Clinging to a cliff face for a brief respite, Charles' eyes widened in terror as he watched the monstrous entity descend. The creature's size rivaled that of a tunnel-boring machine. 0

As the entity grew closer, Charles picked up more details. An amalgamation of black chitinous plates, purple tendons, and viscous, bloodied tissues, the creature bore a striking resemblance to a colossal tunnel-boring machine0

Insectile legs the size of small houses protruded from its sides and gripped the surrounding rock walls as the Shielder scaled downward. Below its mass, compound eyes glowed like spotlight beams at the bottom of a fathomless abyss.0

The remaining surviving mantises arched their glowing abdomens upward and formed a lotus-like formation as they clung to the leviathan creature.0

A quivering, whale-like hum sounded from the web of living...1