The trench stayed quiet for a while.
Too quiet.
Kenji sat on the jagged stone overlooking it, his wounded arm resting on one knee as he stared into the red mist below.
His trench.
That still sounded stupid.
And yet the thought kept returning.
Not because he cared about territory.
But because the things living here seemed to care.
That alone made it useful.
If stronger prey came looking for Hesh, they would come here.
And if they came here—
Kenji's grin widened slightly.
Good.
Still, he forced himself to stay still.
That was the annoying part.
Usually he moved.
Usually he chased.
But if what Reth said was true, then holding this place meant letting other things come to him.
Waiting.
Watching.
He clicked his tongue.
"Boring."
The broken land around him answered only with distant cries and slow-moving fog.
For a while, nothing happened.
Kenji's thoughts drifted.
To Vargan.
To the path upward carved into the cliff.
To Hesh and that strange mist trick.
To Reth's words.
Claim.
Kin.
Creatures that remembered.
The lower grounds were less mindless than he had thought.
That made everything more dangerous.
And more interesting.
He looked down at his hand.
The cuts across his forearm had already started closing into ugly dark lines.
Not healed.
But healing.
Faster than before.
The same with his side.
His body really was changing every time he ate something worthwhile.
That much was obvious now.
His claws had gotten darker.
His muscles denser.
His instincts sharper.
Even that energy inside him moved more smoothly than before.
And yet—
he still had no clue what he actually was.
Something mixed
That useless answer came back again.
Kenji frowned.
"Mixed with what...?"
No answer.
Obviously.
A sudden scrape reached his ears.
He looked up at once.
Movement.
Not from the trench.
From the ridge to his right.
A shape was crawling low between broken stones, trying to keep itself hidden.
Kenji did not move.
He only watched.
The shape crept closer.
Small.
Too small to be much of a threat.
When it finally slipped into clearer view, he saw a creature built like a cross between a hairless dog and a lizard.
It had six legs, a narrow skull, and a line of little eyes running along the side of its neck.
The thing sniffed the air nervously.
Its body was trembling.
Kenji grinned.
Weak.
But not stupid enough to rush him.
That was something.
The creature slowly approached the trench edge.
Probably trying to check if Hesh was really gone.
Kenji let it get a little closer.
Then he spoke.
"Looking for someone?"
The thing jerked so hard it nearly threw itself backward.
Its tiny eyes snapped toward him.
For one second it froze.
Then it bolted.
Kenji laughed and launched himself after it.
The creature was fast.
Fast enough that a weaker version of him might have had to chase.
Now, he caught up easily.
He brought one claw down through its back and pinned it to the stone.
It shrieked.
Kenji crouched over it.
"You really should've kept running earlier."
He tore into its neck before it could fully stop struggling.
The taste was decent.
Not great.
A little sharp.
A little sour.
Still alive enough to matter.
By the time he swallowed the second bite, the thing had gone limp.
Kenji spat out a strip of skin.
"Yeah, alright. Not worth much."
He stood and looked around.
No other movement nearby.
So the first visitor had been a scavenger.
Not a challenger.
That made sense.
If Hesh had actually claimed this place for a while, then some things would come hoping to feed on leftovers before anything stronger returned.
Kenji looked down at the half-eaten body.
Then smiled a little wider.
Maybe waiting would not be so boring after all.
The next few hours passed like that.
A skittering thing with too many joints tried to sneak into the trench and lost half its head.
A pale crawler no bigger than a child crept up the far ridge and got ripped open before it could flee.
None of them were worth much.
But they proved one thing.
Reth had been right.
Things were checking this place.
Smelling it.
Testing it.
Seeing if Hesh was truly gone.
The red glow above slowly dimmed as time passed.
Not into night.
Not really.
The demon world did not seem to have a proper day to begin with.
But the sky darkened from blazing crimson to something deeper.
Heavier.
The mist below thickened.
The cries in the distance changed too.
Less frantic.
More drawn out.
Like this place itself had become sleepier, but never fully asleep.
Kenji crouched again on his stone perch, chin resting lightly on his knuckles.
For the first time since arriving here, he found himself thinking less about the next bite and more about the next step.
He had a trench now.
For now.
He knew there were stronger hunting zones.
He knew there were levels above.
He knew creatures like Hesh could use the mist somehow.
He knew Vargan existed.
That last one still annoyed him.
A lot.
Kenji looked toward the crimson distance where Vargan's clearing would be somewhere far beyond the ridges and cracks.
Then he smirked.
"One hit, huh..."
Still impossible.
For now.
A low sound rolled through the trench below.
Kenji's head snapped down instantly.
There.
Deeper in the crack.
Something larger was moving through the mist.
Not sneaking.
Not like the scavengers before.
This thing was coming directly toward the center of the trench.
Toward Hesh's old feeding ground.
Kenji stood.
The sound grew clearer.
Heavy steps.
Wet breathing.
And then two shapes emerged.
Not one.
Two.
Kenji's grin widened.
The first was broad and low, with a body like a giant centipede wrapped in armored plates.
Its front half rose off the ground slightly, exposing a cluster of gnashing mouths where its face probably should have been.
The second walked behind it on four thick legs.
Its body resembled a bloated hound, except its back split open in several places, revealing pale inner flesh that pulsed slowly.
Both creatures stopped when they saw him.
Good.
Kenji rolled his neck.
"Finally."
The centipede thing rose higher and let out a grinding shriek.
The hound creature lowered its body and growled.
Neither rushed yet.
They were measuring him.
Kenji could respect that.
A little.
Then the centipede attacked first.
Its front half shot upward, mouths snapping.
Kenji leaped from the ridge and came down on it with both feet.
The impact crushed part of its upper shell and slammed it into the trench floor.
Before it could coil around him, he plunged both claws into one of its gnashing mouths and tore downward.
Dark fluid splashed across his arms.
The thing screeched and twisted violently.
The hound rushed in from the side.
Kenji barely got his arm up in time.
Its jaws closed around his forearm and drove him sideways into the trench wall.
Pain flashed.
He snarled and kicked off the stone, forcing both himself and the hound away.
The centipede came again immediately, half-broken but still thrashing.
Fast.
Too fast for its size.
Kenji ducked under it, caught part of its underside, and heaved.
The thing slammed into the hound mid-charge.
Both crashed together in a mess of limbs, plates, and exposed flesh.
Kenji laughed.
That was ugly.
The hound tore itself free first and lunged again.
This time Kenji met it head-on.
He shoved one hand into the split flesh on its back and felt hot pulsing tissue underneath.
Then he crushed.
The hound convulsed and dropped instantly.
The centipede reared behind him.
Its mouths opened wide.
Kenji twisted, grabbed the edge of its broken shell, and slammed his forehead into it.
Once.
Twice.
The shell cracked further.
On the third strike, it caved.
The creature collapsed, twitching.
Kenji panted over both bodies, bleeding from several new cuts.
Then, naturally, he grinned.
"Now that's more like it."
He tore into the hound first while its body still spasmed.
The taste was thick and salty, stronger than the scavengers by far.
Then he bit into the centipede's exposed underside.
That taste was bitter at first.
Then rich.
The two together sent a heavy heat through his body, enough that he had to stop for a second and steady himself against the trench wall.
His chest felt tighter.
His legs lighter.
His hearing sharpened again.
When he finally stood, blood still dripping from his chin, the trench no longer felt like borrowed ground.
It felt like his.
At least tonight.
Kenji looked around the red-dark crack and slowly smiled.
"Come on, then."
He spread his arms slightly, claws dark with blood.
"If anyone else wants it..."
His grin widened.
"Try me."