章 1872: Burning Bright

The Great Monster resembled an enormous, emaciated tiger with black fur and red stripes. No… the red markings on his gaunt body only looked like stripes. In truth, they were festering wounds that revealed vibrant red flesh and the sprouts of tall, blood-red grass growing from the rotting meat.

There were motes of crimson light drifting above the grass, made pale by the radiance of the Cloudveil. Those motes were living beings — tiny fireflies that fed on the Monster's blood and propagated in his infested flesh. Sunny felt a wave of revulsion wash over him when he recognized the vile nature of the beautiful shimmer. 

The great tiger must have looked breathtaking once, in the dim twilight of the Hollows. But now, it had been reduced to this ghastly and hideous state. 

At the same time, Sunny felt a pang of regret.