Tong flowed through the endless current, a mere spark of consciousness in the infinite river some called “The Way”. It was intoxicating, of course, and Tong had an overwhelming desire to stay. However, the little bug was aware of the gradual degradation of its physical Ki, which allowed for the mental exploration the Ki-beast was performing now. Little strands from The Way mixed with ideas in Tong’s own head. Inside the cocoon, however, these ideas became physical reality rather than mere dreams. As Tong phased through the Way, exploring the sea and river of the universe's fundamental force, a gradual change came upon it, and Tong slowly began to feel its physical body itch. It was changing, becoming bigger, stronger, better at survival in the harsh forest. This was the secret of the Ki-beast, the ability to use Ki to morph their physical forms...

Deng the hunter slowly walked through the forest floor, keeping his sling at the ready. This time there was a group of four hunters, chosen from the best of the best to escort their favorite elder through the forest. It had been a few days since they had first sent a group to wander the forest, and they were anxious to see if any other signs of the Ki beast's existence could be found. Despite some arguments over who should go, and fears over his safety, the old man had convinced them to let him lead the team directly.

Xu was jovial, glad to finally get a break from the usual humdrum of village life. He was wearing a loose silk robe portraying a blue sky and clouds, with a basic set of shirt and trousers underneath, and his favorite heavy boots. Held up against his shoulder was his trusty bamboo broom, as if he was going to sweep the group's problems away. Thankfully Xu was spry despite his advanced age, easily able to keep up with the younger hunters.

The forest was rather misty, the leftovers from a soft rain that happened earlier that morning. It gave the place an unsettling air, as everything was much more dreary and silent than usual.

The group slowly creeped through the forest brush, even Xu keeping from his usual little jokes and comments, merely gently humming old poems. The hunter who preferred spears, named Xiao, tightened the grip on his weapon.

“Do you sense anything, Master Xu?” he asked, noticeable anxiety in his voice.

"Hmmmmm..." Xu opened himself to The Way for a brief moment, feeling the flow of the ambient Ki in the environment. The forest was breathing, each of the trees a stalwart and imposing figure far, far older than even the oldest of humans. He felt, in the distance, some odd knots in the fabric of the world, the echo of distant beasts, and potential lurking dangers.

"We should not stay long. We keep moving, and keep quiet. You're right to be nervous, Xiao, as there are dangers lurking here, but have faith. If anything we couldn't handle was near us, I'd have already felt it long ago, and we'd likely be able to avoid it. Akin to two ships passing in the black of night. The best way to win is not to fight. They say it's the most supreme art of all conflict..." Xu said, plainly. The honesty of his words made Xiao feel a little at ease, and the group continued on their way.

After walking for a few Li, the hunters gasped as they came upon a grisly sight. In the underbrush was the remnants of a former group of men, what appeared to be soldiers in bronze and lacquered-wood armor. In the style of the southern highlands, their armor was ornate, and each of them had a demonic grinning mask covering the lower half of their face made of wood painted red. They were all dead, long since gored and scavenged by the local beasts, with most their bones and armor remaining. The hunting party looked rather pale and unsettled, unused to the stench of death, while Xu stayed stoic.

"Highlanders, from the mountain villages. It was probably a scouting party." Xu scowled. "What fools, trying to cut through the forest like this. Perhaps I wasn't the only one to sense the birth of the Ki-beast. I'll have to tell Lord Zhang about this after we get back..."

Xu walked past the bodies, picking up a sword starting to show rust, and picking at the ground.

"A little ring of rocks, and ashes. They tried to start a fire and stay the night. Even little children of He-Yue know not to be in this forest after dark, yet the mountain-folk don't even know of the dangers. Hmmph! It seems wisdom travels less and less, these times."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Deng was a little perturbed at Xu's casual tone in the face of death, as he knew little of his history. There were rumors that the kindly, polite Xu had once been a warrior in his own right, but he refused to speak of it. At the same time, of course, all people of the village knew his knowledge in many fields came from decades of experience. All the hunters became alarmed, though, when Xu's head suddenly looked up, and his expression hardened.

"Behind those rocks, now! Something's approaching!"

The group scrambled behind a thick pile of mossy boulders nearby, trying to keep as quiet as possible. They heard footsteps, and Deng peeked through a small hole in the wall of rocks. He covered his mouth, horrified at the sight.

Through the fog and mist, a figure emerged. Tall, easily the height of two men, a gangly figure with unsettlingly long limbs. It was a mixture of dark green, brown, and jet black, with an undulating and sickening body made of rotting vines, like a pile of wriggling snakes. It had a pair of burning orange eyes, scanning the environment, slowly. Atop the beast's head was two tree branches jutting out, like horns, and its fingers were wickedly pointed like giant knives, likely made from tree roots. A dusk-stalker!

The creature looked around, a wet, rasp-like noise coming from it. Deng and Xu were horrified to notice that, like the legends said, the foul beast had no mouth. A dusk-stalker was actually more like a plant than a animal, formed from decaying plant-matter infused with the Ki of decay. It kept itself alive by draining Ki from the environment and any animals it found, a disgusting half-life that often only "lived" for a few days. No doubt it likely formed from the deaths of the soldiers, their lost lives seeping into this Ki rich environment, briefly poisoning the area around then enough to form such an abomination. Xu cursed their bad luck, silently. A dusk-stalker was one of the few creatures that couldn't be sensed via The Way, the trees around it masking the core of decay Ki powering the beast. This, more than anything, made stalker-type beasts such as these some of the world's deadliest hunters.

Xu started to gasp, gripping his head, as he suddenly felt a powerful burst of life Ki ripple through the Way. Xiao and Deng looked at him, alarmed. Xu cried out, unable to stop himself, realizing what was about to happen. "It's here! It's right with us!"

As the Dusk-stalker's head snapped towards the sound of Xu's voice, a large tree behind it suddenly exploded in a flash of brilliant silver Ki, the Ki of life.

As the top half of the tree violently crashed through the forest, a large bug-like creature emerged from the remains of the trunk, reborn. It was about two feet long, with four silver wings and a new pair of sharp, mantis-like raptorial forelimbs. The beast's head was nearly triangular, with clicking mandibles to more easily grab and eat food. Two large red eyes glared at the dusk-stalker, and the Ki-beast let out a harsh buzzing noise, like a warning.

Tong leapt at the giant creature, ready to finally stretch the new wings and limbs it had been growing over the course of a few days. With a quick slash, a large chunk of rotting planet matter sprayed out of the odd humanoid beast. The dusk-stalker barely seemed to react, only trying to swipe and grip at the irritating mantis.

For Tong's new body, it was a glorious fight. The four wings and heavy forelimbs had traded speed for control and power, and the larger but thinner body made for a more difficult target to enemies to hit overall. No longer would Tong simply run away from threats. Now, Tong could fight and hold its own ground. With more quick slashes from its forelimbs Tong made heavy strikes into the plant-matter flesh of the dusk-stalker's body. Before it could react, Tong then perched itself right on the creature's back, widened its mandibles, and bit deeply.

The five humans watching behind the rock were astounded, seeing the huge mandibles spring out from the Ki-beast's mouth. Like a pair of garden-shears, they sliced effortlessly through the neck of the dusk-stalker, nearly severing it. The giant stumbled, swaying for a moment, then crashed to the ground. Tong burrowed itself in the almost detached head of the Dusk-stalker, emerging from the pile of rotting leaves with a large orange core of hardened Ki essence, that which formed the eyes and brain of the beast. Tong sucked down the Ki greedily, and the orange light infused into the clear abdomen of the Ki-beast, quickly fading into a brilliant white, visible even during the day.

As Xu and company slowly stepped out from behind the rocks, Tong swiveled its head towards them, and briefly locked eyes with the curious old human in the blue coat. For a tiny moment, just only about a second, two large red eyes stared at two small grey ones. Then as quickly as it arrived, Tong zipped away into the trees with its four wings, running away. The small group of humans watched it leave silently. After some time, Deng spoke.

"That was... the Ki-beast?" Deng asked, still staring into the trees where it had flew away.

"Not anymore." Xu said, gazing into the mist, thoughtfully.

"I think we witnessed the birth of something. The birth of a new god."

Next Time: A visit to another place, and Tong learning the true nature of hunger...