The creature's roar slowly faded.
The forest fell into a heavy, unnatural silence.
Fog drifted through the clearing again, curling around broken branches and shattered armor. The air still trembled from the force of the blast that had hurled Frauner into the darkness between the trees.
Leah lay where she had fallen.
Her chest burned where the energy had struck her. Every breath scraped through her lungs like broken glass. Dirt and blood clung to her armor as she struggled to lift herself.
Her vision blurred.
But she forced her head up.
Through the shifting mist she searched the forest.
Frauner.
But he was gone.
Only the swaying branches remained where his body had vanished.
A broken sound escaped Leah's throat.
Then something moved.
The creature.
It had stopped roaring.
Slowly, almost calmly, the towering beast turned its head.
Its glowing red eyes slid away from the distant trees and settled on the clearing once more.
On Thalia.
Her body still lay motionless on the bone-covered ground.
For a moment the creature simply watched her.
Then it stepped forward.
Each step was slow, deliberate, heavy enough to crack brittle bones beneath its feet.
Leah's eyes widened.
"No…"
The word barely escaped her lips.
The creature reached Thalia.
Its long, clawed hand lifted slightly.
The air around them began to twist.
Then;
Thalia's body jerked.
Her limp form rose from the ground as if invisible chains had wrapped around her.
Slowly.
Unnaturally.
She lifted into the air again.
Her arms hung loosely at her sides.
Her head tilted back.
A faint tremor ran through her body.
Leah froze.
Her heart hammered violently against her ribs.
"Thalia…"
The creature opened its mouth.
Darkness gathered inside its jaws.
Then the black smoke returned.
Thin streams of shadow began to pour from Thalia's body.
From her chest.
From her throat.
From the corners of her mouth.
The smoke twisted through the air like living threads.
Pulling toward the creature.
Being dragged into its waiting mouth.
Thalia's body began to shake harder.
Her fingers twitched weakly.
Her head rolled slightly to one side.
Her eyes slowly opened.
But the sight that followed froze Leah's blood.
The whites of Thalia's eyes stared blankly toward the forest.
Her pupils rolled upward.
Only pale white remained visible.
Leah couldn't breathe.
The black smoke kept flowing.
Thalia's body trembled violently now, her back arching slightly as the dark essence was torn from her.
Her hair drifted weightlessly around her face.
Her armor creaked softly with each trembling movement.
Leah tried to speak.
Tried to shout.
But no sound came.
Only a broken gasp.
Her hands trembled against the dirt as she pushed herself slightly upright.
Her entire body screamed in pain.
But she didn't feel it.
All she could see was Thalia.
Suspended helplessly in the air.
The black smoke continued pouring from her.
Leah's vision blurred with tears.
They spilled down her face without her realizing.
She couldn't move.
Couldn't speak.
Couldn't look away.
Then suddenly;
The smoke began to thin.
The dark strands flickered like dying flames.
The creature's mouth remained open.
But the flow was weakening.
Fading.
The final strands of black smoke slipped free from Thalia's body and vanished into the creature.
Silence returned.
For a brief moment Thalia simply hung there.
Weightless.
Her body completely still.
Her pale eyes staring upward into nothing.
Then the invisible grip vanished.
Gravity took her.
Her body dropped.
It fell heavily onto the ground with a dull, lifeless THUD.
Dust rose around her impact.
Her limbs shifted slightly as her body settled against the dirt.
Her head turned slowly to the side.
Facing Leah.
Leah's breath caught in her throat.
Thalia's eyes were still open.
White.
Empty.
Her pupils remained rolled upward beneath the pale surface.
Unmoving.
Silent.
The fog drifted slowly between them.
Leah stared at her.
Terror hollowed her chest.
More tears slipped down her face.
She still couldn't speak.
Couldn't scream.
Could only watch.
As Thalia's lifeless gaze remained fixed in her direction.
And the creature stood above her fallen body.
The creature turned.
Slowly.
Its burning eyes shifted from Thalia's fallen body to Leah.
For a moment it simply stood there, towering above the clearing, its shadow stretching across the fog-covered ground.
Then it began to walk.
Each step was slow.
Heavy.
Bones cracked beneath its feet with soft, brittle snaps. The fog curled around its legs as it moved forward, the long claws at the ends of its hands swaying gently with each step.
Leah saw it coming.
But her eyes drifted away.
They fell back to Thalia.
Thalia lay where she had fallen.
Motionless.
Her pale eyes still open.
White.
Empty.
"Th…a…"
The word never formed.
Leah's lips trembled.
Her throat burned as she forced air into it.
Nothing came.
Her voice was gone.
Her body refused to obey her.
She tried to push herself up.
Her arms trembled violently beneath her weight before collapsing again.
Pain shot through her ribs.
She couldn't stand.
Her head slowly dropped.
Strands of hair fell across her face.
Her voice came out as nothing more than a cracked whisper inside her chest.
Frauner…
Her mind searched the forest.
But he was gone.
Thalia…
Her gaze drifted again.
Still unmoving.
Mauris…
His body lay somewhere behind her in the fog.
Dead.
The weight of it crushed her lungs.
Leah tried to scream.
Her mouth opened.
But only a dry rasp scraped through her throat.
No sound.
Her throat felt like sand and broken glass.
Tears spilled silently from her eyes.
They ran down her cheeks.
Dripped from her chin.
Fell into the dirt beneath her.
The creature stopped in front of her.
Its shadow swallowed her completely.
Leah didn't lift her head.
She didn't fight.
She simply hung there on trembling arms, breathing weakly as tears fell to the ground.
The creature bent down.
Its massive form folded slowly as it crouched before her.
Long black fingers stretched outward.
Three of them extended.
Thin.
Too long.
Ending in curved, razor claws.
The claws hovered in front of Leah's face.
Then they touched her.
Cold.
Unnaturally smooth.
The creature gently brushed them across her cheek.
Almost like a mockery of tenderness.
Leah flinched weakly.
Her breath caught.
The creature's eyes flared brighter.
A violent crimson glow pulsed within them.
Then Leah's body jerked.
Her feet lifted from the ground.
Her arms dangled uselessly at her sides as the invisible force seized her.
Slowly.
Her body began to rise.
Leah gasped weakly.
Her legs twitched.
Her fingers clawed helplessly at the empty air.
Her entire body trembled.
Then the creature opened its mouth.
Darkness pooled within its throat.
And the black smoke began again.
It spilled from Leah's body in thick, writhing strands.
From her chest.
From her throat.
From her mouth.
The smoke twisted violently as it was dragged toward the creature's open jaws.
Leah's body convulsed.
Her back arched sharply.
Her legs kicked weakly in the air.
Her hands curled into tight claws as every muscle in her body shook uncontrollably.
A thin choking sound escaped her throat.
Her eyes widened in terror.
Then her pupils began to move.
They rolled upward slowly.
Struggling.
Resisting.
Her gaze trembled as tears continued to stream down her face.
But the smoke kept pouring out.
More.
And more.
Her pupils vanished beneath her eyelids.
Only white remained.
Her eyes turned pale.
Empty.
The trembling in her body grew worse.
Her limbs shook violently as the creature continued to drain her.
The tears running down her cheeks slowed.
Then stopped.
Dry trails of salt remained across her skin.
Her breathing became shallow.
Weak.
The black smoke still poured from her body.
Feeding the darkness inside the creature's mouth.
And Leah hung there helplessly in the air.
Her white eyes staring upward.
Her body shaking as the creature slowly devoured what remained of her.