"Scary," I muttered under my breath, eyes fixed on the spreading devastation.
The black ink crawled like a living plague, devouring everything it touched. The earth blistered, the air warped, and the stench of death grew so thick it felt like I was breathing through rot itself.
But then, something in the distance caught my attention that made me freeze.
The tide of corruption wasn't just spreading at random anymore; it was flowing downhill, carving a path toward the valley where the clan's encampment lay. Toward the tents.
My heart dropped.
Ariel, and the goblins. His daughter, his clan.
Unless they come out of the tent, they would only sense the tremor but not the doom rushing toward them.
My pulse kicked hard in my chest. "No… no, no, no—"
If that ink reached them, it wouldn't just kill. It would erase. Nothing would remain. No cries, no bodies. Just dust.
"Stop!" I shouted, voice cutting through the howl of wind and energy. "You'll harm your own goblins!"
