Too Late

Sylas' body seemed to freeze. The pain wasn't instant, and the arrow was so fast that it had already passed through him and collided against the ground before he could do much of anything. 

There was a pulse of a corrosive energy, and when his skin began to rot, it was only then that the pain truly set in for him. 

A heart-shuddering sort of ripping pain tore into his body. As though a pair of ghostly hands had taken hold of his brain and started to parse it into pieces, he couldn't focus on anything other than that horrid pain. 

Something within Sylas was on the verge of breaking when a small spark lit within him. 

A small green-violet flame hidden deep within his body collided with the corrosion. The flame was so weak and fragile, and yet the moment it was provoked, it morphed, its body becoming the shape of a roaring beast. 

All at once, the attack on Sylas' mind was thwarted, and all that was left behind was the searing pain.