The coliseum trembled beneath our feet, the once-silent ruins now alive with an ominous presence. Shadows coiled unnaturally, writhing like serpents as the crack in the ground widened. A deep, inhuman growl echoed from the depths, vibrating through my bones.
Shadowfang's fur bristled, his golden eyes locked on the fissure. Argonax flapped its wings uneasily, screeching as the dark energy grew denser.
Lyra's fingers twitched toward her rapier, her expression carefully neutral, but I could see the tension in her stance. "Alden," she said, voice low. "Be ready."
As if on cue, something emerged.
First, claws—long, jagged, and pulsing with a crimson glow. Then came the head, an abomination of bone and shifting shadows. Hollow eye sockets burned with eerie fire, locked onto me as if it knew who I was. More of its form slithered from the abyss, revealing a monstrous body covered in dark, jagged plates, shifting like living armor.
The air grew heavier. A suffocating presence threatened to crush the very space around us.
This wasn't just some beast.
This was a guardian. A creature born from the abyss itself.
The entity let out a roar, its very voice distorting the space around it. The walls of the coliseum cracked further, dust cascading from above. The ground beneath us shifted, forcing me to plant my feet firmly to avoid stumbling.
Lyra swore under her breath. "Great. Of course, you awakening as Shadowborn wouldn't go unnoticed. This thing—" She gestured to the massive beast before us. "—is probably here to test you."
"Test?" I asked, flexing my fingers. The shadows around me pulsed, reacting to the beast's presence. "You mean it's going to try and kill me?"
Lyra smirked. "Same thing."
The beast lunged. Faster than something its size had any right to be.
I barely had time to dodge as claws raked the air where I had stood a second ago. The sheer force of its strike sent a shockwave outward, shattering the ground. Shadowfang growled and leaped forward, his fangs glowing with dark energy as he clamped onto one of the beast's arms.
The creature roared, shaking Shadowfang off with unnatural strength. Argonax swooped in, letting loose a barrage of shadow-infused feathers, each one striking with the force of a dagger. The beast staggered but remained unfazed.
I narrowed my eyes. This thing wasn't just strong. It was resisting my beasts' attacks like they were nothing.
Lyra dashed forward in a blur, her rapier glowing as she slashed at the creature's exposed joints. The blade struck true, but instead of piercing through, it clashed against its shifting armor-like flesh. The force of the impact sent her skidding back.
"This thing's durability is insane," she muttered, flipping her grip on her weapon. "We need to hit it where it actually hurts."
I clenched my fists, shadows swirling around them. The abyss had granted me power—but I had yet to truly use it.
I closed my eyes, feeling the energy surge within me. Instead of brute force, I had to think like the abyss. The void didn't attack—it devoured.
A grin spread across my face. Then I'll do the same.
The shadows at my feet coiled like living tendrils, stretching toward the beast. It sensed the shift and attempted to move, but I was faster.
With a flick of my wrist, the tendrils shot forward, latching onto its limbs.
The beast froze.
For the first time, its unnatural armor shuddered, as if struggling against something it couldn't comprehend. The shadows didn't simply bind it.
They were consuming it.
The abyss had given me dominion over darkness. And now, I would claim what was mine.
The beast let out a strangled, distorted roar as its body began to dissolve, pieces of it unraveling into tendrils of shadow that flowed into me. The moment was both terrifying and exhilarating—the sheer power rushing into my core.
And then, just like that…
It was over.
The coliseum fell silent.
The crack in the ground sealed itself, the abyss returning to its slumber. The only sign of the battle was the lingering hum of dark energy still coursing through me.
Lyra whistled, impressed. "Well… that was something."
I flexed my fingers, the last traces of the beast's power settling within me. I hadn't just defeated it.
I had absorbed it.
A new sense of understanding filled me. This was the true nature of the Shadowborn—not just to wield the abyss, but to become it.
And I had just taken my first step into something far greater than I had ever imagined.