My spear slashed through the air.
It cleaved one of the bees mid-flight, cutting it clean in two. A jet of dark fluid burst into the void, and its body fell silently.
Dead.
On the spot.
And in that fraction of a second...
The violet light.
It pierced through me.
Directly.
A chilling shiver climbed my spine, and a nervous smile crept across my face.
First objective: achieved.
And then, my legs, still tense from the jump, plummeted down onto the muscular goblin running below.
I struck him with all my weight, right in the flank.
A dull, brutal noise. Flesh against flesh. Bone against bone.
He turned his head, surprised, and our eyes met.
His eyes into mine.
Intense. Intrusive. Instinctive.
And inside me:
"What the hell are you looking at, fucking goblin…"
Despite his build, he buckled.
Under the impact, his body was thrown aside. And I, carried by the momentum, rolled with him into the river.
The water swallowed us halfway into a muddy whirl.
And behind us...
The swarm reacted.
In an instant.
As a single being.
The bees surged towards us, flying with a furious buzz, like living darts slicing through the air.
No time to think.
I growled, with no frills, no warmth, just a pure, raw, dry order:
— FOLLOW ME!
I said nothing more.
He would follow... or die.
Simple.
So I got back up.
Body soaked. Weight heavier.
I charged through the river, despite the current, despite the rise. Each step tore my legs free from the muddy ground.
And without hesitation...
I dove.
I stayed underwater.
As long as possible.
Letting myself be carried by the current, not very strong, but enough. It dragged me, slid me across smooth rocks, submerged branches, treacherous mud. I didn't resist.
I held my breath to the limit.
I couldn't surface yet. Not yet.
I knew. The bees were cautious. Wary. They flew above the water, but didn't enter it easily.
So I took refuge there.
In the murky silence.
In the freezing bite.
In the watery darkness.
I let myself be carried. Little by little. Body slack. Limbs loose. Mind stretched taut like a wire.
But I couldn't take it anymore.
The fire burned in my lungs.
So I broke the surface. Once. A gulp of air. A vital gasp. Full of panic.
And I dove back down.
Again.
And again.
Without looking.
Without knowing.
Just my instinct.
My paranoia.
I let myself drift through a liquid tunnel, praying nothing would grab me between two breaths. And the cycle repeated. Again and again. Like an automaton. A ghost.
And then...
After what felt like an eternity, I raised my head.
I looked around.
No more bees.
Nothing.
Just... him.
That fucking goblin.
He was flailing in the water, his head barely above the surface, his arms thrashing everywhere.
And then I understood.
I blinked.
No. Seriously?!
That dumbass goblin... couldn't even swim.
I headed towards him.
Swimming without haste.
Not to save him.
To retrieve him.
I growled through gritted teeth, my voice muffled by water and fatigue:
— Stop. I'll help you.
Not a proposal.
Not a request.
An order.
And when my hand grabbed him...
He didn't resist.
He let himself be handled.
As if he understood.
As if he finally knew where he belonged.
As if he understood I was superior.
And there... a smile crept across my lips.
Slowly.
Venomous.
Not of joy. Not of pity.
Just... the cold satisfaction of one who takes the upper hand.
I dragged him with one arm, his heavy weight against mine, and swam towards the shore.
One arm free.
A burden behind me.
But this time... I was the beast.
Once we reached the shore...
I collapsed.
Not like a coward. Like a spent body.
The apnea had drained me.
The current had worn me down.
Dragging him across the water had torn everything from me. Muscles. Nerves. Breath.
I gasped for air. Blades of air. Each breath slicing my throat.
And him...
He wasn't any better.
Lying beside me, panting like a dying beast, his chest rose and fell at an abnormal speed. His skin, lighter than mine, was swollen, irregular, striped with dozens of stings. In some places, it looked like living cysts, slightly oozing, as if his body couldn't contain what the bees had left inside.
But I couldn't stay there.
The shore was exposed.
A nest for predators.
I growled again.
— Follow me.
And he obeyed.
Without speaking. Without protesting.
Just... executed.
I stood up. My legs trembled. My knees buckled. But I moved forward.
Quickly.
Despite the exhaustion.
My eyes scanned the heights. I spotted a tree. A massive, twisted, blackened trunk, but solid. Its branches stretched over the river like protective arms. One of them... wide enough for two.
Perfect.
I slid my spear between my teeth.
And I climbed.
Each movement was agony.
My claws scraped the bark.
My arms screamed.
But I climbed.
He did the same.
More clumsily.
Less fluid.
Heavier.
But strong. Solid. He followed.
Step by step.
Hand after hand.
Claws digging into the wood, to the point of bleeding.
And finally...
After what felt like endless minutes...
We reached the branch.
We rolled onto it like two sacks of meat, panting, soaked, filthy.
The silence.
The air.
Just that.
The trunk against our backs. Moss clinging to our skin. Bark scraping our sweat.
Our claws bled. The skin on our hands was torn in places, revealing swollen, throbbing veins.
Our chests rose and fell in unison. Bestial, broken breathing. Mirrored.
Him, his skin blistered. Me, my muscles paralyzed.
But we were there.
Alive.
On that rotting branch, above the world.
And for the first time in a long time...
I wasn't alone.
After a few minutes to catch my breath, my back pressed against the rough bark, I spoke.
It had to be done.
I had to take the initiative.
Show him.
That he had nothing to lose.
Nothing to fear.
If he accepted to be under my command.
If he accepted to listen to me.
Even if my body was weak.
Even if my arms still trembled.
— I saved you twice today.
He turned his head.
Looked at me.
Like a lost beast.
Not stupid. Not violent. Just... lost.
His yellow eyes, rimmed with red, fixed me with a strange intensity. A troubled glimmer reflected there, flickering — a mix of mistrust, respect... and fear. As if something, deep in his instincts, whispered that I wasn't like the other goblins.
So I continued.
— And in the future, I will save you again.
— I will make you stronger.
— Stronger even than the elders of the tribe.
I paused.
Stared him straight in the eyes.
His dilated pupils seemed to search for something in me. A doubt. A flaw. But they found nothing.
Just a frozen certainty.
And I whispered, almost tenderly:
— I will make you the strongest goblin the world has ever known.
And the worst part?
I meant it.
His body... it was made for war. For survival. A natural brute, shaped by selection.
But under my strategy, my ideas, my traps, he could become much more.
It might not even be an empty promise.
And then... he spoke.
His voice was hoarse. Deep. Heavy with fatigue, but clear:
— You... the goblin. Small. Weak. You know many things.
— You, who seem cowardly, are stronger than any goblin I have crossed.
— Why?
I smiled.
Coldly.
And I answered:
— Because I have a strength you don't have.
— Intelligence.
— Cunning.
— I am the smartest goblin in this world.
And deep down...
I knew it might not be entirely true.
But maybe it was.
Because if a goblin evolved towards the Tree of Intelligence, if he pushed his mutations that way... he could become far smarter than me. Even with my human memories.
But that truth...
I kept to myself.
— So you will use my strength, my arms... and I will be your brain.
I will make you the strongest goblin general... and you will make me the worthiest sovereign. You will be my hands. I will be your mind. That is my proposal.
But it wasn't empty words.
It wasn't a dream.
It was a pact.
— From the moment you accept... our fates will be tied.
— And we will be destined to become a great force in this world.
I swallowed the disgust rising in me.
Because let's be honest.
He was a goblin.
A fucking goblin.
And here I was, making an alliance speech, a pact, almost an eloquent declaration, to this thing.
A fucking goblin.
I cursed inwardly, but my eyes remained steady. Unyielding.
I stared at him, nonchalantly.
And he...
He looked at me.
No doubt in his gestures.
No hesitation in his eyes.
And he said, with an animal certainty, brutal, sincere:
— You will make me stronger. And I will be your strength.
Fucking goblin.
It was that simple for him.
I saw it in his eyes: he was already loyal. Already ready to follow me. No matter what I said, no matter what I did, he had chosen.
An idiot. A dog.
But a powerful dog.
I pushed my thoughts away, shoved my contempt deep into my gut.
And I extended my arm.
I placed it on his shoulder.
A simple gesture. Solid. Sharp.
And I whispered, like a promise of war:
— You did well.
— From now on... we will be the predators of this forest.
I paused.
My gaze hardened.
And my lips murmured something cold, deeper, almost prophetic:
— ... no.
— The predators of this world.