The Essence Beast moved first.

  One moment, it was still, those star-like eyes locked onto Ren. The next—it blurred forward, dissolving into a shifting mass of shadow and silver light, rushing toward him like a living storm.

  Shit—!

  Ren barely had time to throw himself sideways as the beast’s claws tore through the air where his head had been, leaving a jagged scar of black energy crackling against the ground. The force of the strike sent dust and leaves spiraling into the night.

  He landed in a crouch, heart hammering in his chest. Too fast.

  This wasn’t a creature of flesh and bone. It didn’t follow normal rules. It wasn’t bound by weight, momentum, or even the logic of living things.

  Ren grit his teeth, rising slowly. He couldn’t match it in a direct fight.

  But he didn’t need to.

  He just needed to outthink it.

  The Essence Beast circled him, its body flickering and shifting, never fully solid. An existence between two worlds. Ren could feel it through the Mandate—the beast was like him. It existed in hunger, in longing, caught between what it was and what it was meant to be.

  Maybe that was why it hadn’t killed him yet.

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  Ren exhaled, forcing himself to stay calm. He had seconds before it attacked again.

  Think.

  It was too strong to overpower. Too fast to outrun. It was made of energy, which meant normal weapons wouldn't do much against it.

  But what about the Mandate?

  Ren clenched his fist. The Kami Mandate governed the laws of his existence. It dictated his survival. It gave him power—but it also cursed him with an unrelenting void.

  Hunger Unending.

  The more he used the Mandate, the stronger the hunger became.

  What if he stopped holding back?

  The Essence Beast tensed, then lunged.

  This time, Ren didn’t dodge.

  He stepped into the attack, raising his hand—and the Mandate answered.

  A deep, aching pull wrenched through his soul as the void inside him opened, a force unseen yet undeniable. The beast’s claws met his chest—

  And its form wavered.

  Ren felt it immediately.

  The energy of the beast—its very essence—was being pulled into him.

  It snarled, twisting away, but the connection had already been made. Ren staggered as power rushed into him, raw and hungry. His vision blurred at the edges, his entire body shaking as his Mandate reached out for more.

  The beast backed away, its form flickering wildly, as if it had just realized what Ren truly was.

  "Yeah," Ren rasped, gripping his head as the hunger screamed within him. "I was thinking the same thing."

  This thing was strong—too strong. If he tried to consume it directly, he’d either be torn apart or lose himself to the hunger.

  He needed to be smarter.

  He needed to trap it.

  The forest around them was vast, but the trees were thick, the ground uneven. If he could funnel the beast into a confined space—force it to fully manifest into the physical world—then maybe, just maybe…

  He could finish this.

  Ren steadied himself, ignoring the gnawing emptiness in his gut.

  Time to gamble.