"You escaped a Monarch-ranked void creature?"
Azriel questioned them, studying their faces with a complicated expression of his own.
"Uhm... not exactly," Lumine said, his tone hesitant, and Celestina quickly filled in the rest.
"We knew the void creature was blocking our path to you beforehand, so we had already worked out a handful of plans. Distract it, time our escape correctly, and several others. But when we actually followed the path here, the void creature was nowhere to be found."
The tremors swelled again. Celestina bit her lip and turned toward the cave from which the sounds were emanating, her words coming faster now.
"It was only a few minutes ago that we realized the void creature had been with us the entire time. It has the ability to camouflage itself. The moment it revealed its presence, we made a straight run for you and Lioren. But the creature is clearly an intelligent type."
