Banda trotted through the safe land as he explored his new home. It was a strange home, different from the rest of the forest he had known. The soil was different. The air was different. Even the trees were different. And even more perplexing than that, was that he had found no other beasts.

  Banda wondered why no one else stayed in this land when The Wolf was out there. He suspected it was because they were stupid, but that didn’t matter much to him. He would claim this place to himself all the same.

  A rumbling noise from his stomach quickly made Banda realize a very significant problem. No beasts in the land meant there were no beasts to hunt. A very bad problem. If he didn’t eat, his stomach would hurt and then it would betray him.

  Banda glanced back, but only briefly. Leaving the safe land to hunt was not an option. That meant he needed to find something other than beasts to eat.

  With that goal in mind, Banda bounced around as he tested what the safe land had to offer. He ate grass and bark and leaves but it all tasted just as bad as it had in the other part of the forest.

  Scarcely a few minutes had passed and Banda was already sick of taste-testing. But he had to find food. Banda’s bitter expression drifted up to one of the trees.

  It was a tall and thin tree with rough bark fashioned like the scales of a wyvern. Its green branches which grew only from the top were like thin and long wings, with leaves like thin and long feathers.

  Banda had ignored them before since they looked uncomfortable to sleep on, but now his gaze was the clusters of seeds that hung below their branches. All of the palm trees bore them, most green or yellow like leaves, but the ones he saw now were a brilliant striking red.

  Banda jumped up the palm tree and snatched a red Soma fruit. He inspected it for a moment before taking a cautionary bite. And his eyes shot open.

  Divine sweetness danced in his mouth with a heavenly tang. Banda scarfed down more of the chewy fruit, whose flesh even felt good to eat. His last bite stopped on its hard seed, so he threw it away and grabbed for more of the fruit.

  Hardly any time had passed before he had eaten all of them, but Banda wanted more. This fruit was the tastiest thing he had ever eaten, and his stomach seemed to agree with him.

  Banda smiled as he praised himself for being smart. With the problem of food solved, he jumped from the tree to see what the rest of his safe land held. Banda hoped that among what he found would be many more good tasting things.

  Suddenly, a giant beast appeared in the corner of his eye as he ran. A white-furred gorilla with arms as thick as trees and fists the size of boulders.

  A bony crown grew from its forehead with a long horn on the left size and a broken horn on the right. Dim blue crystal veins spread over its leathery tan hands and chests, and stern silvery eyes pierced into his own.

  Banda spun into a fighting crouch. There was another in this territory, and he could sense it was strong. But that did not matter. This was his land, and he would kill all those who threatened him.

  Banda lunged at rapid speed in Feral Form, but Monga easily slapped him away. With a trace of shock, Banda darted up and zigzagged towards an opening at the gorilla’s side, but Monga simply slapped him again.

  The stone Banda threw as he hit the ground was dodged just as effortlessly, so he took a different approach. Banda let the impact carry him further behind the brush, and the forest fell silent.

  Banda suppressed his mana entirely, and his intent, and quieted his movements as much as possible. He waited and waited as the gorilla stood alone in the open, and then he lunged.

  Monga’s hand blurred and snatched Banda out of the air. Panic coursed through his body as he struggled madly to escape, but he could not break free.

  “Leave.” Monga ordered. But Banda did not understand, nor was he even paying attention. The child simply keep thrashing.

  “Do you not hear me?” Monga asked with a more threatening tone. And Banda bite down on his finger.

  Monga’s hand slackened slightly and that was enough for him to escape. Banda fled without hesitation, but his expression was stern.

  The gorilla was stronger than him, but he had faced stronger beasts before. If he could not kill it now, then he would observe it. Plunder its strength to grow stronger as he had always done. And then he would kill it.

  ---

  Banda stayed perfectly still as he watched the gorilla from his perfect hiding spot. He had been stalking the beast for days now, much like he was now. The gorilla could not sense him, which gave Banda all the time in the world to observe. And observe he did, waiting for weakness.

  “Go away.”

  The stupid beast made strange noises again. It often made strange noises. Banda quietly raised to a crouch as he planned an attack.

  He lunged at an opening but rolled to the side as Monga’s eyes turned his way. Sudden erratic movements and feinting gestures followed, as Banda poked and prodded with his killing intent.

  It was a different manner of fighting than his usual, one Banda had adopted these past few days. A smarter and more imaginative style that leaned defensive.

  His goal was not the immediate kill, but to test the gorilla over and over until he learned all he needed to make the kill certain.

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  “Begone, before I kill you.” Monga threatened again. But Banda just bounced around, looking for the next opening.

  Monga’s teeth gritted in frustration and his body blurred far faster than he had moved before. Banda tried to flee but he was caught once again.

  Monga pressed his thumb to his forehead, and knowledge filled his mind. Strange sounds appeared, attached to images of things he knew. So many sounds and images that it robbed Banda of his focus on the fight.

  “Do you understand now, child? Leave.”

  Banda glanced back with overwhelmed confusion, but did not respond as he tried to figure things out.

  “Leave my territory.” Monga ordered again.

  “My forest!” Banda yelled back on instinct, and his eyes went wide.

  He had heard his thoughts with his ears, not just within his head. And he realized he could understand the gorilla, too. It was sudden and unexpected and did not make sense to him, which meant it could only have been caused by ‘claws’.

  “What did you do?” Banda barked his question at his towering enemy.

  “I gave you language, brat.” Monga replied. “Now… Heed my words..."

  "Leave.”

  “No!”

  Monga cratered the ground with his fist, as frustration started to turn to rage. The force of the threat put Banda on edge but he did not leave. The gorilla was not the scariest thing in the forest.

  The child’s strange defiance caught Monga’s notice, and contemplation glinted in his eyes. “Why?” The great beast asked.

  “Danger.” Banda said bluntly.

  Monga scoffed. “What here could possibly threaten you?”

  Banda did not answer, and still he did not leave, so Monga proposed a compromise. “Fine… You may stay in my territory. Just leave me alone.”

  “No.”

  The composition Monga had gathered was lost in an instant, along with his temper. Divinity and intent surged from him. “You spoiled brat!”

  “...teach me.” Banda said as he withstood the torrent.

  “Teach you?” Monga asked, violence still dominating his tone. “Teach you what?”

  “Strength.” Banda spoke with guarded expression and determined eyes.

  Monga stared back for a moment. “...If I teach you, will you leave?”

  “Yes.” Banda said.

  “Fine… The greatest teacher… is experience.”

  Monga blurred into combat without warning. Alarm filled Banda at first, but soon his focused steeled and he observed once more.

  ---

  Monga laid on the open ground under the starry sky, as he had done for so many other countless nights. While not particularly rewarding or satisfying, it was a tolerable peace. One that would not bother him for countless more.

  “Train.” Banda demanded, and Monga’s peace quickly turned to irritation.

  “Later.”

  “Now.” The selfish brat objected.

  “...go run around the territory. That is the best training.”

  “Lies.” The child called his bluff. Monga didn’t know whether he was sharp or just plain stubborn. “Train.”

  Monga grit his teeth. It had only been mere days and he already regretted giving the human brat the gift of speech. “It is night. Sleep.”

  “What is night?” The child asked.

  “When the sky is dark and the moon is out.”

  “What is moon?”

  “A goddess.”

  “What is goddess?”

  “A powerful being?”

  “Why?”

  “It has divinity.”

  “What is divinity?”

  “The power of souls.”

  “What is souls?”

  “The spiritual essence of a being.”

  “What is-”

  “Do you have nothing else to do besides bother me?” Monga interrupted his ceaseless questions.

  “No.” Banda said bluntly. There was nothing more important than getting stronger. And knowledge was also power.

  As Monga grumbled to himself, Banda thought about how Monga had a lot of answers. About how he knew many things.

  “Why do I need eat and sleep?” Banda asked.

  “All mortal things must eat and sleep or they die.”

  “Moon eat and sleep?”

  “No. It is divine. Immortal. It can live forever.”

  Banda’s eyes lit up. “How I become like moon?”

  “You can’t.” Monga spoke curtly. “No one can advance beyond the mortal ranks in Akkad.”

  Banda frowned. “I want to be like moon.”

  “I said you can’t.”

  “You lie!”

  “Then stop asking questions if you doubt my words!” Monga snapped back.

  Banda fell silent with a surly expression as he contemplated. He had to get stronger. If he could live forever like the moon and not even have to eat or sleep, then he could surely defeat The Wolf and claim back his forest.

  He thought deeply. A goddess gets power from souls. So he needed souls.

  “Where souls?” Banda asked.

  “Inside the bodies of beings…”

  Banda started to open his mouth, but a realization struck him. The things he had been eating all this time were beasts’ souls. Which meant his ‘claws’ were divinity. He had made three claws so far. The moon must have more if it was stronger. If he ate more souls, he could make as many ‘claws’ as the moon.

  “I want souls.” Banda demanded.

  “You and I are the only ones here.” Monga said. “Go outside to the rest of the forest if you want them.”

  Banda’s expression lowered. He couldn’t hunt outside the safe land. Not now. He looked back up to the giant gorilla with a question in his mind. “Are you strongest in forest. Does The Wolf stay away because he fears you? Teach me how to make The Wolf go away.”

  “The wolf…?” Monga acknowledged the child’s choice of words for a moment. “All beasts are the same. They stay away because I am king. If you want something to stay away, then you must become king.”

  “Teach me.”

  “I already told you where to go…” Monga had almost had enough of the irritation now.

  Banda grew a little more frustrated. “No outside! I need claws so I can be like moon. I must hunt beasts.”

  “Killing beasts does not earn divinity. You must foster worship as you’ve done bef….” Monga’s words trailed off, and he rose to face Banda directly. And the atmosphere grew tense. “How do you get divinity?”

  Banda balked slightly under the pressure but answered firmly. “I ate them.”

  Realization seemed to wash over Monga’s face. He had never faced the man directly before, so he hadn’t made the connection. But he had heard tales of him. The monstrous bestial face and the ability to devour souls without limit. Powers distinct to the equal of Gilgamesh.

  Monga’s attitude grew deeper and indecipherable. “Fine… I will let in the other beasts. But I will not help you if you are in danger. Do not bother me for a while.”

  Banda expression steeled with firm resolve. He planned to hunt every last beast he found, and make more claws than anything else in the forest.