My eyes widened at the sudden death flag the woman had just dropped, a casual remark that felt like a nail in a coffin. Before I could utter a single word, a shriek loud enough to crack stone reverberated through the ruins, freezing everyone in place. Looking up, we saw a colossal and disturbing beast circling above us, its form a blasphemous sketch against the crimson sky.
"A massive, winged creature with a pale body and black feathers stained by blood," the novel's description flitted through my mind in a panicked rush. Its terrifying beak opened, revealing rows of needle-like fangs and a long, lashing red tongue. This monstrous cross between a lion and a raven stretched its numerous, mismatched limbs, muscles rolling like steel cables under its corpse-pale skin.
"Shit," Sasrir cursed beside me, the word perfectly capturing the cold dread washing over our group. It was a Spire Messenger, a predator we were in no way equipped to fight. As we stood frozen in terror, the monster crashed down in front of us, sending shards of pavement flying like shrapnel. Its beady, intelligent eyes scanned us, landing and locking with a terrifying hunger—straight onto me.
I swallowed audibly, my throat suddenly bone-dry. There was no time for thought, only instinct. I immediately summoned the Unshadowed Crucifix, its familiar weight and warmth flaring to life in my palm. Simultaneously, Sasrir stepped directly in front of me, his shadow-cloaked form widening to shield my body with his own. The terse standoff lasted only a few heartbeats, the air thick with the beast's foul, metallic scent.
Then, with another ear-splitting shriek, the Spire Messenger pounced. It moved with impossible speed, a blur of pale flesh and dark feathers aimed directly at our position. Kora shouted a command that was lost in the roar of its charge, her stone skin bracing for an impact that would likely shatter her. Roric hefted his maul, a futile gesture against such overwhelming power.
Sasrir didn't flinch. As the beast's leading claws swept toward us, the shadows around him erupted. They coalesced into a solid wall of darkness, a shield that met the monstrous charge with a sound like tearing metal. The force of the blow still threw him back into me, and we tumbled together in a heap, the Crucifix flying from my grasp. The beast recoiled, shaking its head as if the shadows had stung it, giving us a precious second to scramble away. This was no longer a trial; it was a fight for survival against a nightmare made flesh.
I dismissed and then summoned the Crucifix again, thanking Guilythree for allowing such a thing to be possible, then steadied myself. Sasrir coughed up a globule of blood but didn't seem to have broken anything vital. "Can we kill it?" I asked in a low voice.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" was his response before he transformed into a shadow, wrapped around my thigh and pulled me away all in the blink of an eye. Where we stood, the mangled claw of the Spire Messenger slammed down into the old stone pavements.
"The Unshadowed Crucifix can match Nephis for firepower but can't heal us, and using it would likely get you killed faster against this thing. We need to flee."
I took a breath and locked eyes with Kora across the street, my question going unspoken but still heard. "Roric, keep that thing distracted! Finn, try and put an arrow in its' eyes! Everyone else, stay on your feet and nimble-try and drive it off until you can escape!"
The big man took a deep breath as he heard that, but still bravely stepped forward to confront the twisted abomination.
I took a sharp breath, the air tasting of dust and ozone, and locked eyes with Kora across the rubble-strewn street. My question went unspoken but was clearly heard: *Do we fight?* Her jaw tightened, then she gave a single, sharp nod. "Roric, keep that thing distracted! Finn, try and put an arrow in its eyes!" she roared, her voice cutting through the creature's guttural hisses. "Everyone else, stay on your feet and nimble—we just need to drive it off until we can escape!"
The big man, Roric, took a deep, shuddering breath as the command settled on him. He looked at the twisted abomination, a being of nightmare and muscle, and still bravely stepped forward to confront it. His Brawler Aspect swelled his frame further, and he let out a defiant roar, slamming his maul against a chunk of masonry. The Spire Messenger's head swiveled, its beady eyes focusing on this new, noisy threat.
Finn didn't hesitate, nocking an arrow and letting it fly in one fluid motion. The projectile streaked through the air, aimed perfectly for the creature's left eye. But with a speed that defied its size, the beast twitched its head, and the arrow shattered harmlessly against its hardened beak. It was like trying to pierce solid rock. It let out a contemptuous shriek, a sound that promised a slow, painful death.
Ignoring the sting of the arrow, the Messenger lunged at Roric, its six forelimbs scything through the air. Roric met the charge, his maul swinging in a wide, powerful arc. The weapon connected with a sickening crunch against one of the beast's limbs, but two other claws raked across his chest. His leather armor tore like paper, and deep gashes welled with blood instantly. He grunted in pain, stumbling back but managing to keep his feet.
"Again, Finn!" Kora yelled, her own skin hardening to rough granite as she moved to flank the creature. She knew her strikes would be little more than annoyances, but she had to draw its attention from the heavily wounded Roric. She slammed a stone fist into the beast's feathered hip, the impact sounding like a hammer hitting a tree. The creature barely flinched.
Sasrir was a blur of motion, using the distraction to his advantage. He darted in from the beast's blind spot, his dagger aiming for the tendon at the back of one powerful hind leg. The blade bit deep, and black blood sprayed from the wound. The Messenger screeched in genuine pain this time, whipping its head around to snap at the fleeting shadow. But Sasrir was already gone, melting back into the ruins.
Its head swivelled, and those hungry eyes locked onto me once more. It took a single, earth-shaking step in my direction, completely ignoring Roric's weakened swings and Kora's pounding fists. The plan was falling apart. We weren't driving it off; we were just making it angrier. Cursing to myself, I held up the Crucifix and pressed my thumb against the top. Blood oozed from the skin and dripped down onto the Memory, causing the bronze covering to peel away and reveal a luminous blob of pure golden light underneath.
Keeping Sasrir's warning in mind, I limited the power to a Priest of Light instead of an Unshadowed, and just the base of the Sequence 5. "Light of Holiness!"
A beam of true sunlight, not seen in the Forgotten Shore since the Nephilim fell from the stars, descended and struck the Spire Messenger straight on the crown of the head. A nauseating sizzling sound was born, and it smelt like rotten chicken had been cooked in gastric juices. When the light cleared, the Spire Messenger looked like a wax sculpture that had been held too close a candle for several minutes. However, the wound seemed to look worse than it was, because the monster let out another scream and then charged right at me.
It was then that Finn let loose another arrow, this one flying true and sticking into the right eye of the beast. It immediately toppled over in power, shaking its head and making noises that hurt mine. Panting heavily, I quickly gestured to the others and then began to run: while the beast was currently rolling around it pain, none of us had the confidence of finishing it off without suffering injuries, and the Messenger was writhing around too much for Finn to shoot his way to its brain.
Plus, the thing was still twice the size of a bus, so anyone who got close would be crushed by its frenetic scrambling.