Fenn hesitated in his trek when he noticed the buzzing of the swarm receding. He paused for a moment to watch the cloud of insects retreat, mangled ear twitching atop his head, before he focused once more on the task at hand.

Whatever the Eye had in store for him did not impact his goal in the least. Rather, the absence of pursuers made it that much easier to reach his target. 

Soon enough, the hound had managed to navigate the hanging stones to reach the platform closest to the Eye. He landed a run, loping towards the behemoth in the sky. He was only dimly aware of the obstacle in his way, barely a speck compared to the thing he sought. As the monster rose its pincers towards him, the hound merely veered to the side, unwilling to waste time on the nuisance. 

He was almost past it when something latched onto his hind leg, the strength in the grip fixing him in place and making him topple forward. The dog let out a surprised bark at the impact, and his neck craned back, vicious eyes fixing on the abomination holding it back as if seeing it for the first time.

One of the numerous beard-like tendrils growing from under the beast’s mouth was wrapped around his ankle, seemingly having stretched and struck out as the demon tried to race past it. As other tentacles snaked out towards him, Fenn let loose a torrent of fire on the monster’s head. The thing staggered, beard shaking, and the dog felt a sudden pull on his leg before he was flung back, the tendril latched to his leg drawing him away from his target with startling strength.

Fenn stood up with a rumbling growl, once again facing the towering monster blocking his way. It seemed the Eye was not willing to let him reach it without playing with its puppets first.

The thing’s makeshift maw opened, flinging out a clump of writhing insects at the dog. Fenn moved aside, letting the projectile splatter on the ground. Before he could retaliate, spears emerged from the mass, launching themselves at the hound’s side, one of them finding the soft hide under his shoulder, the lance parting skin and crashing against his ribs. His enemy took the chance to surge at him.

With practiced ease, the hound ignored the pain and stood firm, raising one chained arm against the beast’s claws. One of its pincers futilely pressed against the chains, while the other drew forward to scratch at the hound behind it. Fenn drew back, metal sliding from the thing’s grasp as he tore his arm from the restraint. His other fist slammed on the side of the incoming pincer. 

The lower half of the clawed appendage all but exploded under the force of the impact, sending small bugs flying, and Fenn stepped inside the opening, roaring another blaze towards the abomination’s center. 

He was rewarded with a chittering buzz, and an impact like a battering ram striking the center of his chest.

The dog was sent flying back, eyes wide as his paws left the ground. Then his back struck the ground and he rolled with the impact, claws scoring the stone surface as he forced himself to a stop. A glance behind him revealed the yawning abyss that was this realm’s sky. 

His eyes returned to the chittering monstrosity before him. Its tendrils were drawing back, unraveling from each other as it studied the stubborn prey it had found. Fenn quickly realized the impact he had felt had been all of the beast’s tentacles striking outwards at once. The thing’s face was blackened, the hound’s flames having killed scores of the tiny insects that comprised its body, but its surface rippled, the bugs swarming and shedding the dead skin, reconvening around the damaged areas to replace their lost companions. Even the claw he had crushed was steadily beginning to reform its damaged half.

Fenn grunted. It would have been simpler if the insects themselves caught aflame, but it seemed they were afforded some kind of protection, such that only the heat itself seemed to damage them. As it stood, confronting this beast would be little different from weathering the swarm itself, and he had already chosen to forego that task. 

Then, he would need to abuse the fact that his pursuers had all converged into a single shape. The hound’s thoughts returned to the precipice, and he let out a gruff snort.

His chains unraveled like tendrils of his own and wrapped around the numerous smaller stones that had been left behind along with their floating platforms, wrenching them from the Eye’s green glow. As they did, Fenn’s forearms were engulfed in flame, and pillars of fire erupted from under the abomination. At the same time, his chains let loose their projectiles, fast enough to tear chunks from the thing’s hide, and immediately went in search for new ones.

Fenn set to walking along the edge of the platform, every step punctuated by a set of hurtling stones and another column of fire blossoming under his foe. Mayhaps the barrage itself would be enough to take the abomination apart, but he somehow doubted it. Rather, the sudden onslaught was meant to push the creature back, or force it to join him at the edge of their arena in an effort to halt him.