Night lifted over the Samei Rainforest, and a hot, restless day began.
A White-Faced Monkey picked up an eyeball from the ground and cradled it like a treasure as it gnawed on it. Dried blood lay all around it, the blood having seeped into the sand and mud and turned blackish-red.
In the treetops, the troop of monkeys howled another warning.
The White-Faced Monkey heard its companions' warning and reacted quickly, but a black meteor shot from the bushes, swift as lightning. It struck the monkey's head with one paw, instantly crushing its skull and scattering white brain matter across the ground.
It was the subadult Nightmare Leopard. It had returned, but this time it was dragging a maned wild boar.
Crushing a White-Faced Monkey seemed as easy for it as an after-dinner stroll.
The maned wild boar in its jaws was enormous and covered in old scars, a prime adult that had survived countless battles. Yet it had died beneath the claws of this subadult Nightmare Leopard.
Wanderer laid the maned wild boar by the swamp without eating it. Instead, in two or three bites, Wanderer ate the unlucky monkey whose head had been crushed.
After eating, the young Nightmare Leopard licked the blood from Wanderer's fur and lay down on the sand, letting the noisy monkeys overhead bark away.
The morning sunlight fell on the water, illuminating the Nightmare Leopard's sleek, lustrous black fur and the enormous scar on Wanderer's head.
The blazing sun rose over the canopy of the Samei Rainforest.
The thick nighttime mist silently evaporated in the sunlight.
The young Wanderer lay beside the mudflat for a long time.
As the crimson sun spread across the swamp, a shimmering layer of light appeared on the water, multicolored and unbearably hot.
Wanderer's long tail occasionally lashed through the air, driving away the green flies circling the boar's carcass.
A few predators hid in the undergrowth, eyeing the tempting prize. It was a rare feast, but they only glanced at it from afar, across the beach and bushes, before slipping deep into the woods. They had no intention of clashing with the young Nightmare Leopard. Nightmare Leopards were apex predators, known as ghosts of the rainforest. They were exceptionally fast and agile, often operating in packs, and were a species with a degree of social organization.
The young Nightmare Leopard's unexplained appearance by the swamp had put the other predators on guard, so they kept away.
Once surrounded by a leopard pack, they could not escape the claws and fangs of these rainforest ghosts. Their highly social group formations and ability to charge across any terrain were a nightmare every solitary predator preferred to avoid.
Wanderer was taking advantage of that very fact.
Wanderer held his chest high beneath the scorching sun, the still-sparse mane all over his body bristling dramatically as his dark green eyes swept majestically over the restless bushes around him. Only when the last breath of a competitor had vanished entirely from upwind did he slump back onto the still-warm yellow sand, as if relieved.
He was an exceptionally alert youngster, born knowing how to exploit the authority of a superpredator while surviving in the cracks.
It had been that way from the start.
Wanderer's flight had ended here, where a hungry Typhon lived.
But then he suddenly jumped up.
Bubbles were rising steadily from the water ahead, and the waves lapping against the bank grew stronger. Murky swells, each higher than the last, beat against the shore, and the muddy water covered the dead boar's front hooves.
Wanderer tensed, backed away slowly, and lowered his head slightly in submission.
He knew his wait was over.
Famu had slept unexpectedly soundly.
Perhaps the Scepter System had heard Famu's request and fed some energy back to him while he slept, helping ease his hunger.
Even more unexpectedly, Famu discovered that his body had grown a little thicker and stronger.
Life in the swamp offered no sense of time, but judging by what his body told him, this deep sleep had lasted at least three days.
In three days, he had completely broken down the nutrients from the two Nightmare Leopards.
Beneath his black scales, muscles were twisted together like steel bars. It felt wonderful. Famu felt he could strangle anything with those unmatched muscles. He hurriedly took a huge dump in a corner of his lair; his powerful muscles made even shitting that smooth and forceful.
Typhons usually produced little waste, however. Their stomachs could break down and convert such a wide range of substances that after eating half a ton of prey, they might only produce a few small lumps of waste. Famu found that convenient, at least: he didn't have to clear away accumulated feces every little while.
In the cavern, the coiled black monster stretched out. He slithered along, his scales striking the rock walls and scraping sparks from their sharp edges.
He was doing his post-shit stretches.
Feeling his skin growing increasingly taut, he knew it wouldn't be long before he had to shed again.
Famu dipped his head into the water, then plunged his entire body into the passage.
Beneath the island at the center of the swamp, a black shadow swept through the depths. Dense clusters of bubbles rose to the surface as the Typhon roared underwater. Vibrations from a resonance chamber made the water above a swimming Typhon look as though it were boiling. In extreme rage, a Typhon's roar could even shatter the inner-ear labyrinths of fish in the shallows.
Famu slipped out of the passage and cruised lazily along the riverbed.
The vibrations just now had been caused by his yawn. With his hunger eased, Famu had returned to his usual lazy self and hadn't begun foraging.
In fact, according to records from the Savage Land, the young of this ancient serpentine monster could survive for a year without consuming any protein or fat, relying on extremely slow cell turnover, at the cost of their growth stopping. They were hungry, but hunger was normal for them. Typhons were very good at enduring it; a hunger-driven glutton like Famu was the odd one.
Famu swam on.
The swamp water in his vision was greenish and empty, containing nothing but a few dead branches and rotting leaves floating in it.
The sharp-sensed giant toothed fish and aquatic vertebrates had long since fled without a trace at the sound of Famu's yawn.
Famu made a bored sweep of his territory, finding only a fat capybara in a gap between fallen logs, which he ate as a little treat to cleanse his mouth.
The capybara had a thick layer of fat and rich, tender meat. Famu enjoyed it so much that he found himself missing the pair of Nightmare Leopards again.
Nightmare Leopard meat was firmer than the meat of hoofed animals and richer in energy than fish.
If he could push his hunting grounds as far as the Nightmare Leopard gathering place hidden deep in the rainforest plateau, Famu would gain a crucial food source for his growth.
But these agile, ghostlike predators were extremely difficult to ambush on land.
This narrow stretch of Blackwater Swamp was nearly unable to sustain his consumption. The prey living in his territory was woefully insufficient to keep up with the speed at which Famu foraged.
As Famu pondered, he caught the scent of blood in the water.
The young Nightmare Leopard Wanderer was standing at the water's edge.
Famu spotted him from afar. The little fellow was conspicuous enough, though Famu had almost forgotten him. Unlike the bedraggled creature Famu had seen before, he looked majestic today, his fur glossy, like a lion patrolling his territory. The place he had chosen was interesting, too: it was where Famu had killed the pair of Nightmare Leopards.
Beside him lay a maned wild boar, its body still warm. The scent of blood Famu had caught came from its wounds.
Wanderer had no intention of eating the boar. He simply waited quietly by the swamp, seemingly unafraid that the scent of blood would attract other predators.
What did this mean?
Famu had never seen such behavior before. He undulated his body and dived beneath the water.
The next moment, the water silently parted, and a black iron wall rose before Wanderer.
Famu stared at Wanderer and noticed a fresh red scar on the little fellow's head. The young Nightmare Leopard backed away, leaving the maned wild boar fully exposed before Famu. At the same time, he bent his body and lowered his head. It was a dangerous posture, exposing the back of his neck completely to Famu. If Famu wanted to kill him, it would take no effort at all.
Famu coiled his body as the water slapped against his scales. The great serpent watched Wanderer coldly.
He had probably underestimated the intelligence of Nightmare Leopards.
What the little fellow was doing was not as simple as offering him prey. He was paying tribute.
Paying tribute to the death god of the swamp in his own way.
What did he want in return?
In the rainforest, the only thing Famu could think of was violence.
Wanderer had witnessed Famu's power, and so he wanted to obtain it in return.
The logic behind animal behavior was simple. This maned wild boar was the bridge between Famu and Wanderer.
Black Typhon lowered his body, unhinged his jaws, and swallowed the maned wild boar, which weighed several hundred jin, in one gulp, letting out a series of low growls.
Once Wanderer had confirmed that Famu had swallowed the food he had brought, he retreated a certain distance and turned around.
He walked slowly toward the depths of the Sa Mei Sappanwood Jungle.
Mud seeped into the sand as Famu crawled out of the swamp and followed in Wanderer's tracks.