CHAPTER 30: THREAD WEAVER

A few moments later, Anna stood beside a boulder, trying to hide herself as she looked at the star beast in front of her.

It looked like a bear; however, it was about double the size of a normal bear. It had red fur that gleamed with an orange and red flame-like in a dim glow, and its eyes had flames in them that burned like an ominous sun; its claws looked razor sharp when moonlight reflected on them.

’So, that’s a flame bear, a star beast of Tyro-Seeker rank.’ Anna thought as she looked at the star beast that was sleeping beside a fallen tree.

She stealthily made her way towards the flame bear and went as near as she could without alerting him. When she reached near it, she dashed towards the bear like a phantom and brandished her daggers, and swung them downward as she tried to stab them near its heart.

Just as she was about to stab him, the bear’s fur ignited into flames, which caused Anna to take a few steps back. The flame bear stood awake from its slumber, looking at the pest who dared to disturb its sleep in fury.

"ROOOAARR," a mighty roar echoed throughout the outer area of the forest as the flame bear roared in fury.

Anna was stunned by the roar and stood there in a slight daze, her eyes looking a bit confused. The flame bear ran towards her as its claws started to glow red, and it reached out to attack Anna with its claw.

Anna jumped back with a backflip and landed with grace. She looked at the flame bear in front of her with vigilance. The bear started to move in circles around her and would randomly throw an attack, which Anna blocked with her daggers.

The flame bear continued his barrage, which Anna blocked with some difficulty; however, she was getting better at it with time. Soon, the bear attacked with more force than before, and the force of the attack caused Anna to use both of her daggers to block the attack.

The flame bear then used his free arm to sweep at Anna. Anna, seeing that, tried to step back, but the flame bear had already locked her in place by interlocking his claws with her daggers.

Anna let go of one of her daggers and kicked its pommel, which sent the dagger flying towards the flame bear, and it dug deep into its leg. Anna moved away from the bear, which caused the flame bear to only swipe the air. The flame burned furiously by the turns of events, frantically charged at Anna, and started to attack her in fury.

Anna tried her best to dodge, counter, and parry the flame bear’s attacks and landed a few cuts on its body. However, due to the sudden increase in intensity, Anna soon started to feel more and more pressured, and because of that, the flame bear’s claw grazed the bracelet she wore, breaking it.

As soon as the bracelet broke, the world turned dark---the bracelet allowed her to look in the dark as if it were day. Anna, startled by the sudden events, jumped back and looked around her.

The forest, which at least looked a bit friendly before, now horrified her. Unknowingly, she let herself look away from the flame bear, and it took advantage of it as it landed a blow on her upper body. The flame bear’s claws raked across her upper body, leaving deep gashes from which blood was pouring out.

"Argh!!" a grown escaped her lips.

The force of the attack sent her flying towards the boulder. Anna’s vision started to blur due to blood loss. However, the flame bear didn’t show any mercy to her as it walked towards Anna to end her agony and her life with it.

White, anxious from the sudden turn of events, moved to save Anna. However, Blake stopped him and pointed towards Anna as he spoke.

"Watch," his tone commanding.

White turned around and looked at Anna.

Anna was lying down as blood seeped out of wounds on her body. Suddenly, her eyes turned golden as a golden warmth enveloped her body, golden threads started to materialize around her hands and the wounded area. Soon, the wounds healed at a rapid pace, and Anna’s mind cleared.

The threads left her and began to slither towards the trees and coiled around them.

The flame bear rushed towards her as it felt an ominous premonition. However, it was still too late. Suddenly, Golden threads rushed towards it from all sides. The threads started to wrap around the flame bear’s limbs, and two of the threads that came from Anna’s direction went towards the daggers and wrapped around their handles.

Anna flickered her hand, and the two daggers were once again in her hands. She rushed towards the flame bear, which was tied to trees all around them by multiple golden threads, and pushed her daggers into its head via its eye socket and drove them through its brain, killing it.

As soon as Anna killed the beast, she fell on her knees as she breathed heavily. Anna dropped her daggers and looked at her hands with a mix of emotions. Soon, however, she shook her head and hardened her heart.

’Such is the price of strength.’ She repeated to herself in her mind to calm down, but it didn’t help as the weight of killing a living being kept pressing her.

Footnotes:

The bracelet worn by Anna is an artefact or runic device that is mass-produced for Azor inhabitants to be able to see at night without any issues.

The normal beasts, animals, etc. of Azor have already evolved sufficiently so that they can see in the dark without issue.

____

Drop reviews and add to the collection for extra Chapters.

1 Chapter for every 10th review.

1 Chapter for every 50th collection.

Active till 1-09-2025