Time seemed to slow down in that instant, as Tom noticed a glimmer of silver in the periphery of his vision.

His emotions in that moment were hard to describe, a melange of horror, shock and fear so deeply intertwined with each other that it was impossible to tell which was which. He had planned, he had been tricky, resourceful and even though it went against his personal tenets, he had been ruthless.

Sometimes though, as Tom was now realizing, even that wasn’t enough.

The thought of his consciousness simply ending, a phenomenon commonly known as death—it weighed upon him, a crushing weight that made it difficult to breathe, let alone move. Every insecurity, every fear and every sorrow he had experienced in his life washed over him, magnified dozens of times over. It felt like the world, his world, was ending.

At the beginning of all this, Tom didn’t mind dying— not if he believed that it was in furtherance of a greater cause, a cause that he believed to be greater. Perhaps it stemmed from his own low self-esteem, perhaps it was because he believed that saving that little girl back on Earth was the single greatest thing he could ever accomplish in his life— and perhaps that might have been true for the person he used to be.

For better or for worse…. that didn’t hold true any longer.

What happened next, Tom wasn’t entirely sure if it was entirely conscious thought that was directing him.

In one fluid motion, he cut off the SP he was feeding to [The Flame], causing the searing hot flames to flicker out. In the next, he pivoted on the balls of his feed, lowering his stature and angling his shield forward so that it could cover greater surface area.

In that moment, Tom’s mind was dominated by a single, solitary thought:

Live.

His thoughts were flowing with clarity, keeping into account that [The Shadow] was still obscuring his figure, which meant that the beast couldn’t completely pin-point where his vitals were.

It could guess, but there was a difference between estimation and surety.

By the time he’d angled to face the [Elfinclaw], it was already mid-air, it’s sharp, outstretched right claw aiming to rake away at his chest.

Bone chips flew in the air, a grating sound echoing out as the [Elfinclaw] made contact with the [Eflinclaw Bone Shield], blowing away part of [The Shadow’s] concealment in the areas it made contact with.

The impact caused Tom to jerk a few steps backwards, sheer grit allowing him to somehow retain his balance.

Tom let out a furious scream, his SP igniting to life as a torrent of flames erupted from his right hand.

This time, flesh sizzled, followed by a roar that seemed as angry as it was pained. However, Tom refused to let his guard down this time, not so easily.

His own flames obscured his view, but Tom had been listening for any discrepancies between what his eyes were telling him, his mind thought to be true, and reality.

Sure enough, he heard retreating footsteps.

Tom once again stopped channeling SP into [The Flame], already certain that the [Elfinclaw] had stepped out of his range.

Once again, the [Elfinclaw] surprised him.

It’s fur was charred in patches and the tip of its tail still on fire. It’s horn though, was unscathed, much like the male [Elfinclaw’s] had been, and it’s ruby red eyes seemed to have been spared the brunt of the attack.

At this point, Tom wouldn’t mind if the beast chose to retreat. In fact, he was secretly hoping for it.

His expectations, however, were dashed in the next moment.

His strategy of enraging the Elfinclaw had apparently worked a little too well.

Uncaring of its wounds, Tom swore that the [Elfinclaw] moved even faster than it had before, this time adopting a zig-zag movement pattern. It rushed forth like a bolt of lightning, the pain caused by it’s flaming tail seemingly spurring it on even faster.

Tom’s pupils twitched as he frenziedly tried to keep track of the approaching beast, it’s movements like the ebbing and flowing of ocean tides, except at a much faster tempo, making him feel slightly nauseous.

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A sharp pang of panic welled up in Tom’s chest.

The beast was determined and relentless in his approach, but more importantly, Tom was unable to get a lock on its movement pattern.

The [Deck Card] most suited to driving it away was [Water Propulsion], but it was safely tucked away in his pocket and there was no time left.

The [Eflinclaw] would be on him in seconds.

Out of desperation, Tom ignited [The Flame] card and begun to ignite the grass in front of him, covering all one eighty degrees in his field of vision. He kept going, the flames obscuring his vision, hoping that it would be enough deterrence to make the [Elfinclaw] back away.

A silver silhouette forcibly tore past his makeshift wall of flames, the purity of its aura marred by splotches of red.

The next second, Tom let out an agonized scream that came from the depths of his heart.

Pain. Pain unlike anything Tom had felt before.

Instinctively, his gaze went downward. Three deep lacerations had carved past his right shin, a stream of blood steadily pouring out of the wound. Tears streamed down his eyes, but Tom had gazed long enough to see a white protrusion beneath the river of red…

Was that bone?

Tom buckled downwards, his other intact leg the only thing keeping him from lying flat on the ground.

His throat going hoarse from screaming, Tom’s thoughts finally broke free from their stupor as he activated the [Earth’s Vitality] card held, or rather, concealed within the safe grasp of his shield harm.

The earthen halo coalescing around him brought comfort to both his heart and wounded leg. The pain was dulled enough to the point that he could think somewhat rationally, but walking was impossible for the current Tom.

The first thought that came to his mind was…,

Why was he still alive?

Craning his neck backwards, still in a kneeling posture, Tom understood why.

The [Elfinclaw] didn’t seem to be faring too well either— it’s eyes were closed as it thrashed around in the grass, trying to put out the flames that clinged to its fur. Most importantly, the [Elfinclaw’s] eyes were closed, and part of it’s forehead was on fire.

The beast had been taking a potshot in the dark.

Where Tom had expected to have his throat torn out in the next second, he was given a new lease at life.

‘Live,’ his mind once again ordered, no, beseeched him.

His hands were trembling as he slipped [The Flame] card into his pocket, withdrawing the [Water Propulsion] card at the same time.

Live.

Tom didn’t dare to drop [Earth’s Vitality’s] healing for more than a second, so….. He began to crawl forward, his bloody leg chafing against the grass.

Thankfully, [Earth’s Vitality] seemed to offset the bloodloss— atleast Tom felt like it was.

He could use [Water Propulsion] at range but… it was too weak. If he shot, the beast’s injuries would worsen, but it wouldn’t die. And at this point, Tom really had nothing left to resist with. He had to get closer.

Slow your breathing.

Swallow your pain.

Don’t make a sound.

Don’t make a fucking sound.

The beast was clearly too preoccupied trying to put out the flames to notice what should have been a dying man’s approach.

Soon, five meters were reduced to a mere two.

Tom could hear the thrashing beast’s breathing at this point, while he held his own.

He could fire from this range, and his odds would be far higher.

But Tom refused to settle.

His face scrunched up with intensity, going as red as a tomato as he used a mix of his upper body strength and remaining limb’s strength to get back on one foot, while the other hung limply. Thankfully the bloodloss had stilled, but the wound was still open and raw.

Tom cancelled [Earth’s Vitality’s] healing and dove forward.

Live.

Live.

Live,

Live.

Tom’s outstretched right hand slammed down upon the lower part of the beast’s abdomen.

‘WATER PROPULSION,’ Tom screamed in his mind, the moment his hand slapped against the [Elfinclaw’s] soft underbelly.

Tom’s hand yanked back from the [Water Propulsion’s] recoil as he used the [Deck Card] in a manner it was not intended for and at the same time as the beast’s abdomen exploded with the viscosity of a bloody water balloon.

“Stay dead, motherfucker, ” Tom croaked in a hoarse voice as [Earth’s Vitality]’s glow once again enveloped him. He lay in a pool of blood, not an ounce of strength left in his body.

His eyes were shut as he focused solely on healing.

If there was another beast lurking in the shadows, waiting to ambush him…. Well,

Tom was spent.

If it struck at him now, Tom would really die without even knowing how.

He had a feeling though, that it wouldn’t.

Because in that moment, Tom probably looked far more scarier than any mere beast could.