Mahira's hand trembled as she unraveled the scroll, the old parchment dry and fraying at the edges.
It was her last resort to stay alive as the monster in front of her approached with such terrifying smile.
'I need to survive, I'm sorry Father...'
Crimson glyphs began to glow across the surface, pulsing in rhythm with her heartbeat.
It was a scroll passed down through generations containing the legendary cacodemon her great-great-grandfather was able to tame.
And it is also a destructive one.
"Answer my call," she whispered. "O ancient one, bloodbound to my family's line... rise."
A tear in the air formed like cracked glass. The world shuddered. From the breach, something crawled forth—massive, hunched, cloaked in dense smoke.
Its shape solidified: obsidian-black skin, plated like armor, four arms tipped with jagged claws, and a face with too many crimson eyes that blinked in unnatural rhythms.
