The fight was brutal.
The aberrants came in fast—gliding, slashing, splitting open like jagged flowers of bone and teeth. Joe unleashed lightning with everything he had. Bolts snapped through the air, striking one dead center and shattering its core.
But there were four more.
And he was already burning.
His body screamed with every cast. The Soul Burn twisted in his veins like acid. Riven fought beside him, his greatsword a wall of steel and fury, cleaving two aberrants apart in wide, punishing arcs.
Joe gritted his teeth and focused.
"Storm Mine!"
A new spell, half-instinct, half-desperation.
He flung a crackling orb at the ground. The moment one aberrant passed over it—boom—the explosion turned it into ash and wet mist. Electricity surged from the blast, catching another creature mid-lunge.
Three down.
The last two adapted.
One leapt into the air, landing behind Joe. The other shrieked and dove for Riven.
Joe rolled, hands sparking. "Come on, come on—"
"Tempest Lash!"
Another improvised spell. A whip of arcing current snapped out from his palm, wrapping around the aberrant's neck and yanking it down into a ruined pew. He didn't stop—channeled more power through the lash and ripped its core apart.
Only one left.
It had Riven pinned.
The paladin growled, stabbing his sword through its gut—but the thing kept pushing, teeth inches from his face.
Joe raised both hands, lightning boiling in his lungs.
"Arc Javelin!"
A spear of compressed lightning formed, pure and blinding. He hurled it like instinct—like memory.
The javelin struck the aberrant's core from behind, and for a moment, everything went white.
Silence followed.
Then:
[Trial Complete – Stormbound Accepted]
[Level Up – Level 4 → 5]
+2 STR, +3 MAG, +1 CTRL
New Skills:
— Arc Javelin (Active – Long Range)
— Storm Mine (Trap – Area Burst)
— Tempest Lash (Chain – Crowd Control)
New Title Earned: Stormbound Duelist
Joe dropped to one knee, panting.
The storm inside him raged—but it was changing. Sharpening. The magic no longer felt wild. It felt… like his.
Riven grunted and shoved the last creature off him. "Nice throw."
Joe blinked. "I made that up."
Riven actually chuckled. "Storm's teaching you faster than most."
A ping echoed in the air.
[Party Request – Riven, Last of the Hollow Lance]
Accept?
Joe stared at it.
A single glowing glyph.
"Why now?" he asked.
Riven sheathed his sword. "Because you're not just surviving anymore. You're fighting like someone who wants to stay."
Joe reached out and tapped: Accept.
The moment he did, something clicked between them. A faint pulse of recognition. They were tethered now—bound by the system's will. Joe felt it. Deeper clarity. Shared visibility. Even a faint echo of Riven's strength bolstering his own.
And a second message followed:
[Storm Surge Unlocked – Party Synergy Available]
Warning: Core Stability Decreasing – Seek Containment Soon
Joe grimaced. "That last part doesn't sound great."
Riven nodded toward the back of the chapel. A spiral stairwell led down into darkness. "Then we find what we came for."
Joe hesitated. "Which is?"
"A clue," Riven said, walking ahead. "To bind the storm inside you before it devours everything around you."
They descended into the old crypt, the light from above dimming until it was swallowed completely.