Cain's new presence rolled across the whole forest, and the Forest reacted as it had finally felt the full presence of what gave it its powers in the first place.
Roots burst from the ground without warning, thick and wet with sap and blood of those it had already absorbed, quickly snapping around ankles and throats of wolves.
Trees bent inward too, their branches cracking as they reached like grasping hands. The wind itself shifted direction circling and feeding the darkness instead of dispersing it.
The Demon army wings beat once, and the air ruptured around them. Wolves fell, their bodies torn apart as the demons overwhelmed them completely.
Aurelius forced himself upright with a roar that tore his throat raw. His legs trembled violently beneath him as he shifted, bones cracking and reforming in protest.
He barely made it three steps before something slammed into his side. A demon twice his size had just collided with him mid-stride, its claws sinking deep into his ribs.
