The echo of the roar didn't fade — it multiplied.
It rolled through the corrupted forest in overlapping waves, as if the trees themselves were howling. Lior froze mid-step, blood dripping from his ruined arm. Kael's head snapped toward the sound, only to realize there was no single direction to face.
Elyra's knuckles whitened around her bowstring. "That… wasn't just one."
"No," Ryn said quietly, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow. "It's coming from everywhere."
The mist thickened in response, curling around their ankles like a living thing. Each tendril clung to their skin, whispering in voices too low to understand. Shapes shifted beyond their vision — elongated limbs, too many eyes, teeth glinting in the gloom — but whenever they turned, there was only empty fog.
Kael's breath quickened. "This forest is wrong. We kill the alpha, and now it feels like the whole damn place is waking up."
"It was already awake," Elyra murmured. "We just rang the dinner bell."
Something heavy crashed through the undergrowth ahead. A pair of silhouettes emerged, tall and hunched, fungal growths sprouting from their backs. Their movements were jerky… unnatural.
Lior squinted. "Those aren't beasts." His stomach dropped. "They're people."
The figures stepped closer, and the truth became worse — they were once people, now twisted by the forest's corruption. Their eyes glowed faintly, mouths slack as if the forest breathed through them.
"Back up," Ryn hissed. "Slow."
The corrupted humans didn't charge. They just stood there… smiling.
Then, from behind, the underbrush exploded in movement. More shapes — bigger, faster — closed in.
The group found themselves surrounded, the mist sealing off every path except one… a narrow, winding trail that seemed to lead deeper into the heart of the forest.
Lior's hand tightened on his sword. "It's herding us."
"Then we don't play along," Kael spat — though his voice shook.
The roar came again, so close it vibrated in their bones. And this time… there were footsteps with it.