The temperature slowly began to drop across the forest.
At first, it was subtle.
A strange cold.
An unnatural cold.
Then the wind began to roar more violently between the snow-covered trees. The snow no longer fell straight down and instead started spiraling around the destroyed crater, slowly rising toward the dark sky.
Something was changing.
No…
Something was being altered.
The environment itself seemed to react to the beginning of the ritual.
The ground slowly started turning black from the place where Loki stood. The snow vanished the instant it touched that darkness, and black cracks spread across the terrain like corrupted veins.
The clouds above the forest began to churn.
Slowly at first.
Then violently.
The sky of Raganorth was completely swallowed by dark storms as black lightning flashed between the clouds. The wind intensified even further until it became a deafening roar.
The trees bent under the pressure.
The snow spiraled wildly.
And in the middle of that growing storm…
There were two figures.
One of them remained motionless.
The other…
Was releasing monstrous amounts of Umbra energy.
Darkness poured out from Loki's body like an endless tide. The energy was so dense that even the space around him seemed to distort slightly.
Any snow that touched it vanished instantly.
The air trembled.
The forest itself seemed to reject his presence.
The energy slowly began to wrap around Tharok.
First his legs.
Then his torso.
Until his entire body was completely covered.
The Umbra moved as though it were alive.
It swirled around him.
It pulsed.
It breathed.
And slowly, it began forming an oval structure.
A massive dark egg.
The storm continued to intensify.
The wind roared around the ritual while the energy continued condensing.
A few moments later, Tharok had completely disappeared inside the black structure.
But Loki did not seem satisfied.
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Then clicked his tongue.
—Not enough…
For a brief instant, the wind stopped.
And then…
The space behind him shattered.
A massive crack appeared in the air itself, spreading slowly like a wound carved into the world. Dark fractures crawled through space as an incomprehensible sound echoed throughout the forest.
It sounded like whispers.
Thousands of voices speaking at once.
An impossible sound.
The crack fully opened.
And a gigantic portal appeared behind Loki.
Immense quantities of Umbra violently poured out from the other side.
The pressure released was so great that the ground trembled.
The storm became even more violent.
Beyond the portal, another world could be seen.
A dark place.
Dead.
Profane.
An endless forest stretched across the other side, but those trees did not look natural. Their trunks twisted into impossible shapes, and their branches moved slowly even without wind.
The sky was dark gray.
There were no stars.
No moon.
Only malformed clouds drifting slowly above that realm.
The ground was covered in a thick black mist.
In the distance, whispers could be heard.
Strange laughter.
Distant screams.
And occasionally…
Shadows.
Massive figures moved through the fog before disappearing once more.
The smell of blood and dampness poured from the portal like an invisible wave.
The Realm of Nightmares.
Loki observed the portal for a few seconds before nodding in satisfaction.
—Now this is better…
Umbra began pouring out with even greater intensity from the other side of the portal and rushed directly toward the egg containing Tharok.
The structure slowly began to grow.
And it also began to change.
The black cracks on its surface moved as though alive. Strange patterns constantly appeared and vanished across the egg.
Unknown symbols.
Ancient.
Profane.
The air around it became heavy.
Difficult to breathe.
The snow spun faster and faster around the ritual.
Then Loki slowly approached the egg.
His black eyes silently studied the structure.
For the first time since the ritual began…
His expression looked serious.
He slowly raised one hand.
One of his fingernails began growing until it transformed into a sharp black claw.
Without hesitation, he pierced the palm of his other hand.
Blood slowly dripped onto the snow.
It was red.
Too red.
Far brighter than normal blood.
It even seemed to emit a faint glow.
Loki's expression did not change.
As if pain meant nothing to him.
Slowly, he pressed his wounded hand against the surface of the egg.
And then it happened.
The black structure began absorbing his blood.
The darkness slowly started changing color.
Black.
Dark red.
Deep crimson.
The transformation advanced little by little until the entire egg was covered.
And then…
It began to beat.
BOOM.
The sound echoed across the entire forest.
BOOM.
BOOM.
It sounded like the heartbeat of a gigantic creature.
Every pulse made the surrounding air vibrate.
The storms roared more violently.
The wind intensified even further.
Even the nearest trees slowly began breaking apart under the pressure being released.
Snow swirled around the egg, forming a massive black-and-white vortex.
Loki stepped back.
His face looked slightly pale now.
Even so, he began to murmur.
A strange language escaped his lips.
—@#€@&#€@&@€@&#€@…
His voice echoed through the forest.
It was an impossible language.
Ancient.
Profane.
Every word seemed to slightly distort space itself.
The whispers coming from the portal intensified.
The shadows inside the Realm of Nightmares began moving more violently.
The air trembled.
The clouds spun above the forest like an enormous dark vortex.
And yet…
Loki never stopped speaking.
Even when his body began trembling slightly.
Even when drops of blood started falling from his lips.
He continued chanting that forbidden language.
The entire forest seemed to react to those words.
The strange echoes intensified.
Whispers began spreading between the trees.
Distant voices.
Incomprehensible.
As though something was watching the ritual from somewhere else.
Something ancient.
Something that should never awaken.
Then…
The egg stopped beating.
Everything fell silent for an instant.
And the next second…
A gigantic pillar of darkness exploded toward the sky.
The column of energy pierced through the storms and rose beyond the clouds.
The pressure released was so immense that the entire forest shook.
Even the distant mountains could feel it.
The black pillar illuminated the sky of Raganorth like a gigantic scar.
It could be seen from anywhere on the continent.
And for a brief moment…
The world itself seemed to hold its breath.
Loki silently observed the pillar.
His breathing was slightly heavier now.
—That was harder than I expected…
A trace of exhaustion could finally be heard in his voice.
But even so…
He smiled.
Because his work was not finished yet.
The ritual was only the beginning.
Slowly, he lifted his gaze toward the dark sky.
The storm still roared around the forest.
The portal to the Realm of Nightmares remained open behind him.
And the massive crimson egg continued floating in the middle of the storm.
Dormant.
Alive.
Waiting.
Loki slowly closed his blood-covered hand.
His black eyes faintly glowed.
—It's time to deal with that problem…
He snapped his fingers.
The sound echoed softly.
And then…
The world began to stop.
The wind lost speed.
The snow stopped moving.
The storms slowly froze in place.
Even the black lightning became suspended in the sky.
Little by little…
Everything came to a halt.
Until finally…
The entire forest became completely motionless.
Absolute silence.
No wind.
No storm.
No whispers.
Nothing.
Only Loki remained moving within that frozen world.