Leor could do nothing but watch, clenching the hilt of his sword until his knuckles whitened, then forcing himself to let go, only to grip it again as he cursed his own helplessness. Alina's body trembled and twisted on the floor before him, her eyes still hidden in the depths of her skull.
The agony seemed to come in waves. It would relent just long enough for the young girl to suck in a few trembling breaths, quietly sobbing in relief for a few seconds as she did, then the process would begin again, launching her into another round of torture.
This had been going on for the better part of the night. The candles that Drelk had given them had long burnt out, and the only source of light was the torch of Will that Leor now held.
"Hang on, please, you're going to get through this." he whispered to the girl for the thousandth time. Leor had searched his mind again and again for a way to relieve the young girl's agony, but there was truly nothing he could. Not even the simple option of forcing Alina to vomit remained now. The potion had surely moved from the girl's stomach and into her intestines by now.
At some point Drelk had been drawn over by unending screams. He did his best to check on Alina's condition, but even the wizened old elf could only shake his head. Before leaving, Drelk eventually wagered a guess that the terrible length of the process must have something to do with the nature of the Beast Alina was attempting to embody.
Leor was of a mind to agree. There was a price to everything in this world, and the same was true of power. How could it be so easy to gain the abilities of a sacred Beast? Leor was starting to feel a mounting regret that he had not worked harder to convince Alina against this plan. But even as he felt that regret, he knew it was without merit. He could not have changed Alina's mind, especially not after she determined that this transformation was the plan of fate itself.
Leor clenched his fist around the handle of his sheathed sword once again as he let out a silent curse. "Damn it all. Come on then, fate. Surely you did not go through all this trouble just to let the girl die, did you?"
A few more hours passed in this horrid way. Eventually Leor found himself seated on the floor beside Alina, doing his best to wipe her face with a cool damp cloth as he prayed to the great Will of the light to save his dearest friend.
As he prayed outloud, Alina's pained expression eased for the first time in nearly six hours. Leor's heart raced as he noticed the improvement, reaching out to grasp her hand in his own. The moment he stopped his prayers however, the agony in her face returned.
Quickly realizing that the prayer was somehow helping her, Leor began to piously pray with all his heart. He spoke the sacred words again and again, rehearsing every word of old scripture that he could remember. It wasn't too hard, the sisters of the fallen had forced every child in the orphanage to memorize an entire host of prayers.
Leor was a devout believer, but even he could hardly believe that his prayers had been answered so quickly and directly. No, there must be more to this than he could presently understand. Something to do with Alina's transformation made the sacred words of the realm of light more soothing to her than they normally would be.
As Leor continued to loudly chant his prayers, Alina's tremors finally calmed completely, and he began to see the first hint of actual physical changes to her body. Her skin rippled as golden fur forced its way through, spreading in uneven patches until her limbs resembled a predator's. Her eyes narrowed into slits of molten amber, alien yet somehow more arresting than ever.
The only thing that didn't change was her face. The rest of her body began to resemble that of a humanoid lion, while her head remained that of the young girl she was. Leor finally began to relax as it appeared that the transformation was going to be a success.
As the physical changes finished taking place, Alina collapsed into the sweat soaked bedsheets below her. Leor let out a long and tired breath as he leaned his back against the closest wall, wiping the nervous sweat from his brow.
Right at that moment, a terrible pressure filled the entire room. Alina's eyes shot wide open, but her newly feline pupils could not be seen, her entire eyes had turned bleached white. Leor could feel goosebumps creeping up the back of his neck as the feeling of being in the presence of a terrible predator filled his chest.
Alina's face twisted in pain one last time before her lips peeled back in a grimace that became something like a terrible inhuman grin. When she spoke, the sound was both a roar and a whisper, releasing an eerie revelation that shook Leor to the marrow.
"The corruption flows forth from the seed of the great union!" She spoke, in that inhuman voice that was nothing like Alina's
After Alina spoke those cryptic words, she turned to stare Leor right in the eyes. The young man couldn't help but tremble as he felt a terrible Willpower behind those strange eyes. This simply did not resemble in any way the Alina he knew. Then, as quickly as it came, the strange Willpower vanished and Alina collapsed into the bed. As she fell into her blankets, the thick fur disappeared and human skin covered her arms and legs once again.
Leor pulled himself off the wall, his tired body still trembling lightly from the strange experience. Rushing to Alina's side, he found that she had fallen into a deep sleep. However, her breath was steady, and her pulse was strong.
"I.. I think it's over." Leor covered his face with shaky hands as he took a few deep breaths, saying one last silent prayer to thank the Will of light for helping them through the long ordeal.
Leor climbed the rocky terrain, carefully placing each step as he moved through the sparsely forested mountainside. His body was covered in a familiar cloak, hiding his presence for the hunt. Beside him were three powerful Beasts, all three fierce looking canines. One was older and grisled with shaggy grey hair, while the other two were younger, one jet black and the other a patchwork of browns and tans. It was the same group of wolves that had slain the defiled pig together with Leor back at the mountain fortress.
A few days had passed since the night that Alina had taken the world tree potion, but the girl had still not awoken. Drelk could only wager a guess that her body and Will had been so exhausted from the transformation that she may need an extended rest to recover. Leor was willing to accept that answer, he had seen every second of the terrible transformation process, afterall.
Since Alina was safe in her bed, recovering from the transformation, Leor decided to do his best to strengthen himself while he awaited her. Alina would surely have become much stronger when she awakened, and Leor did not want to be left behind. So, he had decided to join his new canine friends on a hunting trip into the depths of the tall mountain.
They had set off early in the morning, stalking silently through the rocky and wooded mountainside. The wolves were some of the best hunting partners a man could wish for. Their powerful sense of smell and expert tracking abilities lead the group directly toward their prey. Leor wasn't quite sure what they were hunting, but he trusted the wolves to choose the prey wisely.
His job would be to use his unique Willpower to stun the creature, as he had done twice before while cooperating with the wolves. This time however he had had some time to prepare, so Leor was carrying a simple hunting bow and quiver of arrows. Drelk had provided him the weapon along with the cloak without much prodding.
The best part about the bow was that both it and the arrows were made long before this realm fell to corruption, made by the elven weaponsmiths to harness Willpower, so Leor would be able to imbue a small amount of Will into each of his shots. It wouldn't be as effective as his blade, because the arrows were of much lower quality and the further they moved from his body the weaker the imbued Will would become, but it was still a great addition to his combat power.
As the sun rose high in the sky, Leor noticed that the sound of birds and insects around the group suddenly seemed to vanish, an eerie silence covering the small stretch of mountainside. At the same time the expressions of wolves around him turned solemn. The three Beasts glanced at each other swiftly before falling on all fours, their bodies swelling in size as they returned to their natural forms.
"Seems like we've found what we're looking for." Leor whispered as he notched an arrow in his lightweight hunting bow.
Just as the wolves were spreading out around him, sniffing the air to pinpoint the threat, a toxic surge of defiled Will crashed against Leor's senses. He turned his head sharply to the left, just in time to see a massive figure crash through the treeline, barreling toward him at full speed. The beast stood at least ten feet tall, its tremendous bulk made plain with every thunderous stride. Thick muscles bunched and rolled along its legs as they drove its weight forward, cracking the earth beneath each step. Its jaw hung wide, two rows of yellowed teeth on full display, snapping and dripping saliva as a bestial bellow ripped from its throat. It was a full grown mountain bear, a Defiled Beast of at least the Dire tier.