The cult leader stumbled backward, his wide eyes alternating between the fallen bodies and the pulsating mass at the center of the ancient circle. The fanatical confidence that had sustained him minutes before evaporated too quickly to be replaced by anything other than panic.
"You… you don't understand!" he shouted, his voice broken. "He's going to—"
Strax raised his hand.
The sound died in the man's throat.
It wasn't a flashy spell. No burst of energy. Just an invisible pressure that tightened the air around the leader like fingers slowly closing. The man fell to his knees, gasping, his forehead hitting the dark earthen floor.
"I understand better than you think," Strax replied, walking in slow circles around the anomaly. "And that's precisely why you failed."
