Max wrapped his entire body in void magic and commanded it to devour everything touching him, but the tick refused to disappear. Darkness consumed the crimson power pressing against his scales, yet every tick seemed to restore what the void had taken before it could reach the source.
In the next instant, an invisible force seized Max's body and dragged him somewhere else within the crimson storm. Before he could steady himself or understand where he had been taken, a streak of crimson light passed through his shoulder and tore open a deep wound between his scales.
The ticking sounded again.
Max disappeared and reappeared in another part of the storm, facing a completely different direction. Another crimson streak crossed his chest before he could raise his blade, cutting through his scales and spraying blood into the air.
