The Mythic Defect

CHAPTER 8 The Hunger That Remembered

The Devourer attacked the moment it finished speaking Azhareth's name. No warning preceded the assault. No roar announced its intentions. The colossal creature simply moved. One instant, its enormous eye remained fixed upon the shattered plaza. Next, a tidal wave of crimson darkness erupted from the abyss beneath Ashveil, crossing hundreds of meters in less than a heartbeat.

The attack slammed into the city centre. Buildings vanished. Entire streets disintegrated. Ancient stone towers that had stood for centuries aged into dust before collapsing upon themselves. The destruction spread outward like a plague.

People ran desperately through the streets, yet many never escaped. Wherever the crimson darkness touched, life itself seemed to weaken. Plants withered instantly. Spirit energy dissolved. Even the air appeared thinner. Drake felt his stomach tighten. This was not ordinary power.

This thing consumed existence itself."Move!"Grand Elder Varis's voice exploded across the arena. The old man thrust both hands forward while six summoning crests ignited behind him. The surviving Saint-ranked beasts responded instantly. The silver war lion lunged toward the incoming darkness. The armoured drakes unleashed torrents of spirit fire.

The black serpent released a storm of cursed flames. Their combined attack possessed enough force to destroy an army. Against any normal enemy, such power would have been overwhelming. Against the Devourer, it accomplished almost nothing. The crimson darkness swallowed the attacks. Not blocked.Not resisted.Swallowed.

The spirit energy simply disappeared. The war lion's roar transformed into a scream. Its massive body staggered backwards as pieces of its spiritual essence were torn away and consumed. Varis's face turned pale. The bond connecting him to his contracted beast immediately transmitted the pain." Impossible..." he whispered. The Devourer's laughter rolled across the city.

The sound resembled a thousand voices speaking at once."Still relying on borrowed strength, little humans?"The gigantic eye shifted toward the struggling Saint beasts."Your ancestors learned this lesson long ago."Then the crimson darkness surged again. The war lion never had a chance. Before anyone could react, the Sacred beast's body began crumbling into particles of fading light. Its terrified roar echoed across the city. Seconds later, it was gone. Consumed completely.

The death of a Saint-ranked beast sent shockwaves through every witness. Priests stared in horror. Nobles stumbled backwards. Even experienced Beast Tamers looked physically ill. For generations, Saint beasts had been viewed as nearly invincible existences. Yet the Devourer had erased one as casually as a man brushing dust from his sleeve. Drake felt cold unease spreading through his chest.

Then he noticed something far worse. Azhareth was watching silently. The First Beast had not moved. Had not attacked.Had not intervened. The realisation unsettled Drake immediately."You aren't stopping it."The words emerged through their mental connection. Azhareth's golden eyes remained fixed upon the abyss."No."

Drake frowned."Why?"For several moments, the ancient beast did not answer. When he finally spoke, his voice carried an unfamiliar heaviness."Because I need to know something."Drake's unease deepened."What?"The golden eyes narrowed slightly."I need to know whether it remembers."Before Drake could ask what that meant, the Devourer's attention shifted.

The enormous eye locked directly onto him. Pain exploded through Drake's skull. He staggered backwards. The world blurred violently. Suddenly, foreign memories flooded his mind. A battlefield.A burning sky. Countless spirit beasts lie dead across a shattered continent. And standing above them.

Azhareth.Not chained.Not weakened.Not imprisoned.Magnificent.His colossal wings covered the heavens. Golden fire poured from his scales. Entire armies knelt before him. Then another figure appeared. A mountain of darkness.A creature with endless mouths spread across its body.A monster devouring everything in its path.The Devourer.

The two ancient beings collided. The impact shattered oceans. Continents cracked. Stars themselves seemed to tremble. Then the vision ended. Drake collapsed to one knee. Blood trickled from his nose. The Devourer's laughter echoed again."Interesting."Its gaze remained fixed upon him."Very interesting."Azhareth immediately stepped forward.

For the first time since emerging from beneath the altar, genuine killing intent erupted from the First Beast. The atmosphere froze. Every awakened prison beast throughout the city lowered its head instinctively. The chained wolf trembled.

The giant serpent coiled defensively. Even the Devourer's laughter weakened slightly."You touched what belongs to me."Azhareth's voice sounded colder than winter itself. Drake looked up in surprise. The First Beast stood directly between him and the abyss. Protecting him.

The realisation hit harder than expected. Throughout his life, nobody had ever stood in front of him when danger approached. People abandoned him. Mocked him.Ignored him. Yet this ancient creature, feared by kingdoms and hated by history, had done so without hesitation. The thought lingered. And somewhere deep within Drake's soul, the pact responded.

The golden mark upon his arm brightened. Azhareth felt it immediately. Their connection deepened.Stronger.Clearer.For the first time, Drake could feel fragments of the ancient beast's emotions.Exhaustion.Loneliness.Anger.And beneath everything else, protectiveness.

The discovery stunned him. The Devourer's eye narrowed. Then another laugh escaped it."So that's your answer."Azhareth's expression hardened."You should have remained buried."The abyss shook violently. More of the Devourer's body emerged. The sight stole the breath from everyone present.

The creature possessed no fixed shape. Parts of it resembled a dragon. Other portions resembled a serpent. Elsewhere, enormous mouths opened and closed along shifting masses of darkness. The longer Drake looked at it, the more wrong it seemed. Reality itself appeared uncomfortable around the creature. Space distorted. Light bent unnaturally.

The Devourer should not exist. Yet it did. And it was growing stronger. Grand Elder Varis finally understood the situation. His weathered face became grim."It's feeding."Lyra looked toward him."Feeding on what?"The elder swallowed."Everything."The answer sent fresh fear through the plaza.

The Devourer had consumed spirit energy. Consumed beasts.Consumed ancient seals. If left unchecked, there was no reason to believe it would stop at the city. Or the kingdom.Or the world. Lucien Ashthorn stared toward the abyss with widening eyes. His arrogance had vanished completely.

For the first time in his life, he faced something money, influence, and noble blood could not solve. The Devourer's attention shifted toward him briefly. Lucien froze. A second later, crimson tendrils exploded upward. They raced toward the noble heir. Far too fast to dodge.Far too fast to block. Death arrived instantly. Yet before the tendrils could reach him, Drake moved. Instinct guided him.

The pact flared. Golden energy erupted around his body. He crossed the distance in a blur and shoved Lucien aside. The tendrils slammed into the ground where the noble had been standing. The resulting explosion demolished an entire section of the plaza. Lucien stared at Drake in shock."Why?"

The question escaped him automatically. Drake looked irritated."Because letting you die would be stupid."Lucien opened his mouth. No words came out. For years, he had mocked Drake. Humiliated him.Treated him like dirt beneath his boots. Yet the person who saved his life had been the very outcast he despised.

The contradiction struck him harder than any physical blow. Before either could speak further, the chained wolf suddenly growled. Its gaze focused on the Devourer. Then its expression changed.Fear.Real fear."My lord..."Azhareth turned. The wolf lowered its head."The Seventh Seal is breaking."Everything stopped. Even the Devourer's movements slowed.

Grand Elder Varis's eyes widened in horror."No."Drake looked between them. Nobody seemed willing to explain. That alone terrified him. Finally, Azhareth spoke. His voice carried a gravity unlike anything Drake had ever heard."The Seventh Seal was never meant to open."

The ground shook. A massive golden crack appeared across the sky itself. Not the Heavenly Lock.The sky. The Devourer's laughter returned immediately.Louder.Triumphant."At last."The creature's countless mouths opened simultaneously. A sound emerged from them that did not belong in the mortal world.

Then, from beyond the fractured heavens, something answered. A distant roar echoed across reality.Ancient.Powerful.And terrifyingly familiar to Azhareth.For the first time since Drake met him, the First Beast's golden eyes widened."A second one..." he whispered. Drake's heart nearly stopped. A second what? But before anyone could ask, the sky split completely open. And a gigantic golden eye looked down from the darkness beyond.