Thalia's POV Slash! The razor-sharp claws of a shadow beast sliced through the darkness, ripping right through the thin fabric of my tunic and leaving a burning, jagged gash across my chest the moment I stepped into the first corridor. Fresh, hot blood immediately welled from the wound, soaking into the black cloth. A sharp, white-hot sting flared through my nervous system, but instead of crippling me, the pain acted like a match thrown into gasoline—causing the adrenaline in my veins to explode. I executed a blindingly fast backflip, narrowly missing a second swipe of claws that sought to tear my throat wide open. In the faint, eerie glow of the ambient mist, the creature slowly manifested from the dark. It was a nightmare birthed from pure shadow—shaped like a monstrous, hulking wolf, but its entire body was composed of undulating, pitch-black smoke, and its eyes burned with the color of fresh arterial blood. Toxic, acidic saliva dripped from its translucent fangs onto th
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