The emerald starlight of Neo's absolute affinity clashed with the malevolent, suffocating pressure of Kale's killing intent, creating a pocket of stagnant air at the bottom of the dark crater.
For a heartbeat, the silence was absolute. The thousands of Black Chameleons, creatures bound to the predatory hierarchy of the Tigerwood Forest, were forced to halt.
They felt a type of fear that had never been encoded into their genetic memory. It was the terror of a lesser species standing before the architect of its own obsolescence.
The needle-like white eyes of the lizards flickered with hesitation as the Monarch Beast ability of the Nemesis Hydra rippled across their ranks.
However, the pause was merely a momentary glitch in the carnage. These were not intellectual entities capable of rationalising survival. They were frenzied predators driven by an instinct to kill far older and deeper than fear.
