Syn jumped from the chair, a cold and icy sensation coursing through her veins as she heard a resounding crash in the distance.

Her instincts screamed, her gut telling her today was somehow different.

The mana in the air was so dense it felt like it was pressing down on her skin.

She strained her ears to capture sounds hidden behind the storm as rain lashed and the wind howled against the windows.

Ever since she was a child, she had always been able to feel intricacies in the air around her. Things other people couldn't perceive; she could feel them weave their way into the world.

But weeks ago, things had changed.

And this night, after saying goodbye to her father, she had tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, suffocated by the thick mana in the air.

A few weeks back, she had finally bonded for the first time. Even though it was with a simple, colorless card, her ability had further awoken, allowing her to perceive the ambient mana around her in a detail she had never thought possible.

Stories and memories clung to her in the form of the tales of sea monsters her father had told her, echoing in her mind and making her question if the sounds that reached her were those of a typical storm or had to do with her heightened senses.

A loud sound made her jump again. This time it had clearly come from the crag.

Dread and excitement filled her body as she quickly grabbed her father's hooded oilskin coat and her boots and exited the house. She ran uphill with an elated grin, the chance to lay her eyes upon the beast was finally near.

She tumbled against the wind, and a smile slowly formed. What if I...

Exhilarated with the idea of testing her newly acquired powers, she fueled mana and projected a gust of wind forward to divert water droplets from her face and backward to gain stability against the howling wind. Quickly, an extra burst of speed helped her move.

It works!

Ecstatic, she navigated the steep hill with the wind swiftly making way and helping her. Now unburdened, her attention returned to the sounds, which grew louder by the moment.

The more she approached the cliff, the better she thought she could hear deep growls, sharp claws clashing, and eventually, what seemed like a screech of pain. The air trembled, and she smiled excitedly.

Was Garoth fighting something? Her eyebrows jumped. Had the ruling houses finally sent an expedition of Cardbinders to defeat the beast? She quickly shook her head. No, surely not this early in the day. It would be madness.

What were these sounds, then?

Once at the top, she stopped her magic. Stealthily approaching, she climbed a big rock and looked excitedly down into the crag below.

Syn's face couldn't hide her disappointment.

For a minute, she searched the landscape below, cautiously observing the tall cliffs and their rocky faces jutting above the sea. Nothing more than waves were crashing against them.

It must've been a trick of my imagination. She thought, resigned and mad at herself.

As she stood to leave, out of the foaming sea, rose a behemoth creature unlike any she had ever seen.

The huge creature climbed in two swift jumps to the top of the tallest and biggest sea stack in the crag, a landmark known by sailors as the Dragon's Talon. The beast stopped moving for a moment and scanned the sea; its green and blue skin glistened in the moonlight, inspiring both awe and terror.

Syn examined the sea monster before her. Something wasn't right. The rumors of its appearance had been wildly exaggerated... or, more like, entirely made up.

The creature's head was long and pointy, resembling that of a shark's, and its six bloody eyes were nowhere to be found. It had fins instead of jagged legs, and its sturdy, scaly skin was far from being a rocky spiked armor.

Suddenly, a glow surrounded the beast as it took a deep breath. With incredible force, it let out an ear-splitting howl and released a powerful wave that shook the sea.

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The wave traversed the rocky pillars and reached the coast, climbing the cliff as it lifted rocks on its path. Despite the distance, it slammed against Syn and sent her flying to the ground as if someone had tackled her with great strength.

Syn felt disoriented as the world spun around her and the deep sound penetrated her head. She remained on the floor for a few long painful moments, curling. Finally, and the sound stopped but as she removed her hands from her ringing ears, she noticed they were stained with blood.

Gathering her wits, she shook her head to clear the ringing and staggered back to her feet. She advanced toward the rock and hid partially behind it, forcing herself to keep watch on the beast.

Her eyes narrowed as a movement in the water caught her attention. A shadow much larger than the creature was moving at an incredible speed toward the sea stack. Syn's eyes opened wide when the shadow erupted from the sea, landing on the creature.

The two beasts tangled in a whirl of claws and tails, each attack denting the rocky surface of the Dragon's Talon until the smaller beast managed to dodge an attack from the larger one and squirmed its way out of the larger one's embrace.

The new beast was supported by four membraned legs and covered in rough, wet, rocky skin that shimmered under the moonlight. The beast's mouth was filled with jagged teeth, each as long as a grown man's arm, and its body was covered with ridges and spikes that ran down its back and tail. The last but most defining characteristic was the six glowing red eyes that left a light trail as they moved in the dark. It was an exact match to the descriptions she had heard of. No doubt remained. This was Garoth, the Tyrant of the South.

Although Garoth was massive, its frame twice the size of the other, the creature didn't cower. They growled and hissed at each other, their eyes locked on their opponent.

Garoth lunged at the smaller beast, but the other monster somehow managed to dodge its claws, repeatedly stabbing Garoth with its piercing tail. Garoth growled in pain and struggled to catch the nimble beast until he finally landed a blow against it that sent it reeling a few meters from it.

The beast rose to a stand, hobbling on its wounded body and quickly lowered its stance, hissing menacingly.

Syn felt a ray of hope.

Surprised, she witnessed Garoth limping and unwilling to move forward, carefully observing the beast, with its red eyes burning brighter and snarling at it.

A vision of her Dad's hands shaking months ago clouded her vision. She remembered his pained face at the last attack from Garoth. The beast had eluded him for over fifteen years -more than Syn had been alive- and had slowly become his worst nightmare.

At first, the town welcomed the Garoth, as it mostly kept to the crag and drove away other beasts. But troubles had arisen as it expanded its territory, encompassing the fishing grounds of the village. By the time the sailors of Talorin finally decided to push for action, the beast had already learned to use the crags as a defense, making it nearly impossible to reach its lair or catch it by surprise.

Despite being a fisherman, his father had bonded with a colored card and had taken it upon himself to protect the coastal village from beast attacks.

But Garoth had grown in power and Syn worried.

In less than five years, and after murdering countless carded sailors and other creatures, the beast's strength and ferocity had made people recognize it as the ruler of the area, earning it its title.

Years ago she wouldn't have doubted, but today, she wasn't sure if her father would be able to beat the powerful beast.

If this nimble creature could defeat or at least weaken Garoth, the situation would be different.

As she silently prayed to the gods and Garoth advanced toward the creature, a chill crossed her spine. She shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts of what would happen if Garoth got to consume yet another powerful beast.

The smaller creature pounced at Garoth, wrapping its body around it and slashing it with its sharp fins, but the Tyrant let out a ferocious howl and clamped its teeth down hard, tossing the beast aside with a mighty swing.

Syn winced at the beast's anguished screech before she saw it dive back into the sea, followed closely by Garoth.

Perched on her rock, she strained to make out their forms beneath the surface, tracking their movements by the explosive splashes that marked their battle.

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Garoth chased the creature through the sea. His eyes locked onto his opponent. With a thunderous roar, he unleashed a shockwave powerful enough to knock down most beasts, but unsurprisingly, it shrugged it off as if underwater pressure was nothing to it.

He had recognized his opponent moments ago. He remembered seeing the beast in some of the memories of prey he had consumed. This was Vargul, the Deep Sea Terror.

Though the beast was smaller than he had anticipated, it was quick and agile, and despite Garoth being not just bigger but also much stronger than Vargul, it was all pointless if he couldn't land a blow.

The battle was taking a toll on Garoth. It had been going on for a long time, in which the creature had efficiently used its speed to dodge and strike back at his weak points.

A sudden surge of heat and the feeling of his body burning revealed to him what was happening. He suspected the creature's stingers were venomous, as he could feel the potent poison coursing and flaring through his veins.

His power alone had been enough for most battles; when it wasn't, he had always recognized the time to retreat. But none of those previous battles had been as important as this. He couldn't falter now.

His den, the source of his power, was at stake.

He was unsure of what hibernated inside the massive pillar and had not dared to break the seal to the cave, dreading to awaken the monster.

But whatever lay inside that towering rock emanated an immense power, a power that had fed him with raw magical power for thousands of nights. It had made him the fearsome terror he was now.

He suspected this would be the cause of his demise one day, but in the meantime, he refused to let any other beast benefit from it until that day arrived.