It rose slowly at first, spiraling upward in slow, lazy coils. It was like watching smoke from a dying fire—only denser, heavier… and ominous.
A faint pressure settled in his chest.
Riley's pupils contracted.
The aura grew denser by the second, swirling into thicker clouds that bled through the entire battlefield.
It pulsed.
And the moment it did, Riley's body gave a subtle tremble.
A cold sweat crept down the back of his neck as a single thought flickered through his mind—
'Escape the shadow… does that mean—'
He wasn't given the chance to finish the thought.
Fwoosh!
The purplish-black aura exploded forward.
It surged toward him with terrifying speed, as if it had sensed him the moment it was born. There was no delay. No charge-up. No warning.
It just moved at terrifying speed.
Too fast.
Like a beast unchained from hell, it howled through the air with a distorted, otherworldly screech that echoed inside his bones.
Riley's instincts screamed.
