"I will send you back, but things will be different this time, so we will just wait for you to collapse the rings. We will just be in the way," Chey explained to me, and I understood what he meant.
Chey had drawn a line in the air with his finger, and a white line had appeared. As it did, the gate back to Sagittarius's ring opened up to show the area that we had left from.
"What do you mean that things are going to be different?" I asked before I walked through the Astral Gate.
"Carnage was only playing with you before because he was much stronger than you. Now you will be near or equal to his power, so he won't be as timid this time around," Chey explained, and that made sense.
"Okay, but is there anything that I need to do after I kill Carnage?" I asked, but Chey shook his head.
"No, you just need to remove the stain, and we can all leave this accursed place!" Chey growled but then shifted back into his horse-man form with surprise.
Howl started squeaking out his choking laugh from behind me, and Chey threw his hands up into the air. I grinned, left the two of my friends, and walked back into the ring.
The moment I did, it was like a huge weight was lifted off every inch of my body. I turned to look at the Astral Gate that I had just walked through, but it was already gone.
"The invader has returned!"
"It is still hopeless!"
"You will never defeat us!"
"We are inevitable!" The familiar disjointed and overlapping voices called to me from behind me.
I turned around, and the eyeless creature was walking towards me. The human-shaped creature still looked crazy, but this time it didn't look like it was going to wait for me to engage.
"Are you ready to take me seriously this time?" I asked, but I got no reply as the SkinWalker advanced on me.
I started to circle the eyeless creature, but Carnage had no part of my games this time. A clawed hand shot towards my neck, but this time I was the one to strike his hand away.
Carnage didn't stop with the single strike, and I was forced to block a knee right after. The creature's face shot forward with a mouth full of razor teeth, but I drove my fist up into its chin.
The strike seemed to catch him off guard, and I followed that up with two fast and hard body shots. They pushed Carnage back, and I quickly spun around to kick him.
Just before my heel connected, Carnage was able to grab my foot, and I was flung into the air. Before I could catch myself, the creature had grabbed my foot and smashed me into the ground.
I had braced myself and kept most of the air in my lungs. The moment I connected with the soft grass, I twisted my body and kicked Carnage in the face, knocking him back.
This forced the SkinWalker to let go of my leg, and I leaped back to my feet. I backed up from the creature as it wiped the blood from its mouth where I had just kicked it.
I did feel much stronger, but the eyeless creature was still keeping up with me. This was just proof that it could have killed me any time it wanted, so I would have to be careful.
"You are much stronger, but we are still inevitable. No matter how much you struggle, I will be the one to consume your mind! I will live forever on your ageless memories!" Carnage growled at me in a single voice, meaning he was getting serious.
I burst at the creature, not giving it the first move. I needed to end this before Carnage went utterly silent.
My first strike was blocked, and Carnage returned the strike. I blocked that one, and the two of us became a flurry of fists and feet.
Each strike I made was blocked just like mine, but the SkinWalker's strikes were getting weak. It was strange because the defensive blocks still were just as strong as they were moving slower.
I started to change the aim of my strikes and focused on the creature's arms. Instead of making body or face shots, I tried to predict where Carnage would block, and I struck at the joints.
This tactic seemed to confuse the creature; I was able to strike the inside of the elbow with my right. The creature's right arm came in to grab me, but I grabbed the arm.
I twisted, brought that arm over my shoulder, and threw the creature. I didn't let go of its hand as Carnage slammed on the ground, and I used my foot to stamp down.
I used all my force, and my barefoot crushed the creature's head into the ground. I felt Carnage's head crack, but I didn't ease up, no matter how disgusting it felt on my foot.
The moment that Carnage's arm went limp, the world around me started to collapse. I had no time to react; everything with myself included was sucked into an infinitely small point.
Then I was spit back out from one of the same kinds of soup can portals Nixi had sent me, though. I hit the ground, and pain radiated through my entire body, but then I felt him.
*Wataluga: Activating the Water Force Pact!*
All the pain I felt disappeared, and my body became calm like a lake on a windless day. I was lying face down on the ground, but I could hear voices around me.
They were Dani, Chey, and the squeaks of Howl. It was good to know that they were all okay, but I needed to lay here for a while.
"Zack? Are you okay?!" Nushi asked from behind me with concern, but she wasn't supposed to be here.
I rolled over, and my eyes went wide at what I saw. Nushi's skin was red, but not dark like Nixi's skin.
What had happened while I was gone?
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