The sphere pulsed once. Then its surface thickened. The drifting fog liquefied into a glossy, tar-like mass that floated in midair, its pitch-black surface rippling in slow waves.
It had no shape. No beginning or ending. Only a constantly shifting mass that seemed to absorb the light around it.
Without warning, the tar stretched upward. A leg emerged. Then another. A torso rose from the writhing mass. Shoulders. Arms. A neck. Then, a head.
The remaining tar crawled over the figure like living ink before melting seamlessly into its body. Within moments, a humanoid silhouette stood before Sys.
Its body was completely black, smooth as polished obsidian yet strangely fluid, as though it could melt back into mist at any moment.
It had no clothes. No hair. No discernible age or gender. Only two crimson eyes burning from the darkness.
The crimson eyes glared at Sys with naked hostility. Sys met that gaze quietly.
