"Okay! You're fast! You've got spirit!"

He waved again, mockingly. The dinosaur roared, clearly not sharing his sense of humor. Nova bolted toward a cluster of glowing plants, weaving between them.

The dinosaur's bulk made it slower to maneuver. For a moment, Nova used that to his advantage, running in circles, ducking behind rocks, even tossing a handful of luminous fruit toward it just to see what would happen.

The fruit exploded into harmless bursts of light, startling the creature enough for him to snicker. Lunaris, from a nearby rock, watched this display with an expression that screamed: My human companion is an idiot.

After several minutes of dodging, taunting, and near-death acrobatics, Nova finally darted up a slope, panting and grinning wildly.

He turned back to see the dinosaur skidding to a halt below, frustrated but seemingly giving up the chase. It let out a final huff of air, then lumbered away into the forest.

Nova bent over, hands on his knees, catching his breath. "Okay… okay, maybe waving at prehistoric monsters isn't the best idea," he admitted between laughs. "But hey, worth it for the story."

Lunaris jumped onto his shoulder again, swatting his ear lightly as if to reprimand him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Nova said, still smiling. "I'll try not to 'befriend' any more apex predators."

He gazed back toward the shimmering forest, where the dinosaur had vanished. The friendly creatures had cautiously reemerged, peeking from behind rocks and trees. The leaf-scaled giant gave a low, mournful hum, almost like a sigh of relief.

Nova straightened up, brushing the dirt from his pants. "Well," he said, glancing at Lunaris, "if this place keeps surprising me like that, we're in for one hell of an adventure."

Lunaris purred softly, tail curling around his neck like a scarf. The deeper Nova and Lunaris ventured into the new biome, the more surreal it became. The landscape stretched wide and open, painted in colors that would've been impossible on Earth.

The grass shimmered faintly with silver undertones, and the trees, if they could be called that, grew in gentle spirals, their leaves forming geometric patterns that pulsed with a faint bioluminescence.

It was a living dreamscape, peaceful, but humming with quiet potential energy.

Nova ran a hand through his hair, still damp with sweat from his encounter with the dinosaur. "You know," he said, half to Lunaris, half to himself, "I think we've officially seen everything. Two-headed bulls, glowing rivers, weird jelly-bunnies, and a dinosaur with a crystal spine."

Lunaris flicked an ear, unimpressed.

"Okay, fine," Nova chuckled. "Maybe not everything. But close."

The path ahead split into two, one leading into a grove of tall, glassy trees, their trunks clear as crystal; the other veered toward a meadow that shimmered faintly pink, dotted with small, floating orbs that bobbed lazily in the air. Nova paused, squinting between them.

"Left or right?" he asked.

Lunaris sniffed the air, then padded decisively toward the meadow.

"Meadow it is."

As they entered, the temperature rose slightly, and the air filled with the faint hum of life. The floating orbs drifted closer, revealing themselves to be small creatures, soft-bodied, almost jellyfish-like, glowing from within. Each one pulsed gently, casting warm light across Nova's skin.

They gathered around him and Lunaris, curious but not afraid. One landed softly on Nova's shoulder, its surface cool and smooth. When he reached up to touch it, the orb emitted a faint chime, an echo of a sound he couldn't quite place.

"Alright, I take it back," Nova said. "Now we've seen everything."

For a moment, time seemed to slow. The meadow swayed gently in a breeze that didn't exist, and the orbs moved in perfect rhythm, like synchronized dancers. Even Lunaris, who rarely showed visible emotion, relaxed, purring softly as an orb brushed against his fur.

Nova smiled. "I could get used to this."

But Beastaria never let its visitors stay comfortable for long.

The tranquility was shattered again with another sound, different this time, not a roar, but a deep, vibrating call that made the air tremble. The orbs scattered instantly, vanishing into the distance. The meadow dimmed as their light retreated.

Nova's smile faded. "...What now?"

The sound came again, closer. A rhythmic pounding followed, like thunder rolling across the plains. Nova spun, scanning the horizon, then froze. From the edge of the meadow emerged another dinosaur.

This one was different, sleeker, faster-looking, with long claws and a low, streamlined body. It was almost like a raptor, but its feathers shimmered metallic blue, catching the light in flashes. Its eyes burned amber, intelligent and cold.

"Okay," Nova muttered, voice low. "We're doing this again." Lunaris hissed, fur standing on end. Nova held up a hand. "Relax. Maybe this one's friendlier."

The raptor-like creature crouched, muscles tensing. Its claws dug into the glowing soil.

"Or not."

It bolted forward in a blur. Nova barely dodged, rolling to the side as its claws slashed through the air where his torso had been a second earlier. He scrambled to his feet, heart pounding, and started running again.

"Seriously? Why do all the cool ones want to kill me?"

Lunaris clung to his shoulder, yowling in protest as Nova tore through the meadow. The ground lit up beneath his feet, each step leaving faint trails of light. Behind them, the creature's footfalls thundered like drums, shaking the earth.

Nova jumped over a cluster of rocks, using the momentum to slide down a small slope. The raptor followed easily, agile as a shadow. It was fast, too fucking fast.

Nova looked back, grinning despite himself. "Alright, you want to play? Let's play."

He abruptly veered left, sprinting into the grove of crystal trees he'd seen earlier. The raptor followed, crashing through the first line of trunks. The sound of shattering glass filled the air, echoing like wind chimes.

Nova ducked behind a larger trunk, catching his breath. The creature prowled nearby, tail swaying. Its claws clicked against the crystal floor.

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