Asher's eyes froze as he felt the bottomless killing intent flooding him from behind.
An aura of dark purple mist, thin but omnipresent, surrounded him, sucking whatever light there was out of the air.
This mist swirled continuously, but then it suddenly rippled,
*SHSSSHK!*
With an agility that belied its massive size, the serpent lunged forward with a chilling hiss, its gaping maw aimed directly at where Asher stood.
Reacting with honed reflexes, Asher dove to the side, his ring blade gleaming in the dark light of the cavern as he rolled across the rough, scale-strewn ground.
He came up in a crouch, eyeing the serpent as it reoriented its tremendous bulk for another strike, "Didn't expect you to be quite this big," Asher muttered under his breath as he got a good look at this coiling behemoth.
Its head was triangular and massive. Its deep-set, glowing dark purple eyes pierced through the darkness and were looking down on him.
