A deafening roar split the air behind Ethan just as he was about to confront the onrushing Illusionary Qilins. The sky dimmed as though the heavens themselves had collapsed into shadow.
"What foul creature dares enslave my kin?"
Blackie, who usually kept to the size of a mount when traveling in his Black Qilin form, no longer held back. He had returned to his true body, vast and thunderous, his presence swallowing the battlefield.
Micah froze. "Holy…" His voice trailed as the realization struck him. All this time sparring, bantering, and fighting alongside the beast, it had never once revealed its full strength.
Now, with its true body unfurled—stretching thousands of feet into the sky—it blocked out the sun.
Ethan halted, eyes narrowing, when Blackie's voice thundered again.
"Blackie… what's going on?"
