The Sky Whale thrashed as if sensing the trap. Its enormous fins sliced through the air, sending shockwaves that rippled across the battlefield. Every flap was like a storm hammering the world itself.
Julian dug his boots into the trembling sky platform, shadows spiraling upward like black chains. His gravitational pull clamped around the beast, dragging it downward against its natural buoyancy. The strain hit him instantly, his muscles screamed, veins bulging along his arms. Lightning arced across his body, amplifying the chains with crackling energy, but it only made the backlash fiercer.
"Gh—dammit…!" His breath came ragged, but he refused to let go. "Stay… down!"
The whale bellowed a guttural BWOOOOHHHHH!, its voice vibrating bones and steel alike. A pulse of icy mist burst from its blowhole, freezing chunks of the air itself. The sudden weight threatened to break Julian's gravitational bind; frost licked at his skin, searing cold gnawing into his nerves.
