The shift was instant. One moment, the battlefield flowed in controlled chaos. The next moment, something broke. A pressure descended, heavy and wrong. Several elven warriors froze mid-motion, their instincts screaming before their minds could catch up.
Then... it appeared. Space folded inward for a fraction of a second, and a figure stepped through. It was humanoid, tall, and lean.
Its body was wrong in subtle ways, limbs slightly too long, joints bending just a little too far. Its skin looked like a stretched void, pulsing faintly as if something beneath it was trying to escape.
Its face was almost human, but its eyes… were empty. It took a single step forward and it vanished.
"!"
An elven captain's head snapped back: gone, cleanly severed before anyone saw the attack. Blood sprayed across the branches. Panic erupted.
"It's here!"
"DEFENSIVE FORMATION!"
