Turns out strength isn't just about winning fights.
John gets that now, big time.
Winning? It's loud, rough, and doesn't last. It messes up the ground and trees. It makes a lot of noise, then it's gone. There's always going to be another fight, another tough guy showing up.
But control? That's something else.
Authority is subtle.
Control sticks around.
Ever since John took down that level 10 beast, the forest has been on edge. Even after he beat all the challengers and spread his power all over the place like a dark cloud, even after the ground had been soaked with blood so many times the earth remembers, something's still not right.
It's fear.
And scared creatures do dumb stuff.
Dumb stuff leads to chaos.
John stood on a high ridge, looking over his land, his gold eyes checking everything out. The wind blew over him, felt cooler up there, and brought him smells from far away – wet dirt, crushed leaves, animals way off in the distance.
