Gojo could feel it creeping into his mind, the Ice Brood Mother's insidious will, beckoning him to give up, surrender, and become her obedient slave. This was the call of the Brood, the Queen's orders, and the way she dominates the swarms of briders and monsters.
The clash of magic taking place in the real world was nothing more than an outer shell of the real war, the tug of war between Gojo and the Ice Brood Mother. Each of them pulled on the strings of the other's mind, trying to slip in and take hold like an incurable disease.
Any regular being would've been brainwashed and dominated ages ago. Just getting close to the forest without ample mental protections was deadly, and by the time Arad and Gojo heard the Ice Brood Mother's voice first, they should've already been enslaved.
The Ice Brood's survival tactic was simple. The Queen will always try to spread her will, and those who fall for it are enslaved, forced to approach the forest, and then promptly eaten.
