The tension in the air was palpable enough to be suffocating. For a moment, the only noise was from above, as jagged snakes of purple lightning roared in the clouds like howling beasts, their glow washing the arena in fleeting waves of violet.
The light faded, swallowed by a flash of darkness, before the pale orange light from the crystals reignited across the coliseum.
And in that brief void, a vast silhouette emerged at the left gate. A hulking shadow stepped forward, each stride carrying the weight of something monstrous.
The creature was on all fours, its massive form drowning in writhing darkness as if it were crawling out from the pond of dark flames itself. But before the audience could react to its presence, they were stunned into silence as the creature began to rise.
