The growl from the depths of the marsh didn't come from a throat of flesh and blood. It was a wet, gurgling sound, like air escaping a drowned lung. From the murky green water, a creature began to rise. It was a Bog-Stalker—a mass of tangled roots, rotted dragon scales, and the skulls of unfortunate travelers who had died in the swamp.
"Alaric, don't let it touch you!" Evelyn shouted, scrambling back toward the safety of the dragon's ribcage. "Its touch carries the rot of a thousand years!"
Alaric tried to draw his sword, but his hand cramped. The purple glow in his chest was so bright it was visible through his leather tunic. His lungs felt like they were filling with hot lead. Every breath was a struggle.
"I... can't... move..." Alaric gasped, falling to one knee.
The Bog-Stalker lunged, its vine-like limbs whipping through the air with terrifying speed. Alaric instinctively raised his wing to shield himself. The leathery membrane was tough, but the creature's thorns tore into it, injecting a foul, black ichor.
Alaric roared—not in pain, but in a sudden burst of primal fury. The Chimera heart sensed the threat and forced a massive surge of mana into his limbs. His eyes turned completely golden, the pupils disappearing into thin slits.
"GET BACK!" Alaric screamed.
He didn't use his sword. Instead, he swung his wing with the force of a falling tree, the sheer wind pressure throwing the Bog-Stalker back into the swamp. He then lunged forward, his blackened claws glowing with violet energy. With one swift motion, he tore through the creature's core, ripping out the glowing peat that served as its heart.
The Bog-Stalker collapsed into a pile of lifeless rot.
Alaric stood over the remains, his chest heaving, his wings trembling with a mixture of bloodlust and agony. He looked at his claws, which were now dripping with black swamp-blood. The hunger was back, stronger than ever.
"Alaric, look at me!" Evelyn approached him cautiously, holding a glowing needle. "Control it. Don't let the heart take your mind. You are still Alaric!"
He turned to her, and for a second, Evelyn saw a true monster—something ancient and hungry staring back at her. But then, the gold in his eyes faded. Alaric collapsed into her arms, his wings going limp.
"The lungs..." Alaric whispered, his voice barely audible. "Find them... before I... kill you too..."
Evelyn gripped his shoulder, her expression hardening. "I'll find them. I won't let my greatest creation die in a puddle of mud."