The storm didn’t just keep going. It got worse—like the sky suddenly realized something big was happening below, and there was no way it was going to stay quiet.
Thunder rolled overhead, deep and heavy, not just noise but almost a warning. Lightning kept tearing up the sky, flashing so bright it turned the forest into a mess of shadows and harsh white light. Rain poured fast and furious, drowning the earth, soaking everything, blurring the edges until none of it felt quite real anymore.
Nyra stood right in the middle of it all. Her breaths were shaky. She was trembling—not sure if it was from fear or cold. Maybe both. Maybe something stranger, something that felt ancient and inevitable.
Behind her, the beast stayed kneeling. Huge, silent, and obedient to things she couldn’t see. And wha
