CHAPTER 76: YOUR BODY IS FAILING

The entire ground seemed to tremble with each step of the colossal ape. Damon ran, his lungs burning, each breath bringing the icy air like knives to his throat. The snow swallowed his feet up to the ankles, making every movement heavy, but still he moved forward, forcing his broken body to obey.

Behind him, the beast roared, a deep, cavernous sound that made the branches bend and the forest itself tremble. The sound of fists beating against its chest echoed through the trees like war drums, a cruel reminder: no matter how hard you try, I am bigger, I am stronger, and I will crush you.

Damon leaped over a fallen log, nearly tripping, and slid into the snow on the other side. His spear was firmly in his hand, but now it felt less like a weapon and more like a survival stick, something that only served to stave off death for a few seconds.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it..." he muttered, his voice hoarse, spitting blood that stained the snow in his wake.

The ape exploded against a tree behind him, splitting the trunk like a toothpick. The wood shattered with a crash that reverberated through the forest, sending shards of wood slicing through Damon’s cloak. He didn’t look back. There was no time to look.

His body screamed to stop, to rest, but his mind knew: to stop was to die.

He ran toward a narrow ravine, where the ground dropped away into an ice-covered crevasse. The wind howled there like a whisper of death. Damon threw himself into it, sliding down the slippery rocks, snow piling up in the corners.

The beast hesitated for a moment, then roared and descended after him, shattering rocks in its wake. Each impact made the ravine tremble as if it were about to collapse. Damon stumbled, nearly falling to his knees, but kept going, slipping on the ice, supporting himself with his spear as if it were a makeshift cane.

"Think, think, think..." he repeated in his mind, his eyes searching for a way out.

And then he realized: there were no more trees to cut down, no loose rocks to use. The narrow terrain of the ravine was his prison.

The beast lunged, and Damon barely managed to dodge as a colossal arm smashed into the ground where he stood. Shards of ice shot into the air like razors. A deep scratch opened on his cheek, hot against the cold.

He staggered forward, coughing. Each step was slower than the last.

"I can’t..." he muttered, barely audible, his teeth clenched.

The ape roared, raising both hands to smash him like a divine sledgehammer. Damon looked up, the weight of that shadow covering him completely.

His body moved instinctively. He rolled to the side at the last second.

BOOM!

The impact shook the ravine, large blocks of ice falling from the walls. One of them hit the creature’s shoulder, causing it to let out a howl of pain. Damon ran again, but without even thinking about attacking. This time it wasn’t about winning.

It was just about surviving.

He threw himself against a narrow passage between two rocks, squeezing in. The ape tried to follow, but the width of its body prevented it. The beast roared, thrusting its arm between the rocks to reach him. Damon threw himself deeper into the crevice, slipping across the ice, hearing its enormous fingers scrape against the stone behind him.

He emerged on the other side, stumbling and falling to his knees. The world seemed to spin. His body was covered in blood, snow, and cold sweat. He braced his spear against the ground to rise, every muscle trembling.

Behind him, the roar echoed again. The ape had rounded the ravine and was returning to chase him.

Damon closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm his heart that threatened to explode.

"I can’t. I can’t kill it. Not today."

He took a deep breath, swallowing the metallic taste in his mouth, and opened his eyes, running again. Each step was heavier, but his mind was clear now. It wasn’t pride, it wasn’t victory that drove him. It was simply the stubborn resolve to live.

He had to resist.

He had to find Esther.

The snow whipped against Damon’s face like blades of ice, cutting into his already scarred skin. His lungs burned, and each breath felt like it drew frozen fire into his chest. The beast’s roar still echoed behind him, so close that the vibrations rippled through the ground and reverberated in his bones.

He dove between two twisted trees, the ice-covered branches scraping against his cloak, and ran in a zigzag pattern. The monkey exploded into the same space seconds later, crushing the trees like twigs. Whole trunks flew through the air, one of them barely missing Damon.

He dove sideways, rolling through the snow, and limped to his feet.

"There’s no end... this thing is never-ending!"

The sound of something snapping behind him made him turn his head for a moment. The creature had ripped an entire tree from the ground, wielding it like a club. Damon’s eyes widened.

"Oh no..." he muttered, before diving behind a rock.

The tree came down like a bolt of lightning.

BOOM!

The impact cracked the stone, snow exploded into the air, and the world shook. Damon’s body was thrown by the shock, even though he hadn’t been hit directly. He landed on his stomach, coughing blood into the snow.

He staggered to his feet, his eyes blinking against the sharp snow. Then he saw something: a steep slope, lined with thin trees, covered in drifting snow.

A sickly smile spread across his lips.

"If I can’t cut you down... I’ll bury you."

He ran toward the slope, climbing through the ice that sank beneath his feet. The ape followed, roaring, each step carving craters in the ground. Damon clung to the exposed roots, climbing as best he could. When he reached a larger tree, he drove his spear into its base, using his weight to force the already leaning trunk.

The monster was approaching. Damon, teeth clenched, pushed as hard as he could.

The trunk creaked, snapped—and fell.

CRASH!

The tree plummeted down the slope, striking the creature’s chest with a brutal impact. The ape staggered, letting out a roar that shook the valley. The snowpack on the slope trembled, sliding in clumps.

And then, like a white wave, a small avalanche began.

Damon threw himself backward, rolling through the snow, as the mass plummeted. The creature roared in fury and disappeared beneath the avalanche, swallowed by the weight of the mountain itself.

The silence that followed was almost deafening. Damon stood, panting, leaning on the spear embedded in the ice, trying to believe it was over.

But the silence didn’t last.

BOOM!

The snowdrift exploded, and the beast emerged, covered but alive. Blood trickled from a cut on its forehead, a real wound, but its eyes burned with an even greater fury.

Damon recoiled, his heart pounding.

"Not even that..."

He ran again, nearly stumbling, his body protesting. His feet carried him to a frozen riverbed. The ice was thick, but cracks snaked beneath, hidden by the snow.

He took a deep breath. He had an idea. A terrible idea. But it was the only one.

He ran across the ice, slamming his spear against the surface, trying to widen the cracks. The dry sound echoed through the valley. Behind him, the monster followed, its footsteps like hammer blows.

The surface began to crack.

"That’s it... come closer..."

Damon leaped for the shore at the last moment. The ape, blinded by rage, took two more steps.

CRACK!

The ice gave way. One of the creature’s feet sank, and the black water swallowed part of its leg. It roared, trying to free itself. Damon, without a second thought, ran back and drove the spear into the base of the crack, pushing with all his strength.

The ice cracked even further, splitting open in long, swift lines.

The beast fell to its knees, half its body trapped. Icy water gushed around it, instantly freezing into white shards.

Damon pulled the spear back, gasping.

"That... stay there, damn it..."

But with a colossal roar, the creature slammed its fists against the ice. The surface exploded into pieces, and it rose again, more furious, water dripping from its fur like smoke.

Damon stumbled back, nearly falling.

"No... there’s no end..."

He turned and ran again, without looking back. Now it was no longer a matter of wounding, of defeating. It was simply escaping, surviving.

The wind roared in his ears, and the creature’s roar behind him was a promise of death. With every tree he passed, every rock he leaped, Damon knew: he wasn’t winning. He was only delaying the inevitable.

But even so, he kept running. Because that was what he was doing. Because he hadn’t seen Ester yet. Because, deep down, a voice insisted in his mind:

"Keep going. Just one more step. Just one more second. Keep going."

And behind him, the giant roared on, a huge shadow in the white storm.

[Your motor functions are starting to fail.]

[You have little time to survive.]

[You need to rest!]]

"Damn, this isn’t the time to show up!" He said nervously as he continued to run. His body was covered in bruises, his legs were beginning to feel the cold and gradually stiffen, and his fatigue was growing.

There was little time.