Heroes leap from eclipse creature's claw strike in dark forest

[Use the uploaded reference image as the main visual reference for the male hero. Preserve his recognizable facial characteristics, overall body proportions, and original hair length while adapting him naturally into a dark medieval fantasy setting.

Include a second character: an adult athletic female warrior with warm medium-fair skin, amber-brown eyes, long naturally wavy black hair reaching the middle of her back, dark charcoal medieval clothing, leather armor, dark boots, wrist guards, and a silver pendant containing a tiny crimson gemstone.

Create an original terrifying creature with believable feline anatomy. It should be a gigantic nocturnal predator with four powerful muscular legs, oversized paws with retractable claws, a flexible spine, broad shoulders, a long tail for balance, a wide feline skull, a strong jaw, prominent natural fangs, two swept-back horns, and six small crimson eyes designed for seeing in darkness. Cover its body in dense charcoal-black fur with naturally integrated armored plates around the neck and shoulders. Avoid tentacles, extra limbs, humanoid anatomy, or random biological features.

Scene

A total solar eclipse has turned an ancient forest almost completely dark. The creature hunts through the darkness using sound.

The male hero stands motionless on a fractured stone platform with his weapon raised, unaware that the monster is about to attack from behind.

At the last possible moment, the female warrior notices the creature and throws herself toward him, grabbing him and pulling him out of danger. The monster's enormous claws crash into the stone platform exactly where he had been standing, sending shards of rock and dust into the air.

As the creature twists through the air, it turns toward both heroes with its jaws wide open, creating the feeling that they have barely escaped its first attack.

Environment

An ancient petrified forest filled with enormous black trees, ruined stone structures, exposed roots, broken platforms, drifting ground fog, and an eclipse-darkened sky. Use atmospheric depth and scattered debris to emphasize the scale of the creature.

Camera

Use a dynamic over-the-shoulder composition from behind and slightly below the monster. Its enormous claw should dominate the foreground, while both heroes remain visible through the space between its limbs. Create strong depth, motion, and scale.

Visual Style

Premium hand-painted 2D dark-fantasy illustration with detailed painterly textures, believable creature anatomy, dramatic lighting, cinematic shadows, powerful movement, atmospheric fog, and epic fantasy movie-poster composition.

Strictly 2D artwork. No 3D CGI, no photorealism, no anime, no cartoon styling.

Vertical 9:16 composition. No text, logo, signature, or watermark.]