I saw it first.
Not because it moved.Not because it made a sound.
But because the forest reacted to it.
Branches bent in ways they shouldn't have. Leaves trembled without wind. The air itself felt wrong, like pressure building behind my eyes. And there it was, half-hidden between the warped trunks, watching us.
The thing that had once been Darge.
My stomach dropped.
Its body looked wrong in a way my brain refused to fully process. Flesh that no longer obeyed anatomy. Limbs that healed as fast as they were damaged, skin knitting itself together with sickening efficiency.
Violet strings of energy pulsed beneath the surface, weaving through muscle and bone like a puppeteer's web. They glowed faintly, rhythmically, as if breathing.
As if alive.
As if aware.
It didn't rush us.It didn't attack.
It circled.
Slowly.
Patiently.
Like a predator that knew its prey was already exhausted.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
