Animal World Story

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## Traveling Marvel

The circus put up a new tent.

Ruby stones hung like drops of blood from the domed ceiling, and resplendent banners interweaved with flickering lantern lights.

A beautiful woman arrived there.

Her appearance was dazzling and flawless, with pale blue eyes mutedly regarding everything like blue roses dipped in frost.

People called her: the Seer of Secrets.

Legend had it that the Seer of Secrets could spy upon any secret, but each visitor could only inquire into one.

Eager people hesitated outside the tent, looking left and right like tentative sparrows.

With dusk falling fast, the tent finally welcomed its first client—

a penniless gambler wearing a busted hat.

"What secret... do you wish to see?"

The Seer spoke slowly as the flickering firelight dappled the tips of her hair and the hem of her dress.

Behind her, a massive serpent lay with its snow-white scales shimmering in the fractured light. Its dainty top hat made it seem like an adorable little gentleman.

The gambler gulped as a hint of hesitation showed in his eyes, but that quickly faded from view.

"I... I want to know the grand prize number at the casino on Sunday!"

"Stare straight into the Snake of Secret's eyes. It will give you your answer."

The man looked up with a twinge of nervousness upon hearing these placid words.

He saw the beautiful woman close her eyes, and meanwhile the white snake suddenly opened its... its starry eyes hid an infinity of secrets in its depths, almost exactly like the woman's!

"I... I see it... I see it!"

The next day, news of the gambler's winnings quickly spread in the town.

The people put aside their hesitancy and doubt, and a long line formed in the circus. Desire and eagerness were written all over their faces.

"Hahahaha! I finally know that scoundrel's Achilles heel! He's going down now!"

"So my husband... really does have a mistress..."

"How could he have been cheating me all this time. I've been so good to him!"

"I just knew it! Grandfather's property will end up in my hands!"

Some were shocked, some thrilled. Some sad, and some enraged.

The grass of the circus was trod roughshod by everyone's coming and going, but the light in the tent did not go out.

The moon sunk low, and the gambler in the busted hat came before the Seer of Secrets again.

"I also want to know the prize-winning number for the casino's next grand prize! Please! I'll pay any price at all!"

The gambler's yearning face reflected in those calm eyes.

The white serpent opened its eyes, and the gambler got what he wanted again. With a big laugh, he ran off.

After him were a gardener, a married woman, a miller, and an aristocrat's son.

They plucked up their courage like the gambler, and under the staring gaze of the Snake of Secrets, all their secrets sprouted up from obscurity.

"Look, it's that busted hat! He's back again! He looks happy as a clam... No... He's laughing like some horrible clown!"

The busted-hat gambler paid no mind to the stares and remarks of the people outside the circus. With a hideous grin on his face, he couldn't help burst out laughing.

I'm the most amazing gambler in the world! I'll wipe all the casinos clean! And then we'll see what everyone thinks of me!

Thinking that, he strode into the tent without hesitation.

The Seer was leaning back on a pure white rug looking as cold and indifferent as the goddess of the tundra.

The gambler blurted out that he still wanted to spy upon a secret about money.

He knelt at her feet as if spellbound, both intoxicated and yearning, like a honey-drenched bee.

"I can grant your wish, but the price..."

"I'll pay it! I'll pay anything!!"

The man nodded his head maniacally as desire flooded his eyes like the tide.

A dim glow suddenly lit up, and the pupils of the Seer's eyes became sharp and vertical.

Her skin started to crack open and peel away. She dripped with blood like a shedding snake that had been torn open.

Then, those places grew snow-white scales, and her cherry-red lips parted as a scarlet snake's tongue flicked out.

An insane, sky-rending laughter came from inside the tent which was instantly snuffed out by stifling silence again.

At dawn, the gambler was missing, but someone found a busted and broken hat outside the tent.

No one ever knew exactly what it was he saw that night.

"Who's next...?"

Silence returned deep inside the tent. The ruby pendants entangled with endless streamers, and a white snake licked the murky shadows.

Those eyes of the color of the heavens cast their gaze at some unknown distant place. She continued staring into insatiable desire, awaiting the arrival of something.

## Forbidden Rose Garden

In a garden bursting with blossoms lived a gentle beast tamer.

He had a head of long hair, snow-white and downy-soft, and sported a pair of delicate horse hooves and supple horse ears. with a face fresh and fair like some deep forest angel.

Every sun-up, he would busy himself among the foliage patiently bringing moist, sweet dew to each flower.

Occasionally, he would bring back a group of humans.

A little girl living amongst the greenery saw that they all wore shackles.

"Why don't you have any shackles on you?" the people asked the girl in astonishment.

"What are those? I was born and raised here, and I've never heard anyone mention that."

And so, that was the first time the girl became aware there was a world outside the garden.

It was a world ruled by wild beasts where most people would be put in chains from birth and placed in the circus to provide entertainment for the beasts.

There was a six-fingered pianist, a blind magician, a sea siren with a tail...

They would twirl and perform under the lights, getting chased and torn apart amidst roars of laughter until blood stained the curtains red.

The little girl covered her mouth in shock.

She finally knew why the people that the beast tamer brought back every day were always riddled with wounds and bound in chains.

But the beast tamer would work around the clock to heal them. His whip would transform into a towering rattan tree whose leaves would give off a healing glow.

Aside from this, in the center of the garden was a rose that had never blossomed.

Thorns entwined around it into a fence as if protecting the tightly closed bud.

"Why hasn't that rose bloomed even though it's spring?"

The gentle beast tamer smiled softy and plucked a clover flower, placing it in the girl's palm.

"Because... it is a rose bearing hope. I'm sure that one day it will blossom with great intensity."

The genial sunshine fell upon him, gilding him in a layer of light gold; but the little girl thought that his face was a bit pale.

Later, the number of humans in the garden gradually increased until there was even a faint reek of blood in the air.

The girl discovered to her delight, however, that the rose had a few petals opening up, like a shy maiden.

Later still, even more humans discovered the garden's existence.

They shouted and wailed for the beast tamer to let them in.

The beast tamer agreed, but only the little girl noticed a crystalline drop at the corner of his eye.

The beast tamer grew busier and busier, too busy to ever tend his garden again like he used to.

One night, she saw the beast tamer after a long absence.

But his shoulders had become so thin, and his face so pallid like a waning moon.

That night, countless people yearning for sanctuary flooded in like a rampant ride. They trampled the garden gate to pieces and toppled the walls.

The beast tamer stood alone in the night air watching the boundless surge with both grief and bitter pain.

Meanwhile, the rose suddenly burst into bloom, and its fiery red petals were like leaping tongues of flame enkindling an intense brilliance.

"The rose has bloomed! Our hope is here now, right!?"

The girl cried out joyfully, but the beast tamer shook his head dolefully.

"No... when the rose blooms, that's when the garden withers..."

"The seed of this rose will help you maintain the power of the garden, but if its limits are exceeded, the garden will collapse. When the rose blossoms, that is its hour of death."

In the depths of a secret realm, thus spoke that chameleon with its swishing tail and amethysts for eyes.

"You really intend to trade your taming powers with me for it?"

"Yes... I've made up my mind. Even if this world really will be destroyed... before that, I'd still like... to plant a garden."

Even if it's only a single flower.

Amidst the chaos and tumult, the garden crumbled and fell bit by bit, like a crystal ball.

The beast tamer quietly closed his eyes, and while everyone looked on in panic, he swallowed that withered rose in one decisive gulp.

Sharp thorns pierced his heart, and warm blood and tears melted into the gloom of the night.

"Don't...! I can give my strength to you! I don't want this garden to disappear..." the little girl clutched at that clover flower and spilled tears of her own.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd echoed her words, first one person, then another, until a chorus of voices stood like a mighty tower.

Under the moonlight, a miracle occurred.

The withered roses around the beast tamer bloomed forth once again, unfurling into a vast expanse of brilliance.

From that day on, the legendary garden and the beast tamer never returned.

But it was known, if only by the people there and the night breeze, that there was now an extra wanderer in this world.

He had angelic, snow-white hair, and odd horse hooves and ears.

He went on his way, always planting new roses.

## Hidden in Suspense

On the vaulted dome ceiling, a dim and branching chandelier hung with dream-like charm, embossing the lovely, flowery crevices of a golden relief sculpture with its serpentine shadow.

A gilded laurel tree clock hanging on the wall struck three times, and a row of dour-looking maidens filed in.

Jewel-laden silk curtains were jerked aside by a cane with a golden rose handle, and a young monarch enjoyed his morning face washing and hair combing with a hint of indolence.

The maidens kept breaths bated and eyes down, not daring to profane that gorgeous visage with so much as a sidelong glance, nor the... strange hump meandering under the velvet bedcovers.

Because the truth weaved into the soft silk fabric known as taboo kept everyone's eyes and mouths sealed shut.

The laurel tree wall clock struck again. On a merrily bouncing branch, several gilded robins bickered back and forth.

An urgent gasp rudely interrupted their harmonious chirping: the youngest maidservant was holding a precious, imported porcelain vessel, and the water spilling from it dampened the bedcovers—

—and revealing a scaly pattern underneath it that was only more conspicuous by virtue of being hidden.

The maidservant's face went purple with horror, and she knocked her head on the thick wool carpet with heavy thuds.

"Your Excellency, please! Please, forgive me!"

That pair of noble eyes like violets were as placid as a lake, rippling in seeming consolation.

"It's nothing. You may retire."

Upon hearing this, the group all made courtesy bows as if they'd just been granted amnesty. Then they took the limp young maidservant and quickly retreated from the bed chamber.

As the great door inlaid with precious stones slowly closed shut, the young maidservant muttered to herself mechanically:

"I saw..."

"Silence! Marianne, you saw nothing."

The austere head maid's eyes were as sharp as an eagle's. The group lowered their heads in silence, putting an end to all questioning like wrinkles getting instantly smoothed out of silk fabric.

No one remembered anymore that before the new monarch took the throne, he was once a chivalrous and passionate knight, both valiant and wild.

He loved galloping through the forest chasing after dangerous wolves and brown bears, chopping off the heads of thieves and bandits and saving blonde-haired damsels in distress while he was at it.

Until one day, he very proudly brought back a special spoil of war—a chameleon the size of a full grown man.

Meanwhile, the old monarch with this sole progeny would sigh in despair every day.

Because what a thriving and stable kingdom needed was not a bold and warlike leader, but a strategic and skillful monarch.

Then the old monarch with his worried heart suddenly passed away. When the new monarch fresh from the coronation ceremony showed himself again, he was like a new man.

With uncanny skill, he purged dissenters and wrested away authority, consolidating a large contingent of supporters.

It was just...

...this new monarch formerly adept at horse-riding and sword-fighting now lazed about in the palace every day, not even willing to leave his bed.

Even more odd was that his ministers and retinue all seemed to have forgotten—

That head of short and curly hair, ruddy brown just like the old king's, was now as enchanting as obsidian.

That pair of dark brown eyes brimming with enthusiasm had transformed into two elegant and noble amethysts.

That amber colored face sprinkled with freckles was now as glistening and splendid as white jade from the Orient.

That muscle-bound, scar-riddled body was now lithe and slender, and even... had some extra, strange parts.

However, what was important about all that—

—the taboo silk fabric covered eyes and mouths like a beautiful and glorious adornment, but also like a rope that could be drawn tight around the neck at any moment.

The incident at dawn was quickly put in the back of everyone's mind. The maids mechanically cleaned the palace, not even casting a curious glance at the minister who slipped into the bed chamber.

In the gloomy chamber, the minister removed his hat and bowed, looked up at the new monarch sitting upon the domed ceiling.

A thin metal cable hung in mid-air, and the dim chandelier radiated mesmerizing bluish-purple beams of light that fell on a long, writhing tail covered with a dense mesh of scales.

As he often did, the noble and elegant monarch toyed with that resplendent crown with his tail, as if he cared not a whit for this symbol of supreme authority.

"Your Great Majesty... a revolutionary army has appeared on the border, said to be led by a young knight. Shall we dispatch the army to quell them...?"

"No need."

The young monarch laughed knowingly, then placed the crown on the tip of his tail casually upon a set of armor next the throne.

The internal turmoil and struggling among the humans... was more frequent and more complicated than he imagined.

But it was precisely because of that that he was able to tear off the shackles lurking under the sickness. To pierce through that brocaded cloth hiding their impropriety...

Seeing the confusion and worry of the minister, those pale pools of purple in young monarch's eyes began to gently ripple, as if in consolation:

"Perhaps, a brand new nation is being born."

## Beast Hunt

In the dark of night, a luxurious carriage pulled up quietly to a run-down iron gate in the depths of an alley, and a hooded man disembarked from the carriage with a huff.

His pudgy fingers crammed with massively-bejeweled rings were clutching a metal cable, locked to the other end of which were the skinny necks of several young men.

The man cracked a smile as he waved his "entrance ticket" at the doorman and then impatiently strode into that gloomy, restricted area.

Inside the iron gate, there were vague and intermittent cries of forlorn animals tearing at the velvety night sky dotted with sweet stars.

A secret game was being played out here popular among the nobility—for the price of a few cheap slaves, they could partake in an "audio-visual feast".

And those slaves naturally became the most important seasoning in the gluttonous affair.

From a spectator platform, noblemen craned their necks and looked through exquisite opera glasses as they greedily scanned this beast fighting arena known far and wide as "The Pit"—

Lambs chained together awaiting slaughter, the ground strewn with eerie white bones, and a slowly rising animal cage.

\*Ba-dooom—\*

The heavy iron cage crashed with a hasty boom on the ground, kicking up a ring of dust and scaring all the blood from the faces of those pathetic young men.

The nobles leaned in and stretched their necks as they chattered excitedly among themselves.

"I hear... that beast will go berserk as soon as it leaves the cage. One time it killed over a hundred people in a mere half an hour."

"Heh-heh. I hope those little chickadees can put up at least some fight, or else the two days and three nights I spent coming here will have been a waste of time... I'm afraid the cries and looks of despair are the most emotionally stirring part of this game."

"Although, I seem to have heard that the nobles who previously taken part in this game have all gone missing without a trace..."

"Hmph. That's just a ruse concocted by those conniving local nobles to scare us away. It only comes about once a month... Everyone wants in!"

...

The rusty lock of the iron cage was kicked open violently, and the whispered chatter came to a sharp halt.

The crowd was looking forward to seeing what this legendary bloodthirsty beast would look like, and even more so the ruthless game's spine-tingling thrills that were to come.

Claws like knives and snow-white fangs.

But under that grayish-white fur skin was actually... a skinny little kid.

The nobles all stared at each other, but then they saw the youngster cheerily pick up the thick iron lock off the ground and casually snap it in two.

He cocked his head to the side playfully, then pointed to a half-open door at the side of the Pit.

"I don't like playing games with weak little kids... Go."

"Hey—What's going on?! What about the show we were promised?"

"Yeah! Where'd this little brat come from?!"

A wave of anger arose from the spectator platform. The youngster lifted his head and snapped his fingers with a resounding snap.

\*Ka-thunk—\*

The round spectator platform was instantly surrounded by an iron fence that fell from the white ceiling, forming a nifty little cage, just like that.

The nobles, pale with shock, crowded together in a panic. Viewed from a distance, they were just like wriggling bugs dressed in pretty silks.

The youngster waved a key glinting with cold light from his wristband, and his mischievous voice reverberated in the massive arena:

"Hah. You're locked up now... But I can only give this key here to one person."

"The show is just getting started. Good luck, everyone."

As he said that, beast-like wails and sounds of scuffling kicked off.

...

Lanterns as bright as daylight shined down with a bleak glow, and the reek of blood washed clean the sins of the Pit.

The youngster skipped happily along the spiral staircase leading up to the spectator platform, then he tapped the cheek of a barely-breathing human with the tip of his bare foot.

"...Give me the key... Let me go..."

The human's bloody hand grabbed the youth's skinny ankle. The youngster shrugged his shoulders and stuck the key into the keyhole, then turned sideways and squeezed into the cage.

"Who ever said we'd let you go once you got the key?"

The youngster gave an innocent look as he drew close to the human's black-and-blue, blood-streaked face. Then he patted him on the head and suddenly extended his claws.

"Looks like you're the strongest among these dregs. Hee-hee. Congrats—You've won the honor of a one-on-one fight with me."

## Devouring Darkness

\*Bang—!\*

The night market, usually so bustling and boisterous, was unusually quiet today for some reason. After the gunshot, only the gloomy laughter of the hunter echoed through the desolate street.

"Hee-hee, gotcha, Leopard~"

The "snow leopard" with a hurt shoulder was forced into a dark corner with nowhere to hide and nowhere to run.

He felt an icy sensation on his back as the muzzle of a gun was held up to it.

\*Drip-drop—drip-drop—\*

Blood ran down his arm to the tips of his fingers, dripping onto the ground.

"Did 'they' send you?"

"Heh-heh, don't you worry about that. Do you have any last words, Leopard?"

"You could've fired that gun ages ago. Why did you drag things out until now?"

"After all, it gets boring taking my quarry out in one shot all the time. I like to savor the struggling and groveling of my prey when they're on the brink of death..."

Suddenly thinking of something, the hunter's lips twisted up into a sly smile.

"Your companions provided me with just such pleasure, you know?"

Before he finished this sentence, the "snow leopard" spun his head around, a glimmer of menace flashing through his purple eyes.

The hunter's reaction was similarly sharp as he quickly raised the gun barrel and squeezed the hammer, warily aiming it at the other's heart.

Locked in their stand-off, the air around them grew thick.

Then, a cold laugh from the hunter broke the tension first.

"Heh, what's the matter? You learned that your former friends were hunted down and mercilessly slaughtered too, and now your little heart can't take it? ...Snow Leopard, I can understand entirely how you must feel right now, but... tsk-tsk, my hands are tied."

"...That bunch that hired you to kill me must have paid quite a sum."

"Don't overestimate your worth. If you ask me, you're not worth a fig to those old geezers. It's just that a world without you in it is uncommonly important to them."

"So that's the way it is..."

"Alright. Time to play."

Without any more hesitation, the hunter pulled the trigger at the "snow leopard's" heart.

His movements were as deft and efficient as his countless hunts before, but for some reason, this time he felt as if time was moving so slowly.

The next second, the world before the hunter's eyes began to fall apart, leaving only endless darkness.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dim room, tied to a chair and unable to move.

Before him stood a white-haired young man with sunglasses wrapping a soul pendulum around his hand again.

"Wh-where am I? Wh-who on earth are you?!"

"You don't need to know."

"You can't kill me! I-I can be of use to you... 'They' will send more professional assassins, and you won't be able to escape them all on your own!"

"When did I ever say I want to escape?"

"What?"

"The hypnosis is over, Becker."

He unsheathed a dagger, and his snow-white figure glimmered in the darkness until it swallowed the dark entirely.

"This whole time, the hunter has been me."

"And you... have been my prey."

## Fluffy Game

The law of the jungle: survival of the fittest.

Too-feeble creatures always have difficulty escaping the lethal conclusion of this rule.

However, there is a group of animals in this forest stubbornly resisting this unwritten rule of nature in its own way.

Because the moments of their birth were so close, and because their mutual fates were previously entwined...

They become the closest-knit family, facing the darkness of the forest together.

"They are the most important thing in the world to me—my family!"

A little squirrel held a nut in his hands as he proudly proclaimed thus to its companion.

As the youngest of the family, the little squirrel had always lived a carefree life.

Gathering nuts, scampering around the forest, and occasionally pulling some innocuous pranks—that was his easy, day-to-day life.

The forest scenery was wonderfully pleasant, like a dream.

But even though he rarely thought back on it, the little squirrel remembered clearly the despair he and his family had once faced.

The little squirrel feared pain and the unknown, but what he feared most were the faces of his own dear older brothers and sisters when they showed pain.

Being easily controlled and punished by beings immeasurably more powerful and evil than oneself was a terrible thing.

What did he have to do to become as strong as his siblings?

He still hadn't found an answer to this perplexing question, even now after that terrible incident had passed.

That day, a storm raged in the forest.

The oldest sister, who usually always wore a muted smile before her younger siblings now showed a strained expression for the first time.

Their older brother was missing, and the forest that they'd always called home was now one big man-made greenhouse.

Now, the glass of that greenhouse had been shattered, and they were faced with that despair still as incomparably cruel as ever.

"What became of you all after that?"

The little squirrel took a nut from his listener's hands, and the soft ears atop his head tremored.

"No matter what tragedy befalls us, or how much distance separates us..."

"My brothers and sisters are still the most important people in the world to me!"

A circus performer pulled aside a curtain, and a dazzling lantern lit up.

The little squirrel put on a gorgeous costume, then, as he looked at the cheering spectators, a crafty smile spread on his face.

There may still be many unanswered questions, but this ability to make the people cheer at my pranks and drive the gloom from my family's faces—

—that is a unique and singular thing that only I can do!