My Werepanther System: Starting with Nine Lives
Chapter 53 INTO NAHUAL FALLS

Chapter 53: 53 INTO NAHUAL FALLS

Rex felt like he was back in the Guardian Panther’s Domain as they sat in the clearing.

Hassan held his hands out before them, spinning life and intricate shapes into the pool of solar-sand churning between them.

"Today, I will give you a history lesson. As it was told to me." Hassan explained, "The Beast-Totems were once far more individualized. For many generations, each Awakener, awakened as their own breed. But it became too much. It became.... dangerous as they sired children and came into contact with relatives of the past breeds...."

In the sands Hassan controlled, he molded shapes of men and women awakening beastial appendages and malformed transformations while others burst into flame or collapsed as sand.

Hassan continued, "In an event called The Great Joining, our feline gods followed in the footsteps of the wolves and formed a pack. One great totem. Where the essence of us all could thrive and be digested and evolved in one user."

From the sands of destruction, Hassan recreated a single standing Totem. The necklace. Rex remembered it as clear as day. It burned with fire and sand and rippled with growing earth and spinning shadow. He saw stripped pelts, spotted hides and sabered fangs all blended.

"But it was not without sacrifice...." Hassan said, "It is Feline nature to rule. To never bow. There were those that needed to. The War of Cat-gods was one that no one saw but everyone felt."

In the sand, Hassan spun images of Bastet, Anhur, Tezcatlipoca and other feline gods in a massive scale battle with other humongous figures that looked less godlike. More like massive animals with elemental additives—

"These older gods..... they held feline essences that couldn’t blend well enough with the others. They didn’t fit in The Great Joining because they couldn’t join. They weren’t similar enough." Imani said.

Hassan looked up at her, "Exactly. They were called, the Old Breeds. They exist in all Totems and signs of their involvement can be seen in each Awakener. Like you."

Imani and Hassan looked at Rex in his werelion form.

"Your sabered fangs." Imani said. "It’s a sign of your relation to the Old Breeds."

Rex touched the elongated fangs in consideration. "I don’t get it. How come the old breeds couldn’t be part of this?" Rex asked casually.

Hassan flattened the glowing sand, "It’s simple. The Variations of the Werepanther Totem all have different powers, cultural nuances and origins in connection with the great panther. Over time, those differences and subtle nuances grow great. Until they’re magically and genetically incompatible."

"Think of it like trying to crossbreed a house cat with a Homotherium." Imani explained.

"A what?" Rex and Hassan asked.

"Basically a smilodon that was built more like a wolf. Subtle differences over time, remember?" Imani replied.

"Oh.... Ok. I get it." Rex said. "Panther created all this totem stuff, but it also had a growth and development without her direct intervention."

Hassan nodded, "The Totem is living. She only birthed it. It’s growth and guidance was spent over millennia on this planet, through hundreds of users and relative species influences."

In the sand, hundreds of inviduals rose from many time periods. All the way back to individuals that looked like cavemen wearing cat pelts. They went to war against giant wolves and massive flying lizards that looked like both dragons and pterodactyls in a weird way.

Rex suddenly realized, the deep and intricate connections spanning over all times and ages in some of the most profound and unique ways.

"Wait..... is there a Dragon-Totem?" Rex asked.

"Sort of." Hassan replied.

Rex looked over to Imani, "We need a dragon."

"After what happened with you and the drakes, I don’t think that’s a good idea." Imani said.

"Drakes are different."

"Yea they’re not as bad." Imani looked back to Hassan, "So, is every Panther Variant connected to a god and culture?"

Hassan nodded, "From what I’ve seen, yes."

"Does each have a male and female pairing?"

Hassan shook his head, "Anhur and Bastet are rare in the sense that they’re siblings of great similarity. It’s what allows Anhurians and Bastetians to hold the same domain. That and the concept of guarding has dual aspects. Protection through aggression...." Hassan raised a hand, it doubled in size, rippling with muscle and white claws.

"And protection through connection... of flesh, bone and soul." Hassan raised his other hand, Solar-Sands spun in calming radiant waves.

"Are there any more like you out there?" Imani asked, "Rex could use some back-up."

"We are the sand and the sun." Hassan said. Then he looked to Rex, "May I?"

Rex didn’t know what he may mean. He paused, caught on the thread of a dozen intersecting plans until Hassan made a nodding motion with his head, basically telling Rex to say yes.

Rex did something he was always known for and trusted his advisor.

"Yea go ahead."

Hassan raised his hands to the sky.

The pool of sand erupted from the ground in a massive arc and splashed into the jungle earth beside him.

Slowly, as the sand fell like a waterfall, the glowing grains began to tumble and bubble around a distinct shape.

The arc of sand fell and revealed a woman seated beside Hassan. Like him, she was dark skinned and green eyed with tattoos, beige robes and a bald head. But she also wore jewelry. A loop through her nose and a dozen studs gleamed on her ear. She looked magical even without the claws and fangs.

Three more streams of sand shot up into the air and spit out more of what Rex could only assume were the b—

"I give you, my Bastetian Sisters, Dalia, Auset, and Nietha." Hassan said.

The Bastetian women gave a bow to Imani and Rex.

Rex and Imani returned the gesture. Almost immediately after, Hassan looked to the women. They shared a series of unspoken words before Hassan turned back to Imani.

"They wish to speak with you."

"Me?" Imani said.

Hassan nodded.

The Bastetian women got up in perfect unison and approached Imani, holding a hand out to her.

Imani looked to Rex. He could’ve laughed. It was so unusual to see her unsure and hesitant. It made her look younger as her brown eyes widened.

"Go ahead. We’ll reconnect after." Rex said.

Imani rose up with the Bastetians and journeyed off into the jungle.

Rex turned to Hassan. "Good looking out."

Hassan bowed, "Of course."

"I’ll go see Syphen now."

Hassan nodded, "Safe travels, Pride-Lord."

"It’s Rex."

"I know." Hassan smiled.

Rex took off. As if the simple sight of the waterfall in his memory downloaded an instinctual roadmap, he moved on impulse. He recognized walkways and tree shapes, using the glowing and ambient nature as guides and signifiers to take him to his kin. When— or if, that didn’t work, he traveled by sound. Upon the deeper focus of his senses, he could hear the waterfall. Like an after sound coating the more forefront buzz of bugs and cries of creatures in the night.

In his Anhurian Werepanther form, he was larger. His longer legs allowed for longer strides. He was also more muscular. He took large leaps, rising up above the canopy in an explosive burst of power before bursting back down to do it all again.

He kept on that way for a matter of minutes before he eventually landed at the edge of the lake surrounding the waterfall.

"I told Syphen to find a home and this kid led them to a resort..." Rex said.

Not much long after and a shape came running out from behind the down flows. As it moved it slowly materialized into the visible shape of Syphen.

He was in his human form. Which was different from when he first met the kid.

Syphen used to be rail thin, scarred and meek with only eyes that reflected what Rex knew was within.

Now, he was taller— still a child, but a strong one. He’d filled out in a matter of days due to eating actual food and thanks to the power of the Werepanther he was healed in a myriad of ways.

His curly dark hair fluttered in the nighttime winds as he approached.

"Hey, Syphen." Rex said.

"Hello, Rex." Syphen’s pointy ears twitched.

"How is everything in there?" Rex asked.

"Good..... and weird.... And good again." Syphen fidgeted his fingers as if he was replaying the days events in real time to give Rex a more accurate answer, "Rex, what is hope?"

Rex raised an eyebrow, visibly confused by Syphen’s philosophical inquiry. "I don’t know— a waste. A weakness. Hope is what weak and disenfranchised people need to fade peacefully. Stay away from it."

"Stay away from..... hope?" Syphen asked.

"Yea." Rex huffed as he towered over Syphen, "Stay away from it. You don’t need to hope for anything if you’re strong or smart enough to know. Make it happen. Don’t hope it happens. Now let’s get inside before Imani starts looking for me."

Rex walked past Syphen.

Syphen remained standing in place for a moment before turning and following after Rex.

As he did, he seamlessly transformed into his Nahual Werepanther form. Muscle and bone expanded. Tooth became fang. His skin went green before being shrouded in spotted black fur.

They enterered the cave behind the waterfall.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.