Satya laid on his back, collecting his thoughts.
He had really killed that wolf in a one-on-one fight.
This was something he would not have even imagined in his past life, let alone accomplished.
But as the adrenaline wore off, he started feeling the consequences of his actions.
His left arm was broken, and his right one was burned.
He had many injuries and fresh burns.
But by now, he had gotten used to it.
It had become a daily occurrence for him to endure a crusade such as this.
Still, the only thing keeping him alive throughout all of this was his wisdom and thinking.
Just like the time with the Revolving Forest, the Human Sketch, or even now.
Such was the weapon of the weak—
those without overwhelming power.
They could do nothing but rack their brains, work with what they had, and push through the difficulties before them.
Satya was weak right now, so he had to follow the path of the weak...
For now.
Satya didn't even look at his burns or injuries.
He simply washed and cleaned them before moving on.
He had grown numb to such things by now.
He gave the wolf corpse a long look.
Normally, he would have felt disgusted and left it alone.
But not now.
He looked at the corpse not with disgust—
but with the eyes of survival.
As someone who had experienced excruciating hunger within the fiery ashes of the Revolving Forest, he understood the value food possessed.
So he wasted no time and cut apart the wolf.
Even though he didn't know how to properly butcher it, he still cut it apart.
Even though his hands hurt from merely holding the knife, he continued through sheer determination.
He cooked some meat on the spot and ate his fill.
Then he packed the remaining meat with him.
He needed to leave the corpse as quickly as possible, for the scent of blood and meat could attract predators lurking nearby.
Thankfully, his legs hadn't been injured as badly as his hands.
So he continued his journey.
But this time, he started traveling along the highest ground he could find.
"Hey... Shadow, when are you most aware of your surroundings?"
Satya asked while continuing forward.
"When I am embraced by the eternal darkness of the night is when I stand at the peak of my being."
The Shadow answered in an amusing yet poetic tone.
"So... may I request something from you?"
"Ask away, Traveller."
"Can you perhaps unleash your presence at night so beasts won't approach the smell of my drying meat?"
"I cannot unleash my presence, Traveller, for it may attract something far worse than beasts of nature."
"Even simply alerting me whenever something approaches would help."
"That can be done...
as a favor, of course."
Satya simply nodded at the Shadow's acceptance.
As the sun approached the horizon, preparing to hide behind it and allow the curtain of night to cover the world, Satya climbed to the highest point nearby.
Then he began preparing.
He gathered fallen sticks and arranged them carefully to prepare for an attack if one came.
Afterward, he started making jerky.
He had learned the process from watching his mother a few times, though he still worried about the scent of meat spreading through the air.
That was why he had climbed to the highest point possible—
to gain an advantage.
He used smoke to dry the meat as quickly as he could.
After finishing everything, he told the Shadow to keep watch and drifted into a peaceful sleep.
But while Satya slept—
at the place where the wolf corpse remained, many corpses now littered the ground.
And something was eating them.
---
As the sun rose above the horizon, expelling the curtain of night, Satya woke and looked around.
His arms felt far better than yesterday, though he still needed to use them cautiously.
Satya went to check on the meat.
His mother had once told him that jerky usually took sixteen to thirty hours to fully dry.
Yet somehow, within only twelve hours, the meat had completely dried.
Satya paid little attention to it.
He simply packed the jerky and moved on.
After traveling for two days, Satya finally reached the bottom of the heavenly mountain during the evening of the second day.
There, he witnessed a boundless view.
A waterfall stretched downward from the clouds themselves, forming a vast lake below.
The sight completely mesmerized him.
Yet unbeknownst to Satya—
something had been following him the entire time.
Always remaining just far enough away to never be seen.
---
{With wisdom, I face the world.
I survive through sheer determination.
For now, I can do nothing—
But that will change.
Soon enough.}