My breath burned, and muscles were torn.
Every inhale felt like dragging air through broken glass, my chest screaming in protest as I forced my body to move. The ground beneath my boots was no longer soil—it was shattered stone and dead roots, cracked open by the Gaiadrake's rampage. The Dratonian Forest wasn't groaning anymore.
It was breaking.
My aura pulsed around me, steady—too steady for how close I was to collapsing. Light blue flowed like water at my feet, thin arcs of white thunder snapping quietly through it, answering my heartbeat. I could feel it now. Not just using aura—but existing inside it. Like it was an extension of my breath. My core burned hot and cold at the same time, stretched to a limit I didn't know existed.
But I couldn't stop.
Not now.
Ahead of me, the Gaiadrake roared—deeper than before, angrier. Cracks split across its stone armor, corrupted green light leaking from beneath like veins forced to the surface. Vines writhed violently, tearing chunks from the earth as if the forest itself was being strangled through it.
This wasn't a monster.
It was a guardian being torn apart from the inside.
And we were standing in the middle of its pain.
"Rain—!"
Varein's voice cut through the chaos. I glanced left.
He was bleeding badly. One arm hung lower than it should, ribs visibly bruised beneath torn fabric, breath coming out sharp and uneven. But his spear was still in his grip, green wind spiraling weakly around its tip.
Behind him, Aelira was on one knee, rapier embedded in the ground to keep herself upright. Frost crawled up her arm—too far, too fast. Her lips were pale, teeth clenched as she fought the backlash of freezing corrupted mana that refused to stay frozen.
Kai staggered back into position beside them, fire sputtering unevenly across his body. His breathing was ragged, blood streaking down his side where stone had torn into him earlier. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and laughed—short, breathless.
"Tch… still standing," he muttered. "That thing's gonna have to try harder."
I wanted to yell at them.
To tell them to fall back. To stop pushing themselves for my sake.
But the words wouldn't come.
Because I knew.
If I stopped, even for a second—
They'd die.
The ground trembled again.
The Gaiadrake slammed one massive limb down, sending a shockwave ripping toward us. I reacted on instinct, stepping forward and driving my sword into the ground.
"—Flow."
Water surged outward, compressing into a wall just as the shockwave hit. White thunder snapped through it, stabilizing the flow, dispersing the impact in a violent spray that soaked everything around us.
The recoil nearly dropped me to my knees.
My vision blurred.
Focus.
I gritted my teeth and forced myself upright. My core screamed in warning, the fracture inside me widening—an invisible crack spreading deeper with every forced pulse of aura. I could feel it now. The strain. The damage I was doing to myself.
But I remembered the Inner World.
The calm water.
The faceless figure.
Come find me when you get stronger.
"I'm not strong yet," I whispered. "So don't expect miracles."
The Gaiadrake lunged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Its tail whipped through the air, carving a trench through the earth where I had been standing a heartbeat earlier. I barely twisted aside, the tip grazing my side and sending lightning pain through my ribs.
I stumbled.
And Kai was there—intercepting, fire flaring as he slammed into the creature's limb, redirecting it just enough to save me.
"RAIN!" he shouted. "Don't blank out on us now!"
Varein followed instantly, wind roaring as he launched himself forward, spear driving into a cracked joint. The impact sent a shock through his body—he cried out, but didn't pull back.
Aelira forced herself up, ice spiraling violently as she froze the ground beneath the Gaiadrake's feet, locking it in place for a split second.
Every second mattered.
I moved.
Aura surged—not outward, but inward, compressed tighter than ever before. Water folded over itself, thunder threading through it in precise, quiet lines.
I leapt.
The world narrowed to a single point.
My blade struck.
Not the armor.
But the corruption beneath.
White thunder detonated—contained, focused—ripping through the green veins pulsing under the stone. The Gaiadrake screamed, a sound of agony that shook my bones.
I landed hard, skidding across the ground.
My legs gave out.
I caught myself on my sword, coughing violently as blood splattered onto the cracked earth.
"Rain—!" Aelira tried to reach me, but nearly collapsed herself.
I forced myself to stand.
Not yet.
Behind us, the forest shifted again. I could feel the battle on the other side—Aldred, Seraphyne, Liam, Liraeth, Theon, Arion, Kazen. I could feel Liraeth's shield flickering under impossible strain, plasma screaming as it held back destruction meant to kill them all.
They were holding.
For us.
For me.
My hands shook as I raised my sword again.
"I won't… let it end like this," I said hoarsely. "Not for you. Not for the forest."
The Gaiadrake reared back, corrupted light blazing brighter than ever.
This was it.
Either we broke through—
Or everything shattered.
My aura flared, water swirling violently around my feet as white thunder snapped louder than before, the fracture in my core burning like it might split me apart.
But I stood.
For my friends.
For the guardian.
For the promise I didn't yet understand.
And as the Gaiadrake prepared its next devastating strike, I took a step forward—bloodied, shaking, fractured—
But unyielding.
Because even if I broke here—
I would break first.
And I would not let them fall.