The Kragg 2

In that moment, Octavius grasped two crucial realities. 

His reduced height, now somewhere between 5'7" and 6', put him at a significant disadvantage, robbing him of the athletic edge his taller frame once provided.

And the second crucial thing was the Kragg was mostly onto him.

He turned to Void, who hovered beside him as he ran, and pleaded, "You're sure you're not behind this? You've made your point... Make it stop."

[Why don't you stop and try to touch it? That should clarify things.]

Octavius's gaze dropped to Void's feet, and he noticed that Void wasn't running. Instead, he floated effortlessly above the ground.

"How about you get back into my body and make us disappear out of here, like you normally do."

[I don't function that way,]

Octavius watched as others sprinted past him, their terrified cries echoing through the forest as they desperately fled from the monstrous creature. 

Resigned to the fact that Void wasn't going to intervene, Octavius attempted to push forward, veering off the straight path in a bid to escape through a narrower, winding trail.

The narrow trail proved to be a temporary reprieve, as the Kragg's massive frame prevented it from pursuing Octavius through the dense, winding path overgrown with thick vegetation and tangled underbrush, so it pursued the others instead.

But Octavius didn't stop running, he kept sprinting for his life and as he ran for his life, he noticed a shadow like a big bed hovering over him.

He turned to see what it was without breaking stride and he caught a glimpse of someone leaping effortlessly from tree to tree above him. Without breaking stride, he glanced up to see a figure clad in a dark cloak, its movements fluid and almost ethereal.

It seemed the mysterious figure was also fleeing from the Kragg, but Octavius was baffled by her ability to run along the treetops with ease. Her movements were almost birdlike, as if she were flying.

As Octavius gazed up at her in wonder, their eyes met, and he felt a jolt of surprise. The mysterious figure's eyes were now fixed intently on him.

"Wow—" Octavius breathed, his eyes locked on her face, but his admiration was short-lived. As he gazed up at her, he failed to notice a branch lying across his path. His foot caught on it, and he fell flat on the ground.

The timing of his fall proved fortunate, as the Kragg's massive hand swooped down into the trail, barely missing Octavius. The creature withdrew its hand, and Octavius scrambled to his feet. He took off in a zigzag pattern along the path, his focus consumed by the terrifying sounds closing in around him.

The Kragg's thunderous growl reverberated through the forest, sending shivers down Octavius's spine as trees came crashing down around him. Their massive trunks slashed through the air, mere feet from his head, and Octavius thought his time was up. But just as all hope seemed lost, Void intervened once more. In an instant, they vanished, only to re-materialize in a safe location nearby.

Octavius's relief was short-lived, replaced by confusion. "I thought you said you couldn't make us disappear?" he asked Void.

[You must have misheard,] Void responded nonchalantly. [I clearly remember saying I don't function that way.]

Octavius's frustration grew. "Can't you just make us vanish, grab the stone, and head back to the Academy?" he pleaded.

[Again, I don't function that way, NPC,] Void replied, but his words were cut short by the Kragg's deafening growl.

Octavius resumed his frantic sprint, darting anxious glances upward as he ran. The mysterious figure was nowhere to be seen, and Octavius wondered if he'd simply imagined the whole encounter.

But his curiosity was short-lived, as he noticed a figure running alongside him. He turned to gaze at the person, and his eyes widened in surprise. It was a woman - and not just any woman. "Is that... White hair?" Octavius breathed, his words trailing off in shock.

Before he could even process the revelation, he felt himself being scooped up by massive, hairy arms that wrapped around him like a vice.