The strange creature that stood before my eyes was enormous, even if I were to stand up, I would barely reach the height of his knees. As he wiggled his tail in front of my eyes, I could easily mistake it for a dog, yet, his pawns resembled more of a bear, not a dog. There was no doubt, this creature was neither a dog, nor a bear. In fact, it wasn’t anything that I could think of.

As he growled, the sight of his sharp teeth like a blade made me shiver. Slowly, I crawled on the ground. My movement was quickly noticed by the eager eyes of this creature.

Suddenly, the creature barked, the sound echoing in the forest. My eyes got bigger after I heard this sound. It wasn’t that it scared me, for which I was already afraid, but what shocked me was that it was the exact sound I’ve heard when I entered this world. This dangerous creature… it was just a matter of time until our paths were bound to intersect. 

I jolted to my feet the very next moment. With no direction in mind, I ran as fast as I could. It didn’t help much that the forest was surrounded by the night’s darkness, but I was in no position to complain.

No matter how fast I tried to run away from him, he had the advantage, soon enough, his steps echoed right next to me. In my attempts to escape him, I’ve pushed myself, to the point where I could feel the metallic taste of blood filling my lungs, I could not stop.

‘Kill… Human…’

At that moment, I felt my heart dropping, as my face paled. It did not take long for me to stumble onto a fallen tree, as I could only divert the impact of the fall with my hands. I clenched my teeth, as the pain struck me.

‘It… It talked?!’ I almost yelled those words.

I was aware my time was running out, as the creature got even closer. My eyes looked back to the creature, there was no chance I could escape it. Although the Forest of Wishes appeared to be endless, there wasn’t any place for me to hide from this creature.

After all, what is this creature! Is it a ghost? Or a monster?!

As I blinked, the creature disappeared. I was almost certain it followed me closely, yet now, there was no sight of it.

This happiness was short-lived, as the very moment I looked back I found myself surrounded by another two creatures, exactly like the one who followed me.

One after the other, the two creatures started growling at me. Before I could react, the one who was closer to me attacked me with its paw. His sharp claw clenched onto my right shoulder, immobilizing me. With a quick movement, his claw made its way under my skin and blood stained my dress.

From his paw, I could not escape. 

Although I had no weapon, I could not let myself die without fighting. If this was one of the problems I had to face in becoming a worthy Empress, I shall try my best to overcome it. Scanning my surroundings, I hoped to find at least a branch with whom I could protect myself.

‘Devour… your soul… human.’ The creature that attacked me spoke.

Although I was already aware of the fact that those creatures were able to speak, what got me even more shocked was the fact that the creature clearly understood my position. They were aware I was alive. For them, this was the main reason to begin hunting me down.

‘Reborn… We… Need… Soul.’ The other one muttered.

When the creature’s claw let go of my skin, I grabbed this moment to punch his paw with my right leg. Although I was the one who whimpered from pain, this attack of mine gave me an opening, and I quickly crawled from his grip. My hand stumbled into a branch that I quickly snatched from the ground.

Although frail, the branch scared the creature once he tried to get back to me.

‘Disappear before I kill you!’

Yet my words did not reach their ears. Once again, the creatures attempted to attack me, this time, both of them worked together to catch me. It did not matter how much I swung the branch, as, under the hard skin of the creature, it snapped in two, and I was left without any weapon, surrounded by two creatures.

‘Tasty’

This was the only word I’ve heard before one of the creature’s paws hit me in the back. That moment, my legs collapsed, and with them, my body fell to the ground. 

With my face covered in the golden leaves, what else could I do but wait for them to devour me alive? They cornered me, after all.

One second… two seconds… three seconds…

Nothing happened.

When I gathered all the strength in my body to raise my face, the creatures were backing off, howling.

The moment I looked closely, the shadow of a tiger got closer and closer.