THE MANY-MOUTHED KING

Long before the collapse of the crystal empires, surviving records spoke of a sovereign entity grown rather than born — a thing engineered through ritual biofusion and mineral augmentation to rule conquered systems through terror alone. Witness accounts described multiple vocalizations emerging simultaneously from its body, as though countless imprisoned consciousnesses remained trapped inside the organism long after ascension. Excavation crews later discovered entire cathedrals crystallized around its remains, their interiors fused into black glass by temperatures no known weapon could reproduce.