The air turned ice-cold.
The clicking sound grew louder—closer—until it echoed from every direction.
Then—
A shape emerged from the ruins.
Larger than the others. Taller. Stronger.
Its body was like shifting ink, constantly warping, reshaping, never staying the same for more than a second. But its eyes—jagged slits of burning white—stayed locked on them.
A deep, unnatural voice rasped through the silence.
"Out…"
Selene's grip on her daggers tightened.
The smaller creatures halted for a moment, almost like they were waiting.
Then—the thing moved.
Fast. Too fast.
One second, it was standing at the temple ruins.
The next—it was right in front of them.
Selene barely had time to react before a massive, clawed arm came crashing down toward her.
She vanished.
A split-second before impact, her body melted into the shadows at her feet, slipping through the darkness like liquid. The attack smashed into the ground where she stood, shattering the stone in an instant.
