Rex looked at the green stone for a little longer. He could sense some kind of energy inside it, but he was unable to identify exactly what it was. After thinking for a moment, he decided to leave it for later. He slipped the stone into the inner layer of his clothes and sat back down near the fire, waiting for the wolf meat to finish cooking.
As the flames crackled softly, he thought about how he could solve the problems waiting ahead of him. As a member of the Zeno race, his mind was faster and sharper than any being he had ever encountered. The Zeno had once been the inventors and creators of some of the most powerful things in the universe, but that same intelligence was what led to their destruction. Other races discovered a terrible way to use the Zeno, and that became the tragedy that wiped them out.
Thinking about what happened to his people made him sad and angry at the same time. The tragedy was still unbearable to remember, and he did not want to sink too deeply into it now. It was in the past, but at the same time, he knew that if his race had not been pushed to the brink of extinction, and if he had not become the last of them, he never would have done what he eventually did.
After some time, the wolf meat was cooked. Rex stood up, approached the fire pit, tore off a piece of meat, and took a bite. The moment his tongue touched the meat, his eyes widened with surprise. His entire mouth exploded with flavor after such a long time without food."Holy shit… this is so good. Even without seasoning, this is so damn good," he muttered, continuing to eat more and more.
After a while, the entire wolf was gone, now resting inside his stomach. He let the fire burn and sat near it, staring into the flames as he thought about his past and what he should do next. He spent the whole night beside the fire without sleeping. He did not really need sleep, so he stayed awake the entire time.
He had no hurry to find people or interact with anyone. He just wanted some alone time to think and sort out the thoughts in his mind. Living inside the Void had twisted his mental state more than he liked to admit. With no one to talk to except himself, he had nearly gone crazy at times. Now, with the quiet forest around him, he wanted to stabilize his mind.
When morning came, he continued walking through the forest. He could have flown using his abilities, but he didn't want to. Flying required concentration and control, and right now he only wanted peace and calmness. Most of his abilities had only been tested inside the Void. He did not know how they would react in the real world, so he avoided using them unnecessarily.
He walked for days, meeting several creatures along the way. Tigers, deer, and other animals crossed his path. He killed some of them for food and discovered something interesting: they all had stones inside them. Only the wolf's stone was green. The others were red or white.
After traveling for months, he came to a conclusion.
"Hmmm… these white stones come from weaker beings, like this deer."A small deer lay beside him, barely two feet tall. He removed the stone from its body and placed it with the others he had collected.
There were three red stones, thirty-eight white stones, and only one green stone.
"It looks like the stone's color depends on the strength of the creature. From what I've seen, the wolf was the most powerful thing I've fought since arriving here. These red ones must come from creatures weaker than the wolf but still stronger than the small ones. And these white ones only come from creatures with very low power."
He thought for a moment."Hmm… for simplicity, let's give them ranks. White stones are rank 1. Red stones are rank 2. And this green one, for now, let's call it rank 3."
He didn't know if there were subdivisions or higher ranks beyond these, so he stuck with this simple system for now.
His journey through the forest continued. There was no creature in this place strong enough to challenge him. Everything he met was far too weak, so he found no reason to kill anything unless he needed food.
And so, Rex walked deeper into the forest, traveling without purpose, without hurry, letting time pass around him as if it meant nothing.