The forest floor split open.
Not like an earthquake.
Like something beneath it had finally decided to rise.
Trees bent outward as enormous roots tore from the earth. Soil collapsed into a widening black pit.
Seris stepped backward.
For the first time since Traveler had met her, her face showed unmistakable fear.
Her eyes remained fixed on the opening.
"No..."
The word barely escaped her.
Arafial looked at her.
Then back at the pit.
Something moved beneath the darkness.
One massive tentacle emerged.
Then another.
Then another.
Twelve.
Twelve enormous tentacles slowly rose from beneath the forest, each covered in ancient scars and dark, hardened flesh.
They surrounded the clearing.
The creature pulled itself upward.
Its body was enormous.
No recognizable head.
No human shape.
Only a vast central mass surrounded by twelve limbs, with a circular opening at its center lined with layers of teeth.
Its surface carried remnants of things it had consumed.
Bones.
Fragments of armor.
Pieces of weapons.
Symbols carved into ancient metal.
Some of those symbols belonged to gods.
Seris froze.
She knew what stood before them.
"The Devourer..."
Her voice trembled.
Arafial looked at her.
"What is it?"
Seris did not answer immediately.
The creature's twelve tentacles struck the ground.
BOOM.
The entire forest shook.
Birds erupted from distant trees.
The ground beneath Traveler's feet cracked.
Seris finally spoke.
"It has eaten gods."
Arafial's expression changed slightly.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Interest.
The creature opened its enormous mouth.
A sound came from inside it.
Not a roar.
A layered vibration that seemed to come from beneath the world itself.
The trees trembled.
Arafial released Seris completely.
The serpent woman immediately moved away from the clearing.
She knew better than to stay close.
Arafial remained where he was.
The creature attacked.
One tentacle tore through the trees.
Traveler vanished sideways.
The tentacle obliterated the ground where he had stood.
A second came from behind.
Arafial turned.
His hand rose.
The impact stopped inches from his face.
The forest exploded outward.
His boots carved deep trenches into the soil.
Arafial's purple eyes narrowed.
The creature pulled.
He resisted.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then another tentacle struck.
Arafial released the first.
He jumped backward.
The second tentacle barely missed him.
It smashed through three trees.
Arafial landed.
His eyes remained purple.
He looked at the creature.
Then slowly raised one hand.
Black fire gathered around his fingers.
Nihilfire.
The darkness condensed.
It formed a blade.
A long, black weapon emerged from the void, its edge carrying no reflection.
Arafial wrapped his hand around the hilt.
The blade hummed.
Seris stared from the edge of the clearing.
She could feel the difference.
This was no ordinary weapon.
Arafial lowered the blade.
The creature attacked with all twelve tentacles.
The forest disappeared beneath their movement.
Arafial stepped forward.
SHING.
The Nihilfire Blade cut through the first tentacle.
Black flame crawled across the wound.
But the creature did not fall.
The severed flesh regenerated.
Arafial's eyes narrowed.
The creature swung again.
He blocked.
The impact threw him across the clearing.
He crashed through a tree and landed among the roots.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Arafial slowly stood.
His coat was torn.
His purple eyes remained fixed on the creature.
The Devourer had already regenerated the severed limb.
Arafial looked at the blade.
Then at the creature.
He understood.
It wasn't simply powerful.
Its existence had survived the destruction of beings that should have been beyond destruction.
Something about it resisted erasure.
The creature opened its mouth.
A black pressure began forming inside.
Arafial raised the blade.
The pressure exploded outward.
He crossed the blade before his body.
The blast struck.
The forest behind him was flattened.
Trees shattered.
The earth was carved apart.
Arafial remained standing.
Barely.
Seris watched from the darkness.
She had seen gods die before.
She had never seen anything stand against the Devourer like this.
Arafial slowly lowered the blade.
The purple light in his eyes intensified.
He looked directly into the creature's enormous mouth.
Then he spoke.
"So you have eaten gods."
The creature answered with another ancient roar.
Arafial tightened his grip around the Nihilfire Blade.
"Then I will not underestimate you."
The twelve tentacles rose simultaneously.
The entire forest fell beneath their shadow.
And Arafial stepped forward.
For the first time since entering this world—
he stopped trying to escape.
He prepared to fight.
And something inside the Devourer opened its eyes.