Chapter 40
"What's going on?" Keiara asked, a little breathlessly. She'd ran all the way to her father. She stopped when she got to him and was breathing hard.
"The Rooks are mobilizing but they are not coming toward us." Tarvo turned and stared at Rone. "What are they doing?"
Rone saw what Tarvo was talking about instantly. The main body of the Rook army was splitting in two. The two halves marched away from each other and created a rather large aisle between them exactly as they'd done earlier. There was absolutely no strategic value to the new formation. It was an idiotic move. Instead of hammering at them with the full might of their forces, the Blak Army was weakening itself.
"I have no idea why they are doing this again," Rone said. "Splitting themselves apart is not something a Rook commander would do. It doesn't make sense."
"I don't think they're coming for us," Keiara said with dread in her tone. "Last time they did this it was because Blak wanted to speak. I think this time what's coming will be much worse."
Rone was about to ask her what she was talking about but ended up not needing to. Gliding over the desert on a carpet of spider-things was Blak. He stood on top of them as they moved like a mad king. Rone was hoping to see a defeated attitude in the chaos god but Blak looked infuriatingly confident despite the fact that he had lost his control over Niku.
Soon, Blak's presence drew a crowd of Terras. Everyone watched as he got closer to the front line of his army. He wore his now trademarked black cloak and hood that covered his burnt head.
"What is he doing?" Tarvo asked but no one had an answer for him.
"I'm pretty sure we're going to find out," Asher replied. He watched the creepy man as Blink hovered over him, beeping and making clicking noises every couple seconds.
"Blak's power is at its apex. I can feel it even from here," Aeole said, mostly thinking out loud.
"Indeed," Heari chimed in from behind everyone They all turned around, shocked to see her standing and out of her coma. Keiara hugged her while Rone felt a wash of relief flow through him. The old crone looked sickly but he could see her strength lurking inside regardless. She limped closer to everyone, exhausted but otherwise seemingly okay.
The others were glad she was all right but there was no time for further celebration.
"What does this mean?" Soqart asked.
"It means he no longer has a need for that vessel," Heari answered.
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, the body that housed Blak suddenly split apart.
An enormous, slimy, and disgusting creature unfolded itself from the mass of discarded flesh it had been using just seconds before.
Blak's true form was revealed.
And it was terrifying.