Roots Of Ruin (Monster Hunter Fanfiction)

The jungle held its breath.

A faint rustling echoed through the canopy as the Tobi-Kadachi moved, its claws finding purchase on the gnarled bark of an ancient tree. The morning light filtered through the dense foliage, painting the forest floor in shifting patterns of gold and green. It had been hunting, tracing the scent of smaller prey, but something had made it hesitate.

The air was different. Heavy. Damp, but not with rain. A scent clung to the jungle, faint but unnatural—like earth overturned and left to rot. The Tobi-Kadachi's fur bristled, electricity crackling just beneath its skin. It remained still, its head tilting slightly as it listened. There was movement, but not the kind it recognized.

Below, the undergrowth shifted. Vines, thick and gnarled, coiled through the dirt like veins. They pulsed, barely perceptible, as though the forest itself had begun to breathe. The Tobi-Kadachi's eyes narrowed. It had lived in these trees all its life, knew every scent, every sound. This was wrong.

A small creature darted across the ground. Or at least, what had once been a creature. Its body was twisted, its limbs moving in an unnatural rhythm. The scent of it—of something old and growing—rose into the air. The Tobi-Kadachi tensed. It had seen wounded prey before, animals sick or dying, but this was something else.

The jungle was watching.

Further ahead, a cluster of trees bore fresh scars. Deep gashes marred their bark, sap leaking from the wounds in slow, viscous streams. But the sap was wrong. Dark, almost black, and thick like resin. It spread from the trees in thin strands, weaving into the undergrowth, vanishing into the earth.

The Tobi-Kadachi exhaled, nostrils flaring. It did not know this scent, but its instincts screamed at it to move. It shifted, muscles coiling, but something made it hesitate. The jungle was alive, aware, and it had just noticed him.

A vine, slow and deliberate, curled along the edge of a branch. It did not reach, did not grab. It merely moved, as though adjusting to his presence. The Tobi-Kadachi's claws dug into the bark. Electricity sparked along its fur, a warning, a challenge. The jungle did not respond.

With a burst of movement, the Tobi-Kadachi leapt, its body twisting through the air as it propelled itself to another branch, further from the strange growth. It landed with ease, but did not stop. It would not stay. Something had settled here, something quiet and growing, and the Tobi-Kadachi wanted no part of it.

As it vanished into the canopy, the jungle remained still. Watching. Waiting.

And below, the vines curled back into the dirt, patient and unshaken. The hunt would begin soon enough.