In the heart of the Imperial Capital, the city gleamed under the midday sun, a testament to human ingenuity and grandeur. The capital of the Great Empire ruled by the Vroulan dynasty with a history of a thousand years. The Vroulan ancestors formed the empire under their banners; the unification of the continent was a great feat in the long history of the empire, even now, there were plays being performed, songs were sung around the empire, and books were published about the long ancient war.
At the entrance of the palace, there was a large statue, hundreds of feet in height, of the first emperor of the Great Vroulan.
The Imperial Square was alive with activity, a bustling hub where merchants shouted their wares, street performers entertained crowds, and townsfolk went about their business.
Towering above the square were rectangular crystals embedded into the surrounding structures, glowing faintly and displaying moving images—advertisements for goods, announcements from the Empire, and snippets of news from across the land. These magical hoardings were marvels of Imperial innovation, blending sorcery and technology seamlessly.
From the square, a grand pathway stretched toward the Imperial Palace, an awe-inspiring road flanked by immense statues.
Each statue depicted a warrior holding a different weapon—swords, spears, bows, and shields—immortalized in a pose of vigilance, as if guarding the approach to the palace.
The palace itself was a towering masterpiece of architecture, its spires piercing the sky, its golden domes shimmering in the sunlight. It was a sight that reminded every citizen of the Empire's might and the stability it promised.
But on this day, the tranquillity of the capital was shattered.
The ground beneath the square trembled violently, as if some colossal force was awakening deep below.
The tremors were so sudden and intense that conversations halted, people froze mid-barter, and children clutched at their parents in fear.
A low, guttural hum filled the air, growing louder with each passing second. The crowd murmured nervously, some looking toward the sky while others glanced uneasily at the ground, expecting an earthquake or some other natural calamity.
Then, without warning, the air in the centre of the square began to distort, as though reality itself were being pulled apart.
A dark, swirling vortex formed, crackling with crimson lightning, growing rapidly in size until it became a massive, circular portal that hovered ominously above the ground. The energy radiating from it was suffocating, pressing down on everyone like an invisible weight, sapping their strength and filling their hearts with dread.
The square fell into silence, save for the eerie hum of the portal.
People stared in wide-eyed horror as something began to emerge from the other side.
First, a shadow—a colossal form—then the full, nightmarish reality revealed itself.
A gigantic, crimson fist pushed through the portal, its grotesque form immediately drawing screams and gasps from the onlookers.
The fist was not made of flesh or stone but of countless human bodies, melded together in a grotesque and horrifying fashion. Limbs jutted out at unnatural angles, faces frozen in expressions of agony, and torsos twisted and fused to form the monstrous appendage. Blood dripped from its seams, pooling on the cobblestone below and releasing a stench so vile it made people retch.
The fist rested upon a massive platform, an equally grotesque construction of bodies melded together, their tortured faces turned upward as if silently pleading for release.
In front of the platform, dozens of humans—alive but battered and chained—dragged it forward, their bodies bent under the strain of their horrific burden. They stumbled along the grand pathway that led to the palace, their cries of pain drowned out by the oppressive hum that still emanated from the portal.
The crowd watched, paralyzed by a mix of terror and disbelief.
Some fell to their knees, clutching their heads as if to block out the nightmare before them. Others turned to flee, trampling over one another in their desperation to escape the horror unfolding in the square.
As the abomination moved toward the palace, the statues lining the pathway seemed to come alive, their eyes glowing faintly as though they sensed the intrusion. The once-proud guardians of the Empire now stood as silent witnesses to the grotesque procession, their weapons raised but unmoving.
In the distance, the palace gates began to close, soldiers rushing to fortify the entrance. Yet even they hesitated, shaken by the unnatural sight before them.
Whispers spread among them of dark magic, ancient curses, and forgotten horrors.
Some murmured prayers to the gods, while others gripped their weapons tightly, unsure if they would be of any use against such a monstrosity.
High above, the skies darkened as storm clouds gathered unnaturally fast, blotting out the sun. Crimson lightning arced across the heavens, illuminating the city in flashes of blood-red light. The very air seemed to thrum with malice, as though some malevolent force had awakened and set its sights on the heart of the Empire.
The monstrous fist continued its slow, dreadful march toward the palace, leaving a trail of blood and despair in its wake. Follow current novᴇls on novel⦿fire.net
The chained humans pulling the platform collapsed one by one, their bodies breaking under the strain, only to be replaced by others who were dragged from the crowd by unseen forces and shackled to the platform.
At the centre of the square, the portal still hung ominously, a gateway to some hellish realm that defied comprehension.
And from within its depths, a voice echoed—a deep, resonant voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. It spoke in a language no one could understand, yet its tone conveyed a message of undeniable malice.
The capital, once the pride of the Empire, was now gripped by fear. Whatever had come through the portal was no mere accident or isolated event.
Such monstrosity appearing in the broad daylight was unprecedented and horrifying for the people of the capital. The people of the capital were all too shocked and petrified by the scene before them.