The stag's corrupted horns glowed like smoldering coals, its roar rattling the runes of the cage. Damien kept his palm pressed against its snout, black essence licking at his skin. He whispered the word in his heart.
[Hindsight – Activate].
The world around him dissolved.
He was no longer Damien, but the beast. The stag's memories poured into him, dragging him down into their weight.
Chains clamped tight around his limbs. The cold bite of iron cut into flesh as runes burned along the floor of a stone chamber.
A dozen masked figures stood around the circle, their cloaks shifting like shadows. They chanted, voices weaving a rhythm that clawed into the core.
Damien felt the agony. He felt the stag's essence being siphoned, twisted.
