"What are your names, and why do you seem less human than I, humans?"
The jaguar's voice rolled through the chamber, smooth and deep. It wasn't threatening. But it didn't need to be.
He expected an answer. Not demanded. Expected. And somehow, that was heavier.
"Darian," I said, my voice steady. "And this is Jackal."
The beast's glowing eyes shifted slightly, studying Jackal. Then me. Then back.
"And for my other question?" he asked, head tilting ever so slightly. One brow rose, smooth as a man's might.
Jackal stepped forward half a pace. "When I awakened, I became this. A Scarecrow, apparently. I feed off fear."
A long pause followed. The beast blinked slowly.
"Oh, so that is what the guards reported when they were accustoming you. Interesting."
It took another step forward, its paws silent against the stone. The two humanoid figures behind it remained statuesque.
"Your stitched face," it said, looking at Jackal, "is truly something that fits the name Scarecrow. I have never heard of such a thing before."
Jackal offered a half-smile. "Neither had I."
The jaguar chuckled. A low, reverberating sound that vibrated in my chest.
"Fascinating."
He came closer to Jackal.
"The fear you speak of, it's affecting everything, isn't it? Even me, although at a slower pace."
Jackal didn't answer right away. He tilted his head, probing the question.
"Everyone, in time, is affected by it, yes. Even if they do not show it immediately."
As Jackal was saying that, he cast me a quick glance, remembering I am the exception to the rule.
"Now, Darian, you have been awfully still, my new friend."
The jaguar's gaze shifted fully to me again. His voice was calm, but it pressed down like weight.
I didn't move.
Didn't blink.
"I find stillness keeps things from getting... misread," I said.
A flicker passed through his eyes. Amusement, maybe. Or something colder.
"But stillness hides much," he replied. "And I do not like what I cannot see."
His body lowered slightly, not crouching, just coiling. Like a predator deciding whether something was food or challenge.
"You are not like him," he added, nodding toward Jackal. "Your presence is not unsettling. It is... concealed."
Jackal smirked faintly. "I guess you can put it like that."
The jaguar ignored him.
"Tell me, Darian. What are you?"
The chamber was silent.
Even the two figures behind him seemed to be waiting.
"I'm a human, sent here on a mission," I said, keeping my tone even.
"So you are just like the rest, then?" he asked, voice tilting into something unreadable.
"If you mean other Explorers, yes. We were sent to clear this place. Exterminate everything in the forest."
"How noble of you to admit that..." the jaguar said, voice still calm, but laced with something deeper now. "There were others brought here before you. The ones our warriors deemed worthy of a more noble death."
His eyes didn't blink. Didn't shift.
"And yet, not a single one of them said it as plainly as you just did."
I wanted to smile for some reason. This was truly becoming interesting.
"What does deemed mean in this context, if you do not mind me asking?" I said, letting a faint grin rise to my face. I wanted him to see it.
The jaguar didn't react right away. Then he shifted slightly, the muscles under his fur rippling like coiled cables.
"Julo told me about you two," he said. "Individuals with potential, they said. Someone who might make a good tribute."
The word hung in the air.
Jackal's grin faded, just a bit. Mine didn't.
"A tribute," I repeated, tilting my head. "To what?"
The jaguar's pale golden eyes narrowed. Still calm. Still steady.
"Do you know where you are?"
His voice held no sharpness, just a patient edge, like a teacher waiting for a student to catch up.
"While I am not of this place, I came to love it. The Yuxian culture, the discipline, the kindness."
He paused, studying us again.
"Before the Collision..." He let the word settle. He knew it. That was interesting. For a beast.
"I was nothing more than an animal to them. Captured when I was young. Put in cages, dragged from city to city. A thing for entertainment. I was shown to children behind bars. Made to perform, to roar, to play along."
His tone didn't rise. If anything, it quieted.
"But that wasn't what was bothering me the most. The worst part was knowing I had more inside me. That I was something more. I just hadn't awakened yet."
He took another slow step forward. Still not threatening. Just present.
"And then the Collision happened. And the world changed. I got immense power, ripping apart every single hum-" And then, in the middle of the sentence, Jackal interrupted him.
"Are we gonna hear the entire sob story before you tell us exactly why we were brought here?"
The jaguar paused mid-step. His eyes slid toward Jackal.
Not angry. Not offended.
Amused.
His mouth opened slightly, revealing those curved, gleaming fangs. When he spoke again, the deep calm returned, thicker than before.
"Direct," he said. "I see why they let you live."
He looked back at me.
"But yes. Perhaps we should move forward."
He looked back at me, then turned, taking a few slow steps toward the center of the chamber.
"You were brought here for a reason. But before that, I believe introductions are in order."
He faced us again.
"I am called Zuran. That is the name I chose, not the one given to me by men. A name should carry a purpose. Should echo truth. You may use it now, as you are no longer strangers."
Jackal gave a slight shrug. "Zuran. Sounds sharp. Fitting."
Zuran continued, voice low and even.
"You were brought here because the Yuxina follow a deity. Or rather, two. And so do I. Seeing them... opened my eyes."
Jackal glanced at me, then back. "So the symbols everywhere, they're tied to that?"
"One could say so," Xhon answered.
"The ritual is a contribution to their efforts, to the will of the gods. In one of its forms, an honorary duel takes place. To the death, of course."
He let the words sit for a moment.
"Do not mistake it for theatrics. This is not a ceremony for show. It is a matter of devotion. Of alignment."
His gaze lingered on me, then shifted to Jackal.
"And your fellow explorers all died in it."