[Honey Badger]
This is the rise of the Honey Badger, a zoo cub with no special prospects. Until humans vanished, that is.
The Honey Badger led a quite boring life, never leaving those cages made by its caretakers. Unbeknown to all, the Honey Badger felt the dull edge his parents had.
It was always trying to awaken its primal instincts. It used its imagination to 'fight' all the tamed and weak animals in the Zoo it had seen.
The caretakers and even the general populace took it as a cute Honey Badger with infinite energy and it kept this status quo until it was 3 years old.
It was then when the caretakers, that would appear by dawn, were nowhere to be found. Even a few hours later, when the first few random people appeared, there was no one.
Others around it grew restless and yet what it saw wasn't a primal desire for freedom, to hunt and to mate like their ancestors.
They were all weak, so weak that it couldn't comprehend it. Even those that would pretend to be aggressive with the caretakers were now squirming in panic.
It felt disgusted at the sight of those pathetic beings as it realised that it was the perfect time to escape.
To see the world beyond just those gates of steel which only those bipedal beings could pass through.
Something suddenly rammed the door, which was locked at this moment as it barely shook. Once it restored its calm, the Honey Badger went deep into thought.
If it could not force open the door with its almighty strength, then the way of humans it was. Although they thought to themselves to be clever, it knew very well how they opened the door.
It jumped onto the handle and tried to open it with no luck. It then looked at the keyhole as it realised that those creatures kept stuffing something inside to enter and to exit.
It tried multiple sticks, rocks and even random pieces of metal it had stashed away secretly, and yet it didn't fit.
Angered, it looked at the keyhole as if it was its worst enemy preventing its escape.
At that moment, it was the first time that the Honey Badger wished to do something. Its entire mind was working towards opening the door.
*Click
The door opened, and the Honey Badger jumped back. 'Did those creatures already return? Was it a hoax to see its hidden stash?'
Myriad of questions appeared in its small head and yet as time passed by, none of those creatures appeared.
Not even sounds of their footsteps and all the sounds were those pathetic other creatures crying for the mercy of their lords.
After 3 minutes or so, when it saw that nothing happened, it poked its head out to see that nothing had changed.
No creatures laughing and talking, none of their quiet weird ramblings that the Honey Badger perceived as failed mating calls.
Nonetheless, it was good that it couldn't see any of them. So what if they are playing some kind of weird game?
Worst-case scenario would be its death and show of defiance, how it didn't fail its ancestors.
It walked around as it used its amazing sense of smell to locate various new specimens and yet what it could see was all the same.
Lethargic, waiting for food with no ambition to be great.
'Where was their drive to, mate?' It thought as it walked around some more.
It was at this moment in time when the ground shook; the lights went out as only sun could still give out its light.
Cries of other animals began throughout the entire zoo, as it could feel their fear.
What it felt, though, was none of that. The Honey Badger felt excited. Something had enveloped it and gave it power.
The first animal to gain mana would not be a fact for many years, as it didn't obtain it like every other animal.
It had managed to call it forth by itself; it had acquired it. A wisdom followed the first awakening of its mana.
It had soon entered the memories stored inside its head. Those mumblings, shouts and laughter of those creatures soon turned from incomprehensible ramblings into something it could understand.
With mana as its helper, it soon understood what they talked about it, the stories of their species having kings of harems sparked its interest.
It, no, he decided to become the king of all honey badgers.
To rule them all and bring them from those pathetic states to see the wider world and it all began with conquering the Zoo.
He didn't understand quite well how to use it, however basic magic was very well within his means. He began his move.
Not long after, he found himself near a cage of the second strongest creature and one that managed to gain mana as well.
That creature wasn't unique like he was as others soon followed. And yet they didn't make a move. Not even after gaining such power.
Last of his doubts were cleared as he smashed open a door with his mana reinforced claws to see a lion.
It was a lion and he could feel its age. This specimen was not born in the weak cages of this place. It was a ruler, a proud leader of a pack.
The lion, as if waiting for him, stood up and roared. For the first time in its life since it was captured, it roared with a majesty like a king would.
A faint presence leaked from the lion before it scattered in the wind, too weak to exist.
He didn't wait for the enemy, as he wished for mana to make his body stronger and stronger as he became.
His small body rammed into the lion as it almost wasn't able to react. Seeing his failure as he got used to his powered up body, he bit the tail of the lion, ripping it off.
The lion's majesty was nowhere to be seen as the long-lost sensation of pain had returned. Its muddy eyes soon became clear as it looked at the honey badger before it with a grateful eye.
To honor its opponent that opened its eyes, the lion subconsciously gathered every drop of mana in its body.
As the mana ran out, the spell turned to its lifespan as the remaining years it had left were drained at a rapid speed.
The Honey Badger entertained the idea of the lion as he looked at it with a trace of surprise.
'Finally, an opponent that would not shame its ancestors.' He thought as he commanded his mana. Like a subject, the mana obeyed, and his already powerful body gathered even more power.
In a flash, both of them disappeared from their spots as they met each other. The Honey Badger flew at him like a bullet with his claws ready to strike as the lion decided to use his paw.
The two forces met as a shock travelled through the cage and broke the glass, keeping the lion inside.
The Honey Badger's body rolled a few times as he felt numb throughout his entire body. And yet the excitement and the fulfillment he felt were the greatest in all of his years combined.
Lion's body, on the other hand, suffered a much sadder fate as it was thrown into a wall and its lifeless body fell onto the floor.
Its last moments were filled with contentment as it had seen the glass which those creatures used to look at it with disdain every day, break.
Freedom, the feeling that it had lost, accompanied the dying lion. A weak roar sounded from his mouth and yet it felt a hundred times more powerful than the one he mustered at his strongest.
Honey Badger looked at it and began his feast. He teared up the lion's body and devoured it in mere minutes, as if he didn't eat for decades.
It was his greatest form of respect he would dedicate to foes worthy of fighting him. Those would be his nourishment after all.
Few days passed in a flash as he left the Zoo once he couldn't find any real foes to devour.
Once outside, the playing field was different. Rats were the greatest overlords of the city as their sheer numbers devoured anything in their path.
When he saw them barge into the Zoo, he already knew the fate of his family and others. It was a simple fate which every animal adhered to.
The strong get to prey on the weak. That is why they were called the prey, after all. He decided to venture outside of the city before he became a collateral to those rats.
The countryside was the greatest surprise he had ever felt. Nature grew all around him at real time speed as berries possessing mana became his favourite dessert after he fought a tougher foe.
His body accepted more and more mana as it grew more powerful, and yet he didn't experience what other species, even the cowards, did.
Their bodies bloated as mana needed more space to house itself in. His body was condensing the mana on the other hand.
It wasn't long before other species looked at him with disdain and sometimes even ignored him. Once they grew to the size of houses, what were others which couldn't even fill their teeth worth?
Those were their thoughts before the cute looking Honey Badger unleashed his mana which he learned to hide. A necessary skill for an apex predator like him.
Once he did, his opponents were either scared stiff or began running away. Their fate was sealed the moment they underestimated him.
With a quick swipe, they turned into strips as he left them there to rot. Those cowards weren't worthy.
In the time he managed to slay most of his opposition in nearby forests as he kept finding challenge, his reputation grew and grew.
Some braver and smarter ones on the same path as he was challenged him over and over to prove their dominance and to absorb the mana in his body.
No one was worthy enough, though. Not until his fateful day, a deer with dark red fur appeared as skulls of animals hung from its antlers.
Its eyes were glowing with pure white as it soundlessly approached the Honey Badger.
He didn't feel any will or any intent. Like a living corpse, it sought the destruction of strong beings. That is what he felt.
But taking his life? It wouldn't be so easy as he readied himself and struck first, to his surprise both good and bad the antlers on its body as if alive blocked his charge and knocked him over.
A few of the end even tried to penetrate his whole body, a scraping sound was heard as if two metals met each other.
Sparks appeared for a brief second as they managed to only knock him further away unscathed.
The deer looked at him with those weird eyes as its mouth opened. A blood dark ray appeared before his eyes.
This time he wasn't so well off as he could feel a burning feeling on his back gnawing at him at all times.
Pure effectiveness of such attack gave him a surprise as he copied the deer and created his own pure white beam.
A majestic power soon collided with the antlers as they broke one by one before it collided with the deer.
With pride once again returning to him as he learned from a stronger foe to beat it, a crawling feeling enveloped his body.
That deer's half blasted body began gathering itself together before pieces of blood recreated its head once again.
He didn't have time to ponder what this weird phenomenon was as a battle of attrition began. Beams of light and bloody dark sometimes appeared in the skies, scaring off any potential third party that was daring enough.
Once enough time passed though, his body became tired and his mana reserves neared their end.
It was a sound defeat as he decisively burrowed himself underground and escaped as the deer stood there looking with those same eyes and walked away with leisurely steps, trying to find its next prey.
Honey Badger learned a lesson that day. Pure power wasn't sometimes enough. And although defeated, he began to learn, first from others, as he gathered various small techniques like sound manipulation and even flying, which almost scared him to death as he accidentally launched himself 20 meters into the sky on his first try.
Only after he grew more and more in power and gathered even more wisdom, he became enlightened.
His most feared weapon, the one his ancestors used once they were helpless against their foes, was at his disposal.
And yet he never used it. Never once did he increase its capabilities through mana, even though it could activate it on command.
That very day, a feeling of discomfort engulfed every animal on Earth. And those that encountered him and were worthy of receiving his weapon?
Well, even on their way to the next life, their souls shuddered in disgust. Even if they couldn't remember it...