Kael returned to the battlefield before he was ready.
The Devourer struck a fortified settlement at dusk. Kael arrived too late to prevent the breach, and too weak to dominate the field as before.
For the first time, restraint cost lives.
He fought desperately, threading control where he could, but the Devourer's influence overwhelmed him. Souls were torn away, devoured in waves.
Kael screamed, not in rage, but in grief.
When the Devourer retreated, laughing, Kael collapsed among the dead.
The hunger whispered venomously:
This is what your humanity buys.
Kael had no answer.