A dreaded event that happens every few decades has once again arrived

Tremors travel across continents

A horrid terror fills the hearts of creatures across the lands

All who feel it tremble, though they don't know why...

...The shadow mother shall once again bear a child of darkness.

Shadows gather around a small village, the darkness circles ominously in the village center. The shaking of the buildings grabs the curiosity of those inside them, and the villagers go to find the source of the rumbling. As they gather, the tornado of darkness gradually loses speed, leaving nothing but a dark spot on the ground. Before there was time to inspect the area, it bubbles intensely, like a pot of boiling water.

A large spike stabs up from the hole. A dark figure slowly rises. People watch in horror as the shade slowly gains form. The arms and legs crawl out of the body like a spider out of a crack, and daggers shoot out from the tips of its fingers. Yellow piercing eyes pop out from the face, and the mouth tears through the skin, revealing teeth like bone-saws and darkness in its throat that chills the onlookers. Two slits cut through the skin above its mouth, sharp ears jump out of the sides of its head, and crystals line themselves on the top, creating a crown of deep crimson. The skin changes from the black of the abyss to a dark shade of sapphire. It writhes around, trying to contain its newly found form, limbs bending and cracking into place. Then, in an instant, all movement stops.

The villagers, unnerved, mutter to themselves. One says, "what is that thing?" Another responds, "it must be some sort of devil."

"It's not moving, is it dead?" One asks. "If it is, I'm sure as hell not touching it," retorts another.

The chief of the village sits in a corner, a look of contemplation on his aged face.

As the villagers discuss what they should do with the thing that appeared in front of them, the devilish form's lack of movement becomes a source of discomfort for the village.

One of the larger men of the town move towards it, a large shovel in hand. "What are you doing?!" Exclaims a farmer.

"I'm doing something, which is a lot more than you fools are doing, Jorges," the bulky man snaps back, the impatience clear in his voice. Jorges backs down, slumping his head.

"Wait, Lander," someone shouts before the man can continue his march. "I feel approaching with such clear antagonistic intentions will just scare it," the village chief warns, rising to his feet.

"Are we really considering the feelings of a demon?" Lander remarks. "It rose from an abyss and moves like a possessed corpse. It clearly hasn't come on peaceful terms"

"Attacking everything you don't understand is certainly an effective way to quicken your journey to Hades, but don't drag us into your suicidal approach to the unknown." The chief responds, slamming his staff into the ground.

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Exasperated, Lander grabs the chief by the collar. "If you want to talk about your feelings with a hell-spawn, fine, but do it when there's not an entire village at stake." Throwing the chief to the ground, he continues towards the creature. "Sometimes I don't know why I even try to protect you imbeciles," Lander mutters, half complaining at the chief and half to himself. The villagers run to the aid of the fallen elder.

As he approaches the figure, Lander's level of disgust grows. "Such a horrid thing, why would the gods allow this to exist." As he reaches the body, Lander checks to see if it's still alive. The body is motionless, although it seems to be breathing. He reaches to grab it, but it suddenly twitches, causing Lander to step back impulsively.

"Damn thing almost gave me a heart attack." He shakes his head, then tries to grab it again. As he touches it, a spike of darkness blasts out from the body, stabbing his shoulder and knocking him down.

The creature's head swings up, eyelids suddenly open. It has a stare so intense that the fallen man felt it cut deeper than the wound in his shoulder. Its body shoots straight, stretching out its limbs, then shrinks to the size of a child.

It examines the people, studying their features. It smiles widely. Grabbing between the two slits above its mouth, it pulls out, creating a pointed tip nose, and pushing the bladed tips of his fingers back, shaping them into nails. Then it closes his eyes, its brow wrinkling and face turning red, as small crystals pop out between the crown of the larger ones.

The dark form returns its gaze to the beings that surround him, smiling wider and pointing at itself. The villagers stare in silence. Dread shapes their faces into the appearance of statues, similar to those that line the Gorgons' Garden. A young woman screams, breaking the silence and causing panic to release into the crowd.

"The dark army has sent a shapeshifter to slaughter us all," one cries. Another throws the man in front of him forward and runs, tripping himself in the attempt.

The creature giggles at his failure.

Lander grasps his wound, shouting, "Calm down, you pathetic cowards. Are you running from an Imp? I would understand you scrawny weaklings running from its original form, but now it's the size of a child! Just surround it and get me my spear, I'll impale this beast and end our little predicament."

The Villagers relax at his words and hurry to do what he asked.

The Chief, now sitting back in his original corner, wrinkles his forehead as he thinks over the appearance and transformation of the creature in his head. His daughter-in-law, kneeling next to him, looks at the creature with intrigue. It appears to be examining their behavior and mouthing out what he hears. "I think it's copying us, father," she mentions to the chief, his forehead now creasing more.

Lander overhears her as he wraps his wounded shoulder with bandages. He speaks to the dark child, "So you act like a spy too, huh, demon? Tell me who sent you and I'll give you a pleasant death."

The creature stares blankly at Lander.

Lander's eye twitches. "A spy who can't speak? Your uselessness is becoming more apparent. I guess the dark army is much more pathetic than we realized," he mocks, putting on a vicious smile.

The creature giggles again. "I like you, you're funny."

His hand tightening, Lander responds, "so you can talk, you pathetic excuse for a spy."

"You pathetic excuse for a spy," the creature repeats in a deep mocking tone.

"Are you mocking me?" Lander growls, his veins popping from his skin. The creature falls to the floor, breaking out in uncontrollable laughter.

The villagers who were fetching the spear had just returned as Lander tears it from them and stomps toward the creature. "I tried to give you a pleasant end, beast, but I guess the only thing you deserve is to be sent back to hell in the most miserable way."

Lander begins a charge, positioning his arm to thrust. The chief snaps his head up. "LANDER NO!"

But it was too late.

Right before the spear could land, something pops out of the ground, knocking Lander to the ground. A loud clang sounds throughout the village.

"What just happened?" Jorges shouts out.

"Something grabbed my leg," Lander yells back as he tries to pick himself up. "Did you dimwits see anything?"

They respond with a decisive, but confused, no.

Before Lander can get up, something pulls him back down. A figure jumps out of the ground. At the peak of his leap, he throws small blades out at the villagers surrounding them, knocking the weapons from their hands. The newcomer lands on Lander's back, his knee forcing the rough man's neck down. Before anyone can react, a voice echoes throughout the area, "I'm going to need you to stop right there."

A dark figure rises in front of the small demon. "Your young men have such aggressive tendencies..."