The forest had grown unnaturally quiet.
Only moments earlier the clearing had echoed with the sounds of battle—the clash of steel, the roar of the monster, and the strained breathing of warriors who had pushed themselves beyond their limits. Now a heavy silence pressed down over the battlefield like an unseen weight.
The ground trembled faintly beneath the roots of the ancient trees surrounding the clearing. At first the trembling was subtle enough to ignore, but it did not fade. Instead, the vibration grew steadily stronger, spreading through the soil like a slow heartbeat beneath the forest.
Loose stones rattled across the broken ground. Dust slid from cracked bark. Leaves drifted down from the canopy as branches shuddered above.
Even the Tier-6 monster noticed.
