Chapter 56
The fog shifted.
It wasn't the natural drift of mist in an enclosed dungeon.
This fog crawled, curled, and pulled back—like something alive was making way for the thing that stepped forward.
A figure emerged, but to call it a figure felt wrong.
Its shape was vaguely humanoid, but twisted, as if the sculptor had been drunk or mad. The spine bent at a crooked angle, jutting like a ridge of black rock beneath its skin. Its arms hung too long, ending in claws longer than daggers. And its head… was wrong. No eyes, no nose—just a jagged maw splitting its face from ear to ear.
The mana in the air trembled. The stench of rot hit them a moment later.
The creature's claw twitched. Then—
With a guttural snarl, it raised one claw high and slammed it into the ground.
A deep, splitting crack ran across the stone floor, radiating outward like lightning. The ground shook violently—chunks of rock tearing free as the fissure spread under their feet. Debris burst upward.
