Lunaris leaned close to Nova's ear, letting out a low growl.

"I know, I know," Nova whispered. "Not my brightest idea. But I've got a plan."

The raptor stepped closer, sniffing the air. Its reflection warped and split across the mirrored surfaces of the trees, creating the illusion of a dozen predators.

Nova picked up a shard of crystal and tossed it across the grove. It hit a tree with a sharp ping!. The sound scattering through the air. The raptor instantly turned, lunging toward the noise.

Nova grinned and took off in the opposite direction. He dashed between trees, the reflections confusing even him, but he kept moving. When he reached the edge of the grove, he stopped, turned, and whistled.

"Hey, lizard! Over here!"

The raptor's head snapped toward him, eyes narrowing. Nova smirked and pointed toward the pond behind him, the same shimmering red water he'd crossed earlier.

The creature lunged. Nova jumped backward into the water.

There was a bright flash, not of light, but color. The pond rippled, hues shifting wildly between crimson, gold, and violet.

The raptor hesitated, screeching as the water hissed around its feet. It stumbled back, shaking its head violently, before turning and retreating into the forest.

Nova surfaced, gasping, hair slicked against his forehead. Lunaris floated beside him on a patch of glowing moss, utterly drenched but still dignified.

Nova laughed, half from relief, half from disbelief. "Okay, I'm calling it. I'm officially the dumbest Adventurer alive."

Lunaris meowed sharply, tail flicking water at his face. "Yeah, yeah," Nova said, wiping his eyes. "You warned me."

He climbed out of the pond, wringing out his shirt. The red water shimmered behind him, calm once more. The night sky, if it could be called that, began to shift overhead, constellations rearranging themselves in patterns that made no sense.

As he stood there, dripping and exhausted, Nova looked out over the alien land. Despite everything, the chaos, the absurdity, he couldn't help but smile.

Because beneath the fear, the confusion, the adrenaline, there was something else: wonder. Beastaria wasn't just wild; it was alive in a way no other world could be. And Nova, reckless and curious as ever, was right in the middle of it.

He glanced at Lunaris, who was licking his paw disdainfully. "Come on," Nova said, tone soft but full of renewed energy. "Let's see what else wants to chase us before sunset."

Lunaris gave him a look that could have withered stone. Nova only grinned wider. The duo disappeared deeper into the wilderness, where the impossible was ordinary, and every step promised a sense of adventure.

As they disappeared into the forest, they heard crisp chirps of the flying "birds" in the vicinity, which only grew louder as Nova entered a clearing in the wilderness. As they stepped into the clearing, he felt it. The aggressive maternal protectiveness of a creature.

In front of him was a large nest, surrounded by some sort of translucent barrier, with fresh flesh and bones shattered everywhere, making the soil very fertile, enough for it to grow eerie plants and herbs that he hadn't encountered before.

He saw a large nest with eggs, but didn't see the one who was responsible for the eggs. He didn't see the mother of the eggs, and as he walked closer, the density of mana radiating from the eggs grew by folds upon folds.

He was still able to touch the barrier that separated him from the eggs, but the amount of mana that was there felt unreal. The artifact he had gained from the goblin village was absorbing the mana in the air, strengthening itself.

Nova felt the flair of the dense mana evaporate, as if it had never existed in the first place. He pressed against the barrier, which he hadn't meant to, and tore through it like a bag of chips.

As the barrier broke, it sent out a large noise that echoed through the Expanse Layer, alerting every single creature, especially the mother of the eggs. He panicked, not knowing what he had just done.

Then, in a split second, slightly faster than his comfort zone, a winged beast emerged out of nowhere, snarling at him, as Nova moved backward, the screeching in the snarl blasting through the defense in his eardrum.

After Nova moved to a satisfactory length away from the eggs, the winged beast stopped its snarl and inspected the eggs, seeing the condition they were in, which was pristine. The creature looked back at Nova and saw the curiosity in his eyes and decided to evaluate him closely.

The creature lunged at Nova, who didn't react at all, and decided to let the scared creature inspect him. The creature landed with a thundering impact, wings unfurling in a cascade of iridescent feathers that shimmered between obsidian and sapphire.

Its body was sleek and sinewed, like that of a predator built for both sky and soil. The scales along its neck refracted the dim ambient light, revealing veins of silver coursing beneath, pulsing faintly with each measured breath.

Its eyes, twin orbs of molten amber, glowed with an intelligence that was both ancient and unyielding. Steam rose from its nostrils as it leaned closer to Nova; its breath smelled like volcanic ashes.

Every inch of the air between them vibrated with restrained energy. Lunaris floated closer to Nova's shoulder, fur bristling but gaze steady, unblinking.

The creature's pupils narrowed as it regarded the pair, one mortal and one not entirely so. A low hum resonated from the beast's chest, not a growl this time, but a sound older than language itself.

The ground beneath Nova's boots trembled as that resonance spread through the grove, touching the air, the trees, the mana that still shimmered faintly from the shattered barrier.

The creature extended a talon the size of Nova's arm and pressed it gently to his chest. For an instant, Nova felt its essence brush against his own, an immense consciousness, heavy and vast, rifling through the fragments of his spirit.

Images flashed: the red pond, the mirrored trees, the reckless grin. Then, calm. The talon withdrew. The beast's head tilted, nostrils flaring as it turned its gaze toward Lunaris. A brief silence passed, then the creature exhaled softly, the air warm, almost approving.

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