[Realm: Álfheimr]
[Location: Outskirts]
He ripped and tore through them.
A wall of Deseruit Beasts stretched across the plains—thousands, perhaps more—standing in an almost protective formation around Echidna. Their shapes varied: lupinus shapes with too many eyes, hulking bear-shapes with veins glowing, chitinous creatures that were far too large. Together they formed a barricade, almost blotting out the plains.
But before Echidna, there was blood.
Thick, arterial blood sprayed upward in violent fountains, the sky momentarily becoming a blur of red. One beast burst apart. Then another. Then another. A rapid rhythm—burst, burst, burst—like someone was punching holes through the world.
Dozens detonated
then a hundred
then more.
Limbs, viscera, and chunks of flesh spiraled through the air like confetti. Something tore through her children with the inevitability of a natural catastrophe.
And that catastrophe edged closer.
