Spirit Animals: The Third Devourer War

Shane's Return

Shane was sitting in a tall tree somewhere in northern Eura. He had been chased by a large creature that looked like a wolf, but was the size of an elephant. He remembered that it's fur was black and it had dark crimson eyes. Shane couldn't tell if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he thought he could also see black mist emitting from the creature's body.

Images of the woman that had appeared in front of him flashed in his mind. He suspected that she was some sort of evil witch, yet witches didn't exist. She had been the one to summon the creature that chased him up a tree like he was a kitten running from a dog. He didn't even know what was happening, as he thought he had died.

Abeke.

Shane had remembered Uraza charging at Abeke during the war against the Wyrm, and him jumping between them, being ripped apart by the Great Leopard. He felt as if he might as well been eaten alive by his crush's spirit animal. Abeke's expression was what felt worse, though.

The former Redcloak leader had died, and become a ghost next to Abeke while she mourned over his body. He had tried to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder, but his fingers had gone through her body.

It was pain. He felt pain, wishing she could have felt his touch.

He lifted his shirt up, afraid that he was walking around with half of his belly missing. He breathed in a sigh of relief, as a giant scar stretched across the area where Uraza had bitten into him. The wound had healed.

But, judging by his scaly skin, he was still morphed with Grahv.

A close, chilling howl echoed in the forest around him. The monster had been camping the area, it knew where he was. The creature wanted Shane to give up, and be eaten.

If no one got rid of this oversized dog, it would kill everything. The young boy realised that Eura was in danger because of this. The monster could run fast and run for a long time. It was as if it's energy did not run out. He was surprised it didn't attempt to jump up and fish him out of the tree, but he didn't dare want it to happen either.

Black fur flashed swiftly passed the trees below where Shane was hiding. He clutched the handle of his sabre in case the creature wanted to try something on him.

A blue tunic fell from the tree in front of Shane and slowly drifted down to the ground. Confused, Shane looked up. He squinted his eyes, seeing a man in the tree just opposite him. He looked like...

Zerif.

"You," Shane hissed.

Zerif place a single finger over his lips. "Shh."

Shane stood on his tree branch, slightly wobbling. The man who had stolen spirit animals from their partners, the man who almost destroyed the world, the man who was the cause of his death...

"Before you say anything, it wasn't me," Zerif whispered.

"You small brained, puny man!" hissed Shane. "How did you even get yourself into that mess?"

Zerif's hazel eyes narrowed. "It was after the Second Devourer War, I went into hiding. I found a cave, rested in it and that's when I found the parasite. It's really hard to talk about, actually."

Shane looked closer at Zerif. The man's skin appeared to be burnt, and a scar marked his forehead where the Wyrm was.

Shane's tree shook violently, causing him to fall forward. Quickly, he grabbed onto the branch as he dangled in the air. Zerif saw this and pointed below Shane.

"The creature," said Zerif. "It's shaking your tree."

Shane looked down below his feet and saw that the monster was trying to climb up to reach him. It was too heavy, and caused the tree to shake. It's mouth was drooling, and it's bright crimson eyes burned into Shane.