The academy was in uproar.
From the broken earth beneath the central courtyard, shadows poured like smoke, thick and fast, carrying with them shapes that twisted into claws, wings, and fangs.
The once-polished flagstones split apart, vomiting darkness into the night. The first wave of students had already rushed to form lines, desperation burning in their faces, but the creatures tore through them without slowing.
Screams cut through the din as the formations broke.
Teachers shouted for order, voices sharp and frantic over the collapse of stone and shattering wards.
Spells flared in panicked rhythm across the night, bolts of fire, spears of lightning, blades of wind, each strike briefly illuminating the chaos.
But for every beast that fell, another reformed. Their bodies dissolved into mist and crawled once more from the widening rift.
The ground itself shook beneath each emergence, cracks racing outward from the courtyard as if the earth's heart had been pierced.
