Meanwhile, in the center of the empire
The Golden Palace was eerily silent. The grand throne room, once the vibrant, opulent heart of the Dragon Kingdom, now resembled a slaughterhouse.
Blood pooled across the polished marble, staining the golden serpentine banners torn from the walls.
At the base of the dais lay the Dragon Kingdom Emperor. His heavy platinum crown rested discarded in a puddle of his own blood, his legendary armor ruptured and ruined. Beside him rested the broken, mutilated bodies of his two remaining sons.
The royal bloodline had been extinguished in a matter of minutes. The elite imperial guards sworn to protect them were scattered in pieces across the hall.
A nightmare occupied the Emperor's throne.
The creature existed as a shifting, unstable mass of dark, putrid flesh. Dozens of yellowed eyes blinked erratically across its surface, looking in every direction simultaneously.
