It moved.
The mana Kai and his undead had been steadily approaching, pulsing rhythmically, like a beating heart, shifted.
A ripple in the current. A retraction. It didn't vanish, it moved. Pulled somewhere deeper into the mimic's unfathomable anatomy.
'Blood?'
But now, something else stood between them and that source. A presence. One Kai felt before, but avoided. It was unlike any of the mimic's natural defenses, unlike the mucous-dinosaurs or malformed antibodies. This mana was heavy. Heavier than anything he'd felt. Dense enough to clog the lungs and silence thought.
And worst of all, it wasn't mortal.
Kai took a cautious step forward, and immediately froze as a head poked through the wall.
A human head. Smiling.
"I say!" the head said cheerfully. "To what do I owe the honour?! Guests!"
