"Grrroooow." A guttural, bone-rattling growl resonated through the air, its deep vibration stitching the unraveling tension back into place like a thread through silk. The sudden resonance held a weight that made the ground feel heavier beneath their feet.
Dunstan and Lumina, along with their subordinates, who were moments away from turning their backs to leave, froze mid-step, their bodies trembling under the pressure of the roar that did not simply echo but gripped the air with dominance.
In perfect unison, as if bound by a single instinct, their gazes were dragged beneath the towering, eerie silhouette of the Primordial Metal Tree, where the sound had surged from.
From within a haze of dark, viscous smoke, rising and spreading like a malevolent spirit set free by the demon's self-destruction, a pair of crimson eyes slowly bled into view. They gleamed like dying stars behind a veil of ashen mist, cold and calculating.
