Dense, opaque fog coiled around the edges of the cliff as Kent stepped onto the third step of the Tower of Wisdom — the fabled Wisdom Steps built by the Ancient Celestials to test the deepest truths of the heart and soul.
As soon as his foot landed on the stone, the atmosphere shifted. The air turned still. The howling wind stopped. Even the sky, which moments ago had roared with lightning from the trials before, became eerily silent.
Suddenly, the thick fog parted like a curtain.
From within it emerged a beast unlike any Kent had seen before.
Its body shimmered like molten bronze. Four thick, elephantine legs anchored it to the ground, but its back curved like a lion, and two enormous horns, twisted like spiral towers, extended from its head. Its eyes—deep crimson pools—stared at Kent with neither hatred nor welcome. It stood tall and unmoving, as if carved from ancient stone.
Then it spoke. Its voice boomed across the clouded plains, echoing with ancient sorrow.
