The forest had barely begun to settle after the monster's fall, yet a tension lingered like smoke clinging to the ground. Even the wind seemed hesitant, slipping softly through the trees as if it, too, feared disturbing the aftermath.
High in the canopy, John remained perfectly still. His massive black scales blended seamlessly with the shadows cast by the overlapping leaves above him. Even the faintest movement from him would have been invisible from below. His wings folded tightly against his back, and his claws curled around the branch he rested on, feeling every subtle vibration in the wood.
The Tier 6 creature had been eliminated—or at least driven off—but the ripples of its presence had not faded entirely. John could still sense its energy lingering in the forest: deep, resonant, unnatural. That kind of pressure didn't dissipate quickly, not when a monster of that magnitude had moved through the area.
