His eyes bloodshot and wide with terror, the trembling merchant described the nightmare that had stalked their caravan for the past three weeks. "It was a shadow, I swear it was! A shadow with claws and teeth. I beg you, don't go the way we came, it's still following us!"

Kiba found this amusing, yet was intrigued by the evidence the merchants showed him, their tents slashed to ribbons. He decided to join the caravan for the rest of its journey. For three days the trade wagons, loaded with salted fish and iron ore, rumbled across the rocky plains with the speed of cowardice. At night, they slept with their swords, lamenting how Kiba didn't have one of his own. Kiba, in turn, wondered if the merchants had been frightened by a trick of the light.

On the third night, a scream rent the damp air. Kiba was on his feet in the blink of an eye, the red power already building inside him as he rushed towards the scream's source. A wagon had been overturned, trapping one of the merchants under it. The shadow stood atop the wagon, staring at Kiba with its many, unblinking eyes.

The merchants ran up, swords drawn. "Sir, get back!" one of them shouted, his sword glinting in the moonlight. "It is a creature of evil--"

The merchants jumped back as Kiba's hands began sparking and crackling with red lightning. "That's funny," he said, snarling as he walked towards the crouching shadow, "so am I."

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Kiba ©  LoganHowell, thanks for the opportunity!