?


    Chapter 0767


    Somehow, though, an idea came to mind. Before, it had been so sudden and horrific; but maybe if I could meet my opponent first, get a feel for whoever I would be fighting, it wouldn''t be so bad.


    Right?


    "Alright," I finally agreed, albeit hesitantly. "But first, I want to meet my opponent."


    M blinked at me in surprise for several long moments, clearly not having expected that suggestion. And at first, I thought she might refuse. But then, her perfectly sculpted lips curved into a smile that didn''t quite reach her eyes. "Unconventional, but I''ll allow it," she said cooly, standing and smoothing down her silken dress. "Get dressed. I''ll take you there now."


    M led me down a dimly lit corridor, the torches casting eerie reflections along the smooth and shiny obsidian walls. I walked behind her, my breaths the only sound filling the space aside from that of her silk skirts rustling. Finally, we reached a heavy wooden door, and M pulled it open with ease. "After you," she said, gesturing for me to walk in. I gave her a curt nod and walked past her to find a row of cells: silver bars lined each cell, much like the ones that I had been kept in back before I was a believer.


    But this ce was different. It was more dark, more dank, and the scent of warm musk filled the air.


    As we walked between the cells, in which were huddled shapes that I could barely make out in the darkness, M wrinkled her nose. "I always hate it in here," sheined. "It stinks."


    I didn''t say anything; not that there was anything that woulde, even if I had tried. I was too stunned by the scene around me, by the huddled masses and quiet whimpers. It quickly became obvious to me that before, I had merely been in a holding cell.


    This... This was a dungeon.


    "Here we are," M said calmly, gesturing to onerger cell at the end. "Your opponent."


    Swallowing, I stepped forward and peered in. And from that moment on, I knew that the sight that greeted me would be seared into my mind forever.


    A massive ck panther paced back and forth, towering over us. Its once sleek ck fur was now patchy and dirty, its ws long and sharp and yellowed.


    But it was the eyes that really caught my attention-wild, feral, and greenish, with a hint of greenish foam gathering at the corners of its mouth. Just like the bear I had killed.


    It hardly even seemed to notice our presence. It just paced, growling softly under its breath, too weak and hungry to even look at me.


    "This... This is my opponent?" I breathed, taking an instinctive step back.


    M''s slender fingers wrapped around my arm, holding me in ce. "Of course," she said with a soft chuckle." What else did you expect?"


    I swallowed, trying to keep my appearance calm. "Nothing, I just... Is he stuck like that?"


    Her silence was enough of an answer.


    "How... Why?" I murmured.


    M sighed, as if exining something to a child. "It happens, sometimes. And it makes for a better fight, of course."


    Bile rose in my throat at M''s words. A better fight. This shifter had lost his human form, and was nothing but a feral, rabid beast now. Maybe, by killing the bear before, I had done that poor man a service.


    Maybe killing this panther would be a service, too.


    But then, as I stood there watching the panther, it stopped its feral pacing. Slowly, it turned its head to look at me, its green-rimmed eyes unblinking as it took me in. And in that moment, somehow, I had a feeling.


    That if I lost this fight, this would be my fate.