But amidst the chaos, a heavy silence descended. It wasn't an ordinary silence, but one akin to the withdrawal of the soul from the body.
One of the soldiers at the front whispered hesitantly, his eyes still locked on something ahead: "Sire… look there…"
The king kept his gaze straight ahead, but something in his heart suddenly tightened. That feeling... it was as if the earth itself had stopped spinning.
At the crossroads leading to the central square, amidst the rubble, fire, and smoke, stood a being that no human mind could easily describe.
The knight gripped the edge of his armor, whispering to himself in silence, as if words couldn't capture what he saw: "This... this isn't a monster... it's a living nightmare."
The soldiers beside him couldn't help but sigh softly, whispering among themselves, their eyes filled with awe and fear.
One of them, his voice trembling, said: "Do you see it? Is this... what they spoke of? I can't believe it... this can't be real!"
Another soldier looked at him, his eyes filled with terror, his hands shaking on the saddle: "I don't want to believe it... but it's here... in front of us... as if it came from hell itself."
And there was yet another soldier, staring at the creature in dread, before he whispered in terror: "We've heard the legends... but no one expected to face it this way... this isn't a battle... it's execution."
The knight glanced at his sword, his heart growing heavier in his chest, and he wondered: "Are we ready for this? Will we survive?"
The king gasped without realizing it. The creature seemed like the embodiment of a living nightmare. Its skin was like cracked stone, emitting toxic smoke, and its eyes... they weren't eyes. They were red voids, burning in the emptiness, as if they had been torn directly from hell.
"Fall back?!" A young soldier from the rear ranks shouted, but one of the captains snapped at him: "Hold your ground! Don't move!"
The sounds of heavy breathing, swords trembling in hands, and hearts racing filled the air. One soldier stared at the creature, swallowing audibly, sweat dripping from his forehead beneath his helmet.
The king tried to step forward, but the very air seemed to change. The scent of burning flesh... and something else, something nameless. "This isn't just a monster..." the king thought to himself. It was cast out from somewhere else... from a world whose rules we don't understand.
From behind the creature, other shadows began to crawl. Similar beings, yet twisted in different ways. One had two heads, another had twisted limbs, as if nature itself had rejected their creation, but they existed nonetheless.
"... They're multiplying..." whispered one of the knights, his hand trembling on the hilt of his sword.
"Look at their feet... they make no sound!" "How do they move like this?! The ground shakes only... it shakes!" The whispers among the soldiers grew louder, some began glancing behind, looking for a way to flee.
But the king didn't move. He raised his sword high, though for a moment, he felt a slight tremor in his wrist. Sweat dripped from his brow, and his heart pounded like war drums. His voice was strong despite everything:
"Soldiers! This is the moment of truth! We will not retreat! We are not firewood for this blaze!"
Some faces lifted toward him, tense, confused, but his words brought some clarity to their minds.
Then the king looked at the creature once more, and it... smiled. A smile that didn't hold joy, but knowledge. As if the creature had read all their thoughts and accepted them.
It knows. It knows that we are afraid. But it waits... why? Why hasn't it attacked yet?
In his heart, he heard the echo of a thought he wasn't ready to confront: Maybe... it isn't here to kill. It's here to announce something. To start something...
The king stood at the front of the army, staring at the horrific creature ahead of him, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, a faint shiver running through his arm. The creature remained still, not moving, but it was watching... watching with burning eyes, as though they were holes in the void.
There was no sound except for the soldiers' restless breaths, the rain falling on their armor, and the roar of the storm dancing above their heads.
Then... the monster moved.
With a single step, the air trembled, as if reality itself couldn't contain its presence.
"It's moving!" A soldier screamed, and the sound of swords being drawn echoed through the air. One soldier dropped his sword from sheer trembling.
The king didn't wait any longer. He took a deep breath, pressed his heels into his horse's sides, and charged forward. The sound of hooves tore through the muddy ground, and in an instant, he raised his sword high and struck at the creature's head.
But the being didn't retreat.
Before the sword could reach its cracked skull, the creature raised its hand, its massive, dark palm absorbing the light around it, and easily deflected the strike with terrifying ease. The clash was unnatural, like metal striking an ancient stone wall, and the king's arm shook violently, a brutal shock running down to his shoulder.
The creature retaliated with a backhanded blow! Its colossal hand shot toward the king with lightning speed.
But he ducked at the last moment! The creature's fist passed over him by mere inches, but the wind from the strike was enough to send him flying backward, while his horse reared up on its hind legs.
The king was thrown from his saddle, but he quickly rolled to the ground and sprang to his feet without losing his balance. That was enough to make the soldiers hesitate.
"It's not a normal creature!" one of them shouted.
"Hold your ground!" the captain ordered, but fear began to seep into their eyes, and one soldier had already dropped to his knees, not from injury, but from sheer terror.
The king had no time to reassure his men. He had to act. He gripped his sword with both hands and dashed toward the creature at a frenzied pace.
He suddenly dropped low, then jumped high, using the strength in his legs to propel himself forward. This time, he didn't aim for the creature's head, but for its exposed side, where cracks in its skin pulsed with a mysterious energy.
"Take this!!"
The sound of the sword meeting the creature's body was like steel breaking.
The sword pierced!
A moment of silence passed, then... thick black matter exploded from the wound, splattering onto the king's armor, unbearably hot.
The creature didn't scream, but it turned slowly, its gaze not filled with pain... but with rage.
And in an instant, the king was hurled into the air by a single push from the creature's hand, sent crashing into a nearby rock, groaning in pain.
"Your Majesty!!"
The soldiers ran toward him, but the creature didn't wait. It roared for the first time, and the sound was like rocks grinding together, a scream signaling the birth of a new world.
Then it surged forward. The battle had truly begun.