Chapter 38: Into the Abyss

The guttural growls grew louder, the air vibrating with the malevolent energy emanating from the statues. A crack snaked across the surface of one, then another, and with a deafening roar, the stone figures shattered, revealing the monstrous forms that lay dormant within.

Towering over them, the guardians were a grotesque mockery of humanoid shapes, their skin a patchwork of scales and leathery hide. Jagged horns sprouted from their skulls, and their eyes blazed with an unholy crimson fire. Claws, sharp as obsidian blades, extended from their gnarled fingers, dripping with a viscous ichor that sizzled upon contact with the stone floor.

Eliana gasped, her hand flying to her mouth to stifle a scream. Lydia clutched her arm, her face pale with terror. The sheer size and ferocity of the creatures sent a wave of panic through them, threatening to paralyze them with fear.