Stillness.
Then, a whisper. A hiss that coiled and slithered through the suffocating heat of the Badlands.
Elyndor stood in the heart of the broken land, his silhouette framed by the cocoon’s faint, pulsing glow. The control rune beneath his feet shimmered with eldritch energy, spiraling outward in a pattern too intricate for mortal comprehension. His staff was raised high, spectral energy spiraling around its head, casting eerie shadows on the cracked earth.
"Vuth’rek... Sylan’thir..." His words were guttural, reverberating with ancient power. The spirits swirling around him answered in haunting harmony, their ghostly forms merging into the middle-tier spirit towering behind him.
The air rippled.
A barrier of emerald fire sprang to life, encasing the group in an impenetrable dome of spirit and flame.
Kael snarled, slamming into the wall with his claws, only to be thrown back by a surge of energy. "What the hells is this?"
Sylvia’s wings flared, casting light across the dome’s surface. "A spirit ward. He’s trying to isolate us!"
Elyndor’s chant rose, the words cutting through the chaos like jagged glass. "Mel’tharuk! Kyran-felstarn!" The spirits within the barrier howled in response, their spectral forms writhing as they poured their energy into the rune beneath him.
The middle-tier spirit behind Elyndor shimmered, its form stabilizing into a humanoid shape with four jagged arms and eyes like glowing coals. It stepped forward, its molten feet cracking the ground beneath it.
James stumbled back, his heart racing. "We need to stop him—now!"
Thrain hefted his hammer, his voice a low growl. "Aye, and if we don’t, we’re as good as ash." He slammed the hammer into the ground, sending a tremor through the earth that rattled the barrier but failed to break it.
Kael shook off his daze, his claws flexing. "I’ll keep that thing busy," he said, nodding toward the spirit. "You lot deal with the damn elf!"
Sylvia raised a hand, her light intensifying. "James, can you disrupt the rune?"
James’s hands fumbled with his satchel as he pulled out a set of gadgets, his fingers shaking. "I... I think I can. But I’ll need time!"
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Sylvia nodded sharply. "You’ll have it. Thrain, with me!"
The two surged forward, Sylvia’s wings igniting as she cast radiant beams at the barrier’s weakest points. Thrain followed close behind, his hammer glowing with molten energy as he struck the ground in sync with her attacks.
+
Elyndor’s laughter pierced the air, cold and mocking. "You’re wasting your time," he said, his voice laced with venom. "This rune was forged in the deepest vaults of Myrcath. It has bent powers far greater than you."
He raised his staff, the glowing veins along its surface pulsing with life. "Sylan’thir vastrenah!" The rune beneath him flared brighter, feeding on his lifeforce. The middle-tier spirit roared, its molten fists slamming into the earth as it advanced on Kael.
Kael leaped to the side, dodging its blow with the agility of a predator. "You want to play?" he snarled, his claws glowing faintly as he activated his Primal Ferocity. "Let’s play."
The spirit lunged, its fists leaving trails of molten rock in their wake. Kael countered, his claws raking across its torso. Sparks flew as molten energy hissed against his fur, but he pressed on, his speed and strength amplified by his berserker rage.
+
Sylvia and Thrain hammered at the barrier, their combined efforts creating faint cracks in its surface. Sylvia’s eyes gleamed with divine light as she channeled her power. "It’s working! Keep going!"
Thrain grunted, pouring more energy into his strikes. "Don’t tell me, lass. I can see it!"
James crouched near the edge of the barrier, his gadgets spread before him. He activated a disruption device, its runes sparking to life. A pulse of energy rippled outward, causing the control rune to flicker.
Elyndor faltered for a moment, his chant breaking. His eyes snapped to James, burning with fury. "You dare disrupt me?"
"More than dare," James shot back, his voice steadier than he felt. "I’m going to stop you."
Elyndor sneered, raising his staff. "Vaerith mel’kornah!" Spectral chains erupted from the ground, coiling toward James with blinding speed.
An angelic shout.
"The Seraphim demands strength!"
Sylvia reacted instantly, a radiant barrier materializing in front of him just as the chains struck. They shattered against the light, dispersing into harmless wisps.
"You’ll have to get through me first," Sylvia said, her voice cutting.
+
The middle-tier spirit slammed into Kael, sending him skidding across the ground. He rolled to his feet, shaking off the impact with a growl. His claws glowed brighter as he darted forward, weaving between the spirit’s strikes.
"Thrain, I could use a hand here!" Kael barked, dodging another molten fist.
Thrain spared a glance, his hammer glowing brighter. "Hold on, mutt!" He slammed his hammer into the ground, sending a wave of molten rock surging toward the spirit. The attack struck its legs, destabilizing it just enough for Kael to leap onto its back.
Kael dug his claws into its molten flesh, tearing into it with savage precision. The spirit howled, its form flickering as it struggled to maintain cohesion.
+
James’s vision blurred as if the world itself had been pulled through a lens of molten chaos. His knees buckled, and he collapsed, clutching his head. A deep, searing pressure invaded his mind, a psychic weight far beyond comprehension. It wasn’t pain—it was something worse. Something raw. Something endless.
"James!" Sylvia’s voice broke through the haze, faint and distorted. It was like yelling underwater, too far away to reach him.
The images came fast, too fast.
A blackened battlefield, the Scorching Badlands reduced to molten slag.
Towering monsters crumbled into ash, their screams silenced by radiant beams of destruction.
Arthur’s massive form loomed above it all—a draconic titan wreathed in fire and shadow. His wings blotted out the sun, and his molten eyes glared down like twin suns, ancient and uncaring. He was no mere beast. He was catastrophe incarnate.
James felt his breath hitch as the vision shifted.
Arthur’s cocoon loomed before him, immense and pulsing. Its surface glowed with molten veins that writhed like living things. Fissures crawled outward, each crack leaking waves of destructive energy. The ground split beneath it, fissures glowing red-hot.
A single molten eye emerged through the crack, unblinking, suffocating. It didn’t just see—it pierced through him, dragging every buried thought and fear to the surface. James wanted to scream, but his body refused.
The voice came next. Low. Whispering. And yet, it reverberated through his very bones, as though the earth itself spoke.
"Why do you fight? Why do you crawl? Do you think you matter? You are less than dust before the storm."
James’s heart pounded. His chest burned as if all the air had been ripped from his lungs.
"No... no, stop!" he rasped, his hands clutching at nothing, desperate to escape the voice that wouldn’t stop digging. His mind spiraled deeper, the eye watching, unyielding.
CRACK!
The sound echoed through his vision, shattering the images like glass. He gasped as he jolted back to the present. His chest heaved, his skin damp with sweat as he crumpled to the ground.
"James!" Sylvia was beside him now, her voice sharp but tinged with worry. She knelt, her glowing wings framing her pale face. "James, focus! What did you see?"
His trembling fingers gripped her arm as he struggled to find the words. "It’s… it’s waking up," he whispered, his voice ragged. "We-we can’t let it wake."
Sylvia’s expression hardened. Her glowing eyes flicked toward the cocoon, where molten light seeped through fresh cracks. The hum of energy was louder now, a bass thrum that vibrated through their bodies.
Kael and Thrain rushed over, their faces etched with confusion and fear.
"What’s happening?!" Kael barked, his claws flexing. "What’s with the kid? Did he see something?"
James dragged in a shallow breath, forcing himself upright. "We have to stop him." His voice was hoarse, his hands trembling. "Elyndor... he’s going to break that thing open. He thinks he can control it, but he’s wrong. If that thing wakes up—"
"It’ll kill us all," Sylvia finished grimly.
Kael snarled, his muscles tensing. "Then we stop him. Rip his damned head off if we have to."
Thrain grunted, gripping his hammer tight. "If the elf has lost his mind, there’s no reasoning with him now. We don’t have time for mercy."
"We need to sto-"
CRACK!
The crack widened.
James was the first to speak. "Oh shi-?!"
+
VOOM!
An unbearable pressure.
Fear.
Panic.
A pulse of energy exploded outward, invisible yet suffocating. The air itself seemed to freeze, then churn violently as if recoiling in terror.
Kael buckled first. His claws dug into the ground as he gasped for air, his pupils blown wide. "What… the hell?!" His voice cracked, more snarl than words. He tried to stand, but his legs refused.
Thrain stumbled, his hammer slipping from his grip. "It’s… crushing me!" His breath came in ragged gasps, his knees hitting the scorched earth. His eyes darted to the cocoon, his face pale beneath the soot.
Sylvia flinched. Her wings flickered, dimming to a faint glow. "No..." she whispered, stepping back as her shield faltered. "This… this can’t be real." Her knees buckled, but she forced herself upright, trembling.
James didn’t have time to scream. His legs gave out, his body hitting the ground hard. His chest heaved, his heartbeat deafening in his ears. Too much. The pressure wasn’t just physical. It was in his mind, his soul. An endless abyss staring back.
CRACK!
Another split tore through the cocoon. The ground quaked. A soundless roar seemed to vibrate through their bones, shattering any last vestige of composure.
"What is that?!" Kael snarled, his body shaking. His wild eyes darted to Sylvia, then to James. No answers.
Sylvia dropped her hands, her light fading entirely. "This… isn’t something we can fight," she murmured. Her voice barely rose above a whisper, her gaze locked on the cocoon.
The air grew colder and hotter at once. The light from the crack wasn’t just light—it was wrong. It pulsed, twisting their senses. Darkness and fire intertwined, blinding yet suffocating.
James clawed at the ground, forcing himself upright. His vision blurred, but through it, he saw Elyndor.
Elyndor stood tall, his staff raised high, his smirk unwavering. "Yes… YES!" he bellowed, his voice cracking with triumph. "More! Awaken fully, beast!"
Another CRACK! A sliver of molten, otherworldly energy escaped the cocoon.
The whispers began. Low, guttural, unintelligible. They weren’t sounds—they were felt. Each syllable clawed at their sanity, digging into the corners of their minds.
Sylvia screamed, clutching her head. Kael’s body convulsed, his claws tearing into the ground. Thrain’s hammer erupted in a shower of molten sparks as he tried to move but couldn’t.
James’s chest heaved. His vision tunneled. And then, amidst the chaos, he saw it.
The eye.
A single molten eye stared out from the crack in the cocoon. It blinked slowly, deliberately. As if aware.
Aware of them.
James’s scream joined the others.