Screams from the Abyss

The Eve of Battle

The war room, if you could call a clearing in the twisted forest that, buzzed with tension. Maps and diagrams covered improvised tables, lit by the eerie glow of bioluminescent fungi. Jaden stood at the center, shadows coiling restlessly around his feet as he surveyed the gathered leadership.

"We hit them here," he said, pointing to a schematic of the facility. "The power core. Take that out, and their defenses drop."

Colonel Hayes shook her head, her glowing eyes casting strange patterns on the map. "Too risky. That area will be heavily guarded. We should focus on the communications array, cut them off from reinforcements."

"And then what?" Ryker growled. "We'll be trapped in there with whatever horrors they've cooked up."

The argument continued, voices rising. Jaden felt the familiar pressure building behind his eyes, the shadows yearning to be unleashed. He took a deep breath, forcing them back.

"Enough," he said, his voice quiet but carrying an undercurrent of power that silenced