The Flaming Lion lowered its head slightly, the closest thing to a nod it had given all night.
"The mission is over," it said.
"You are free to leave whenever you wish."
Morden stood there for a moment, letting the words settle while he felt slightly skeptical at those words; it was sure he wanted more.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that," the Lion said.
"I have given you what I could. The rest is yours to carry."
Morden nodded slowly, though his legs didn’t move right away.
The truth was that the exhaustion in him had crept so deep into his body that the idea of walking all the way back to Evergreen City felt almost impossible.
’If I collapse halfway there, that’s just going to be another problem I don’t need.’
So instead of leaving, he decided to wander around, just for a bit, enough to let him recover his strength enough for him to move efficiently and protect himself in times of danger.
The den opened up into a wider stretch of forest, and Morden walked slowly, taking in details he hadn’t had the chance to notice earlier.
Genetic Beasts were moving between the trees in ways that felt almost deliberate, almost like they were following patterns instead of instinct.
He passed a group of boars with bark-like plating fused into their hides, grazing on something that glowed faintly blue in the dark.
A little further, a serpent with feathers instead of scales coiled itself around a tree trunk while remaining completely still.
’This place just keeps getting stranger the longer I look at it.’
Though none of them attacked, none of them even reacted much except for the occasional glance in his direction.
It was almost peaceful, but that was if Morden ignored the fact that every single creature here could probably kill him without much effort.
He kept walking, letting his thoughts drift back to everything the Lion had just told him.
’Defects. Errors. The Matrix wanting to erase people like me.’
’The One Who Shouldn’t Be.’
The attribute has always been something that sat heavy in his chest, the same way the question about who killed his family always sat.
He was so lost in thought that he almost didn’t notice the shift in the air around him, a subtle pressure change that made the hair on his arms stand up.
"You," a voice suddenly called out from behind him.
Morden turned to find a smaller Flaming Lion standing above two meters away, its mane burning with the same intensity as its father’s, though its frame was much leaner and younger.
"You’re the one my father spent all night talking to."
"I guess that’s me," Morden said while still catching his breath from the walk and all the strange sights in front of him.
The younger lion’s tail flicked from left to right.
"Fight me."
Morden blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me; I said you should fight me."
"I’m going to pass on that," Morden said with both his hands slightly raised.
"I’m barely standing right now, let alone fighting anything, especially not something that looks like it could set half this forest on fire."
The younger Lion’s golden eyes narrowed, clearly unimpressed by the excuse.
"Weak," it muttered.
"Woah woah woah, not weak," Morden corrected, though even he could hear how tired his own voice sounded.
The lion let out a huff, flames flickering along its shoulders, before it turned and bounded off into the trees without another word.
Morden watched it go, but he was more confused than he was relieved.
’What was that about?’
He didn’t have long to wonder, because a few minutes later, the younger Lion returned; this time it was almost dragging someone or something behind it.
It was a plant, or at least something plant-shaped; its stem was thick and pulsing faintly with soft green light, and its leaves were curling and uncurling on their own like they were breathing.
"This will heal you," the young lion said, dropping the plant Genetic Beast unceremoniously in front of Morden.
"Then we fight."
Morden stared down at the strange thing, then backed up at the lion.
"I said no."
"I did not ask," the Lion said.
The plant’s leaves unfurled fully, and a soft pulse of light washed over Morden before he could even step back.
Warmth spread through his limbs almost instantly, the ache in his legs fading, his breathing evening out for the first time since he’d left the cave.
’Well, that’s convenient and also extremely annoying.’
Morden flexed his fingers, testing the sudden return of strength in his body, feeling steadier than he had in hours.
"There," the young Lion said, sitting back on its haunches with an expression that could only be described as smug.
"Now you have no excuse."
Morden let out a slow breath, some of his earlier irritation giving way to something else entirely.
’He’s right. I don’t have an excuse anymore.’
And if he was being honest with himself, some part of him had been itching for exactly this since he’d first stepped out of that cave, a way to burn off and release everything the Lion’s words had stirred up inside him.
’Maybe a fight is exactly what I need right now.’
He rolled his shoulders, feeling the strength the plant had given him settle fully into his muscles.
"Fine," Morden said, a slow, sharp smile spreading across his face.
"You want a fight? Let’s fight."
The young lion’s ears perked up immediately, flames flaring brighter along its mane in what looked almost like excitement.
"Finally," it said.
"Something interesting."
Morden settled into a stance of his own, the exhaustion from earlier completely gone now, replaced by something sharper, hungrier.
’Let’s see what all that talk about attributes and defects actually means when it comes down to something as simple as this.’
The forest around them seemed to hold its breath, the other Genetic Beasts nearby pausing their movements, sensing what was about to happen.
The young lion’s flames roared higher, casting long shadows across the trees.
Morden didn’t wait for an announcement, a countdown, or anything close to a formal start.
The moment he saw the lion’s muscles shift, he moved first
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