Mary narrowed her eyes as she studied the ancient tree before them. A strong intuition surged in her heart. Cleo had to be with this thing.
"Oh?"
A deep, ancient voice rippled through the forest, layered with mockery. "That kitten… which of you does it belong to?"
The old tree demon had lived for eight thousand years. With the spiritual energy of the earth growing thinner by the year, its fate was already sealed if it failed to transform. Without a human form to extend its lifespan, only death awaited it.
For centuries, it had endured in silence, waiting.
Then the opportunity finally appeared.
The pair of foxes living on the neighboring peak had dared to conceive a cub at a time when spiritual energy was scarce. The female fox had lost nearly half her strength in the process. That alone did not interest the tree demon.
What interested it was this chance.
