The portal behind Jiaolong pulsed with malevolent energy, and the first figures to step through confirmed Lin's worst fears. They were dragons, but not like any he had ever seen. Their scales were midnight black with an oily sheen that seemed to absorb the golden light of the Heart of the Abyss. Their eyes glowed with the same corrupted darkness that now tainted Jiaolong's gaze.
"Impossible," Ao Shun breathed, his voice filled with a mixture of horror and recognition. "Black dragons... they don't exist in nature. They can only be created through corruption."
More of the twisted creatures emerged from the portal—five in total, each one radiating an aura that made the air itself feel thick and oppressive. Behind them came something even more disturbing: another whale-creature like the one they had just fought, but this one was larger and its hide bore the same black corruption as the dragons.
