They say the oldest stories are warnings.
And the oldest stories in our world speak of Yokai Beasts.
No one knows who first named them, or if the word "Yokai" was even meant for them at all. All we know is this: they are not animals, they are not spirits, and they are most certainly not human. They are something else — something the natural order never intended to exist.
Yokai beasts are chaos given flesh. They are born when mana itself twists in on itself, festering and warping until it takes shape. Some emerge from the deep forests, others from the bottomless oceans, and some… from places we do not have names for.
There are many kinds:
Predators that stalk their prey with impossible patience.
Devourers that eat not just flesh, but the very life-force from the air.
Phantoms that seem more shadow than substance, attacking from angles you swear weren't there a heartbeat ago.
Nightmares yokais that are kings and have rare abilities that we can never gain and they can kill you fast like lightning.
And the rarest — Cataclysms — so destructive that entire cities vanish when one appears.
There is no language in them. The only ones that do have lanauges are the phantoms, nightmares and cataclysms yokais.
They have no diplomacy. Only instinct. And every Yokai shares the same one truth: they kill because they exist.
When you face one, you are not fighting a rival. You are fighting the embodiment of the world's malice. And sometimes… the world wins.
Astrid and I stepped cautiously between the towering stone walls, my boots sinking slightly into moss-softened earth. Each corner brought the threat of unseen eyes, each shadow a silent warning. My hand hovered near my belt where the dragon daggers hung—a gift from Lucien—and my other fingers tingled faintly with the simmering chill of mana coursing beneath my skin.
"This place... it's like it's alive," Astrid whispered, her breath visible in the cool air. Her eyes scanned every crack and crevice, tight and sharp.
I nodded, watching the darkness ahead. "Yokai don't just hunt—they feel fear. And this labyrinth feeds on it."
We pressed deeper until the ground trembled beneath us, a warning rumble that sent birds screeching into the grey skies far above the stone walls. A low growl rippled through the air, vibrating in my chest. Something was coming.
From the shadowed bend ahead, the beast emerged.
It was impossible to define. Four spindly legs that bent wrong, a body armored with mottled scales that shimmered like cracked obsidian, and a maw full of serrated fangs dripping a luminescent green saliva. Its eyes—glowing coals of hatred—locked onto us with deadly focus. The creature emitted a bone-chilling roar, a sound more felt than heard, vibrating the very air.
Astrid drew her blade, the steel singing softly in the quiet. I inhaled deeply, summoning a shard of lighting spears to form at my fingertips.
"Stay close," I said, voice low.
The beast charged—fast, impossibly fast for its size. The ground shattered under its weight, rocks splintering as it closed the gap in seconds.
Astrid met it head-on, sliding beneath the creature's claw-swipe with practiced grace. Her sword slashed an arc of silver, but the scales absorbed the blow, sparks flying where steel met stone. The beast snarled and whipped its tail, smashing a pillar of stone into Astrid's shoulder. She grunted, staggering but steady.
I dashed forward, unleashing a flurry of electricity spears. They pierced the beast's flank, each spear biting deeper, cracking patches of its scales. The creature roared again, enraged, and swung a massive claw—catching me off guard, sending me crashing to the dirt. Pain flared in my ribs.
"Jae, behind you!" Astrid's shout sliced through the chaos.
A second claw slammed down, missing me by inches but shattering the ground where I'd lain. I rolled, grit grinding between my teeth, and surged upward again.
I gathered mana, weaving a mirage of myself a few feet to the right. The beast lunged at the decoy, jaws snapping shut on empty air. Using the opening, I leapt atop its back, slashing with my daggers deep into the tender scales beneath its armored plates.
The creature howled, shaking violently to throw me off. I clung on, feeling my fingers slip as the beast turned sharply, nearly flinging me into a jagged wall.
Astrid was down, panting, blood streaked across her cheek where a claw had grazed. She recovered quickly and sent a blade spinning through the air, slicing through the beast's exposed neck as I dug in with my mana coated in my daggers.
The beast staggered, its roars turning into ragged gasps. With a final, desperate push of mana, I conjured a electricity spear through its skull.
It collapsed, twitching, the light in its eyes fading.
We collapsed to the ground, chests heaving. The Horrora was no place for weakness, and that fight had nearly been our last.
No sooner had we drawn breath than a chilling laugh echoed through the tunnels. From the darkness, two figures stepped forward.
"Looking for a fight?" one called out, a tall woman with fiery red hair and a spear crackling with electric energy. Beside her, a wiry man grinned, a book in one hand and a staff swirling with shadowy tendrils in the other.
"We're Vanya and Kade," the woman introduced, smirking. "Looks like you've been busy."
I tightened my grip on my daggers. "Astrid and I don't back down."
Vanya's eyes sparkled with challenge. "Good. Neither do we."
The second battle erupted instantly.
Vanya launched herself forward, spear flashing like lightning. I blocked and parried, using the rocks on the grounds to slow her strikes. Kade conjured dark magic, sending shadows slithering toward Astrid, forcing her to split her attention between him and the relentless Vanya.
The corridor narrowed, forcing close combat. Vanya was a whirlwind of aggressive strikes, her spear dancing with bursts of electricity that singed the air. I dodged and countered, weaving electricity around my blades to sharpen their edge.
But Kade was cunning—he disappeared into shadow, reappearing behind me. His staff lashed out, narrowly missing my side as I twisted and plunged a dagger into his arm. Black smoke hissed from the wound.
Astrid shouted, cutting through tendrils of darkness to land a heavy blow on Kade's leg, forcing him back.
I felt my mana thinning, sweat slicking my brow. The fight was a dance on a knife's edge—each strike and counter, a gamble with death.
Vanya's spear sang once more, and I barely raised my daggers in time. The shockwave threw me back, nearly knocking me off my feet. Astrid intercepted Kade's next spell, her blade glowing with a holy light as she shattered his staff.
Kade snarled and vanished into shadows again, this time not reappearing immediately. Vanya pressed her attack, spear aimed at my throat.
I summoned the last of my strength, mirage fragments flickering around me. Vanya swung; my daggers phased through her spear's arc, and I drove both into her exposed side.
She gasped, collapsing.
Kade reappeared, enraged and desperate, but Astrid met him with a strike that sent him sprawling.
We stood, battered but victorious.
Breathing hard, I exchanged a glance with Astrid. The Horrora had claimed many lives today—but we survived.
This was only the beginning.