Chapter 17: Mission 1 (Continues)
Kelvin’s heart pounded like a war drum as the second, then third, and finally the fourth Rift creature materialized in a cascade of flickering void-light.
Their forms showed half-existence, half-nightmare rising with pulses of otherworldly rhythm.
They circled him.
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Each step they took warped the very air that was around them, pulling heat from the world, silencing the wind, the trees and the birds. Even Kelvin’s breath came out seized.
Xerion stood tall with smoke curling from his nostrils, his dark wings were spread wide.
His right flank still bled from the earlier wound, ichor sizzling where it hit the ground.
Kelvin reached into the bond and poured his will into it, feeling Xerion’s breath, heartbeat and flame.
Don’t overpush, it he thought. They want you to rage. But we can’t burn what we can’t touch.
Xerion growled. Then we will change how we touch it.
"Then we change the flame," Kelvin whispered aloud.