/lit/ - Literature

>protagonist defeats human antagonist
>"this isn't even my final form" summons the ancient evil
>always feels unsatisfying because you know the world-ending stakes are trivial and the protagonist will win
>also the mindless beast feels impersonal and not tied to the plot, like a universal concept anyone can just pop in without setup

Is there a way to do this properly? So there's an element of suspense and "oh shit" to it the way unpredictable human characters elicit?