The most terrifying part of the plague was the rate at which it spread. It constantly propagated itself by using the bodies of those it infected. The ten thousand plus swordpupils were all terrified and those near the outer periphery instantly kept their lifebound beasts back into their lifebound spaces. No matter how much they cried and shrieked, they all kept running away from the epicenter of the outbreak.

Now, the blood-colored saplings looked like nightmarish abominations everyone was trying to flee from. What happened at Magma Valley was only a part of it, as similar outbreaks occurred at all of the...