Zayne moved like a blur across the cracked hellscape of Purgatory.
Redspeed thrummed through his limbs, burning across his veins like fire. The wind didn't catch him—it couldn't. The world just tore past, a smear of stone and smoke as he pushed forward, eyes locked ahead.
He didn't care about the others right now. Not the Eclipse. Not Vel'XalvenoX. Just one goal in his head.
Find Menma.
Then, he stopped.
It was instinct more than anything. Something ahead.
A low growl rumbled through the fog. The heat of the lava behind him didn't reach this place. Here, everything felt colder. Still.
Zayne stepped forward.
There, standing in the middle of a warped clearing—like the land itself had recoiled—was a creature.
Black fur, thicker than any normal beast. Four legs like iron pillars. Its shoulders were higher than Zayne's head, and its eyes glowed faintly red under a heavy brow.
It didn't roar. It didn't snarl. It just watched him.
