"Aramith?" Mozrael wondered why he just stood still.
Lynnor's grip tightened on her weapon, her eyes sharp with suspicion. "Something doesn't feel right."
Mozrael swallowed, her gaze lingering on Aramith for a moment longer.
The shadows had hidden everything. No one had seen. No one could know.
And yet, for reasons she couldn't quite put into words, a strange chill curled in her chest.
All eyes were on him and as they watched, a faint outline of the wolf appeared around Aramith and disappeared.
It happened so fast, the others didn't see it, but Lynnor wasn't your average person. She narrowed her eyes at Aramith.
"What the hell was that?" she demanded, her usual playful tone absent.
Jade and Mozrael looked at her.
Aramith steadied himself, inhaling sharply. He had absorbed the beast's essence, but something felt... wrong. The darkness within him was moving, shifting unnaturally, as if something else was now inside his soul.
He didn't move. He was afraid to move. The wolf was supposed to be absorbed in him, but he could feel that it absorbed his energy just as he had been absorbing it. The two forces clashed within him, twisting and writhing like a storm trapped in a bottle. His vision blurred, and his body convulsed involuntarily as the raw energy surged through his veins.
Mozrael barely had time to react before she heard Aramith's ragged breath. "Aramith!" she called out, trying to reach him, but her fear held her back.
Lynnor and Jade, now recovering from the disorientation, took a step back. "What's happening?" Jade asked, gripping her remaining dagger. She felt the same uncomfortable sensation of the wolf's presence.
Lynnor, for once, didn't have a snarky remark. She watched, uncertain, as Aramith's form wavered between the solid and the ethereal, the darkness within him pulsating violently.
The wolf was gone, but its presence still remained, burning through Aramith's essence. His control over the void was slipping. He could feel his consciousness drifting into something deeper, something primal.
And then... his body moved on its own.
His head snapped up, his eyes glowing with an eerie, predatory light. His breath came out in a low growl, and when he exhaled, wisps of black mist curled around his lips. He felt weightless yet unbearably heavy at the same time, as though his existence was being rewritten.
"He's possessed by the wolf! Stay back!" Lynnor warned.
Mozrael didn't listen and reached him, grabbing his wrist. "Aramith, look at me!" she urged, her voice firm despite the panic creeping into her tone.
For a moment, it seemed like he recognized her. His fingers twitched, but then his pupils shrank, his gaze darkening further. The black mist lashed out, forcing her back. The wolf's form appeared around him
Lynnor whistled. "Okay, well, that's definitely not normal."
Jade frowned. "Are we... fighting him now?" She tried to keep a strong front, but she was afraid.
Mozrael gritted her teeth. "No. He's still in there. We just need to—"
Whoosh!
Darkness exploded once again from Aramith, clouding the whole area, though not as thick and restricting as before.
Aramith moved, vanishing into the shadows.
He could feel the beast within and it threatened to consume him from within. His vision blurred as a searing pain shot through his body, his veins burning as if filled with molten fire. His knees buckled, and he barely managed to keep himself from collapsing.
"Aramith!" Mozrael's voice rang through the suffocating darkness, her silhouette barely visible.
Mozrael reached out, concern evident in her eyes. "Are you alright?"
Before he could answer, a sharp pulse of energy radiated from his within, forcing him to his knees. His pupils contracted, his breathing turned ragged, and for a split second—just a split second—his eyes glowed with the same blood-red hue as the wolf's.
Jade gasped. "Aramith…?"
Lynnor took a step back, instinctively raising her weapon, her expression unreadable.
Aramith clenched his fists, fighting for control over his own body. He could feel the beast—its lingering instincts, its raw hunger, its rage—coiled inside him like a caged storm.
A sharp, piercing howl echoed through the air, reverberating with unnatural force. The wolf reappeared in a blur of motion, its dark form lunging from the shadows, the echo of its cry still lingering as it crashed down upon the ground, leaving Aramith collapsed and vulnerable.