Looking at the Hollow Creature charging at me with full speed, my heart filled with nothing but dread, that heavy, crawling feeling that settled in my chest, as I stared at the madened felidae's two lightless eyes.
I immediately reconstructed Regret into its original size, and did the only reasonable thing a boy like me could do in such a situation…ran away in the opposite direction as fast as my feet could run. Yes, it was cowardly for me just to run away from the Hollow Creature, but I didn't care. What was so wrong with being a coward? In the end, cowards live to die peacefully in a distant future, while the brave, those who cling to honor, never choosing to back away from a fight, are the ones who die, not living to tell their great, brave, honor-filled tale.
There was also another reason why I chose to run instead of facing the creature head-on. It was simple, really; the uncanny forest was devoid of Hollow Creatures other than the Uncanny Trees themselves. Even though Hollow Creatures once inhabited the zone before the dense forest formed, nothing was known about them.
And what was an irrational fear that almost all of humanity had, other than darkness and things that almost look human? The unknown. For all I cared about, the Hollow Creature charging at me could've been of the Stained rank just like the Uncanny Trees.
The sound of the snow crunching rhythmically underneath my bare feet as my feet hit the soft ground again and again in an attempt to somehow escape the dreadful felidae in the vast nothing but snow, and snow only.
Fuck! I screamed internally.
I knew that I was only delaying the inevitable; eventually, I would get tired, my pace would slow, and the creature would catch up with me. I didn't help that I was already tired from Amanda and her two guards' pursuit, which lasted almost a whole three days of near-endless running in the misty expanse between the onyx trees of the Uncanny Forest. And, as if this wasn't enough, I could hear the felidae's paws hitting the cold snow, getting closer by the second, breaking the rhythm created by my feet.
After a few moments, I realized that there was no running away from what needed to happen. It was already engraved in stone that I would have to fight the Hollow Creature, dying by it or killing it. I mean, what did I expect? All around me was nothing fucking snow!
Where the fuck was I hoping to escape?!
My grip around Regret tightened. The rhythm created by the Hollow Creature's paws, disturbing the one created by my own feet, stopped. I quickly realized that that probably meant that the creature lunged forward towards me. Ducking, I just avoided the Creature's sharp claws. It flew over me, landing on the snow in front of me and turning instantly, snarling, baring its teeth.
"Fuck it," I muttered through gritted teeth.
If I couldn't escape it, I might as well face the fucker. Not out of honor. Not out of bravery. But out of the sheer will to survive.
By entering the First Recording, I had gained my freedom. That was true in the eyes of everybody. But I had another opinion. I wasn't and wouldn't become truly free until I triumphed over the Recording. So until then, I refuse to die.
After all, the only thing more pathetic than living as a slave was dying as one.
Taking the initiative, my muscles tensed as I charged at the madened beast in front of me, the tip of Regret aimed directly at the area in the middle of its forehead, at its brain. The sound of metal hitting metal rang out as the creature shifted, using one of its saber teeth to block Regret.
The blade bounced off the metal tooth, but the Saber-Toothed Feline didn't so much as flinch upon impact. It moved, its claws sliced swiftly through the cold air in an attempt to get me to the ground. I moved Regret, wanting to block the swift attack. My clumsy attempt to block worked…kind of.
I manage to block half of the claws, escaping with shallow wounds across my side. I was thrown back upon contact, landing on the snow, thankfully on my feet. The creature didn't give me time and shot forward, claws ready to take me down, so the felidae could bite down on my neck, ending the encounter swiftly, at least that was what I thought the creature's hunting tactic was.
I swung Regret, now holding it in a two-handed grip. The blade connected with the creature's swinging right foreleg, digging into it and cutting the skin, muscles, and flesh until it reached the bone. It was then that the creature's left foreleg claws slashed across my torso. I winced and almost let out a tortured scream.
Instead of succumbing to the pain, I lunged forward towards the howling mad beast.
Indeed, there was no running away.