A shadow swept across the sky, drowning the meadow surrounded by bushes in grey.
Did he transform?
Outwardly, he looked the same. But something seemed to have shifted in his presence, like the air before lightning strikes.
The grass suddenly wilted around his feet, blades curling inward as if recoiling from poison.
This could get dangerous. Oh, High Priestess, give me strength.
I readied my sword and my breath, then looked over towards Zephyr.
He was... trembling?
Was that fear in his eyes?
What did he see that I didn't?
Or was it…
He looks odd, just a bit...
—
Abruptly, I heard a voice. Low, but as if it bounced all around me. It reminded me of the voices in the mines.
... .... ... ... ...
I listened to every word.
In that moment, I dropped my gaze.
Something glowed at my feet.
A crystal?
It was half-buried in the grass, pulsing with inner light.
