Bright sunlight scorched them as they trudged on hills of sandy plains. Fuxiao held the white robe close to his body, feeling the sand bite into his skin. Without any buttons to keep it together, the robe fluttered wildly in the dry wind and Fuxiao was almost tempted to throw it off.

As Fuxiao struggled with the robe, Topan glanced back at him with an impassive look. Then Topan removed the golden sash around his waist and threw it at Fuxiao. “Here.”

Fuxiao caught the sash in mild surprise, watching Topan’s large back as he continued to walk forward. He contemplated on binding his breasts to flatten his chest but then carefully wrapped the sash around his waist to turn the robe into a makeshift tunic. It’s strange. He didn’t know who he was, but he knew he was a man despite his feminine body. Regardless of the memory loss, his Bloodline pushed his actions forward. In situations where mind and logic wouldn’t help him, he could only trust his animalistic instincts to survive.

Bloodlines were innate in human nature. A person’s Bloodline powers were inherited from their ancestral animals, passed down through heredity. Each Bloodline gave unique abilities to the person, some of which included heightened physical powers and others, the abilities to control specific elements.

The unique markings on the person’s face was an indication of their Bloodline and they would appear by instinct whenever the person was in a state of heightened emotions called Bloodrush.

Just like an animal.

Topan was of a Tiger Bloodline, but Fuxiao wasn’t sure of his own. Even so, he trusted his primal instincts in following this man because in this open wilderness, he didn’t know where he was or what he needed to do. To survive in the wilderness, a weak animal must follow the strong, so Fuxiao decided that no matter what they would face in the desert, he would continue to trail after Topan.

“Where exactly are we?” Fuxiao asked. 

“Somewhere north east of the Cahayaranga Kingdom, which reminds me…” Topan glanced over at Fuxiao. “If you’re returning to Shewei, keep heading east.”

“Why should I?” Fuxiao didn’t want to leave Topan for an unknown place.

“Aren’t you from…” Topan stared at him but didn’t finish the question. “Nevermind, do whatever you want.”

“What about you? Where are you heading to?”

Topan glanced over his shoulder but didn’t answer.

A sudden rotten stench hit them. The smell of blood and decayed corpses. A familiar scent, one which Fuxiao had grown accustomed to.

Ten hudoqs burst from the ground. Unlike the ones from the nest, they were shaped similar to rats, foxes, and wild boars. The horrendous eyes of the wooden masks glared at them and screeches escaped their jaws.

“Ten monsters, huh?” Topan drew his longsword as he entered his Bloodrush state, regressing him closer to his ancestral animal and bringing out his raw powers.

“Are you going to fight them all?!” Fuxiao yelled over the monsters’ shrieks.

“If you’re gonna drag me down, run away and hide!”

Topan’s Bloodline clawed through with the stripes on his face. His pupils turned into slits, eyes shining bright golden, and his demeanour turned into one of a tiger. With that, Topan launched himself and clashed with the hudoqs without any shred of fear. Black matter from the hudoqs splattered out onto the ground where it sizzled and withered the earth.

Standing a distance away from the fight, Fuxiao couldn’t keep up with Topan’s movements. No matter how strong Topan was, there was no way he could come out unscathed against so many hudoqs.

Just then, several smaller hudoqs scattered from the fight and charged towards Fuxiao.

Fuxiao might not have memories, but his entire being knew one thing.

He couldn’t part from Topan.

This man, this beast, was something he could hold onto when he didn’t have anything else.

So, no matter what, he must survive.

The sides of his face cracked and the pairs of gemstones ran down his cheeks. Adrenaline pumped in his veins. White threads blossomed around him and weaved into a shield. The rat hudoqs crashed onto the shield and as they faltered, several tightly-coiled spears pierced them.

In contrast to Topan’s brutality and violence, Fuxiao ended his fights with minimal but precise movements, aiming for the vital points skillfully. As though he had done this a million times. He didn’t think about any of it. His body and Bloodline reacted unconsciously with his desires.

Was this his ability from his Bloodline? These graceful threads that could kill a giant monster? Just like how Topan had brought forth his animalistic instincts, something innate was waiting inside Fuxiao. But what was it?

His senses trailed along each thread as though they were an extension of his body. The blood and black matter of the hudoqs soaked into the white threads and for a moment, a violent urge to kill coursed through his veins.

Kill.

Survive.

The spears stabbed into the hudoq’s body, mutilating it from the inside and when he willed them to return, the threads shot out in all directions, shredding the flesh into globs of black matter.

His heart drummed against his ribcage.

Don’t think.

Aim for the target.

Kill.

A flash of memory hit him.

Magnolias.

From atop the pile of bodies, Topan witnessed Fuxiao’s abilities. The moment he laid eyes on the white threads, his Tiger Bloodline trembled, growling, hissing, urging him to lay bare his entire being for this mysterious person.

The same sensation that called for him.

“You...” Topan whispered. “Who are you, really?”

The marks on Fuxiao’s face faded away as his Bloodline settled. “Fuxiao, that’s my name.”

Topan jumped off the pile of corpses and stood in front of Fuxiao, glaring down at him. “Then, why did you call me?”

This time, Fuxiao didn’t deny or feign ignorance. The slow beating of his heart resounded in him and when he met Topan’s dark gaze, he said, “Perhaps, it’s instincts.”

A smirk exposed Topan’s sharp fangs. “I’m right, aren’t I? We’re similar. Fearless and ready to kill anything and anytime. I’ve lived as a monster more than I have as a human, and this is the first time I’ve felt… close with another.”

His brows scrunched up, eyes narrowed. A tug on the lips brought an expression of loss and longing and Topan brushed his bloodstained hand on Fuxiao’s cheek.

Fuxiao didn’t understand what he meant but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Topan.

-

The dry wood crackled in the fire. Shadows danced against the rocky walls of the small cave they found underneath a cliff. Watching the hudoq’s flesh cook made Fuxiao’s insides queasy but Topan continued to butcher the monster and skewer them over the campfire.

“Is it really safe to eat?” Fuxiao asked hesitantly.

“There’s nothing out here. No plants, no animals. This land has been run over by the monsters. Everything dies in their steps, just like a plague.”

“It’s the black matter they spit, right?”

Topan grunted a reply. “Black matter, poison, whatever you want to call it.”

“Then the more reason we shouldn’t eat it. Won’t we die if we consume them?”

“Either way, if you don’t eat, you’ll die.” Topan shoved a skewer at Fuxiao. “It’s your choice.”

Fuxiao watched with bewilderment as Topan ate the meat skewer without a care, as though this was natural for him. Perhaps it truly was. Perhaps Topan really was more of a monster than the hudoqs. Thinking about the horrifying hudoqs unsettled Fuxiao and he glared at the skewer in his hand.

He gulped. His stomach was turning both with hunger and disgust but Topan was right. If he didn’t eat, he would die. If he didn’t have energy, he couldn’t run from the hudoqs. There was nothing else in the desert that could fill his stomach.

With a grimace on his face, Fuxiao steeled himself and bit down on the meat. It was tough and chewy at the same time. Charring it in fire didn’t erase the rotten stench soaked deep within. Fuxiao gagged and spat out the meat. Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes.

“How do you swallow this thing?” Fuxiao gasped.

“You get used to it.” Topan finished a skewer. “When you’re deep in the nightmare long enough, you do whatever it takes to survive. That’s why if you want to live, you eat.”

Fuxiao held his stomach to stop himself from throwing up as he watched Topan bite down on the meat. But no matter how much he wanted to deny it, he didn’t have any other choice. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to eat the charred meat. The smell made him gag again. He swallowed. The strong aftertaste remained on his tongue and there was nothing he could do.

Fuxiao tried to distract himself by talking, “The hudoqs. What are they?”

“Hudoqs?” Topan raised an eyebrow.

“The monsters.”

“Huh? Is that what you call them?”

“I guess so. That’s what the group I was with called them.”

Topan paused. “Hudoqs?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No, I’ve just referred to them as monsters. Because the term ‘hudoqs’…”

Another silence settled in.

“Back where I’m from, hudoqs were simply creatures of a myth. Manifestations of pests that killed the crops and animals. In stories told by the elders, they were the plagues that destroyed the lands. But eventually, the humans worked together to put a stop to them. That’s how the story goes.” 

Topan’s sharp eyes focused on the flames, as though he was looking at something far in the past.

“If those monsters are truly the creatures of a myth, then the more reason I have to kill them.”