The dragon hovered in midair, countless tentacles extending from its body and swaying slowly, like a flower in full bloom.
It was definitely not a deep dragon. The monster, blasphemous beyond words, suddenly hugged itself tight, drawing in its limbs and even wrapping its tail around its body to form an enormous ball.
The ball began to spin, radiating a deep purple psionic glow.
Time seemed to freeze within the space shrouded by its psionics. Falling droplets hung suspended in midair; shattered pieces of chitinous shell floated motionless; even the lingering flames stopped flickering, frozen in the shape of their burning.
Only the dragon curled into a ball continued to spin.
"***! What the ** is that thing now!" Balin swore in dwarven, tightening his grip on his warhammer. "Did that evil dragon come back to life?"
"An 'elder brain dragon'..." The female drow's murmur came from behind him, trembling with disbelief. "No, no, that's wrong! I received a divine revelation. I should have passed the Goddess's trial and stopped the ritual. How could..."
"Retreat! Retreat immediately!" Klauthsura was the first to regain composure, the mind flayer's voice exploding in their minds. "This isn't the biological structure of an 'elder brain dragon.' The elder brain forced itself into the brain-dead dragon's body and fused with the corpse!"
The mind flayer hovered to one side, facial tentacles drawn taut and psionic power rippling in its eyes. A blue-black portal slowly took shape.
"We don't need to fight a monster born from a botched ritual. The inflammation caused by the rejection reaction and the dragon blood will kill it naturally! One natural hour... no, half a natural hour will be enough! We just need to survive..."
"It's about to attack!"
Renato had barely uttered his warning when the elder brain dragon spinning