The escape clawed them back into the harsh reality of their mission – a tense alliance marred by suspicion and the lingering horror of the near-annihilation they'd just escaped. The scholar, his monstrous form crackling with barely contained energy, turned a multifaceted eye towards the guide, its shifting tendrils seeming almost smug.

"They sacrificed themselves," the scholar rasped, his voice distorted by his forced transformation. "For us."

"A means to an end," the guide countered, its voice a chorus of whispers. "They crave destruction. We offered them a target."