The tendrils weren't tracking me anymore, not precisely.
Their movements were chaotic, unfocused, lashing out in every direction.
The entity wasn't trying to fight me; it was consuming everything around us.
My stomach sank.
That confirmed it: Jael was gone.
Whatever fragment of will or reason he'd had left had been swallowed by this… thing.
What had started as a battle between us had devolved into something far worse: pure, instinctive hunger.
I stood there, staring at the spreading ink that devoured trees, stones, and even the air's color itself.
The landscape was being erased piece by piece, turned into a void of lifeless gray.
For a fleeting second, the thought crossed my mind—just leave.
Let it burn itself out. Maybe this mountain could die quietly without taking me down with it.
But I knew better.
If I left it unchecked, it wouldn't stop here.
