The rain had ceased over the jungle, replaced by the squelching sound of footsteps in the mud. A creature walked on two legs like a man, yet was draped in a pelt like that of a lion. It was Harten, traversing the forest like a ravenous beast, an absolute monarch prowling through his kingdom with unwavering confidence and an aura of sheer power radiating from him. He glanced left and right as if searching for something. "I think it used to live here... we met and fought once, and I barely survived... Where is it? Damn it, why am I talking to myself again?" He glanced lazily at the sky and sighed, "Damn, looks like I won't find it in time... well, at least I tried."
Suddenly, the thread of his thoughts was snapped by a deafening roar. Ordinarily, any rational person would flee from such a sound, but the moment Harten heard it, he turned and smirked in the face of the massive, majestic tiger. "Hello, my friend... do you remember me? No? I must remind you that you ate my hand when I first entered this cursed forest wounded, back when you welcomed me."
Harten had barely finished speaking before the tiger charged without hesitation. Harten watched and smiled. He drew his arm back and launched it with immense force and speed, striking the colossal tiger whose hide was covered in scars from ancient battles to defend its territory—medals testifying to a history filled with survival, resilience, and victory. But it seemed its time had passed. The tiger was sent flying, crashing into a tree from a single blow, and collapsed unconscious.
Harten approached the majestic beast. "I have repaid the debt... I won't kill you, for you are like me—a survivor and a warrior—and so I will respect you." As Harten looked closer, he was shocked and began to laugh... a hysterical laugh, his hand over his face. "I am the unluckiest person alive; nothing follows me but death, preceded by suffering and ruin."
Harten stepped away from the corpse of the tiger, whose skull had been shattered by the force of his blow, melancholia clouding his face and heart. "Ugh, why care about a tiger? It's true I respected it because it suffered like me, but it's not worth it... Damn, I need to change my mood." He looked at a tree and said, "It's been a while since I climbed." He ascended the tree and launched himself from one to another like a primate, or better, with a fantastical speed that filled his heart with joy and ecstasy with every leap, inhaling the air that caressed his face and hair. He stopped at an extremely tall tree, nearly the highest in the forest. He climbed it rapidly, moving gracefully from branch to branch with superb balance, until he reached the apex of the great tree to behold a sight he had never seen before: the full magnitude of the forest and its borders.
He was searching for the nearest exit so as not to get lost in the vast jungle; that was the primary reason for ascending the tree. It was not for play or to enjoy the view, but because he knew this tree due to its unique height. The rapid running was merely a shortcut to save time and alleviate the melancholy, not the main purpose. Harten is a rational person who does nothing unless there is a utility behind it; he acts with meaning, and the confrontation with the tiger was solely a test of his strength, not a dramatic farewell.
Harten scrutinized the forest to find the nearest route out, locating it towards the north. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he tried to focus on that same nearest exit point... there were ten familiar shapes. Humans. Not just any humans, but the same mysterious visitors Harten had killed in the cave. They were armed with primitive, lethal spears, and tattoos covered their powerful, muscled bodies as they moved towards the forest. Harten looked and offered a chilling smirk. "It seems a massacre is about to be held... Well, I won't lie, I'm truly going to enjoy cutting them apart, piece by piece." Then he let out a maniacal laugh, that strange, terrifying smile etched across his face.