That was when she saw it: A dark, shadowy figure standing at the end of the corridor, its presence filling the entire space. Phelia's breath caught in her throat as she realized that this was no ordinary being.
This must be the Shadeborn Devourer, but in human form?, it had probably possessed someone – phelia thought to herself.
Phelia's instincts screamed at her to run, but her legs seemed rooted to the spot. The entity began to move towards her, its dark
energy swirling around it like a vortex.
Fear took hold and Phelia mind went blank, Frozen in terror, and unable to move or speak.
The Shadeborn Devourer loomed closer, its presence suffocating. Phelia felt herself responding to the entity's dark energy, but
she was too scared to notice or comprehend the changes happening within her body.
Just as the entity was about to reach out and touch her, Phelia's survival instincts kicked in. She turned and ran, dashing back down the passage at top speed.
She didn't dare look back, fearing what she might see. Phelia kept running until she was sure she had left the entity far behind, finally
slowing to a stop to gasping her breath.
Phelia looked around, trying to get her bearing and take stock of her surrounding. She was still in the passage way, but she knew she had to find Kaelara and warn her about the Shadeborn Devourer, so they could escape together.
But before she could take a step forward, it appeared once again this time right in front of her.
"Ssssilly girl, you think running helpssss, I control the shadows".
Startled, she fell onto her butt, moving back slowly with her arm, and pushing her feet against the cold floor, she heard the hissing voice of the entity once again saying "hmmm, Ancient blood, jusssst what I need to become more powerful".
Confused and scared she couldn't focus on creating a plan to escape.
"hahaha, what are you doing here in an academy , Anicient one and why are you ...ssso weak?" the Shadeborn Devourer's voice taunted, its hissing growing louder as it moved closer to Phelia.
Phelia's eyes widened in terror as she scrambled to move further away from the entity.
Her mind was racing, but she couldn't focus on anything except the entity's menacing presence.
The Shadeborn Devourer began to circle around her, its dark energy swirling around Phelia like a vortex. She felt her body responding to the entity's power, but it was weak and uncoordinated.
"Why are you here, Ancient one?" the entity
repeated, Its voice dripping with malevolence. "You shouldn't be here. This is a place for the weak and the ignorant."
Phelia's eyes darted around the corridor, searching for any sign of help. But she was alone, and the entity seemed to be enjoying her fear.
Suddenly, the Shadeborn Devourer lunged at Phelia, unleashing a wave dark energy. Causing fear, anxiety and confusion all which it fed off. Phelia raised her hands, trying to defend herself, but she realized that her mind reading power was of no use against the entity's power.
"Darn."
Just as all hope seemed lost, Phelia heard a soft voice in her head say " I think it's about time I made a move."
"It will all be over soon" the voice said, before phelia could comprehend what she had just heard her mind turned blank.
The shadeborn was shocked by the sudden light that emanating from the girl it was trying to devour. But refusing to give up, it charged forward.
"That's enough," The girl shining in the blinding light said while swiping her arm sideways.
A powerful blast of light struck the entity, sending it flying backwards, It crashed into the passage walls, leaving a deep indent.
The light surrounding her body was finally dissipating like it was entering back into her body, only to explode sending out a wave of powerful light energy, through out the
academy, piercing the protective barrier surrounding the academy and going further out.
Everyone who felt the energy shivered at the light brush of power that passed through them, leaving to wonder... what kind of power was this?.
...
Deep in the forest, a tall, lean figure with piercing black eyes that seem to suck the souls of the living, like a black hole, it's skin pale, almost translucent quality, with intricate, dark veins visible beneath the
surface. Its dark hair was wild, and unkempt, with hints of purple or blue undertones that shifted in the light, The figure wore a dark, flowing robe with intricate, silver threading that shimmered and seemed to writhe like a living thing.
The figure turned its head sharply to the left, its eyes and veins transformed, turning a deep, burning crimson, with a swift motion, it
drew a symbol with its black long nail, a white glowing pattern appeared and a portal was created. The figure stepped through the portal which closed behind it, but just before it closed completely, a light wave a energy coming from the left passed through it destroying the portal completely, and leaving no trace behind.
...
Few minutes earlier
Malcolm Thane sprinted through the corridors, his heart racing with urgency. He had to inform the Heads about the portal's opening. As he turned a corner, he collided with two generals, Rone Myles and Caplen O'Dwyer, and four soldiers.
"Where are you running to, soldier?" General Myles asked, his eyes narrowing.
Malcolm explained the situation, and the generals' expressions turned grave. They asked for the location and ordered their
soldiers to prepare for battle. General Myles instructed one of his soldiers, Rose Tamer, to find the other generals and warn them about potential portals.
Malcolm continued his dash to the academy, finally encountering one of the Heads, Caelum Nightshade.
"Dean, Dean!" Malcolm shouted, out of breath.
Caelum turned, a hint of a smirk on his face before he composed himself.
"What brings you here, soldier? You're supposed to be protecting the academy."
Malcolm explained his mission and the need of backup in the West wing, and Caelum nodded.
"I'll send backup. Return to your post and help the others."
Malcolm bowed and turned back, his heart still racing.
At the portal's opening, General Ethan Marshall charged forward, his sword slicing through the air with deadly precision. The portal's opening had unleashed a horde of dark creatures, and a blast of dark freezing
energy that turned everything it touched to ice, but the general was determined to cut them down, while the mages helped with the cold threatening to freeze them all to death.
His sword bit deep into the body of a giant spider, its dark, chitinous exoskeleton cracking open as it let out a deafening screech. The spider's legs flailed wildly, knocking soldiers off their feet as they struggled to get out of the way.
To Marshall's left, General Rone Myles unleashed a blast of magical energy, striking down a group of twisted, humanoid figures with glowing red eyes. The creatures, known as Shadows, let out unearthly screams as they dissipated into nothingness.
Meanwhile, General Caplen O'Dwyer led the charge against a massive, tentacle creature that had emerged from the portal. The creature, a Dark Thonix, was a legendary beast from the depths of the underworld, Its
tentacles where out of the portal and the generals and soldiers were struggling to keep up.
O'Dwyer warhammer struck the creature's tentacles with crushing force, but the Thonix simply absorbed the blows, its tentacles
writhing and twisting like living serpents.
"Fall back!" O'Dwyer bellowed, his voice carrying above the din of battle. "We need to give the mages room to work!".
The soldiers fell back, forming a defensive perimeter as the mages began to chant and weave their spells. A blast of pure energy struck the Dark Thonix, causing its tentacles to recoil in agony.
Keir Zarek of the soldiers took advantage of the opening, striking the creature with a bolt of lightning that sent its tentacles sliding
backward. The creature's tentacles flailed wildly, striking the ground with enough force to create small tremors.
As the battle raged on, the generals and soldiers fought valiantly, using every trick in the book to take down the dark creatures. But
despite their best efforts, the portal continued to spew forth an endless horde of horrors, threatening to overwhelm them all.
"We need to close the portal!" Marshall bellowed, his voice strained as he fought off two giant spiders. "We can't hold out much longer!".
But as he looked around, he realized that the soldiers were scattered, fighting for their lives against the dark creatures. The mages were
exhausted, their magic dwindling as they struggled to keep up with the relentless onslaught.
The portal, it seemed, was not going to be closed anytime soon. And as the darkness closed in, Marshall couldn't help but wonder if they would all survive the night.
Suddenly a bright light could be seen in sight, thinking it was a threat General Marshall shouted "Everyone take cover!, Mages protection shield!, Gather together".
Quickly the mages created a barrier for everyone, to protect against the light heading towards them, but to their surprise the barrier was destroyed and before they could react the light passed through them send shivers down their spine.
Arcturus Marsden having recovered from the earlier shock looked around and to his surprise all the dark creature were being disintegrated leaving nothing behind. Alerting the others, everyone was shocked by the new outcome of the battle.
The tentacles that were flailing around, noticing the light quickly retracted back into the portal, and when the light hit the portal it
disintegrated leaving an eerie silence.
Exhausted by the battle some fell to their knees, while others lay sprawled on the floor.
But everyone had the same question on their mind "What was that power?".