The beast's body crashed to the ground with a thunderous thump, the impact shaking the forest floor like a war drum struck by the hands of an angry god, the tremor rippling outward in waves that rocked the trees, cracked the earth, and rattled the hearts of every single spectator who had dared to watch this battle unfold. Dust exploded into the air, the silence that followed hanging like the breath before a storm, and in the center of it all stood Sylvaris, his body like a sculpture of a battle god.
And then something hit him from within.
