Fire crackles and pops, the burning remains of Ren's shelter spewing sparks into the crisp early morning air. Light mists swirl at ankle height as glistening droplets of dew dangle from grass.

  Ren crouches low to the ground as the mists swallow him to his trunk, his pale gaze fixed to baleful yellow. His qi cycles, his blood pumps, and his breathing quickens; Ren is ready for war—but is he ready for the fox?

  The fox clings upside down to the tree's trunk, its claws digging deep into the bark as it watches Ren. Its grinning mouth filled with twin rows of razor-sharp teeth hangs open, a small ball of tightly-packed flame idles at the tip of its whip-thin tongue. It waits, holding the blast at bay, ready for an opening to reveal itself.

  Qi flows through the fox's meridians, pausing at the upmost limits before slowly filtering through into the mouth. There, it gathers into a fiery blast. It takes time to build up enough qi, too much time for Ren's infant meridians to handle in such dire straits. He'll have to make do with that he has, it will have to be enough.

  Ren's eyes flick from face to claw digging deep into the tree for only an instant, but that's enough for the fox.

  A blast of flame ignites the fight and Ren bursts into motion. Throwing himself into a dive, a fiery flower blooms in his wake, throwing up a cloud of scorched earth as he rolls to his feet with fist raised and legs pumping.

  Darting forward, the tree only a scant few steps away, fire qi spouts from Ren's fist as he spins into a pirouette. Twist-gained momentum strengthening his strike, Ren's fist flies as he drives qi-enhanced knuckles through bark and trunk.

  The tree groans as flame-blackened wood snaps and splinters. The trunk shifts, falling forward with the fox still attached!

  The fox rides the falling tree with a yawn, leaping free with a graceful bounce just as the tree greets the ground with a heavy thump. The impact throws the fox up through the air and it rights itself mid-flight, claws trailing bark and splinters as it soars through the air with a fire blast building on its tongue.

  Ren is on the beast like a hound to a bone. Kicking off the shattered stump, Ren follows the fox's flight with a leap of his own as he balls fingers into fist. Split knuckles spewing a heavy plume of fire qi before his passage, he drives his sole technique down, aiming to crack the fox's skull wide open.

  By all rights, the blow should have hit. The fox couldn't have dodged, not so soon after touching the ground. It had no chance to regain balance, to negate the inertia of the flight. The only thing the fox could've done is raise its qi in defense, but could it have done that while building another fireball at the same time?

  By all rights, Ren should have struck the fox with full force. He had the perfect angle to crush its skull. He had the speed, the strength, and the skill to see it through.

  Yet, as Ren's hand nears the fox's head and a fountain of qi sprays from his knuckles, something seems to click in his mind. The world slows, if only for an instant, if only by a fraction, as Ren realizes exactly why his attack won't work.

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  Even as Ren swings with all his might, the qi surging from his hand sprays with enough force to push back against his blow, slowing it by just enough for the fox to make a move.

  The fox angles its head up, a cheeky grin on its face, as the fireball explodes from its mouth.

  Ren slams against the squirrel's birch, his body smoking as his robes turn black with ash and cinder. The tree cracks around the impact and he collapses against the ground, crumpling in on himself as blood spills from steaming, angry red wounds. Bloody bone peeks through burnt skin and scorched muscle, the rising sun greeting that which has never seen it before.

  Chest heaving with heavy breath, Ren lifts his head to look the fox in the eye. He presses a hand to the ground, to help push himself to his feet, only for his fingers to brush against something hard. A rock, the same rock he used to break the birch saplings.

  The same rock that could well save him here.

  The fox saunters closer with a certain swagger to its movements, completely confident in its impending victory. Glee gleams in its eyes, utterly ecstatic in the infliction of terrible burns.

  Ren struggles to his feet, bones grinding against bone as he forces himself upright with a great heaving gasp. That he even yet lives is a miracle after a blow like that. He should be dead, but that's nothing new. He was a failure all his life, why would dying be any different?

  The fox tilts its head as it lifts a padded paw. Claws retracted, it seems to want to play with its food. Ren raises his hand, his fingers wrapped tight, as the fox grins. Tail swishing with an eager frenzy, it almost seems to nod; like it's urging Ren on to make his final stand, like it invites him to his demise.

  Ren coughs, the harsh sound twisting into a laugh as his bloodied lips curl into a battered smile. Brows furrow as he meets the monster's gaze with his own. So it wants him to make his move, does it? Well, then, far be it from him to refuse such a pleasant invitation!

  Ren's arm snaps back as he gathers every last mote of qi in his meridians, sweat beading on his brow from the exertion of keeping it contained. Stepping into the motion, he puts his full weight behind the blow as he swings his hand up and down.

  The paw snaps out in a controlled motion, flying just barely faster than Ren's swing. The fox wants to humiliate him, does it? Its funeral.

  Qi explodes from Ren's knuckles, the flow held back by sheer strength of will now released to run rampant. It sprays from his hand in a massive fountain of sparking power, the force certainly altering Ren's swing—just, not quite in the same way as before.

  With the rock palmed in his hand and the swing flying at a down angle, his fingers and knuckles face the heavens above while the rock faces the earth below. The jet of qi lends great speed as his meridians tear yet further.

  The fox gapes, fear entering its eyes for the first and final time, as the rock cleaves flesh, cracks bone, and craters the brain.

  The fox collapses, its skull less a protective implement and more a container for its mashed up brains, and Ren smiles.

  He did it.

  The rock slips from numb fingers, soon followed by its master as Ren falls limp over the fox's corpse.

  As darkness claims him, Ren couldn't keep the smile off his face if he tried.

  High in the sky, even with the sun banishing all its kin, a single star blazes bright.