It tried to break the egg slowly with its beak.
The cracks that began as small fractures grew wider.
Eventually, a hole opened.
Then it began biting away pieces around the edge of the hole with its beak.
From the widening opening, it pushed its head out.
White feathers and red eyes, just like its mother.
With small flames coming from its mouth, it looked around and saw Karon.
Its eyes lit up and it began screeching.
Karon smiled and started breaking the egg.
Carefully, he created cracks with his fingertips.
The hatchling pulled out one wing, then the other, and crawled out of the egg using them.
Stumbling, it approached Karon and screamed.
Karon gently stroked its head, then lifted it into his arms.
He transferred the energy flowing through him first into his arms, then into the bird.
The screaming bird slowly fell silent and drifted into sleep.
"You're a bit stubborn."
He gently placed it on the bed, covered it, and let it sleep.
***
He put the dead rabbit from the trap into his bag.
He reset the trap and continued on his way.
He walked until everything in sight turned into gray mist.
He stood, staring at the gray mist with a two-meter distance between them.
He took a live rabbit from his bag.
He tried not to tighten the rope around its neck too much.
Then he placed the rabbit on the ground and watched it move back and forth between him and the gray mist.
When nothing happened, he picked it up again and threw it into the gray mist.
He grabbed the rope and began pulling it back.
The rabbit came dragging toward him, but when he checked it, there was no reaction.
No wounds, no sign of trauma.
The rabbit had been swallowed by the gray mist.
"This didn't work either."
He put the rabbit back into his bag and walked home.
***
When he opened the door, he was greeted by the white-feathered creature running toward him with a screech.
He smiled, set the bags aside, and picked it up.
"Welcome back, Phen."
He stroked its head and placed it on the table.
He skinned the rabbit from the bag.
He cut it into small pieces and began feeding Phen.
While petting its head, he fed it the chopped meat.
Phen flapped its wings, stretched, and went to its bed, falling asleep.
Karon went outside and dug around the plants in his garden.
He harvested the grown vegetables and made himself a stew.
He picked up his handmade knife and stood in front of a log.
He stripped the bark away, leaving it bare.
He began carving from top to bottom.
The shaved wood fell down, forming small piles of sawdust.
Dust filled the air and got into his eyes.
After a while, he looked at the carved log.
A sword was embedded in it.
The sword was simple, but its details stood out.
The hilt had a flower-like shape.
The blade itself was covered in scratches.
Tired and frustrated, Karon left the unfinished work behind and continued his training.
***
Sitting on his bed, he cut off the energy he had been feeding into Phen.
He placed Phen on the ground and threw a piece of meat a short distance away.
Phen ran clumsily with its wings spread, chasing after it.
"I'm not sure if treating you like family by doing this is right."
"You're like a pet to me."
Each time it returned after eating, he petted it, sent energy into it again, then threw another piece of meat.
"I hope this exercise is enough."
The sound of its small steps and head movements gave Karon a sense of calm.
He was aware that he was trying to fill his emptiness with Phen.
At his level, even a living creature could satisfy him.
But it still wasn't enough.
His conversations with Phen led nowhere, and his attempts at "dialogue" produced no response.
Each time, he suppressed the emptiness inside him by spending time with Phen.
But his disappointment at expecting more than an animal could give never faded.
***
A figure moved quickly through the trees, focused on one thing.
"Wheel tracks."
These human traces made Karon tremble.
"Finally… a sign."
He followed the tracks but stopped when they left the silent forest.
Still, he wasn't disappointed.
"There were multiple tracks."
He had discovered a frequently used path.
All he had to do was wait in ambush among the bushes.
He was so focused on the road that he lost awareness of his surroundings.
At that moment, he failed to notice the creature behind him.
It struck his back with a heavy blow of its claws.
"Aagh!"
Thrown onto the road, Karon rolled, unable to regain his balance.
His aching back aside, the monster was already preparing its next attack.
Karon quickly raised his hands and stopped it.
It was a two-legged monster with long claws and large hands, roughly his size.
Karon threw it against a tree with a forceful motion.
The impact echoed with bone-cracking sounds as blood spilled onto the road.
The creature pushed itself up and ran toward him on all fours.
Karon drew Zelid and took a defensive stance.
When the creature saw the flames of Zelid, it slowed down.
It stopped a few meters away, extended its mouth, and attacked with its tongue.
Karon swung Zelid to deflect it, but the tongue was as hard as steel.
He swung his sword in a crescent arc, and a flaming wave struck the creature's head.
Severely injured by the sudden attack, the creature tried to flee.
Karon immediately chased after it.
Between the trees, two shadows clashed rapidly.
The creature slowed him down at times with its tongue, while Karon raised stones and wood in front of him.
After a long chase, they reached the gray mist and were forced to stop.
Neither of them wanted to enter it.
They continued their fight at its edge.
Karon threw stones and attacked with his sword, while the creature shattered them with its tongue and blocked his strikes.
Eventually, both of them grew tired and Karon stopped.
He planted his sword into the ground, and a three-meter radius was engulfed in flames.
Trapping the creature inside a small ring of fire made the fight easier.
As flames spread everywhere, they fought fiercely.
Karon intensified the flames coming from Zelid.
The entire area burned as sword and tongue clashed in the center.
Both were exhausted and covered in burns.
But they kept fighting for their lives.
The first to fall would die.
Karon launched another crescent attack.
This time the creature defended itself with its tongue.
But it failed to notice the follow-up behind the attack.
Karon struck quickly and decapitated the creature.
The blood that spilled was immediately burned by the flames.
Karon did not let the corpse fully burn; he put it into his bag and escaped the fire.
He returned home with minor burns and a severe wound on his back.