The beast towered over them, its presence suffocating. The chamber seemed to shrink under the weight of its aura, the obelisks around them pulsing like frantic heartbeats. Each step the creature took sent tremors through the ground, the stone beneath their feet fracturing under its sheer weight.
"Stay sharp, Rai!" Tenzai shouted, sidestepping a claw swipe that tore through the air with lethal speed.
Rai loosed an arrow aimed at the creature's glowing red eye. The shot struck true, but instead of pain, the beast seemed amused, letting out a deep, guttural laugh that reverberated through the chamber.
"It's too big," Rai muttered, frustration boiling inside him as he dodged another tremor-inducing strike. "How do we even hurt something like this?"
Tenzai gritted his teeth. "We find its core. No creature like this can exist without a weakness. It's just a matter of surviving long enough to find it."
The creature's massive horned head turned toward them, its maw opening to release a deafening roar. From its mouth came a torrent of black flames, searing the ground and sending both Rai and Tenzai diving in opposite directions.
The flames dissipated, leaving a smoldering trail in their wake. Rai pulled himself up, coughing from the acrid smoke. His fingers brushed against something on the ground—a shard of one of the obelisks, glowing faintly with residual energy.
"Tenzai!" Rai shouted, holding up the shard. "What if these can hurt it?"
Tenzai glanced toward him, his eyes lighting up with realization. "If it's tied to this place, the energy might disrupt it!"
Rai nocked the shard onto his bowstring, the weight unfamiliar but manageable. Drawing back, he aimed for the creature's chest, where a faint, pulsating glow hinted at a core hidden within its massive form.
"Steady…" Tenzai muttered, holding the beast's attention by darting between its legs and slashing at its vulnerable joints.
Rai loosed the shard. The makeshift arrow flew true, embedding itself in the glowing spot. The creature let out an ear-splitting shriek, stumbling backward as cracks of light spread from the impact point across its shadowy body.
"It's working!" Rai exclaimed, reaching for another shard.
The beast wasn't done. In a fury, it slammed both claws into the ground, sending a shockwave that knocked Rai off his feet. Tenzai barely managed to keep his footing, raising his sword to deflect a follow-up strike.
"Rai! Get up!" Tenzai shouted, his voice strained as he parried another blow.
Rai scrambled to his feet, blood trickling from a cut on his forehead. He grabbed another shard, his hands trembling as the creature's glowing eyes bore down on him. It lunged, its massive jaws snapping just inches from where he stood.
"Not today!" Rai shouted, releasing another shard at point-blank range. The arrow pierced the creature's throat, and its roar became a choked, guttural howl as more cracks of light spread through its form.
Tenzai seized the opening, driving his sword deep into the creature's chest. The weapon seemed to resonate with the obelisk's energy, amplifying the cracks until they consumed the beast's entire body.
With a final, deafening roar, the creature exploded into a shower of dark mist and glowing fragments. The oppressive aura lifted, and the chamber fell silent save for the heavy breathing of Rai and Tenzai.
Rai collapsed onto his knees, his bow slipping from his grasp. "We did it…"
Tenzai leaned on his sword, his face etched with exhaustion. "That was no ordinary beast. Something—someone—created it."
Rai looked around the chamber, his eyes lingering on the now-dim obelisks. "Who would do this? And why?"
Before Tenzai could answer, the ground beneath them rumbled once more. The cracks in the altar widened, and from the depths emerged a faint, ghostly figure. It was humanoid but shrouded in shadow, its glowing red eyes identical to the beast's.
"You may have defeated my pet," the figure said, its voice a cold, haunting whisper. "But you've only delayed the inevitable."
Rai reached for his bow, but the figure raised a hand, and an invisible force pinned him to the ground.
Tenzai stepped forward, his blade ready. "Who are you?"
The figure's form flickered like a dying flame. "I am but a fragment of what is to come. This world is already lost, whether you realize it or not."
With that, the figure dissolved, leaving behind only an unnatural chill in the air.
Rai sat up, his heart pounding. "What… what was that?"
Tenzai sheathed his sword, his expression grim. "A warning—and a promise."
As they made their way back up the spiral staircase, Rai couldn't shake the feeling that their battle was far from over. Whatever they had just faced was only the beginning of something much darker.