The Ashwater Swamp reeked of rot and iron. Every step Lucas took sent ripples through the black water, and every ripple felt like it was calling something closer.
Kaelen's voice was low but tense. "Stay alert. Ashwater doesn't just kill you — it eats your magic."
Lucas gripped the Rainbow Orb tighter against his chest, feeling it pulse like a second heartbeat. The colors inside swirled — slow, deliberate — as if it knew what was hiding here.
Then the water shifted.
A single, massive ripple rolled through the swamp, and the trees shook as something colossal moved beneath the surface. Lucas's instincts screamed.
The surface exploded.
A serpent unlike anything in the bestiary of man erupted from the black water — its scales shimmered with shifting hues, each color dripping molten magic. Its eyes were twin suns, and its teeth were curved blades of obsidian.
"The Ashwater Serpent," Seris breathed, her hand already loading her crossbow. "It's supposed to be a legend."
The serpent lunged.
Lucas barely rolled aside as the creature's jaws clamped where he had been, snapping a tree in half like a twig. Water surged in every direction, and Kaelen leapt onto a half-submerged rock, swinging his sword in a wide arc. The blade sparked as it hit the serpent's neck, but it barely cut.
"Lucas!" Seris yelled, "We need more!"
The Orb pulsed violently.
Use me. Bind the elements. Show it what chaos tastes like.
Lucas thrust out his hands. Fire blazed in his right palm, icy mist in his left. He spun, slamming the two magics together — they didn't cancel, they exploded, sending a shockwave of steam and shrapnel into the serpent's face. It roared, scales cracking where heat met cold.
It dove into the water, vanishing.
"Where did it—" Seris began, but the serpent's tail erupted from below, smashing Kaelen off the rock and into the muck.
Lucas reacted without thinking — green light flared from the Orb, and roots burst from the swamp bottom, coiling around Kaelen and yanking him to safety before the serpent could strike again.
The beast rose, towering over them, its maw glowing with condensed magic. Lucas felt the spell before it fired — a beam of raw, corrosive energy.
"Scatter!" he shouted.
The beam tore through the swamp, boiling water and melting stone. Lucas leapt onto a fallen log, calling lightning from the sky. Bolts slammed into the serpent's head, blinding one eye in a blaze of silver fire.
Kaelen, soaked and furious, charged again, sword now coated in the Orb's golden light. He struck the wounded spot — the blade sank deeper this time, but the serpent thrashed, sending him flying.
Lucas's pulse pounded. He could feel the affinities in the Orb aligning — fire, water, earth, air, light, shadow. All at once.
"This ends now," he growled.
He pulled on everything the Orb offered. The world around him slowed, the air vibrating with raw potential. Above, clouds swirled into a vortex of colors; below, the swamp floor cracked as molten rock surged upward. He thrust his hands toward the serpent — a roaring torrent of rainbow energy surged forth, swallowing the beast.
The serpent writhed, scales bursting into shards of magical crystal. With a final roar, it collapsed into the water, sinking into the depths. The swamp went silent except for the hiss of steam.
Lucas staggered, breathing hard, the Orb's voice now dripping with satisfaction.
Good. You're learning to stop thinking like a man… and start fighting like a god.