The cloud of dust began to settle slowly.
At first, all the group could see was a massive silhouette standing amidst the haze. It was a looming outline of sothing that seed far too large to belong to any living thing...
Then the dust thinned and the thing revealed itself. Seeing it, their reactions were imdiate...
Hearts hamred violently against ribs, breathing ca out in shallow pants, and instincts scread repeatedly like the warnings of a city monts before its impending doom.
The four of them stood frozen on the spot; not because they wanted to, but because every fiber of their being was telling them that moving carelessly before this monster was the fastest way to death.
The creature stood face-to-face with them... Well, face-to-face would be the wrong way to describe the situation as the thing literally towered above them...
One would think that spending two days within the Crimson Forest, fighting Wights, surviving the Breeding Nest, and battling against monstrous aberrations would have made them sowhat resistant to fear... But they were wrong. Terribly wrong.
This thing wasn’t ordinary; in fact, it was unlike anything they had encountered before in the Nether Lands.
The predator resembled a sabertooth tiger, yet describing it as one felt almost insulting...
It’s body stretched nearly four tis the length of an ordinary specin, transforming what should have been a feline predator into sothing resembling a living siege engine.
Standing on all fours, it’s shoulders rose almost three tis the height of an average man. Every of it’s movent carried imnse weight, and every step taken radiated overwhelming power.
The ancient marble floor groaned beneath it’s presence while fresh cracks would spread beneath it’s paws whenever it shifted it’s weight...
The massive hunter possessed the muscular fra of a sabertooth which includes the broad shoulders, powerful limbs, and towering forequarters.
It’s paws alone were larger than a man’s chest with each digit ending in a curved claws that resembled ivory sword.
Two enormous fangs protruded from it’s upper jaw, extending far beyond the lower one. They glead beneath the crimson light filtering through the shattered ceiling like the scythe of a grim reaper...
Yet, what truly made the monster appear regal and fearso was the mane surrounding it’s neck. Unlike a normal tiger, a magnificent lion-like mane frad the creature’s head, neck, and shoulders.
The thick mass of fur cascaded down it’s chest and upper back like a royal cloak worn by a king; one that is born to ruke through violence and blood...
Covering much of the beast’s body were overlapping tallic scales. The armoured plates shimred beneath the crimson illumination pouring through the ruined temple.
These scales clustered around vital regions which include it’s neck, chest, spine, and limbs. Also, between those armoured sections remained visible patches of striped fur, which created a bizarre fusion between mammalian and reptilian traits.
The combination was unnatural, causing the creature to appear like sothing caught between a beast and a dragon...
However, the most unsettling of all would be the creature’s eyes; they were bright, amber, and awake.
There was intelligence within those glowing orbs; this was not the intelligence of an animal acting upon instinct, instead, it was different... And deeper...
It’s gaze carried awareness, thought, and reason. It felt less like looking at a beast and more like staring into the eyes of sothing that could understand exactly what it was seeing.
An invisible pressure rolled outward from it’s body imdiately it stopped. The sensation washed through the hall like an incoming tide; it was heavy, oppressive, and overwhelming...
Kaeloris imdiately felt his legs turn to jelly as his breathing beca difficult. The failed Gnost could literally feel his heart trying to claw it’s way out of his chest...
At this point, Valmyr’s hands were already trembling from how hard he was clutching his Soul Essences like a man whose life depends on them...
Even the failed Pyromancer found himself unconsciously taking a step backward. His throat bobbed as he stared in horror at the terror standing before them...
Even Regaleon was exempted. The silver-haired Knight’s expression remained controlled and yet, his golden eyes had narrowed significantly...
His grip around the Halberd tightened ever so slightly as he observed the beast. Sure, he had expected danger as he knew that whatever could drag the Drake across such distance had to be powerful...
And so, he had also expected sothing powerful, but this... This wasn’t simply powerful, this was a genuine Rank One Anima.
Unlike the grotesque monstrosities from the Breeding Nest which had been artificially created and twisted beyond recognition, this one was a true Anima...
A naturally evolved apex predator. A creature that had survived within the Crimson Forest long enough to beco an undisputed ruler of it’s own territory...
In other words... This thing could truly kill them...
For several seconds, neither side moved and instantly, the ruined temple fell into silence. Even the wind seed to have stopped, as if the atmosphere itself was holding its breath.
Then sothing unexpected happened...
The enormous predator tilted it’s head ever so slightly and it’s massive brows furrowed. Those amber eyes narrowed as they studied the four humans standing within the hall with sothing unmistakable lingering within it’s gaze..
It was confusion, as though the creature was trying to understand why there would suddenly be humans standing in it’s territory.
The giant feline didn’t attack imdiately. Instead, it’s slowly surveyed the ruined sanctuary. It’s gaze swept across broken pillars, collapsed walls, the ruined altar, and then... It’s eyes landed upon the remains of the Drake.
The monster froze... And instantly, the atmosphere changed. The confusion in it’s eyes vanished as it focused upon the carcass...
Then it’s eyes shifted toward the four Awakeners... And back to the corpse... Then back to the intruders once more...
The predator’s gaze sharpened; it was thinking... Processing... Analyzing...
And unfortunately, whatever conclusion it reached did not seem favourable. Suspicion appeared in it’s amber eyes first... Then irritation... And then, irritation beca anger...
The giant hunter stared at the mangled Drake and thought; the al it had dragged all the way back here with effort, the food it intended to enjoy in peace, and now, there were humans standing around it...
The humans were standing suspiciously close to it’s food, and in it’s own ho no less... The conclusion it reached was outrageous, but from it’s perspective, it was completely logical...
These humans were thieved; scavengers attempting to steal it’s al, and the mont it realized that, a low growl escaped the feline’s throat...
The sound wasn’t loud, and yet it reverberated throughout the temple...
The quartet felt chills crawl down their spines, as though death itself had suddenly noticed their existence.
Then another growl escaped the creature’s mouth; this ti, it was deeper. Afterward, the giant predator took a single step forward...
CRACK!
Fresh fractures spread across the marble as it stopped; it’s muscles tensed beneath scales and fur while it’s mane rippled. It’s shoulders lowered slightly...
The temperature within the hall seed to plumt and instantly, every instinct scread danger. Then...
ROAR!!!!!
The roar erupted like a volcanic explosion as a visible shockwave blasted across the chamber...
The wind exploded outward and ancient pillars that had survived centuries of decay finally collapsed...
The four nearly lost their footing as the roar struck them like a physical force...
Eventually, the sound faded and silence returned. But now, the atmosphere had completely changed...
The confusion from earlier was gone and in its place was fury... And murder. Now, the feline’s hostility was unmistakable...
The giant predator lowered it’s body further; muscles coiled beneath scales and fur as they prepared to launch... But before it could move...
Regaleon suddenly exploded forward without hesitation. Like a golden teor crossing the battlefield, the silver-haired Knight shot toward the Anima...
"Silver Sheen" activated instantly as a brilliant tallic radiance coated his Halberd. The weapon sliced through the air as he accelerated...
Distance vanished rapidly as he moved; twenty ters beca ten... Ten beca five...
The Forgotten Knight surged forward with everything he had in him. The blade of his Soul Essence glead ominously as a deadly arc began forming...
One more step... Just one more heartbeat... Then...
The giant predator casually raised a paw and as though swatting away an annoying insect, it swiped unhurriedly...
BOOM!
The impact echoed throughout the temple and Regaleon’s charge ended instantly...
The silver-haired Knight disappeared from his original position and transford into a golden blur flying across the hall.
His body smashed through the air before crashing heavily into a ruined marble pillar. Dust and rubble erupted outward as the pillar toppled onto marbled floor...
The hall fell silent instantly; and within that silent, every mber of the group realized the sa terrifying truth. The battle had barely begun and yet, the Forgotten Knight had already been sent flying like a ragdoll...
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