Kenji left the trench only after he had finished eating everything that was still worth eating.
By the time he climbed back up, his wounds had dulled into a heavy ache.
His body felt tighter.
A little stronger.
And his thoughts felt sharper than they had a while ago.
Not calmer.
Just sharper.
He could still picture the way the mist had moved.
The way it had wrapped around his legs.
The way that pale-eyed thing had spoken.
Not many words.
But enough.
Enough to prove there were more creatures like Vargan.
Creatures that were not mindless.
Creatures that did not only rely on claws and teeth.
Kenji crouched near the edge of the trench and looked out over the broken land.
The red mist rolled through the cracks like living breath.
Far off, something screamed.
Something else answered.
He clicked his tongue.
This world really did not know how to shut up.
Still, now there was something new to think about.
Up until now, every fight had been simple.
Watch.
Dodge.
Hit harder.
Eat fast.
But that thing below had changed the feel of battle.
If it had been a little stronger—
If his reaction had been a little slower—
Those mist strands might have gotten him killed.
Kenji looked down at his hand again.
Then at the red fog spread across the land.
Could anything or anyone use it?
Or only certain creatures?
Was it the same as the heat in his chest?
Or something different?
He had no answers.
Which was annoying.
He stood and stretched his shoulders.
As he did, a presence brushed against his senses.
Faint.
Above him.
Not in the trench.
On the ridge beyond it.
Kenji turned.
A shape stood on the broken stone several dozen steps away.
Small.
Still.
Watching him.
For a second, he thought it might be another one of those lean humanoid things.
Then the figure moved into clearer view.
It was shorter than him.
Thin.
Its body was wrapped in strips of dark hide and old fur.
Its head looked almost canine, though narrower than a wolf's.
Two ears twitched on top of it.
Its arms were humanlike, but its hands ended in black claws.
And around its waist hung several bones tied together with stringy pieces of flesh.
Kenji narrowed his eyes.
Another intelligent one.
The creature stared at him without speaking.
Its nose twitched once.
Then its gaze dropped to the blood on his body, then to the trench behind him.
Kenji grinned.
"What? You here to complain that was your food too?"
The creature tilted its head.
Then, unexpectedly, it spoke in a voice much clearer than the last one.
"No."
Kenji blinked.
It pointed one claw toward the trench.
"You killed Hesh."
Kenji looked behind himself for half a second, then back at the creature.
"...Was that the creepy one with the hair?"
"Yes."
Kenji shrugged.
"He attacked me first."
The creature stared at him.
Its eyes were strange.
Yellow and steady.
Not filled with rage.
Just measuring.
Then it asked, "Did you eat him?"
Kenji smiled wider.
"Obviously."
The creature went silent for a moment.
Then it stepped down from the ridge.
Carefully.
Not threatening.
Not relaxed either.
It stopped well outside Kenji's reach.
"You are reckless," it said.
Kenji let out a short laugh.
"You're like the third thing here to tell me some version of that."
The creature's ears twitched.
"Third?"
"Never mind."
Silence settled between them for a second.
Then the creature tapped one claw lightly against its own chest.
"Reth."
Kenji blinked.
Another name.
He was getting more of those than expected.
"...Kenji."
Reth nodded once.
Its gaze moved over him again, slower this time.
"Hesh hunted this trench for many cycles."
"Well, not anymore."
"I can see that."
Kenji snorted.
At least this one wasn't talking like Vargan.
Reth looked toward the trench.
Then toward the distant dark cracks stretching farther across the land.
"You should leave this zone before his kin smell him on you."
Kenji's grin sharpened.
"His kin? You mean more of those things?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Reth's expression did not change, but one ear flicked in what looked a lot like irritation.
"You say that because you do not understand."
Kenji folded his arms.
"Then explain."
Reth was quiet for a moment.
As if deciding whether he was worth the effort.
Then it said, "This land is not claimed by strength alone."
Kenji's brows lowered slightly.
"What does that mean?"
"Hesh hunted here. Others knew it. They avoided his trench unless they wanted conflict."
Reth pointed toward the corpse-strewn crack below.
"You killed him. Ate him. Took what was his."
Kenji shrugged again.
"Yeah."
Reth stared at him.
Then said, "That is a claim."
Kenji paused.
The words settled more slowly than expected.
"...Wait. You're saying I own the trench now?"
Reth looked genuinely confused for the first time.
"If you can keep it."
Kenji stared back.
Then laughed.
A real laugh this time.
"This world is insane."
Reth did not argue.
Kenji looked down into the trench again.
A claim.
Territory.
So stronger creatures did not only roam.
Some held ground.
That explained a few things.
The way the plated beast had been feeding there so comfortably.
The way Hesh had said, mine.
Kenji looked back at Reth.
"And if I keep it?"
Reth's answer came plainly.
"Others challenge you. Or avoid you. Depends on your strength."
"And if I leave?"
"Then another takes it."
Kenji rubbed the side of his face.
That was... useful.
Annoying.
But useful.
A place with stronger prey.
A place creatures already recognized.
It might actually help him grow faster.
Then again, holding territory sounded like a pain.
Too much waiting around.
Too many things coming to him when he preferred moving on his own.
Reth seemed to notice the shift in his expression.
"You do not like the idea?"
"I like fighting. I don't like babysitting a hole in the ground."
For the first time, Reth's mouth twitched slightly.
It might have been amusement.
"Hesh thought the same."
Kenji smirked.
"Then I guess I understand him a little."
Reth's yellow eyes sharpened.
"For now, keep watch."
Kenji sighed.
"There it is again. More advice."
"You need it."
"Wow. You're rude too."
Reth ignored that.
"The ones that use the mist do not hunt like beasts. They circle. Test. Remember."
Kenji's grin faded slightly.
That mattered.
A lot.
He remembered the way Hesh had waited.
The way it had watched before committing.
If several more things like that came together, it would be trouble.
Real trouble.
Kenji glanced toward the far ridges.
He could feel movement now and then, but nothing close enough yet.
Not immediate danger.
Reth turned slightly as if preparing to leave.
Kenji noticed.
"Hold on."
Reth stopped.
"You know about that mist thing, right?"
A pause.
Then, "Some use it."
"How?"
Reth's ears twitched once.
"By knowing how."
Kenji stared.
"...You're doing that on purpose."
"Yes."
Kenji clicked his tongue.
Very annoying.
But not useless.
That meant it could be learned.
Or at least copied.
Maybe not by him right away.
But eventually.
Reth looked him over one last time.
"You smell wrong."
Kenji deadpanned.
"Great. Thanks."
"Not weak. Not stable. Wrong."
That sounded way too close to what Vargan had said.
Kenji's smile faded a little.
"Yeah, I've heard that too."
Reth's gaze lingered on him for a second longer.
Then it said, "That may help you. Or kill you."
With that, it leaped back up the ridge in one clean motion.
A second leap took it into the mist.
Then it was gone.
Kenji stood there in silence.
The broken land around him felt larger now.
No, not larger.
More structured.
Claims.
Kin.
Creatures that used the mist.
Creatures that talked.
Creatures that remembered.
This place was starting to feel less like random chaos and more like a world.
A horrible world.
But a world.
Kenji looked down at the trench again.
Then slowly grinned.
"Alright."
Maybe he wouldn't stay forever.
But for now, holding this place did not sound too bad.
Stronger prey would come.
And if things that used the mist came too—
even better.
He stepped toward the edge and looked down into the dark red crack below.
His trench.
At least for now.
The thought should have felt stupid.
Instead, it felt satisfying.
Kenji sat down on a jagged piece of stone overlooking the trench and rested his wounded arm across one knee.
He would watch.
He would wait.
And when the next thing came to challenge him—
he would eat that too.