Yilar's response was immediate and decisive.
"No," he said coldly, "it's not the Beast King."
As the creature descended, its features became horrifyingly clear.
It was monumental—over 100 feet long, with a breadth that could eclipse a small village. Its head was unlike anything they had ever seen—a terrifying fusion of dragon and serpent, crowned with a flared hood adorned with jagged ridges that looked like a living, wickedly sharp crown.
Slitted eyes glowed a deep, mesmerising emerald—not the emerald of the vaemani stone, but a colour that spoke of something far more ancient and powerful. Its head was distinctly draconic, yet unlike any dragon of legend. Muscular arms ended in hands with razor-sharp claws that could slice through stone as easily as flesh.
This was not the basilisk of old. Not the beast king they all knew.
This was something different.
Something more.
