A presence lingered behind the Beast King's gaze, wearing its body like a throne. The creature's beak curled slightly, in something disturbingly close to a smile.
Whatever inhabited the Beast King allowed just enough of its original senses to surface. Just enough for instinct to recognize blood. Just enough for pain, urgency, and rage to bleed through.
The Beast King roared.
The sound tore across the world, a thunderous cry that carried for leagues, bending the air itself. Forests shuddered. Beasts cowered. Lesser creatures fell silent as the roar stamped itself into the land like a declaration of war.
With a single, titanic flap, entire stretches of forest were obliterated. Trees were torn from the earth and hurled like debris, the resulting gale flattening everything unfortunate enough to lie beneath its shadow.
The mountain-sized bird rose.
