezekiel decides to leave his favorite spot to search for his friends. Switching the game upside down, Ezekiel jumped into action... Or so he thought.

???: "OVER HERE UGLY! COME EAT THIS MEAT!"

With a new reknowned vigor at the notice of invasive shaking foreign to the jungle Ezekiel was used to. Ezekiel stood at once while exiting from the secret crevice only he and Lily could slip through, traversing through it like a shadow the boy could feel the fresh air palpably. On the other hand, the thudding was too intense, the jungle felt like it was being lopsided, the monstrosity causing such a event was intently heading in his direction accompanied by the shrill, fearful voice Ezekiel was so used to.

???: "Zeke! It's the wither bear! It's alive! Head to the village at all cost!"

Ezekiel: "I see."

Ironically, he couldn't see, he was sky high, hidden behind a multitude of jungle trees, shrubs, and vines which clung swung across trees like webs. Regardless, the current dilema was understood, the game needed to be put at halt, something like that didn't even need to be said aloud, the walking disaster was enough implication. Ezekiel stood tall, his hair swayed gracefully over his forehead, the white portion of hair gave his carmine eyes an otherwordly look. Staring down, he was gauging where Fred sense was coming from with a static, concentrated look. Ezekiel had kept this part a secret to the rest, while he had the same 6th sense as everyone else, he had a stage the others didn't have: A pin pointing clairvoyance that allowed Ezekiel to track his crew should the sense activate. Tilting his head back and forth, swaying and skipping his legs gently in place, Ezekiel was preparing himself for the moment he should move, giving a sort of dance display in the process.

Ezekiel: "There... Fred? He's pinned? Is it magic? Uuurk, stop, he'll die. Don't, he might die. If he dies, I swear to you... OBEY!"

Releasing his regretful anguish far below where no one can really hear over the ever flowing destruction consuming the jungle, the boy turned demon. He established dominion of his favorite side of the jungle in one fell swoop with a single outburst of killing intent, the destruction came to a sudden halt. Trees undergoing a flight process dropped, sending an enourmous and devastaing shockwave throughout the jungle causing a crescendo. At the demons words, all action ceased, leaving nothing behind but a static void of tranquility. He then descended with fervor, reaching Fred in a span of seconds after being at the pinnacle of the green sight just moments ago.

Ezekiel: "Yo, head out, i'll handle this. Losing isn't an option I know, not like that word even matters to me. You did well Fred, i'm sure the others got away safely, now follow them, i'll come last."

Fred: "..."

He spoke no words, Fred had none he could offer in retort, the sunshine haired child was in distraught ever since he screamed the number 1 out loud. He was on the verge of losing pathetically to the Wither bear in a contest of will VS magic, he understood this was no longer a game for children, but a lifestyle for alpha predators alone. With eyes completely alert, entranced cathexis towards the figure kneeled before him, which appeared seemgingly out of thin air, was Ezekiel. Fred noticed he was moving on his own, he offered a hand in the demon's direction with lack of wary. Returning to a mentally stable condition, in this tranquil silence gleaming with malice, Fred said.

Fred: "Damn right, winning is all you know, i'll leave the rest to you, demon."

Ezekiel: "Heh, demon you say. Ok, that's what i'll be for tonight then."

While giving a smirk to Fred's grand words, Ezekiel stood, pointing his head to the south towards the village, a gesture easily understood by Fred. He moved, expecting the gravity the Wither bear induces to be reactivated at any given moment, hence he stood close to bark as he moved and played close attenion to his skin. Unexpectedly, the sensation Fred was expecting never appeared, his movement was unimpeded, he could feel Ezekiel's presence get softer an softer until out of sight. Once the loss of Ezekiel situation became unknown the boy delved into depressing hypotheticals that came vicariously, what if Ezekiel intends to defeat that white scarred beast which relishes in the gore of others. No way a child can beat that Fred thought to himself, he was having a vortex of different scenarios pop into his head, all of which were worst case basis. Shaking his head along with his shameful thoughts, Fred sped up, he would meet up with his crew with haste and inform the village of Zeke's need of aid. It didn't matter what consequences needed to be faced for disobeying not only the rules of the village but their parents rules as well. Everyone will live today, Fred assured himself of that.

Taking a deep breath with a heavy sigh, the demon craned his neck until it cracked an repeated this motion to the opposite side, with a step he leaped foward towards a branch facing his first opponent in a deathmatch. The beast followed the tiny child which was smaller than it's initial prey, it narrowed it's eyes with an unknowing intelligence, it recognized the child as the cause for the disturbingly freezing feeling which was previously felt moments ago. The aura was a challenge, a flex meant to openly degrade others in a sense of superiority, it was a provocation.

Ezekiel: "Yo, Wither, you don't seem too hot after our village hero's dropped you off. But here you are again, looking around for things to kill, messing up the entire night for the jungle. Not just that, but I noticed a fear in my friends that i've never felt before, I can't just let this slide."

Wither: "..."

The amount of hatred in the amethyst eyes of the Wither was a threat akin to sure death, the carnage this beast amounted to rose above the jungle itself, it was meant for the sole purpose of murdering without mercy. It gauged Ezekiel, not taking the boy lightly, this sort of initiative was a mixture of wisdom accumulated from constant war, and instinct. The boy posed a threat, how much was where Wither's curiosity lingered. The limbs had no claws, the head had no horn, there was no smell of toxins, not even a sense of magic, the Wither was starting to doubt itself. But one thing it couldn't derive from, was that menacing aura, it came from the little child above staring down with no fear or hesitation. His coolness was unnerving to the Wither, although, it could no longer contain it's need for violence behind caution any more.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Ezekiel: "So that's your first move, your so predictably maliscious, you."

Wither with his enemy in sight, moved to activate it's gravity oriented magic to end the battle swiftly with no more patience for being careful. The hunger took over, the drool accumulated, the itching of the gums insued, it was dinner time for the Wither. The boy scoffed down below in a vehement way, in no way disregarding his opponent, but in slight distaste for the course it had taken. Moving with fluidness and mobility, the boy intercepted the Wither right in it's face in. Looking dead at it's overbearing, maniacal right eye which was the size of Ezekiel's head, he approached with straight fowardness. Instead of fighting against the magic, he would simply give Wither what it wanted instead, it's food in arms reach.

Ezekiel: "Hck!"

As expected, the Wither was no joke in the slightest, those scars, the eyes, the fur, it was only a matter of time before it's true experience was shed light on. Raising onto two feet, extending it's height to 20 meters, a frown immediately overtook Ezekiel's face as it's paw which was the size of Ezekiel's entire frame was raised. The paw was blotched with black and purple, constant overuse bruised it irrepairingly so, the Wither gave no heed to it's own safety, just the demise of what it faces. The demorphed patch of muscle rained down on Ezekiel with a speed far too quick for such a broken limb, there was no way to survive an impact from it. While staring up at the approaching meteor, Ezekiel inched foward a step and rose, sifting through it's viseceral claws just barely, losing his right sleeve in the process. Landing onto it's rough fur and iron forearm, the boy noticed the next attack was approaching, the free arm was swatting down on the fly standing on it's arm deplorably. Lacking preperation, Ezekiel back stepped off of the Wither's mountainous arm, flinging away with no stableness.

Ezekiel: "Argh, it's fast, crazy fast. I also can't take a single hit, heh, let's start then."

Though it was primarily a counter to gravity magic, Ezekiel didn't enter Wither's striking bubble for no reason, he wanted to test the capabilities of a threat so huge, his village's strike force paled in comparison. Taking in every detail, down to the tiniest scar or weakpoint, he gauged upon the bear, noticing any movement done repetitively with familarity. The power, the speed, the threat,how one hit is fatal, to which claw is skinnier, onto the less broken arm. Within playing with his life Ezekiel continously observed Wither, depending on even the slightest weakness, since he was bare handed against an unnaturally oversized bear with magic. He noticed that the face had the least amount of scars from the front end of Wither's body, as if to say that portion isn't allowed to be touched. Shedding a slight smile, Ezekiel having escaped Wither into a blind spot on the left side spoke.

Ezekiel: "Your really something, how can you still be alive like that? How can you continue to hurt yourself just to kill? Why is there still so much power left in you, what is it that drives you Wither?"

Wither: "RAAAAHHHH!"

Roaring in annoyance at the chirping of his prey who just barely escaped death, Wither chased the strange cub causing the landscape to wobble and tremor, all life awake in fear, this time petrified into silence. Ezekiel had began to dart away with much greater movement than Fred, clearing enough distance to atleast combat the invisible force of nature the Wither is able to call on. Ezekiel knew there was no way of escaping such a monster once it's already set it's eyes on you, rather he was also the same, thus he understood simply put. That thing won't stop until every piece of the child was dismembered and thoroughly mashed to bits, it simply can't give up war.

Ezekiel also wouldn't give in, he had so much more on his back than Wither, his family, his friends, his village, his sheer happiness was on the line. If he even attempts to flee to the village, the Wither will follow relentlessly, eventually trampling on the very place he calls home. If he drags the fight too long the jungle Ezekiel confides in will be decimated into a wasteland, at the Wither's current pace that much is almost inevitable. The pride Ezekiel built upon his familarity over the land he presides in, was being stamped on with spit being flung onto it. If the village saviors couldn't follow through, Ezekiel will exeute for them.

Ezekiel: "You're not going to use your magic? Are you holding back cause I hurt your feelings! I'm so confused..."

With a voice hearty enough for Wither to tune into, it bit back it's tongue, the hate in the monster's eye's shone brighter. At this reaction Ezekiel lapsed, that kind of attitude was extrodinary for such a beast, it wanted to completely denounce the child, willing itself to defeat Ezekiel with restraint. This completely violated Ezekiel's prior manner of thinking, the one where Wither was a being solely made for carnage. It revealed that the monster was one with hidden intelligence, this posed a seperate question on Ezekiel's mind, "Just how smart is he". With a sudden realisation, Ezekiel sunk into a form of fear foreign to himself, the horror of being played by the very opponent he thought he had beat mentally. In this case, being beat meant losing everything, that was one thing that couldnt be allowed in Ezekiel's mind, even if his condition was equal to Wither's current condition by the end, he won't fall.

Ezekiel: "But this time i'll have to..."

With room to breathe, Ezekiel ponders as he flys through the jungle, ripping through shrubs and vines, the wind following Ezekiel slices all plants alike. Constantly keeping a sure distance from Wither endlessly chasing him while tearing down everything in it's way. Ezekiel could spot animals peering at him from a distance and suddenly shrink back once he spotted the wary creatures. The night sky has lightened ever so slightly, signaling dawn's arrival, had the game of hide and seek gone unimpeded this would be the string to victory for Ezekiel. However, uninvited contestants imposed themselves, creating new rules and ordinaces as they see fit. Thus a warm welcome needed to be given in response.

Ezekiel: "READY YOURSELF!"

Wither: "?"

Understanding not the dialect, but the urgency and emotion of the sound the strange cub gave off, Wither halted in his tracks, with the restraints placed upon himself was also a proceeding wary of the intelligent strange cub. From the beginning his ability and his noticable attention were obvious to Wither, just like himself, it could think. The strange cub had counteracted all of it's own actions and attacks while intaking and processing tactics for further along the battle. Though to Wither's own knowledge, the boy was only an insect with fine tuned evasiveness, no actual weapon to utilize. Hence the preperation for conflict etched all across the strange cub's figure was an announcement of a concealed weapon beyond which the Wither could imagine. He stood with posture meant for striking prematurely with haste, torso inclined towards the floor, both fist stacked on top each other in a lowered stance.

Ezekiel: "Blehhh."

Withdrawing the former intentions of attacking, Ezekiel stood straight, one finger pulling down his bottom eye lid in a childish manner, his tongue sticking out mockingly. With the form of a jester meant for inciting comedy, Ezekiel continously danced in a befitting way of a court clown. The wither stared, the muscles on it's ferocious jaw were bulging, a vein came into view across it's upper eyes, the hate which could already burned down the forest, climaxed further. Assuming the chase was over and the battle had arrived, Wither's disappoint to the point of rage was at it's boiling point. As it moved an inch, the jester had half stepped backwards, and sprinted with unexpected quickness. To this action, Wither yelled at the heavens, cursing himself for inner idiocy, it's had enough. Leaping straight away, with it's prey still in sight, motioning itself to use magic to end this at once, Wither was already bidding the strange cub goodbye. That was until the ground it stood on collapsed completely.

Ezekiel: "Hah, so you can just think, you're not actually smart."

With sardonic words, Ezekiel stared at the enourmous Wither whom activated a trap left behind by the village saviors. The device was a simple pitfall on the surface, but it was a tad bit more inticate than that. The inital flooring was covered with artifical green shrubs made of magic, the bottom was a flimsy wooden cage wall which would easily collapse with any weight over 500 kilos, let alone Wither who is several times even that. The bottom of the pit fall was the most lethal, iron spikes neatly assembled to pierce the body of any beast that falls for the trap, shining with sharpness that would impale entire jungle trees with enough force. Ezekiel stared at the Wither whom was about to disappear from his sight in a few moments, tiltled his head, and smiled while closing his eyes. To this, Wither couldn't even respond since the very invisible force it was about to manipulate at will, was now being used against itself in a sudden free fall.

Wither: "AAAARRRP!"

Letting go of an awkward yelp of pain was Wither, the whetted spikes were able to pierce it's near metalic skin but was stopped around half a meter of entrance due to the absurdly rough muscle surrounding the Wither's body. As if this wasn't enough, the elaborate trap had one more phase, making it fully industrial in concept and being. A multitude of crossbows descended from trees with branches holding them attached by a rope which led to a mechanism connected to the wooden cage. At it's breaking the rope snapped as well, causing the trigger on the cross bows to launch arrows aimed below at the pit fall captured creature, an icing on the cake. Wither merely reacted with distate at the arrows less than he did with pain, he was currently more preoccupied with the spikes impaling him.

Ezekiel: "Alright that'll buy some time, now I have to go fetch that..."

Leaving Wither to his devices at the moment, Ezekiel fled the scene, in the direction of that. What Ezekiel had in mind was an object with no name, the type of object one didn't even want to think about or recall to mind. Evil, a devastating darkness meant to consume and reform all into hollowness, the epitamy of human nightmare. The only actual weapon capable of doing anything to Wither at all in the jungle: A dagger, blacker than mignight, spikes atrributed to the base of the sharp side and a hilt designed with dragons all around it's form. That was all known details of the dagger since the rest was wedged into the ground. Everything surrounding the dagger wilted away, becoming nothing, it was true chaos. Due to the severity, the village heros deemed the east side of the jungle off limits at all times, with no attempts at solving the problem, merely running and giving up ground.

Ezekiel: "I really hope the thing isn't cliche enough to ask for my soul. Although if it's a limb or 2 then I guess so, I promised Fred i'd win and return after all."

His words to Fred we're that he would return after obtaining victory, finishing up on the lost village saviors work, not that he'd return in perfect condition. For some reason Ezekiel bore fear but not the initiative to stop moving onward, he knew pain but not when to stop, he knew not himself nor why cruel fate had issued a curse upon himself, thus Ezekiel will keep moving until he discovers all the answers he requires. His body tingles with the notion of approaching the dagger with the intentions of claiming worthiness, the dagger is alluring Ezekiel without him even noticing.