The glow illuminated a scene that made everyone hold their breath. A huge chamber extended before them and moving throughout the chamber, dozens, no, hundreds of shadow stalkers awakened by the vibrations of the excavation.
"Shit," Roran whispered, his dog fully manifested beside him with the fur along its spine bristling. "It's the main hive of the area."
"Pull back," Shizu ordered Hikari, her voice low but urgent. "I'll seal this right now and we'll change direction…"
She couldn't finish her sentence. One of the shadow stalkers, apparently drawn by the firefly's light, had approached to investigate. Its sensory appendages stretched directly toward the small opening like probing fingers of mist. Before anyone could react, it began widening the hole, tearing at the edges.
"Look out!" Luna shouted.
Chaos erupted instantly. More shadow stalkers quickly joined the excavation efforts and began converging on the opening.
