Chapter 29: Breakdown
The clash of steel and aura rang through the hall as Waker collided with the black stone knight. Each blow sent ripples through the cracked floor, the force of their strikes shaking the ancient stone beneath them. Waker's golden aura flared wildly, blood streaming from his temple as he pushed his body and newfound power beyond its limits. His eyes burned with furious determination.
Nearby, Ravi moved like a streak of radiant light through the storm of phantom skeletons. His silver sword sang through the air, tracing arcs of glowing white as it cleaved through the dusty phantoms. Each slash tore a path through shrieks and dissolving wails. His violet eyes, marked with a single white dot at their centre, pierced the shadows.
But the storm of phantoms never stopped. The horde seemed endless.
Ravi's breath grew heavier. Even in this heightened state, he could feel the toll. Every flick of his sword, every dodge, chipped away at his essence — and his life. The sigil on his neck pulsed like a dying star, and a cold sensation crawled up his spine.
Suddenly, a wave of stillness swept across the battlefield.
The phantom storm broke apart — not by force, but by fear. The skeletal phantoms halted mid-shriek and began backing away into the walls and darkness.
A massive three-eyed skeletal wraith had silently descended above Ravi, unnoticed until now. Covered in dusty grey aura, its tendril-like arms stretched outward as its gaping jaw opened wide. From its mouth erupted a barrage of black tendrils, each writhing with cursed energy.
Ravi was barely able to evade the attack. The tendrils shredded the black stone floor where he had stood, gouging deep, smouldering holes.
Ravi blinked several meters away in a flash of white light, only for the phantom horde to reform and surround him once more.
His breathing grew ragged, his shoulders heaving. The violet glow faded as his eyes returned to their normal onyx-black hue. His life force and essence were both draining. The cursed sigil on his neck pulsed with a deep, agonizing throb, sending ice-cold tendrils down his spine. His legs buckled as the power drained from him
Meanwhile, Waker fought furiously against the black stone knight. The knight parried and countered with deadly grace, its black flames corroding Waker's golden aura. Waker was growing weaker with every passing moment. It was becoming obvious who was going at a disadvantage.
At that time, the situation worsened. More black stone knights entered the hall. Towering and broad, lean, and armed, each was unique in form but united in purpose. When Waker saw the glimpse of other stone knights, he started sweating as if his heart had dropped. The stone knight obtained the opportunity as it saw its opponent in daze.
The stone knight quickly dismented its black shield, and its greatsword expanded to double its length, black flames roaring furiously around the blade. Before Waker could react, the blade swept through the air in a wide arc.
This time, Waker couldn't able to stop the blade, even depending on both of his hands. He was sent flying, golden afterimages trailing in his wake. The golden aura around his hands disappeared, and the aura around his arms started to disappear as the black flames corroded and devoured the golden aura hungrily.
He passed directly through the massive skull of the three-eyed wraith. His speed significantly reduced. By the time he hit the floor, the golden glow was gone.
Waker landed like a ragdoll just beside Ravi. He stood up while holding his right arm. Pain was visible on his face. Waker looked at Reydon. Blood was flowing like a waterfall from Reydon's eyes. Waker said in shock, "Reydon ... no, Ravi!"
Ravi didn't flinch. "Don't tell me you hadn't figured it out."
Waker didn't reply, his gaze darting around at the present condition. At the archway that can lead out of the hall, there was a legion of black stone knights of different shapes and sizes holding all kinds of weapons lined up in a perfect formation. Above, in front of the knights was a ten-meter-tall three-eyed skeleton with large tentacle like bony arms without a lower body, its empty sockets focused solely on them.
Ravi took a step back and stepped onto the platform. Waker also climbed on the platform without a thought. He really was shocked to see that Reydon was really Ravi. For now, he couldn't do anything, but to follow him to get out of this terrible situation.
As Waker climbed on the platform, his gaze was drawn upward—and his breath caught. Emerging from the dark mist above were two more of the three-eyed skeletal horrors, tendrils unfurling as they descended.
Ravi quickly took a black shard of the broken mirror from the platform and started observing it calmly with a serious expression. He was trying to find something that could help him resolve the current situation.
Waker instincts again screamed, warning. He warily looked up and saw two pools of blazing crimson, ancient and aware, locked directly on him. The giant's red eyes opened. He stumbled backwards, confused and shaken. Ravi stood firm, though his body trembled.
At the same time, emblemed humans covered in yellowish bandages with coffins strapped to their backs rose silently from the stone floor in front of the throne on which the giant being was still resting.
Waker couldn't help but think why the world around him suddenly became so aggressive to kill him. Waker hadn't yet realized—they weren't looking at him. Every being in that cursed hall was focused on Ravi. Ravi clutched his neck. The sigil pulsed wildly now, veins bulging with cursed energy. Blood dripped from his eyes like waterfall.
"Waker!" Ravi put the black shard under his grey robe and said through clenched teeth, "Can you still use your golden aura powers!?"
Waker nodded, warily. "Yeah."
"Good. Hit the platform with everything you have."
Without hesitation, Ravi drove his glowing silver sword into the platform, cracks webbed across the stone platform. Waker didn't hesitate to do what Ravi had said. He concentrated all of his golden aura power in his right hand and slammed his golden fist into the fractured platform.
The stone exploded beneath them as the platform crumbled.
Ravi and Waker plunged downward into darkness, escaping the cursed army above—and falling deeper into the unknown.