The ravine thrummed with raw chaos, vines whipping like frenzied serpents as the Echo's corruption clawed at everything in reach. James surged forward, shortsword slicing through a vine that lashed at his side, its green sap sizzling on the blade. The air crackled with shouts and steel on steel, the forty soldiers locked in a brutal push, their ragged formation holding against the shadowy horror wearing Mara's skin. Gas clouds choked the depths, burning lungs and spawning boils on exposed flesh, while smoky tendrils cracked like whips, sending fighters tumbling into the mud. James's essence flowed steady now, bolstered by the potion Kael had tossed him, a faint warmth chasing away the earlier drain. The system timer pulsed: [Time left: 2:31:45 hours]. End this quick, he thought, Astor's trusting eyes urging him on. Ranking high meant pulling him back from whatever void the Domain had swallowed him into.
"Barrier!" James barked, a dome snapping over five soldiers bogged down by vines, their axes swinging wild. The shield bought them space, letting them hack free, blades biting deep into the tendrils. He chained it with Mend golden light repairing cuts along spearman's injured leg, the green rot peeling away like dead skin. The dual cast felt smoother, the potion's surge making his essence resilient, almost eager. The Echo's cackle sliced through the din, a warped echo bouncing off the ravine walls, her twisted form hovering like a storm cloud. Her black blade carved brutal sweeps, flinging soldiers aside, some writhing as boils erupted, others gasping in the mist, their breaths ragged hacks.
James weaved left, a tendril slamming the ground where he'd stood, cratering the mud. He riposted with his shortsword, the edge nicking the shadow and pulling a guttural hiss. The touch froze his fingers, a deep cold seeping in, but he shook it off. "Foresight," he murmured. The vision hit: vines coiling up from the left, thorns aimed at the archers' line. "Flank incoming fall back!" he shouted, waving them aside. Soldiers shifted without question, arrows loosing into the rising threat, feathers whistling through the haze.
Torren roared from the center, his axe a whirlwind shattering a shadow clone into fading wisps. "Tighten up don't let it breathe!" Lila danced nearby, her spear thrusting like lightning, skewering vines and dissipating duplicates, her breaths steady despite the sweat streaking her face. The soldiers' semicircle squeezed tighter, a wall of grit and steel, their war cries drowning the Echo's taunts. One tendril snagged a young fighter's arm, hoisting him high with a scream. James flung "Barrier," the dome bursting the coil, the man crashing down in a heap but alive, scrambling to his feet with a grateful nod.
The Echo lunged, her jagged blade gleaming, aiming for James's chest. He parried, the clash vibrating up his arm, but her form began to warp, shadows swelling as if drawing in the ravine's darkness. Her body elongated, limbs splitting into more tendrils, her core pulsing brighter, green light flaring like a heart about to burst. Before she lost—whatever that means, she must've been a Berserker, James realized, his pulse spiking. She was evolving, pulling power from the depths to become something monstrous, beyond the shadow she'd been.
If I use Shatterpoint, I might be able to interrupt the process.
Focusing on the glow, James muttered "Shatterpoint" leading to a sharp scream from the Echo.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kael ghosted through, dagger flickering like a serpent's tongue, carving precise gashes in the vines. His sharp eyes fixed on the Echo's glowing core, that green pulse at her center. "Shields now!" he snapped. James obliged, layering a reinforced Barrier over him, the dome humming with energy. Kael blurred, shadows clinging to his form. "Shadow Step." Dark essence exploded around him, propelling him upward in a vanish-reappear streak. He rematerialized above the transforming Echo, dagger plunging straight into her core with a wet crunch before the change could complete.
The Echo shrieked, a sound like tearing metal, her form buckling mid-transformation, limbs retracting in spasms. The ravine quaked as corruption lashed out in a final frenzy, vines crumbling to dust, gas dissipating in swirling eddies. Soldiers surged, weapons pounding the dissolving shadows until nothing remained but echoes of screams. James dual cast one last Mend on a cluster of wounded, shields flaring as heals knit flesh, his essence dipping but not breaking. That's growth, he thought, a dark spark of thrill igniting. The Domain forged him sharper, ready for Astor's rescue.
Her shape twisted, Mara's illusion shattering into void before detonating in a green blaze that seared the air. Kael hit the ground rolling, dagger smoking, a grim smirk cracking his face. Silence fell heavy, broken only by pants and the drip of sap. Limp vines carpeted the mud, shadows evaporated, but the cost stared back. Bodies strewn, faces frozen in final agony. James dropped to a knee, chest heaving, the potion's buzz fading into ache.
James breathed deep, victory's rush clashing with the dead's weight. Why hasn't the trial ended? he thought. We killed the Echo. The rumble from below grew, the hum sharpening to an electric buzz, like storm clouds gathering. Soldiers murmured, weapons rising. "What's that?" one whispered, peering into the dark.
Torren gripped his axe tighter. "Echo's not the only thing down there."
Lila scanned the depths, spear ready. "Felt it earlier. Like lightning waiting to strike."
Kael sheathed his dagger, eyes narrowing. "The hum, it's not hers. Something worse."
James stood, essence tingling in response to the charge building in the air. Static crackled along the vines' remnants, sparks dancing like fireflies gone mad. Monster that harnesses electricity, he pieced together, the hum's source revealing itself. From the ravine's bottom, a shape stirred. Massive, coiled, arcs of blue lightning forking across its hulking form. It wasn't vines or shadow; this was raw power, a beast of storm and fury, eyes glowing white-hot.
"Fall back!" James shouted, but the thing lunged upward, claws of electricity raking the edge. Soldiers scattered, screams mixing with thunderclaps as bolts lanced out, charring armor and flesh. James cast Barrier wide, shielding a dozen, the dome shuddering under the assault. This is the true challenge, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest. The electric monster roared, the ravine alive with storm, and James knew the trial's true test had just begun. Taking off, James glanced at the system timer.
[Time left: 00:01:48 hours].
The soldiers bolted, armor clanking, vines snapping underfoot as they plunged into the dense trees. The electric beast roared, a thunderclap shaking the earth, bolts arcing after them like vengeful spears. James sprinted casting Foresight repeatedly. Visions flashed: a bolt searing toward his left, another grazing a soldier's back. "Dodge right!" he yelled, weaving through gnarled trunks, bark exploding as lightning struck.
Screams tore through the forest, soldiers stumbling as the beast's bolts chased them, the air thick with ozone and panic. Keep running, James urged himself, lungs burning, legs screaming. Foresight showed a bolt arcing toward Lila, sprinting just ahead, her braid swinging wildly. "Lila, duck!" he shouted, casting "Barrier," but the dome flickered under the pressure of the monster's strike as his essence stretched too thin. The bolt struck, her body jerking as she collapsed, smoke rising from her charred form, her spear clattering to the ground.
James stumbled, knees hitting dirt, Lila's fierce grin searing his mind. No. The world turned grey, the forest freezing, the beast's roar silenced.
[Time left: 00:00:00 hours].