Drawing upon your ancient power, you summon nine glowing orbs of foxfire - one from the tip of each tail. The blue-white flames dance in the air around you as you focus your will, imbuing each with a silent cry for help. With a flick of your muzzle, you send them streaking in different directions through the forest. Some zip between the trees like comets, others float gently upward to disperse their message on the wind. The remaining three circle protectively around you, their cool light pushing back against the creeping shadows.

Almost immediately, answers begin to come. A chorus of cricket song rises from the underbrush in an intricate pattern only you can understand - the small folk are rallying. Distant howls echo through the hills as wolf spirits pick up your signal. From the highest branches, owl-eyed tengu nod solemnly before taking flight. The forest is waking to the threat.

Your ears prick at new movement near the tear. The shadow creatures have grown agitated, their chittering rising to alarmed squeals. One particularly large specimen with spindly, elongated limbs turns its bulbous head directly toward you. Its nostrils flare as it sniffs the air - it's caught the scent of your magic. The foxfire around you flares brighter in warning as the creature takes a jerky step forward, testing the weakening barrier between worlds.

The ground beneath your paws begins to tremble as something massive approaches from deeper in the forest. Ancient roots erupt from the soil, forming a protective ring around the clearing. The very trees seem to lean in, their branches creaking like old bones. Help has arrived - but so has something pushing against the rift from the other side. A dark, clawed hand the size of a boulder grips the edges of the tear, stretching it wider with terrifying ease.