Back in the silent environment of the Silent Woods, not even a tiny cricket was to be heard. Howl was out to investigate. Following the troubling scents under the disguise of night and fog, Howl made quick work of the wandering leapers that he'd find the path, moving swiftly and bearing no piety for anything that deserved nothing more than to be in between his jaws. Scouting his territory was quick just as usual, and fortunately, the scents came from a deeper area of the Silent Woods. This served as some respite, but the nature of the scent had Howl alert. He felt like it was a lure for him already. How long hasn't he been that enraged yet curious to see the source? Whoever did it knew how to attract him.
"It almost feels like a ghost is watching me. An old ghost." Howl gazed at the path ahead, preparing for a risky hunt.
Before parting to seek the source, the great wolf could see the moon up above, almost hidden in a sea of dark clouds. The night was at its peak, and a little bit of moonlight was cast down to the earth.
At that moment, he wished to howl without probably costing his life, without striking fear in others. Howl simply wanted to do what a wolf does when to keep the pack united and maybe… maybe hear a howl back.
He pushed that primal longing aside, not because of the dangerous possibility of fighting Shriek, but because only silence would reply. Howl made his way out of the surroundings of his cave.
The fog was a hindrance as usual but also a good tool to hide. Masking himself in the night, Howl kept following the scent. He ran over a ridge to glimpse with any luck the possible source. Luckily, he could see quite well on high ground. The stonified earth had a considerable collapse that created a wide hole ahead. Within, the scent was stronger than ever before. Its owners were leapers. Howl stealthily approached to have more clues and gazed down the hole, it was just a despicable and horrid vision, unfortunately holding no information whatsoever. "Something riled these creatures. Only under leadership would they end up cramped like this." Howl analyzed. Something was still amiss about the other scent that Howl couldn't quite figure out to whom it belonged.
Hundreds or even thousands of leapers were cramped tightly in the limited space they had. Their incessant hissing became louder as they noticed Howl above, itching to attack like rabid beasts. Howl made a quick survey of the area. investigating what else he could.
On the other side of the Silent Woods, Ori began to feel the struggle of navigating the problematic place. He felt lost as to where to go. There wasn't any recognizable point that he could remember the way he came from. Ori kept moving and dodging the leapers with agile movement but as the minutes passed, he began to worry.
"Maybe… I need a bit of help?" He said, embarrassedly to himself. "Why is there so much fog... Why does this place have to be so strange?"
It wouldn't be long before he begins to feel scared within the darkness and cold. Hopeless that he is going the wrong way and unto his demise. He shrugged, needing not these thoughts! He shook his head to stop the feeling of dread from bothering him.
"Breath easy…" Ori inhaled to relax, then exhaled slowly. "It will be alright. Just have to keep calm." He murmurs as one of the local creepy and fallen owls feel like staring at his soul. The poor spirit felt a shiver run down his spine. "Just… keep… calm…"
He pushed forward, mustering every ounce of courage he could, but never stopping to consider why he didn't ask Kii for a map or something. There had to be a way to locate the exit of such a place.
During Howl's inspection of the crater, there was a craftsmanship sigil that he recognized. The symbol of a lightning spear… Such creepy handwork worried Howl to an extent. "It can't be… Seir's hunters should be dead," he recalled. This had to be a hunting job, and a long-dead spirit has come to haunt Howl. He thought it was perhaps true. Though, minding other scents in the air while he could, Howl had paid attention to the spirit's scent the entire time and knew Ori was still around. He wondered why, but soon understood the little spirit's reason.
"Hmph, he is lost. Kii must have forgotten to navigate him out." Howl considered checking on him. That should be the right thing to do before the spirit would find trouble. Howl turned around, and an immense log swung his way. Immediately Howl dodges to the side and the log goes away, the pendulum breaks by the sheer weight. The sudden surprise nearly has Howl thrown into the pit filled with ravenous leapers. A snarl escaped the wolf, it is here! Ori would have to wait a little longer, Howl gave priority to quickly dealing with this ghost. Howl's trained eyes spot a little silhouette that stalks nearby and flees the moment Howl catches sight of them.
"You won't escape me." His fur bristled and his ears laid flat against his head. The hunt had begun. Howl sprinted after it, running across the dead woods. Now expecting many other traps. Howl navigated flawlessly across diverse hidden holes, flying knives, and spears. Whoever armed this had time to prepare, someone that had an objective to hunt great predators. It began to feel crystal clear, Howl had already lived this. On the run, Howl spots the little hazy figure trying to create distance. The chase became more frenetic, and more deadly traps awaited but Howl simply out sped their triggering mechanisms. More leapers appeared in the way but instantly Howl ran over them without mercy.
Getting considerably closer, Howl could distinguish the silhouette. The runner was considerably smaller than Howl, not that many creatures could match the size of shadow creatures, but it was a known shape. As a last trick before Howl catches up, the figure throws another knife straight at Howl. The wolf expected that and reflexes aided him to get out of the way, allowing him to see that the knife was poisoned with the taint of Decay.
Howl dives into the darkness, quickly catching up and surging below the target. Jaws would snap shut on the runner, but they leaped out of certain death, holding on to a high and fragile branch while leaving behind only a rag that covered them for Howl to bite and destroy. The individual lets out a mild laugh followed by a few claps. One laugh that Howl recognized. Howl stared at this figure and was unable to hold back the anger. A spirit. Corrupted by Decay. An old enemy.
"Great to see you well, Andronius. It's been some time, huh."
Howl spits the piece of cloth. "Iyo." He growls before the once-nominated Alpha Hunter by the wisp of bravery. The fur was now a sickening purplish black, the eyes glowed in pink, and wore a shredded garb of leather. "It is great displeasure to know that you are still breathing. If you still breathe, that is."
"For you, I can breathe underwater. We are hunter and prey, we will never be apart." Iyo demonstrates the poisoning power of Decay while creating new blades out of his flesh. "Until not of us conquer the other, that is."
"You died over a century ago. Decay cannot corrupt the Light as it does other races. What happened to you?"
Leapers began to prowl around Howl, cornering the wolf so he doesn't have room to act. Meanwhile, Iyo wanted to at least catch up on things a little. "All I remember was a grandiose flash of light coming from the Spirit Willow. Then a crying chime and my surroundings changed to what we see today." Iyo pauses shortly. "It doesn't matter and I don't care what happened. Seir would still have use of you, in case you don't want to die. These fields brim with light, your kind cannot hide anymore."
Howl stared at Iyo in dead silence. Then closed his eyes to shake his head. Iyo firstly considered it a sign of surrender, to then meet Howl's gaze back. Making things much better. To see that crimson gaze he always loved, to feel the thrill of the hunt! Iyo could barely hold himself back.
"It was immature of me to think you still had any capabilities of understanding your situation." Howl prepared to pounce. "I don't know how you returned, but I will gladly send you back to your grave."
At that final word, leapers attacked from all directions. Howl dived into shadows, vanishing from sight and reappearing above, stomping the mindless creatures. Iyo thought he was secure seeing Howl down below during the stomp, but as a chill crawled up his spine, Howl had a shadow clone leaping from behind, right at the branch he rested. Giving attention to the clone behind, Iyo jumps off the branch to the next. Midway, Howl pounces from below and bites Iyo's middle in the air. Sealing any escape the corrupted spirit had.
The teeth come to clamp tighter and severely injure the body beyond healing. But Iyo struggled without a problem. Arms free and holding a knife to stab back. "I don't feel pain you fool! I can withstand anything!" Yet Howl's clone arrives and also bites onto Iyo's lower torso that dangled outside, and once both wolves had bitten and held tight, each pulled to a direction, ripping Iyo in half.
The silence dominated the land, and a simple whisper echoed from Howl's anger. Despite the gruesome outcome, no blood is spilled from Iyo. Howl spits out the corpse that was once the finest hunter Niwen had to offer. Now a merely lost soul. Howl dismisses his shadow clone, and watches in brief silence.
"To think you were a menace to us before. Only to end like this."
A few seconds pass and Iyo laughs. The very severed body begins to reconstruct and heal. Appendages sprout out, seeking to connect the body parts, untwisting the broken limbs and closing the wounds on his flesh. Soon enough Iyo was back standing and regaining composure. Howl wasn't completely surprised by the sight. Decay is not easily dealt with by shadow powers alone.
"The Noy tribe kept you hidden from me for too long. All my failed attempts will result in my success today. Those pitiful masked monkeys are not here anymore, are they… Howl?" Iyo provoked, even using the nickname only those close to Howl knew. Iyo raised his arms, creating blades that grew out of his body. Tainted by the vile evil of the world.
"Behold, Her Grace has blessed me with more power than you can ever imagine!"
"Blessed?" Howl questioned. "Seir would smite you down at sight." That was when Howl could confirm the true state about the foe in front of him. Iyo had not only the body but his mind defiled. Seeing the world in some sort of illusion.
Iyo scoffs, he obviously doesn't believe it. He is a proud spirit with shining white fur and wielding the holy power of light granted by their ruler.
"Can't you see? Darkened purple does not suit you, Alpha Hunter. But again, neither did the gold garb you so proudly wore once."
"What are you saying? I remain pure and untainted, unlike you!" Iyo said back, preparing to launch many blades. "She gave me this new chance! And I am taking you to Her Grace this time, Andronius. You shall be purified or killed."
Iyo sends forth a fan of knives, next wielding a hatchet and moving swiftly to jump to a tree keeping distance from Howl. Howl simply disappears into the shadows, evading the many knives and gaining freedom to move within darkness unseen.
"Do not hide, Andronius, and accept your fate. A wolf does not cower before anything."
Howl quickly analyzed. Iyo had lost the ability to discern what is pure or not. Driven mad by the corruption of Decay. Iyo was still stuck in a mission of the past it seemed. Really thinking to be rewarded in the service of Seir after bringing a powerful wolf to be converted by the light of the Spirit Willow.
However, to Iyo, the corrupt here was Howl. "These lands are already ours. The owls have been saved and we still can save you too!"
Howl is angered by the speech Iyo says and makes use of the hidden shadows, leaping from an unsuspecting outcrop angle above and behind the target. Howl is successful in taking an arm, but Iyo doesn't even flinch or feel pain as the limb is quickly healed back to normal. The hunter simply laughs. "Do you see, now? The power of our almighty ruler, the light of bravery?!"
"I see only how demented you have become. The Light does not heal like this."
That strikes a nerve. Iyo grew a little more impatient. "Doubt upon the power of Seir while you still can," Iyo answers, following to do a simple calling gesture that summons leapers to prowl around. Dozens of them surround Howl coordinately. "Attack now! Help this oblivious soul be purified!"
Howl had more than enough and moved swiftly to deliver another fatal blow on Iyo, running over the assaulting leapers and menacingly rushing towards the tree that Iyo stood on. The altitude was nothing, a single leap from Howl was enough to reach the target. The hunter was expecting this charge, and at the right moment, when Howl leaped with jaws open to crush his body, a fan of knives was thrown and pierced the interior of the Howl's mouth. Howl loses balance to the screaming pain, holding back all whines of pain he could. Howl falls on the hard ground, rolling forward until his speed is held back. Many leapers swiftly come to bite down Howl's front and hind paws, drawing blood to keep him immobilized.
Iyo descended from his tree and victoriously approached the defeated wolf. "A shame you didn't use your shadow clone this time around." He caressed the dark wolf pelt, taking his time. The fur was flawlessly soft for one to lay on. Iyo came to think that the Noy tribe must have loved to sleep with their wolves. But nothing of it mattered now. The Noy tribe was slain and the last dark wolf known to Niwen was captured. Iyo could only rejoice. "To think it took me so long to conquer a beast like you, old wolf. We are your pack now. You have a new alpha to follow."
While the fallen spirit savored the successful hunt, he also failed to notice the ferocious wolf approaching from behind. The shivering feeling of death ran up his spine again. When Iyo turned around, Howl stood completely untouched. Howl pounced on the opportunity, bringing sharp teeth to clamp around the target. However, Iyo quickly holds back Howl from snapping his jaws shut in an abnormal show of strength, enjoying the experience like it was a fun time. The pressing force would break him, so Iyo escapes the dangerous grasp.
"A trick of illusionism," Iyo observed. Even with very little light at your disposal, shadows can deceive what the eyes see. Howl was a master of shadow-bending, Iyo failed to cover this possibility. It would be seen as a dirty trick, an offense in noble hunting. Yet against Decay, there are no rules. Iyo laughs and is entertained.
"Good. I wouldn't want it to be this easy, Andronius."
Howl snarled, "Pray that your healing factor doesn't fail you!" And charged in.
…
Minutes became an hour already and the chilling air grew worse against Ori struggling to keep himself calm and aware of his surroundings. He had taken rises and descents on the twisted terrain. Met many chasms and uncountable dark owls frozen in stone. Not only that, but Ori had managed to find more than the usual monoliths. A village. The very entrance was eerily enough, safe to say it was a ghost town of sorts. It felt similar to what Ori remembered in the Wellspring Glades. The handwork, the structures, and the huts belonged to mokis and many others. A cold gust of wind blows, and Ori hurries up to find a possible shelter. The annoying leapers are still around, and hopefully not following the spirit's scent.
Inside a normal house, Ori is struck with a grim vision, a group of stonified mokis hugging in a captured moment of accepting fate. Such a sight made the sorrow looming in the place feel worse. Two adults, and one child. This was a family that never had a chance to escape whatever came for them. Ori also spotted toys on the ground, all pretty damaged, except for a teddy bear covered in dust. Ori took the little bear, and in the sewing was written in simple words: My best friend, Baur.
This was another of the villages the Moki constructed and once occupied. In ruins. Did that war happen here? Maybe, but there wasn't much destruction besides the corrupting force of Decay that stole all life from this place. Ori could only feel the melancholy every sight offered. Nothing else. Thus what the Silent Woods reserved in the morbid cold.
Poor mokis. Poor creatures that suffered this fate. Ori slowly caressed the youngest moki in front of him. Feeling nothing but cold and hard stone. His eyes watered with sympathy. This was only one family. A sea of victims are all around in the Silent Woods. How could things end like this? Alas, Ori had no time to grieve, for a hissing screech filled the air. A leaper calls for attention and throws Ori into full alert. He has to think of a way to get out.
Damnit. They are everywhere. I took cover in the small hut I investigated, being able to see the outside through a small window. The leapers know I am here somewhere and by peeking just slightly, I can see that many more are amassing in this village. I must get out of here before I am seen. Though, being seen is so easy when I glow and everything! How do I do this? How can I navigate this place like Howl? How does he do it?
The leapers scour the place, slamming the doors of each fragile hut, and they'll reach mine in no time. I seek an exit to keep out of their sight and on the roof, I notice a little passage of air coming from outside. The roof was made of tied long stalks of dried straw, it should be easy to go through there. Taking my chances, I leaped as silently as I could, evading knocking any objects, and carefully but hastily tore a hole in the straw. I luckily exit through their blind side and rush to the next cover. I check around to find a better hideout, simply fleeing will eventually get me spotted. On the huge lifeless trees nearby, other huts were fixed high to their trunks with no means to get there. I find that strange, there maybe were bridges or stairs or vines that connected all those houses just like in the Wellspring Glades. That also gave me an idea. If I could reach those huts with my abilities, the leapers will never be able to check there. They will go away, and my chance to leave will appear. It should work!
Calming my breathing, and focusing on my path, I leaped from roof to roof, branch to branch, until I reached the large tree. Steadily climbing and jumping, I managed to arrive there. At this altitude, there are no leapers that would be able to literally parkour to me. The hut was empty this time but so very dusty. A sign to be abandoned for so long. I sit on the ground, rubbing both my arms to help me combat the cold and relax. In the meantime, I reflect on what could have caused all this damage. This place was destroyed, but not by Light. This Decay… It feels different from what assaulted Nibel. It is much more aggravating. The living turned into stone.
That family…
Was it a sudden wave that washed away this place? Was it someone that came here? My mind feels so restless about this… But I need to think of a way to get out of here.
My hut shakes, forcing my brief moment of peace to end. I stand back up and struggle to keep my balance as my hut shakes more and again. What is happening?! Through the entrance, I went to check what was wrong and when looking, the hut was detaching from the tree! It can't stand my weight?! Oh, come on! I have no time to think!
Things became dire for Ori. And stuck without anywhere to go, the hut collapsed and fell. Ori braced himself, and the impacting slam on the ground brought all leapers' attention. They spot a gleaming shine moving above them and spot the spirit swinging a hammer against the ground to create space for him to land. "Uh, hi!" He greets the mindless creatures that hiss to their prey, pouncing all together immediately after. Ori double jumps upwards in the air to evade the attack and a stacking pile of leapers forms beneath him. Gravity pulls Ori down, and Ori considers how to quickly create distance. He borrows the pile of leapers to find purchase on the topmost leaper head and prepares to jump with great impulse.
"I'm sorry for this!" Ori launches himself in the air after nearly exploding the leaper's head and pulls Kuro's feather to glide away. The leapers give chase by ground, some awaiting the unsuspecting spirit in high points to leap down to him. Surprised, Ori guards the feather, and bashes the creature just in time, getting even more height and momentum. The winds also assist his escape by pushing him far away from them. Quickly leaving behind the village.
Ori sighed in relief, that was very close! But everything should be fine now. Just need to land carefully and seek out Kwo–
An enormous slam hits the ground just where the village was and Ori's eyes widen in realization. The hut provoked a far too loud noise when it fell! Ori looks behind while gliding and Shriek gazes straight at him. A shiver runs down his spine. The infamous monster of the Silent Woods spotted him. Reacting however he could, Ori drops down to get out of sight with the help of whatever the woods could provide. Shriek lets out a fearsome cry and gives chase.
The scream is audible for kilometers of distance. Kii is startled, fortunately not spooking Ku awake. He walked outside. That wail could only mean one thing. Kii went back to Ku and started to ponder on a way to help.
Howl too is pressured with the urgent requirement to assist Ori against Shriek. Yet turning back on Iyo could be far too dangerous. He had to trust the spirit to hold on for a little longer. There was a good side at least, without the need to be silent anymore Howl had no reason to hold back.
"Oh? Someone riled her. Poor thing." Iyo commented to whoever was the unfortunate soul.
Howl filled his lungs, shouting, "Survive at all costs, kid! I am coming to you!"
"Wow…" Iyo poked his ears. "Who are you shouting at? Wanna get–"
Howl gives no opportunity as he is already upon Iyo and mauling the body, tossing it forward. Howl immediately sprints in the shadows and ferociously mauls the regenerating hunter and destroys Iyo's body again before he could even react. A dash so quick and lethal that was Howl's finest strike to kill, and accordingly, Iyo lays limp in Howl's jaws. Chewing was as unpleasant as gnawing on a moldy root and promptly, Howl spat the messy remains. Howl wished that Iyo did not regenerate back, and made certain by awaiting those fateful seconds… only to see the foe reforming the broken bones and healing the skin. Howl attacked again, but this time Iyo escaped.
"That was quick! Luckily you know well not to swallow." An evil grin adorned Iyo's face as he fixed their neck back to place.
"Like I would eat anything rotten such as you!" Howl roared. "If I have to gnaw on your vile form until you are no more, so be it!"
Preparing another set of blades, Iyo only boasted a large smile. "I'd like to see you try it!" And both charged on one another.
…
There was only one thing that Ori knew right was that he could not fight Shriek. Not here, not unprepared, and certainly not scared like this. Ori's instincts were on red alert, and all he wanted was to escape. The malformed owl came wrecking the dead woods after the spirit, holding no regard for whatever was on the way. Desperation ushered Ori faster, and as he dodged the place's dangers, the chase was not going well for him. Ori quickly grew worried as the distance between the foe was decreasing, as no matter how flawlessly he dashed across obstacles, Shriek just stomped on everything. Never losing speed.
You are easily seen. Kii had warned about this creature. The menace of Niwen is this monster that all fear and hide from. The few moki children telling him to be careful haunted Ori this time around.
Ori lived something similar. Against Kuro in a world of fire. Yet Sein was nowhere closer to help. Ori kept running, trying to disappear but Shriek screamed so loudly and furiously that it hurt to hear. Nearby leapers are attracted and Ori is unfortunate to face yet more of these fallen animals. In the rush, Ori summoned his sword and sliced through the creatures as fast as possible. Never stopping at anything. More leapers dared to pounce, forcing Ori to either react or be wounded. Dodging also was an option but as more and more occupied the spaces around, Ori could only strike back. Each attack would cost almost half a second and Ori loses momentum and the tremors behind him felt greater and greater.
Ori remembered the spell Kii had cast on him. The shroud should help him lose Shriek but he had to stay still for it to work. On a new turn in the woods, the dead trees ended in a dead end with the corpse of an owl blocking the path. Ori was getting breathless and slowed down to lay his back against the bones, facing the fiend approaching with hands behind him. Stay still. Stay still! Ori panted as Shriek rose into sight. The vision of this owl's face wasn't the scariest monster ever, but the sense of danger it emanated was unnerving. She had very little plumage and much of her body was molded in a carapace of stone. Shriek cast her piercing gaze down on Ori, studying her newest prey. Ori stayed still, praying that the shroud would work. Meanwhile, he shared gazes with his pursuer and although scary, held emotion. Perhaps one could say Shriek was either confused or curious.
She tilted her head from one side to the other a few times, analyzing what she had caught. And did another step closer with her deformed wings. The shroud was definitely not working, perhaps not while Shriek is looking straight at the spirit. Desperate times require desperate solutions! Ori sneakily created an orb of energy and launched it upwards. Shriek followed it with eyes and Ori made the orb explode, forcing her to jump back scared. Ori was caught by surprise that it managed to scare her. But it didn't matter, now that he had time to catch his breath and a chance before him, Ori turned away and sprinted as fast as he could, successfully leaving the line of sight but as Shriek searched she took flight and pinpointed Ori in a blink of an eye. Thus returning to the chase.
…
A hundred times Howl had managed to mortally wound the foe and never did Iyo stop his twisted healing to return fighting. With tooth and claw, Howl only focused on bringing the foe down, but to Iyo this was amusing and every little cut delivered to the wolf was a step closer to success.
"What's the matter?" Iyo asked. "You're getting slower!" An axe and dagger for each hand, coated in some sort of substance that Howl did not know what exactly it was.
Howl was suffering from fatigue. And the many cuts he received had planted a worry Howl could not shake. If whatever is on Iyo's blades is indeed poison, then Howl's life was decided. That would never have happened if the struggle ended on the first bite. Howl cursed himself for being so hateful of spirits that he should know when the stakes are against him. Knew that this was an unwinnable fight.
"You're not attacking? Then I will!" Iyo rushed forward, forcing Howl to dodge the attack for the first time. "Oh? The wolf ran from the enemy?" The hunter had to ask. "Even you feel fear, huh?"
"The light of bravery certainly didn't teach anything useful to your lot," Howl said, tired. "Fear is something we all have. An emotion that lives within us all. Simply being courageous does not destroy it. Fear also protects. Fear helps us survive the cold of night. Ignite us to action."
"Fear is a form of weakness. Showing it tells the foe who is the victor. And will forever label you as a coward."
"Showing fear is not a sin. To learn courage, one must learn to fear. And only then can a soul become brave."
"Do not recite wisdom from that toad to me, old wolf. I stopped caring the moment I discovered what bravery is. What glory is to have Seir's attention even for a brief second. It is addicting. Phenomenal!" Iyo tells delving into memory. "Her Grace's light shines warmer than the Sun itself. And I will earn the right to bathe in it again."
Howl growled. "Fool. You don't really know that the light that you love so much does not belong to Seir," he said, making Iyo frown.
"Enough of your gibberish. What does a wolf know about the rightful spirits? Nothing."
"I know. And what hurt Niwen the most is the day you all forgot who gave your species the gift of life." Howl's voice raised with every word as rage fueled him back to stand tall. "Forgot to respect it. Forgot its existence! We suffer the insolence Seir cast upon the land! YOU ALL FORGOT THE GRACE OF OUR SPIRIT WILLOW!"
Furiously Howl filled up his lungs and with all his might, howled into the night. Its sheer force pushes all things away from him. The entirety of the Silent Woods hears it and rescues Ori against Shriek in a tight moment. The chase comes to a halt at that moment. Now both their attention went towards the howl filling the air. It couldn't be. Kii was in shock.
"My lord, no! What are you thinking?!" He said hurriedly and Ku awakened, not calmly and not peacefully.
"Kii, what is happening?!"
Kii hesitated, he had to go to help, but couldn't leave Ku entirely alone. "Little one, we must go!"
"Wait, was that Howl? Did he make that noise? And go where?"
Kii ran to the exit, and Ku went after him. The pressure of the situation is not doing any good to her but panic. She wanted answers but knew danger was close. She held Kii's hand once outside. "Wha-what are we going to do?"
"Little Ku, forgive me for this occurrence, but we are starting your training now."
"But Howl is not here! Where is he? Where is Ori?"
"That's what I want to know!" Kii wrote a rune in the air, chanting a spell, "shadow word: darkness." And a shadow cloud covered both of them, granting them great mobility in a misty form. Rapidly both of them rushed to the woods.
Consequently, Shriek completely lost interest in Ori and took flight. "Hey!" Ori shouted and in the emergency dashed after the monstrous owl. Howl will be in great danger if she gets to him! Ori had to pull back her attention, whatever Howl must be facing, Shriek cannot join it! Ori leaped to a tree's canopy armed with the bow, a direct hit should be enough. Yet the canopy breaks under the spirit and the arrow flies in the wrong trajectory. Ori quickly repositions however Shriek already gained too much distance for another shot. No! He grew desperate. Shriek will kill Howl! Ori then breathed in, quickly finding an alternative solution. Remembering his training with Ario and Layla, Ori imitated the racing pose Layla did before breaking into incredible speed. He closed his eyes, and blue flames adorned his legs, enhancing his physical capabilities. This has to work! He breathed faster. Focusing as the situation demanded.
"Spirit Ignition: Enhancement." Ori opened his eyes and blasted forward leaving blue flames in his wake. The leapers all were surprised by the blue flash that ran past them and despised the flames. Ori was in hyperfocus and could see Shriek above, mustering all strength to get where he needed before her.
…
"Amazing! Simply amazing, Andronius! The Shadow Hunter is before me." Iyo marveled at Howl's rage manifest and his appearance changed to a much wilder and mythical look. Huge ribbons of pure shadow energy blew above Howl's form, weaving and floating around his neck and hind legs as a godly appearance. The dark bristled fur of his back gained great length and the crimson eyes became violet.
"A shame though. This shadowy look is so good on you! Soon you will look much more… brightly." Iyo smiled deviously, branding axes in each hand. "This will be my finest hunt!"
"Iyo." Howl growled, fueled by fury. "You will pay for hunting us for your twisted pleasure! This time nothing of you will remain!"
...