It’s been nearly a month since I escaped from the cave, and I think I’m going to die out here. The fire I slept next too was near the entrance to the cave system. It only took me a couple of hours to escape after I woke back up. The problem was that when I left the cave I had no idea where I was or where to go. To the North I could see a humongous mountain, to the west was a sea that stretched into nothingness, and to the east and south was a vast grassland without end. To this day, I have no idea how in the hell those damned imps managed to get me all the way out here. I think that someone powerful must’ve helped them because I must’ve been teleported, and there were no portals nearby.

For some reason, I was drawn towards the grasslands. It was as if something was calling for me in the distance. So, I headed in a generally south-easterly direction while hunting anything I came across. The first week was great, nothing could possibly harm me out here. For the most part, the spirits running around had yet to even form a consciousness yet. The more essence that one can safely absorb and control, the smarter one is. It seems as if every elemental spirit spends its infant stage mindlessly eating anything containing their element. For the most part, this meant that infant spirits would absorb other infant spirits until finally one of them would evolve, turning into a low-class spirit. Even then, they wouldn’t even be as powerful as those idiotic imps I killed.

Unfortunately, there was nothing but infants and the occasional low-class spirit in these unending grasslands. This wouldn’t have been a problem if I had thought about why no middle or high-class spirits had claimed the grasslands. The density of elemental essence in the area is extremely low. So low, that within a week my body had already passively absorbed all of the lightning essence in the area without my even noticing it. To make matters worse, the vast majority of spirits in this hell-hole are earth and wind spirits. Fortunately I can somehow digest wind spirits as a stop-gap, but I can’t eat earth spirits. Even worse, the one time I tried to eat one the earth essence ran wild in my body, totally uncontrollable. It left me severely injured, and on the verge of dieing. I had to use the majority of my lightning essence to heal and restructure my body or I would’ve died then and there.

So here I am, stalking a low-class wind spirit who was currently flitting around in the air. I hate killing wind-spirits, they are so childish and fun to be around. For the couple of weeks while I traveled through the grasslands I often played with them, but I didn’t have a choice. Slowly, I slipt through the 5 foot tall grass following the spirit, waiting for the wind spirit to turn towards me. I could’ve killed it hours ago with a burst of lightning, but I need to save as much of my lightning essence as I can. This spirit might give me another 8 hours of life, but only if I never used any lightning.

‘Now!’

The spirit had finally turned, approaching within 10 feet of me. I immediately pounced, killing it with the swipe of a forepaw in an instant. Hunting a tricky prey relying on nothing but your body is something that should make you proud, yet as I ate the spirit I couldn’t help but feel sad.

‘I truly wish I hadn’t been forced to eat you.’

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Another month has passed, and now I know that I’m about to die. I’ve gotten so weak that I could no longer hunt even low-class elemental spirits. Forcing me to prey on the infantile spirits, but they had such a low amount of essence that it almost takes more energy to eat them then I gain from them.

I would’ve given up long before if not for that feeling, as if something is calling out to me in the distance. I can feel it, pulsing nearby now. If only I could make it there I just know that I’d survive somehow.

Each step feels as if it’ll be my last.

*trudge*

‘Should I just give up?’

*trudge*

‘Not yet, nearly there’

*trudge*

And so it went, step after step, hour after hour, day after day.

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‘I’m so close, I can feel it.’

Another week had passed. I have no idea why I kept going, but I just couldn’t stop. No matter how tired and hungry, no matter how much it hurt, that pulsing feeling just kept pulling me towards it.

‘This is it, I can’t go on.’

I couldn’t even stand at this point, I only had the energy to lay on my side and look in the direction of the pulsing. I could feel it, coming closer.

‘If only I had one more day.’

I could no longer go on. Laying there, I stared into the distance and waited to die…

‘It’s time now.’

I could feel my body shutting down, my emaciated form laying on the ground.

‘I’m not going to just go out like this and wait to be eaten.’

Instead of waiting there to die, I decided to spend every last remaining essence I had. Weakly, yet defiantly, I roared out louder than I’ve ever roared before or since. I used the lightning essence and fire essence to create an explosion with me at the center of it; I planned to burn away my mortal form. No one was going to eat me.

“ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The echoing boom thundered across the horizon as I felt the flames engulf me.