The beast roared, and the forest shook. Birds burst from the trees in a panic, leaves swirling like ash in the air. Even the wind seemed to flinch. Its roar wasn’t sound it was pressure, violence made audible.

It emerged from the mist like a nightmare born of the earth massive and crawling with muscle. Its body was low to the ground, supported by four twisted legs that moved with unnatural coordination. Veins pulsed visibly beneath obsidian colored skin, and patches of coarse, matted fur clung to its flanks like remnants of something it had once devoured. It had no eyes — only a slick, eyeless face that glistened wetly in the light. Jagged rows of teeth spiralled inward along a circular maw, twitching as if tasting the mana in the air. Across its shoulders, cracked bone protrusions jutted outward like broken weapons from old wars. It breathed not through lungs, but with the sound of steam, as if mana itself fueled its body.

From the edge of the clearing, it hurled forward, a blur of claws and muscle, dragging twisted limbs behind it like they belonged to something else. The ground cracked beneath each step. And Selene…
She didn’t run.
She didn’t scream.
She just stood there — eyes wide, breath held, spine locked.
Fear had rooted her deeper than any tree.

The beast didn’t hesitate. It turned toward her, as if it could smell her stillness — her helplessness. Its massive body began to march forward, slow now, deliberate. Each step thudded like a countdown. Selene’s lips parted, but no sound came out. Her feet refused to move. It was too close. Too real.

Then Kael moved.

He didn’t think. Didn’t shout.
He just stepped in front of her and slammed his palms together. Mana surged up his arms, wild and raw, forming not a wall but a pulse — a dome of force that snapped into place between them and the beast. The monster struck it head-on. The impact exploded through the clearing, dirt and leaves whipping outward. Kael’s pulse wall flared — not just with mana, but with pain. The shock of impact rippled through the barrier and echoed out. Luman, caught too close, was hurled backward like a tossed doll. He struck a tree with a dull thud and collapsed, limp. The light in his eyes flickered — and went out.

Kael stumbled back from the shock, but the barrier held.

For now.

The impact rattled her bones — and shook her free.

Selene gasped, as if waking from a nightmare mid-breath. She blinked hard, eyes darting to Kael, who was still bracing against the force of his barrier. Shame flickered across her face, followed by heat. Not fear now — fury. Her fingers clenched into the dirt, and the ground beneath her answered. A ripple surged through the soil. Stone cracked, twisted, rose with heat. She pulled her arm back and shaped it — not clean, not elegant — but brutal: a jagged spear of molten rock, glowing red from its core, like fire caged in earth.

She stood, teeth clenched. “Get away from him.”

And hurled it.

The magma spear screamed through the air, trailing sparks as it flew.

The spear struck just below the beast’s shoulder and exploded on impact, searing through flesh and muscle. Black blood hissed against the molten stone, and the creature roared, stumbling sideways as the blast scorched deep into its front leg. It didn’t fall, but the damage was real — and it was furious.

The beast screamed — not in pain, but rage.

It staggered sideways, one limb weakened, its balance broken. The ground trembled beneath it as it crashed into a tree, splitting the trunk in half.

Kael wiped the blood from his nose, eyes still locked on the creature as it snarled and tried to steady itself.
“Hit it again—before it recovers.”

Selene didn’t hesitate. She dropped to one knee, slammed her palm into the dirt, and ripped another spear from the ground — longer, heavier, its core pulsing red like the heart of a volcano. With a fierce shout, she hurled it straight at the beast’s chest.

Kael didn’t wait.
He raised his hand mid-throw, eyes narrowing. Mana surged from his palm, weaving around the flying spear like a second skin. It caught the weapon mid-air — wrapped it in a spiraling field of force, and twisted.
The spear began to spin, faster and faster, until it shrieked as it flew, no longer just a projectile — now a rotating lance of molten rock and compressed energy.

The beast barely had time to react.

The spear struck just below the beast’s shoulder, and the result wasn’t a wound — it was destruction. The spiraling force tore through skin, sinew, and bone like it was paper. With a sickening crack, the creature’s front leg ripped free, spinning off into the trees, trailing black blood and molten flesh.

The beast screamed — not in pain, but rage.

It staggered sideways, one limb gone, its balance broken. The ground trembled beneath it as it crashed into a tree, splitting the trunk in half.

Kael wiped the blood from his nose, eyes still locked on the creature as it snarled and tried to steady itself.
“Hit it again—before it recovers.”

But the beast didn’t fall. It dragged itself upright, balance broken — but not defeated. Its head snapped toward the pile of shattered mana stones nearby. With a guttural snarl, it lunged, slammed its jaw into the heap, and devoured.

Kael stepped forward. “No—!”

But it was too late.

As the creature chewed, its wounds closed. The stump where its leg had been began to bubble — not with skin, but with raw muscle knitting in real time. Veins pulsed, bones cracked back into shape, and slowly, horrifyingly, a new limb began to grow.

Selene’s voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s feeding... and healing.”

Kael’s fists clenched. “This isn’t just a creature... it’s a cursed abomination — one that devours power to rebuild itself.”

He looked around the clearing — at the glowing fragments, at the terrain.

“If we want to kill it,” he said, “we cut it off from the source.”

The beast didn’t stop at healing.

It tore into the remaining mana stones, snapping them up in chunks, jaws grinding like a furnace. Its body swelled, veins glowing faintly beneath its coal-dark skin. A strange shimmer rippled across its surface — as if it was storing power, not just restoring.

Then, with a sharp, hacking snarl, it jerked its head toward them — and spat.

A chunk of half-chewed mana stone, glowing and jagged, hurtled toward them like a cannonball.

Selene reacted first, raising another spear mid-formation — but the projectile shattered it on impact, sending flaming shards in every direction.

Kael flinched, raised a barrier instinctively — a layered wall of force and momentum, curved to absorb—

It didn’t matter.

The stone smashed through the shield like it was made of paper.

The shockwave knocked them both backward, the air bursting from Kael’s lungs as he hit the ground hard.

Luman let out a sharp screech as a shard grazed his side, cutting a shallow line across his fur. He stumbled once, his limbs trembling — then collapsed.

Kael coughed, vision spinning.

“It’s learning,” he gasped. “And it’s using our weapon against us.”

The mana stone shot forward — a blur of molten shards, aimed straight for Kael’s chest.

And then something intercepted it mid-air.

A sharp crack echoed through the clearing as the projectile shattered — torn apart by sheer force.

Aries stood between them and death.

He was no longer small. No longer silent. His body had grown into something ancient and powerful — the shape of a serpent fused with the presence of a dragon. Long and coiled, yet solid and heavy, his frame rippled with muscle under obsidian-toned scales. Four clawed limbs braced him low to the ground, each movement smooth like water but hitting with the weight of stone. Jagged ridges ran down his back, glowing faintly at the tips, hissing steam where mana vented through cracks in his skin.

His head lifted, long and angular, nostrils flaring as golden eyes locked onto the beast. There were no wings. No roars.

Only silence — and purpose.

Kael whispered, “Aries...?”

Aries didn’t wait for command. He lunged, cutting through the smoke like a blade.

The beast twisted at the last second — and met him head-on.

Claws clashed. Scales shredded. Shockwaves thundered across the clearing.

Aries struck with blinding speed, raking across the creature’s flank, leaving burning wounds in his wake. But the beast was faster now — smarter. It dodged, countered, slammed its weight into Aries and dragged him across the ground. With a roar like ripping steel, it flipped and hurled him into the trees.

Aries crashed through trunk after trunk before skidding to a halt, body smoking, breath ragged.

The beast snarled, dragging its mending body back toward the heart of the clearing — toward Kael and Selene.

And they were alone again.

The beast descended upon them like a storm unchained, slamming Kael and Selene into the earth with a brutality that bent bone and will alike. Their defenses crumbled, their spells faltered, and in the shadow of that monstrous force — hope didn’t just fade; it was obliterated.

And then — light.

Luman stirred. His eyes snapped open, glowing faintly.

The training — the infusion they had practiced in secret — it surged through the broken air like an unspent promise.

Kael’s body jerked. A thin stream of mana, bright and sharp, threaded from Luman’s unconscious form to Kael’s chest. It wasn’t the full fusion they had once achieved, but it was enough. Enough to stand.

Cracks of blue energy laced Kael’s skin as his wounds began to knit, his breath steadying.

Selene gasped as he moved — not just stood, but stood stronger.

Kael knelt beside her, whispering, “It’s not over.” He pressed a glowing palm to her chest. Healing light bloomed, soft and quick.

Selene’s eyes widened as warmth spread through her, pain evaporating.

Kael rose, face set.

And this time — the storm would answer back.

Selene and Kael rose once more, driven not by strength, but by resolve carved in blood and fire. Their attacks surged, relentless — stone spears, flame strikes, arcs of concentrated mana — yet the beast endured them all, adapting with terrifying speed. Nothing worked.

Kael's eyes flickered with memory — a moment in the cave, when a mana stone had cracked under unstable flow, releasing volatile bursts. An accident then. A weapon now.

He whispered, "Selene — distract it. I need time."

While Selene launched barrage after barrage, Kael reached for a fallen mana stone. He poured mana into it — not with stability, but with controlled chaos. Threads of energy twisted and coiled inside the gem, blue lightning dancing through its core. The stone shimmered, pulsed — then began to hum.

The beast turned. Saw the glow. Hungered.

It lunged and devoured the stone.

For a heartbeat, nothing.

Then — eruption.

A muffled crack from within the creature’s chest, followed by a tremor in its limbs. Its flesh rippled. The hum turned to a whine — then a shriek. Inside, Kael’s unstable mana bloomed, atom by atom, shredding the beast from the core outward. It convulsed, roaring in agony, smoke and steam bursting from its joints.

The abomination stumbled back, black blood pouring from its mouth. For the first time — it was afraid. But fear, in its final moments, gave way to desperation. With a guttural roar, it slammed its claws into the ground, channeling the unstable mana surging within. A shockwave erupted outward — a dome of raw, concussive force that leveled the surrounding trees, split the soil, and hurled boulders like pebbles. The very air shattered as the blast expanded, leaving behind silence and ruin.

Kael and Selene were thrown like rag dolls, their bodies skidding across the scorched earth before slamming into the twisted remains of uprooted trees. The world spun into darkness as their consciousness faded — bruised, broken, and barely breathing. The storm had answered back, but the cost had yet to be counted.