A Crushing Defeat

The air thrummed with a predatory hunger, a palpable weight that pressed down on Boy’s chest like a gargantuan, invisible fist. He stood on the cracked earth of the training grounds, the sky above a bruise-purple canvas that mirrored the unease churning in his gut. Beside him, Professor Eldrin’s usually twinkling eyes were grim, his hand resting on Boy’s shoulder with a surprising, almost desperate, firmness. Across the desolate expanse, it loomed.

The Shadow Maw.

It wasn’t just a beast; it was an absence, a void given form. Its skin was the colour of a starless night, rippling with an unnatural darkness that seemed to swallow the very light around it. Jagged horns, like shards of obsidian, jutted from its skull, and its maw, oh its maw, was a cavernous rip in reality, lined with teeth that gleamed with a sickly, phosphorescent light. A low growl, a sound that vibrated in Boy’s bones, emanated from its depths, promising annihilation.