After the conversation with Erend, Adrius descended slowly from the air while thinking about the implications of what they had just discussed. His boots touched the ground with a soft thud as he landed near the fallen beast. The giant creature's massive form lying still in the blood-soaked earth. Despite its defeat Adrius couldn't shake the lingering sense of unease that clung to him.
He approached the beast cautiously and began to examine it more closely. The creature was huge with fur matted with blood and dirt. Its body exuded an unnatural aura. Adrius kneeling beside the beast and extended his hand. Using his Magic to flow into the body to search for any clues or signs that could explain the strange feeling that still gnawed at him.
As his Magic seeped into the creature Adrius felt a pulse of dark energy that sent a chill up his spine. He closed his eyes to focus more intently, and soon the truth began to reveal themselves.
Beneath the beast's thick fur and hardened muscles Adrius detected blackened veins that pulsed with a dark residue. They were twisted and corrupted and coursing through the creature's body like a network roots. His fingers traced these lines of corruption.
"This isn't just any ordinary beast," Adrius murmured to himself. "It's been corrupted. His body altered by some form of dark Magic."
He pressed his hand against the creature's massive chest and a faint glow emitted from his palm as he delved deeper into the beast's essence. The more he probed the more apparent it became that this creature had once been just a regular bear, perhaps a native to the forests surrounding the kingdom.
But something had twisted it and transformed it into the monstrous form that now lay before him. The dark Magic had seeped into its very being and turning it into a mindless, destructive force.
Adrius pulled his hand away with a look of shock and worry on his face. The implications of what he had discovered weighed heavily on him. Someone or something had deliberately corrupted this bear turning it into a weapon of chaos. And if they had done it once, they could do it again.
He stood up, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield, taking in the sight of the other fallen beasts. Could they all have been corrupted in the same way? If so, it meant that the enemy they faced was far more cunning and dangerous than he had initially thought.
Adrius's eyes narrowed as he watched the crystal work. It rotated slowly. He could feel the artifact's Magic searching for any residual traces of the transformation spell that had turned a mere bear into a monstrous creature. Adrius remained silent as the crystal continued its search.
Minutes passed. Then the glow inside the artifact intensified sharply. The pulsing rhythm grew quicker and the crystal spun faster in place, as if it had locked onto something.
Adrius leaned closer to the glowing orb. The artifact was zeroing in on the source of the transformation Magic. The light inside the crystal coalesced into a bright point, and with a sudden flash, it projected an image into the air above the table.
The image was hazy at first, but as Adrius focused his Magic through the crystal, the details began to sharpen. He could see the outline of a figure — tall, cloaked in shadow, with eyes that gleamed crimson.
Adrius's eyes widened. This was no ordinary Mage; the power being wielded was ancient, dark, and far more dangerous than he had anticipated. The figure in the image turned slightly, revealing more of its form, and Adrius felt a cold chill run down his spine. There was a familiarity to the way the Magic was cast.
Then, the figure's face came into view, partially obscured by a hood but enough for Adrius to catch a glimpse of its features.
Adrius staggered back, his concentration breaking as the crystal's light dimmed. The image flickered once, then faded entirely, leaving the room bathed in darkness once more. He stood there, breathing heavily.
"Is he really him?" Adrius muttered.
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