Chapter 9: The Crimson Moon

The forest was quiet. Too quiet.

Huǐ Yuān stirred from his restless slumber, his crystallized core pulsing faintly in the darkness. The cave's entrance was shrouded in his venomous mist, a poisonous barrier that kept even the boldest predators at bay. But something felt… off.

*The air. It's heavier.*

He slithered to the cave's mouth, his tongue flicking out to taste the night. The usual scents—damp earth, pine, and the faint tang of prey—were gone, replaced by something metallic, almost electric.

*What's happening?*

The moon rose slowly, its light bleeding crimson across the sky. The forest below was bathed in an eerie red glow, the shadows twisting unnaturally. Huǐ Yuān's scales prickled as the first howl echoed through the trees—a wolf, its voice raw and guttural.

Then another. And another.

The forest erupted into chaos.

Animals burst from the undergrowth, their eyes glowing red, their movements frenzied. A deer charged past the cave, its antlers scraping against stone as it barreled through the mist. Huǐ Yuān recoiled, his venomous aura flaring instinctively.

*What's wrong with them?*

The deer collapsed mid-stride, its life force draining into the mist. But others followed—boars, foxes, even birds, their wings beating erratically as they crashed into trees.

*They're not hunting. They're… running.*

Huǐ Yuān's tongue flicked out, tasting the air. The crimson light seemed to seep into everything, distorting the life forces around him. The weaker creatures burned brighter, their auras flickering like dying embers, while the stronger ones—predators like him—remained steady, their energy pulsing with a strange, magnetic pull.

*The moon. It's doing this.*

A familiar amber glow pierced the chaos.

Huǐ Yuān froze.

The rabbit stood at the edge of the clearing, its fur matted with blood and dirt, its eyes no longer feral but sharp, calculating. Crimson light haloed its body, amplifying its aura into a searing pyre.

*You.*

Memories flooded back—the rabbit's claws raking his back, its teeth snapping inches from his throat, the humiliation of fleeing into the cave.

*This ends now.*

The rabbit's gaze locked onto him, and for a moment, neither moved. Then it charged.

Huǐ Yuān's mist surged forward, tendrils lashing like vipers. The rabbit dodged, its movements a blur of crimson energy. It leapt over the venomous fog, claws slashing downward.

*Too fast!*

Huǐ Yuān twisted, but the claws grazed his side, drawing blood. Pain flared, but he retaliated, fangs snapping at the rabbit's leg. The rabbit kicked off his snout, flipping mid-air to land behind him.

*It's toying with me.*

The rabbit's eyes glinted, a low growl rumbling in its throat. It lunged again, claws aimed at his eyes. Huǐ Yuān coiled, his mist thickening into a shield. The rabbit's claws tore through the fog, dissipating it, but Huǐ Yuān struck from the haze, fangs sinking into its foreleg.

The rabbit screeched, its life force surging into him—hot, violent, intoxicating. But the crimson light flared around it, healing the wound almost instantly.

*The moon's feeding it. Just like me.*

Huǐ Yuān retreated, his mist coiling defensively. The rabbit circled, its aura pulsing with manic energy.

*I need to outsmart it.*

He feigned exhaustion, letting his mist thin. The rabbit took the bait, charging recklessly. At the last moment, Huǐ Yuān *yanked* his mist inward, condensing it into a razor-thin blade. The rabbit veered, but the edge sliced its flank, venom seeping into the wound.

*Got you.*

The rabbit stumbled, its movements slowing. Huǐ Yuān pressed the advantage, striking again and again—fangs to the shoulder, tail slamming its ribs, mist choking its breath.

*This is for the cave. For the humiliation. For making me* ***this***.

The rabbit collapsed, its aura dimming. But as Huǐ Yuān moved in for the kill, it rallied, crimson light erupting from its body.

*No!*

The rabbit's claws glowed red, slashing a crescent of energy that tore through Huǐ Yuān's mist and sent him crashing into a tree.

*Since when could it do* that*?*

Blood dripped from Huǐ Yuān's snout. The rabbit limped toward him, its breath ragged but eyes blazing with triumph.

*You think you've won?*

Huǐ Yuān's crystallized core pulsed, and he *pushed* his mist outward, not as a weapon, but as a smokescreen. The rabbit hesitated, sniffing the air—

—as Huǐ Yuān struck from above, having coiled silently into the branches.

His fangs sank into the rabbit's spine, venom flooding its veins. The rabbit thrashed, clawing at his underbelly, but Huǐ Yuān held on, draining its life force with savage desperation.

*You took everything from me. Now I take* ***you***.

The rabbit's struggles weakened, its crimson aura flickering. Memories flashed—not his own, but the rabbit's. A burrow. Cubs. The taste of celestial dew.

*No. Don't you dare make me pity you.*

He bit deeper, severing the connection. The rabbit's body went limp, its energy flooding into him. The crystallized core in his chest flared, its light blinding.

*I… I did it.*

Before he could savor the victory, the ground trembled. A boar emerged from the trees, its tusks gleaming crimson, its aura a swirling vortex of rage.

*Too strong. Too soon.*

But the moon's energy thrummed in Huǐ Yuān's veins, whispering:

*Fight. Consume. Ascend.*

The boar charged, its hooves cracking stone. Huǐ Yuān's mist surged, but the beast barreled through it, tusks aimed at his heart. He dodged, coiling around its legs, but the boar shook him off, its hide resisting his venom.

*Need more power.*

Huǐ Yuān focused on the rabbit's energy still churning inside him. He channeled it into his mist, thickening it into a corrosive fog. The boar roared, its eyes burning red as it absorbed the moon's light.

*Now.*

Huǐ Yuān struck from all sides—fangs at its throat, tail whipping its eyes, mist seeping into its nostrils. The boar faltered, its movements sluggish.

*Finish it.*

He lunged, fangs piercing its jugular. The boar's life force erupted into him, a tsunami of heat and power. His core shattered—then reformed, denser, darker.

*Yes. YES.*

As the boar's corpse collapsed, the cave behind him trembled.

Huǐ Yuān turned, his mist parting reverently as the entity emerged.

A bat—small, unassuming, its wings folded tight. But as it stepped into the crimson light, it began to *grow*.

Muscles bulged. Wings stretched, blotting out the moon. The swarm inside the cave erupted, a black cyclone of screeching bodies.

*It controls them all.*

The bat's eyes glowed like molten lava, its aura a maelstrom of crimson and shadow. It didn't glance at Huǐ Yuān, its gaze fixed on the horizon.

*Where…?*

The forest shook as predators converged—wolves, bears, serpents—their eyes burning with the moon's decree. They moved as one, a tide of claws and fangs, surging toward the distant glow of human lanterns.

Huǐ Yuān felt the pull, magnetic and irresistible.

*Join them. Feast.*

He slithered into the swarm, his mist blending with the shadows. The bat's wings cast darkness over the forest, its screech a command.

*This is my chance. My ascension.*