The shadow twisted, as if considering her question. Then, a voice, deep and resonant, but not like the spirit that had spoken through Lucas-it was older, darker, like something from the depths of the hellish earth-echoed through the room.
"I am Ago...
The ground beneath them trembled with every step as Mystic Shantes and Mrs. Marques journeyed deeper into the heart of the jungle, where the air grew thick with an ancient tension. The wind howled through the trees like a warning, and the sky, once clear, began to churn with dark, swirling clouds. The world seemed to sense the rising power, as if nature itself recoiled from what was about to unfold.
Shantes could feel it too-a pulsing, malevolent energy that thrummed in her bones. It was as if the jungle was alive with an awareness, watching her every move, waiting for the inevitable clash that would decide the fate of everything. The Devourer was near, its presence a heavy shadow looming over them, and with each passing moment, the sense of dread intensified.
"This is it," Shantes whispered as they reached a clearing at the base of a towering mountain, its peak lost in the swirling storm above. Jagged rocks jutted from the ground, the air vibrating with the hum of the ancient power that had been sealed here for millennia. "The seal... or what's left of it."
Mrs. Marques swallowed hard, her face pale but resolute. "What do we do now?"
Shantes' eyes were fixed on the center of the clearing, where a massive stone obelisk stood, cracked and crumbling, radiating an aura of both ruin and despair. The remnants of the seal. But more than that-Shantes could feel it. The Devourer, pressing against the fragile boundary between its prison and the world, eager to be free.
"We need to strengthen the seal," Shantes said, her voice tight with urgency. "If I can draw enough power from the storm, I might be able to-"
Her words were cut off by a deep, rumbling growl that seemed to rise from the earth itself. The ground split open with a deafening crack, and from the fissure, thick black smoke began to pour, swirling upward in a towering column of darkness. The air grew colder, sharper, and Shantes felt the weight of an ancient evil pressing down on her, suffocating in its intensity.
Out of the smoke, the Devourer began to take shape.
At first, it was a mass of writhing shadows, undulating and shifting like a living nightmare. But as the smoke condensed, the creature's true form was revealed. It stood towering over the clearing, a monstrous being of pure darkness, its body twisting and flowing like liquid shadow. Its eyes, burning a deep, luminous green, locked onto Shantes with a hatred so intense it felt like a physical blow. Massive horns curled from its head, and its gaping maw was filled with rows of jagged teeth that seemed to stretch endlessly into the void.
The Devourer let out a roar that shook the very earth, a sound so full of malice and fury that it seemed to tear at the fabric of reality itself. The jungle around them withered in its presence, the trees bending and groaning under the weight of its dark power. The sky, once full of swirling clouds, now churned with violent storms as the Devourer's influence stretched across the land.
"Run!" Shantes shouted to Mrs. Marques, though she knew there was nowhere to hide from this force.
But Mrs. Marques stood frozen in place, her eyes wide with terror as she beheld the creature. Shantes couldn't blame her. The Devourer was beyond anything they had ever faced, beyond anything they had imagined. It was destruction incarnate, a force of nature that cared nothing for the lives it consumed. It was hunger made flesh, and now it was free.
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