15 A Strange Place

When Tyrant opened his eyes, a piercing glare forced him to hurriedly shut back his eyes.

What was this light? He didn't dare open his eyes lest he lose them to the light that felt sharp like a spear.

He felt it was different from the light that ruined his world, that light was powerful, all encompassing, and insurmountable. It's power burned his world to ashes and he could feel his blood boil and fur sizzle at the slightest contact, yet it wasn't as bright as this light. Instead it had an irresistible force in such a manner that you couldn't look away from its indomitable might.

This light was bright, and though it felt like it would give his eyes blisters, it had no momentum. It was like a lance of paper, threatening, yet powerless. It hurt in certain parts of you were to stab them, like his eyes, but could do no real harm.

He collected himself from the abrupt surprise he received upon awakening. He gradually tried to open his eyes once more, but the slightest slit of his eyelid felt like needles in his eyes. He thus gave up.

He tentatively probed his surroundings with other means. He was more adept with those methods anyway, with the Abyss not having a lot of lighting in the first place.

He felt he was lying on something soft, similar to the vegetation he walked upon before, but fuzzier. He felt he air was very stagnant, meaning the area was mostly enclosed in all direction, and any openings were very small and likely for ventilation alone.

He sniffed the air, but it was strange. He could tell that he was in something's territory, from the lingering scent, and that two beings frequent this place. But their were a myriad of scents he'd never smelt before.

A lot of it smelled... artificial, similar to the change of stone carved into armor, but in different varieties: wood, vegetation, some strange minerals. But there were also some natural scents, of vegetation and fresh air, meaning that he was not deep in some cavern.

He also smelled smoke, a fire, and... raw meat?

He was familiar with the smell of meat, but this meat was strange. The scent was thin, like that of an ice beast, but it was definitely dead. He felt it was missing something as well.

Then it hit him, it was the familiar smell of blood.

The strangest part of this place was the lack of the scent of blood. He was incomparably familiar with this scent, as it had followed him everyday in the Abyss.

Even if it was thin before in the forest, it was completely gone here. Did the territory's owner not stay here often? Does it not bring leftover prey here? Does it wash up after eating? But why would it bring the meat here? If there is meat, then what happened to the blood? Was it a vampiric beast? But a vampiric type still have hints of the blood scent from its fangs though.

Many questions flew through his head concerning the flesh with no blood. The only way there could be a beast den with no blood is if the beast did not did not eat meat, because if it did hunt, then the scent of what it killed and ate should forever linger on it's skin, this was one of the ways beasts could tell how dangerous another beast was.

But the possibility of a beast that did not eat meat was impossible, as it had indeed brought some to it's den.

Was it a terrible beast that froze the bodies of its enemies? Impossible as this den wasn't cold enough.

Highly corrosive acid? Still impossible, the scent of acid would be very noticeable.

He did not consider the meat to be drained of blood beforehand, as to an Abyssal beast, it was unthinkable to not make the most of your prey's body.

As he was thinking all these things, he heard footsteps approaching. From the pace, he could tell it was bipedal, the stance was not wide, weight was low, and center of gravity was high. He concluded that it was a straight legged, tall species, similar to the field apes he once hunted. They used mostly traps, and had physiques with good stamina, suitable to run long distances.

From the stride, he could tell it was short, but he could not tell the height without knowing he species, which all seemed smaller in this new world.

He moved his body, but he was still very wounded. Somehow, he felt his wounds were bound, covered in something wet, as if something licked his wounds, and the poison in his body had been purged; but he had several fractures from his fall, and he was still fatigued from the encounter with the wolves. He didn't consider it a battle, as he was losing from the very beginning. He was in a less than optimal condition.

From his condition, he could tell he received basic treatment, presumably from the mysterious beast, so he could assume it wasn't hostile.

Nevertheless, their intentions are unknown to him, so he could never be too safe. He climbed to his feet and took a stance, prepared to run or fight if need be.

There was a click, something was moving, and the airflow increased somewhat, so the mysterious beast must've unsealed the enclosure and opened an entrance.

He heard the beast approach, he backed away slowly while keeping aware of his surroundings, lest there be a trap. He growled softly as he extended his tail and swayed it threateningly, occasionally releasing his claws and tail blade. He intended to show that he was defenseless, and was capable of resisting an attack.

"*** ******* *****"

The strange beast said something he could not understand. He understood this was a more intelligent beast, that conveyed complex commands using language, rather than noises that conveyed intention, such as a roar or screech, as did most beasts, so it would be far harder to learn this language.

After their statement, the mystery beast went to a side of the enclosure.

There was a click. And the harsh light that pressured his eyelids constantly vanished in an instant.

He carefully opened his golden eyes, and noticed that the light was gone.

He instantly turned to the strange beast, only to see the strangest and most appalling creature he had ever seen.