The creature's head scraped the underside of a walkway as it rose, crystal plates grinding like tectonic stone. Light shimmered from its surface in fractured shards, each movement rippling through the warped skyline. A fan of abyssal eyes blazed white across its skull, all unblinking, all wrong.
Hunters faltered. Civilians screamed and scattered in every direction. The avenue shuddered as the thing planted itself, claws digging furrows through the pavement.
Selindra's voice cut sharp. "Secondary entity confirmed."
Varik's blade tilted low, point grazing fractured asphalt. His voice didn't rise, didn't strain. "Containment."
Lucen tilted his head. "Containment? That thing looks like it wants to redecorate the skyline."
Neither of them answered him.
