Many years ago... Long before the existence of the village...
There was a city, utterly consumed by roaring flames...
Outside the city, Sem and Kenrir, who were already acquaintances back then, had rushed over to witness the extent of the burning city. Back then, Sem appeared to still be that of a child, bearing twin tails behind him—and Tatalia too, with the appearance of a teenager and a single tail, stood beside him. Kenrir himself at the same time was older—though younger than he is today—as he had the body of a relatively young man—though older than Tatalia—with a tail divided into two.
"What could have done this?!" the younger Sem questioned tensely, "This is insane!"
"We need to search for survivors, and get out anyone that we can," Kenrir regarded.
Sem snapped out of his shock, and immediately turned his attention to Kenrir with a sense of determination.
"Eh— Right!" Sem answered back.
He soon turned to Tatalia at his side, as he readied himself to rush into the roaring fire.
"Tatalia, wait here and keep low. We don't know what's out here," he instructed as gently, yet hurriedly as possible.
"I will," she promised him. By this point in time, Sem and Tatalia had gone through enough experiences with one another, that he completely had her trust. "You just come back in one piece."
Without any further hesitation, the two boys ran into the engulfed city, looking for any signs of life.
As the raging heat consumed the land around them, Sem and Kenrir divided, expanding their search.
With the crackling of smoldering timbers and the sounds of wisping flames, Sem struggled to find much of anyone—as her search frantically over his surroundings.
"Hello?! Is anyone out there?!" he hollared, seeking desperately far and wide. Sem ran through the roaring streets until he stumbled upon a crossroads. Reaching the center of the brick path, a building soon collapsed to one side of him, causing Sem to flinch back.
He soon heard something; it was the sound of screams coming from the opposite side, muffled under the roaring fire.
"Hello?! I'm coming! I'm going to find you!!"
Sem immediately began running down the path, in search of anything, anyone that may have made the sound. He hoped that it wasn't his imagination, and hoped that whoever it was, was still alive. It wouldn't be long while making a mad dash down the path that Sem would stumble upon something that would raise an instinctual fear within his very blood.
Hovering in front of another collapsed structure was a burning figure that seemed to be translucent. It had no shape, stood on no feet, as it appeared as nothing but a shadowed cloak engulfed in flames. Underneath the rubble laid a young woman, one whose ears, tail and body bore no motion as she laid there gradually slipping away.
Soon, what appeared to be a curved, translucent blade appeared above the figure presumed shoulder out of thin air as it grew closer to the one trapped beneath the rubble.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Sem cried out as he immediately pushed back against the instincts within, and charged forward at the burning shade.
"Aaaah~!!" As he shouted out in a fit of protective aggression, Sem swung out his clawed hand, lunging it through the floating flames. Sem's eyes seemed to flicker as sparks reflected the glow of smoldering ash, and as his pointed nails presented a faint glow, it was as though they tore through the air itself. The moment Sem swiped at the burning figure however, it vanished, and Sem was left alone with the helplessly smothered woman.
Quickly, Sem whipped himself around to seek out the vanishing presence, but when it couldn't be found he dropped down to remove the rubble .
"Ma'am! Can you hear me?! I've got you, I'm going to get you out of here! Just stay with me!"
Sem tore through the rubble, desperate to save someone—anyone, from this calamity.
"Ma'am—!"
In a separate part of the burning city, Kenrir was also storming through the streets, seeking out life at every turn.
It was here, arriving at a sort of cathedral, when Kenrir witnessed something he was all too aware of. Standing tall outside the entrance was a being much like that of Kenrir and Sem, only it had muscles that rippled and bulged with little to nothing covering its bare skin. It's tail was divided into five parts, and the claws on its man-like hands were longer and sharper than that of either of them.
Out of its hand, the entity dropped one of the civilians who previously had its grip tightened around their head. Turning around, the feral being stared down upon Kenrir with sharply constricted eyes that could pierce through one's very soul.
Kenrir stood silent, his younger-looking demeanor staring back at the beast before him.
"Ahh~ another of my kind, come to join in bringing this land to embers?"
The beast's voice was hoarse and deep, as he spoke with malicious intent.
This question was all Kenrir needed to recognize the beast as a great threat, as he soon lowered himself into a fighting stance—his leg sliding out behind him—not sparing a word.
"What's this? Fighting for territory are we? Yet as you can see, there is little left to gain."
"I have no interest in territory, nor bringing harm to these people. It's those, like you, who I've been training all my life to stand against."
The large beast soon stepped forward.
"Is that right? Well then, little one," the feral-eyed beast called mockingly, "I'll be sure to make this quick." As the beast spoke these words, he was steadily approaching, sharpening his long-clawed nails among themselves. Slicing away at the nails on one hand with the other, his nails were becoming intimidatingly sharper and sharper.
"I'll gut you before you can even bleed~!"
Kenrir reacting swiftly, darted ahead, and the fire from around him distorted by the rush of his speed. Kenrir was soon upon the beast, charging up a punch as he dared not hold anything back.
"Hrrraaaahhh~!!" he roared, as he took a running leap.
Kenrir's fist flew forward, heading straight towards the face of this primal beast. With his fist coming close to impact, a loud thud could be heard, as the beast's curled fingers barreled into Kenrir's stomach.
CRASH!
Punched by the beast, Kenrir had been sent barreling back, crashing across the ground and smashing into charred timber. Coughing up a bit of blood, Kenrir shook, then braced himself as he got ready to stand. Without even realizing it, Kenrir's shirt had been cut, as blood was trickling into the fabric. The claw of the beast's thumb had punctured across his stomach, but now a strong adrenaline was coursing through him. The beast let out a great, dominant roar, and soon charged forward.
Wasting no time, Kenrir did the only thing that he could—he had already measured up this fierce Nekomata, one of his kind, from a single punch. Lifting a heavy support beam of char, Kenrir's skin was burning, and yet he screamed as he called out his strength. Struggling, Kenrir lifted the beam above his head, and as the rogue beast was upon him, Kenrir let out his fiercest roar and gave everything he had to throw the burning beam into the great beast.
The was hit, and Kenrir's foot slipped back on impact.
The monster he was fighting hadn't expected that such a small creature compared to himself, would be capable of actually throwing such a large piece of timber, especially after taking such a hard punch. This underestimation caused him to stumble back, as he too was burned by the hot embers.
"AHH!!" it called out in pain, and it soon smashed its hand against the timber, knocking it off to the side as its claws slashed against it as well. "YOU'LL PAY—!"
As the beast slashed its claws forward, Kenrir caught his footing and narrowly leaped off to the side through some of the flames itself. The claws slashed at nothing, and as soon as Kenrir's feet touched ground, he instinctively jumped ahead away from the flames. He was back on the open path, and the beast immediately turned and charged after him, but was too slow. Seeing this, Kenrir jumped back toward the fire, even though his feet were burned, and he poured everything her had into kicking the side of the beast. The beast stumbled deeper into the flames, and Kenrir had barely propelled himself back out of the flames. To his surprise, the large Nekomata was barely bothered by the heat of the flames, and it charged back out after him while shouting a great roar.
"I'LL KILL YOU—!!" it declared, and Kenrir was forced to turn and run as it charged out.
Knowing full well he wouldn't be able to defeat this beast in a straightforward hand-to-hand combat, Kenrir ran straight for the cathedral with the large monster trailing behind him. Slamming the door behind him, the oversized creature crashed through the cathedral door, tearing the doors from their hinges.
Kenrir had rolled out of the way, and a piece of rubble had crumbled beside him. Quickly, Kenrir had picked up the broken cement block—and charging forward, he had spun himself, utilizing the momentum to propel his attack. Kenrir thrust the block forward, and before his opponent had recollected itself, the clump of cement crashed into his face in the form of a punch. The beast's head snapped back, as it briefly stumbled before ripping its claws towards Kenrir in a full blow.
Kenrir barely had time to double back, as his shirt was sliced open in five new cuts, his skin barely grazed. A small cut had been made on Kenrir's chest, and his over-sized opponent hadn't stopped there, as it came forward slashing out its other hand.
"DIE!!" it roared, but Kenrir wasn't going to let it end here.
"I think NOT!" he cried back, as he narrowly dove around his opponent's side.
It's clawed palm had smashed into the wall, breaking off more rubble, while Kenrir quickly stood up behind him. As his enemy whipped around to attack, Kenrir dodge rolled to the side, deeper into the cathedral under his attack. Kenrir ran to the back of the alter, with the fierce monstrosity storming quickly behind him, as he grabbed a hanging tray lantern off the hook and spun himself toward the great beast. He hollered with all his might, as the lantern was whipped through the air around him.
"Take this!!" Kenrir cried. Timing it right, he yanked back, effectively scattering the burning coals across his opponents face.
"AAHH—!!"
His opponent roared in pain, flinching from the impact.
With coal burned eyes, the beast hurled itself forward.
As Kenrir lept back, he jumped off to the side and spun his body once again, swinging the hot tray around in high velocity. The tray slammed into his opponent's face, causing him to stumble slightly as he ran into one of the stone pillars. With pain and a feral rage coursing through him, the rogue entity's fur stood pointed, and he roared with a might that could curdle blood. The pillar soon began breaking apart, as he pulled up on it with all his strength. Seeing this, Kenrir had stopped in place, observing in shock as the monstrosity expelled unruly strength.
The ceiling floor began to collapse from above, and as a second roar came from the mad beast, Kenrir witnessed as the walls above him spiderwebbed his way.
His eyes widened, and as the wall above him began to crumble, Kenrir sprinted toward the great beast and put everything he had into kicking out his opponent's foot out from under his. When it didn't move however, Kenrir himself stumbled, and countless large pieces of rubble collapsed as the pillar was torn from its place.
"Oh CRAP!" Kenrir inwardly thought, as the pillar came plummeting like a bat towards him.
BAM!
There was a loud crash, as Kenrir's body had busted through the cathedral's back wall, crashing into the outside. As Kenrir coughed out a heavy amount of blood, he struggled to push himself off the char covered ground.
"What.. a.. beast..!" he muttered in a labored breath.
Steps over rubble could be heard, and as a large hand pressed against the broken wall, Kenrir could see the silhouette of the great nekomation beast through smoke and embers. As the beast stepped out, he tore his hand back, causing more of the wall to crumble.
"I've got.. to MOVE..!!" Kenrir thought to himself, as he lifted himself off the ground with great struggle. Kenrir shuffled back, as the bringer of his impending doom moved closer. Kenrir grew desperate, and yet, he was brimming with determination as he stepped back into the smoldering embers with flaming timber all around him. "I can't.. die.. HERE—!!"
Kenrir's eyes began to pulsate, constricting and contracting in and barely out of a primal sharpness. He summoned a desperate roar from within, as his voice grew louder, and his own fur too began to stand on end. Kenrir quickly knelt down, spreading his legs in one way or the other, as he slammed his hands into burning timber at his feet.
"It burns—!! But I WON'T LOSE!!" his fierce determination for survival screamed within his mind, and he now stood up straight, holding long blistering beams of fire in each hand.
"THIS.. ENDS.. HERE!" he shouted in determination, with blood dripping off his chin.
The beast did not respond, as it was too lost in its own primal instincts for any form of coherence.
As it stopped some feet away, it's large body seemed larger as it released a bellowing roar.
"IT'S OVER—!!" Kenrir cried, as every muscle in his body tightened to its core.
The enraged beast charged forward, and with every fiber in his being, Kenrir swung the flaming timber—slamming it against the beast. The beast's hair caught fire, as it was hit stumbling to the side.
Kenrir let out a heavy cry, as he immediately swung the next pillar of timber. Each hit sounded with a crash, and the beast was once again sent tumbling to the other side.
Swing after swing, Kenrir struggled to maintain a safe balance of primal consciousness, as he continued to catch the great beast off guard. Suddenly, his swing was stopped, as the now feral beast caught the flaming timber within its hand. The timber snapped, crushed under the sheer force of his opponent's grasp. Kenrir's eyes snapped wide, and pouring out his remaining strength, he swung the second beam.
SMASH!
The beam—like the last—was caught and snapped, as the great beast threw out a roaring strike. Kenrir squelched, as the force of the beast's swing tore into his flesh, while simultaneously launching him back.
CRASH!
Kenrir was hurdled into a shed behind the cathedral, which smashed on impact. Kenrir was left lying there, gagging on air and liquid from his lungs. He was certain he was about to die. That's when a small shriek could be heard through the roaring flames. The pleasing sound of pray had stopped the feral nekomata in its tracks, mere steps away from finishing off its current opponent. Kenrir struggled to keep his eyes open, as a blur in his vision was fading in and out. To his surprise however, the beast had turned away, as its face of anger turned to that of malicious pleasure. It stomped the ground, and before he even realized it, the beast was gone.
Kenrir lifted his hand off his stomach, fire all around him, and it was covered in blood.
He was unable to do anything to lift himself, as his blurred vision continued to pulse, staring at his hand.
"I... gotta... move—" he struggled to convince himself. His body was no longer listening to him at this very moment. Was this to be his end?
Deeper within the burning city, Sem could be seen barely carrying a nearly lifeless woman on his back—her arms slung over his shoulders.
"Don't you worry, I'm going to get you out of here..." he promised, as he struggled to hold onto his conviction. "I promise—!"
As the roaring fire tore across the city, Tatalia sat low to the ground, watching as the flames consumed everything while bearing a hopeful heart.
"Come back safe..." she murmured, under her breath.