Interlude: Nil
The beast gazed up at the sky, sensing something in the air. Indeed, there was something flying above. Intrigued, the beast decided to chase after this mysterious entity.
With a surge of power in its hind legs, it pushed off the ground, leaping into the air, its two tails swaying behind it as it ascended.
It seemed to be sniffing the air, its nose twitching, but something about the beast’s demeanor was off. Drool dripped from its mouth—was that flying creature truly so appetizing?
Minutes turned into hours as the beast’s eyes grew bloodshot, and it raced through the sky, saliva spilling from its jaws.
Suddenly, a massive object appeared, blocking the beast’s path.
Startled, the beast’s nose quivered, its eyes widening in surprise. With a fierce snap of its jaws, it lunged at the object… no, it sank its teeth into it. The expression on the beast’s face was hard to decipher, but it seemed to wear a slack-jawed look of delight. Gradually, it descended to the ground and began to devour its newfound prize with fervor.
The prey was larger than the beast itself—perhaps three times its size. The beast gnawed at it with single-minded determination, and before long, the volume of the prey diminished, transforming into the beast’s own flesh and blood. It had surely consumed more than its own body weight, yet its belly did not appear to swell significantly.
Eventually, having devoured everything, the beast let out a satisfied sigh and howled loudly before drifting off to sleep.
Days later, the beast finally awoke.
It stood up and surveyed its surroundings, casting its gaze down at its feet. It seemed bewildered, which was understandable; compared to before, its size had increased by about one and a half times.
“Wafuu…?”
However, after a single yip, it seemed to calm down. Picking up a large bone that lay at its feet, it lay down and began to gnaw on it. For a while, it wagged its three tails happily as it chewed, but eventually, perhaps out of boredom, the vigor in its tails waned, and its ears drooped. It might have felt a sense of emptiness from gnawing on a bone without any meat.
“Wafu…”
Letting out a faint whimper, it picked up the large bone and began to walk weakly. Yet, as if sensing something, its tails gradually lifted. With newfound energy, it took off running, soaring into the sky.
Its destination was east—the direction from which the flying creature had vanished. Perhaps that entity was the one that had provided the beast with its meal. With this thought in mind, the beast raced toward the east, believing that it would surely find even more delicious food waiting for it.