The forest was quiet. Not the kind of quiet that came from peace, but the kind that followed fear.
Mist hung low between the trees, drifting through shattered trunks and claw-marked earth. The scent of blood and burned bark still lingered from the previous days of relentless hunting.
Corpses had long since been devoured or absorbed, leaving only scorched ground and gouged soil as proof that something monstrous had passed through.
At the center of a small clearing stood Damien.
Before him, Luton quivered.
The Stellar Slime's once deep violet body now shimmered with streaks of darker indigo, faint motes of light swirling within its semi-translucent form like distant stars. Its size had increased slightly, but more than that — its presence had changed.
He could feel the dense, heavy, and contained every within the Stellar Slime.
"Grade Two," Damien muttered quietly.
