Far above the tunnels, the night was alive with the scent of ash and rain. A storm gathered on the horizon, black clouds curling like smoke across the sky. At the edge of a ruined city, a figure stood upon a broken tower, wings spread wide against the lightning.
General Shax.
His scales shimmered faintly beneath his armor, the faint hue of purple glinting like bruised metal. His eyes glowed like coals, narrowed against the night. Around him, his chosen gathered—creatures whispered in fear, the ones who had followed him into blood and conquest for centuries.
Forneus, a witch with hair like silver chains, muttered incantations under her breath, threads of red light curling from her fingertips.
Phenex, a shifter, crouched low, his form half between man and beast, claws dripping into the stone.
Stolas, another shifter, moved like a shadow, his blue eyes gleaming in the dark.
And Pazusax, a witch cloaked in black, lips curled in a thin, cruel smile.
"Are you certain?" Forneus asked, her voice sharp as broken glass.
Shax's wings unfurled, the storm answering his movement with a crack of thunder. "She's close. I can feel her. The earth itself trembles when her power stirs."
"Then why wait?" Phenex snarled, claws scraping against stone. "Let me tear through their tunnels. Let me rip them out like rats."
Shax turned his gaze on him, and even the beast-shifter lowered his head. "Patience. The demon queen is not what she once was. She is weakened, wounded. But she is not alone."
He raised one taloned hand, purple lightning dancing between his fingers. "The witch who freed her walks at her side. Foolish… but dangerous. Her presence clouds Leviathan's judgment. And that makes them both vulnerable."
Pazusax smirked. "So the queen has found herself a pet."
The laughter that followed was short, cruel, echoing in the ruins.
Shax silenced them with a glare. His voice was low, heavy, unyielding. "Leviathan escaped me once. Now twice.She will not again. We will strike where they are weakest. Break the witch, and the queen will crawl back to me."
The storm rumbled above them, lightning cutting across the sky in jagged scars. The Black Shadows spread their wings, shifted their forms, and disappeared into the night—hunters closing in.
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