Athena managed a small smile, shaking her head. "So did I."
As the oppressive darkness around them began to lift, revealing the way forward, Cyrus sheathed his blade and turned to Athena. "Let’s get out of here."
They walked side by side, the weight of the battle still heavy on their shoulders, but with the knowledge that they had survived—together.
The quiet after their hard-won victory was short-lived.
Cyrus stood catching his breath, a tired laugh escaping his lips. The sight of the [Victory] panel felt like a reprieve, a sign that they had earned a moment of peace. But before he could fully relax, the panel flickered. The word "Victory" slowly faded away, replaced by another message that caused Cyrus’s blood to run cold: [Round 5].
A shiver crept down his spine. His nervous laughter returned as he muttered, "This can’t be serious…"
As if in response to his unease, the black sky above split open. From the tear in the dark abyss, an enormous grin stretched wide across the void, its teeth glowing eerily. The grin loomed over them like an omen, filling the air with a suffocating pressure that made the ground tremble beneath their feet.
Cyrus’s eyes darted around, scanning the shadows. The ground rumbled again, and from the darkness, yet another wave of the monstrous, black-tentacled creatures began to emerge. But this time, they were even larger, their writhing limbs thrashing violently as they converged on Cyrus and Athena.
"Here we go again," Cyrus muttered, his voice strained with both disbelief and exhaustion.
The creatures charged, their numbers vast and overwhelming. Cyrus knew immediately that this would be their hardest challenge yet.
Athena didn’t wait for the monsters to reach them. She raised her staff, her fingers crackling with Aetheric energy. With a powerful swing, she unleashed a bolt of pure energy into the advancing horde. The blast tore through the front line, sending several creatures flying backward, their tentacles writhing in pain. But the wave behind them surged forward, undeterred.
Cyrus was already moving, his instincts kicking in. He sprinted to the left, avoiding a mass of writhing limbs that aimed to crush him. His blade materialized in his hand, glowing with aetheric energy as he swung it in a wide arc. The blade sliced through the tentacles with ease, the severed limbs dissolving into nothingness. But before he could regain his footing, another creature lunged at him, its massive body casting a shadow over him.
He dropped low, sliding underneath the monster’s bulk, and with a quick flick of his wrist, he slashed upward. His blade found the core buried deep within its chest, and the creature convulsed, its tentacles flailing violently before it disintegrated into black mist.
No time to rest. Another monster was already closing in, its tentacles flaring out like a storm of whips. Cyrus spun on his heel, narrowly dodging the first strike. He ducked, twisted, and weaved through the flurry of attacks, his every movement precise and calculated. His blade flashed in the dim light as he countered, severing tentacles and dodging blows that came inches from his skin.
Athena, on the other side of the battlefield, was facing her own challenges. She conjured a barrier of pure energy around herself, blocking a barrage of tentacles that came crashing down on her. The force of the impact sent shockwaves through the ground, but Athena stood firm, her eyes glowing with determination.
In a swift motion, she dropped the barrier and thrust her staff forward. A torrent of Aether erupted from the tip, spiraling toward the creatures. The blast tore through their ranks, but more kept coming, each one larger and more aggressive than the last.
One of the monsters broke through her defenses, its massive tentacles wrapping around her staff, trying to rip it from her grasp. Athena gritted her teeth and released a burst of Aether directly into the tentacle, causing it to recoil in pain. She used the opening to leap back, repositioning herself for another attack.
Meanwhile, Cyrus found himself surrounded. Three of the massive creatures had cornered him, their tentacles lashing out from all sides. He planted his feet and tightened his grip on his blade, his eyes scanning for an opening. One of the creatures lunged, its tentacles wrapping around his arm, pulling him off balance. Cyrus grunted in pain, but he refused to panic.
In a fluid motion, he twisted his body, using the momentum of the pull to flip himself over the creature. As he soared through the air, he slashed downward, severing the tentacle holding him. He landed on his feet, immediately following up with a thrust aimed at the monster’s core. His blade pierced through the creature’s chest, and with a powerful pull, he ripped it out, shattering the core.
The creature collapsed, but there was no time to celebrate. The two remaining monsters attacked simultaneously, their tentacles converging on him. Cyrus backflipped out of range, landing just in time to see Athena struggling to keep another massive creature at bay.
"Switch!" Cyrus shouted.
Without hesitation, they both moved in sync. Athena ducked out of her fight, and Cyrus charged toward the creature attacking her. He slashed at its tentacles, cutting a path through its defenses before plunging his blade into its chest. The creature let out a guttural roar before dissolving into mist.
Athena, in turn, unleashed a massive burst of Aether into the monsters pursuing Cyrus. The blast sent them reeling, buying him the time he needed to regroup.
But the creatures kept coming.
One of the largest monsters, easily twice the size of the others, emerged from the shadows. Its body was a writhing mass of tentacles, each one larger than a man’s arm, and its eyes—hundreds of them—glowed with a menacing red light.
Cyrus and Athena exchanged a quick glance. This was it. The final test.
The massive creature charged, its tentacles smashing into the ground with enough force to send shockwaves through the battlefield. Cyrus darted to the side, avoiding the first strike, but a second tentacle came at him from the opposite direction. He barely had time to react, twisting his body and bringing his blade up to block the attack. The force of the impact sent him skidding backward, but he kept his balance.
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Athena, meanwhile, unleashed another barrage of Aetheric blasts, but the creature shrugged them off as if they were nothing. Its tentacles whipped through the air, aiming to crush her, but she moved with precision, dodging each strike with the grace of a dancer.
Cyrus knew they had to end this quickly. He darted forward, weaving through the creature’s flailing limbs, aiming for its core. But this time, the creature was faster. One of its massive tentacles wrapped around his leg, yanking him off his feet and slamming him into the ground.
Cyrus grunted in pain, but before the creature could crush him, he summoned a surge of Aether, blasting the tentacle apart. He rolled to his feet, his eyes locking onto the creature’s core—glowing faintly beneath the mass of tentacles.
"This is it," he muttered to himself, his grip on the sword tightening.
With a burst of speed, Cyrus sprinted toward the creature, dodging and weaving through its attacks. His heart pounded in his chest, every muscle in his body screaming in protest, but he refused to slow down. He could see the core now—just within reach.
Athena, sensing his plan, unleashed one final, concentrated blast of Aether, hitting the creature dead-on. The force of the blast sent the creature reeling, its tentacles flailing wildly.
Cyrus seized the opportunity. He leaped into the air, his blade glowing with raw aetheric energy, and with a powerful swing, he brought the sword down with all his might. The blade pierced through the creature’s core, shattering it into a thousand shards.
The creature let out a final, ear-piercing scream before disintegrating into black mist, its form dissolving into the void.
Cyrus landed hard, panting heavily. He looked over at Athena, who was similarly exhausted, but still standing.
The panel appeared again, this time flickering weakly before displaying a single word: [Victory].
Cyrus couldn’t help but laugh—this time, not from nerves, but sheer exhaustion. He dropped to his knees, his body finally giving in to the fatigue. "Please… no more rounds," he muttered, half-joking, half-serious.
Athena shook her head, a small, tired smile on her face. "Agreed."
As the [Victory] panel flickered weakly, both Cyrus and Athena kept their eyes trained on it, their bodies tense and ready for another wave. For a few seconds, the panel hung in the air, pulsing faintly, but then, slowly, it began to fade. The light from the word "Victory" dimmed until it vanished entirely. Cyrus and Athena waited, bracing themselves for another cruel surprise.
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The silence stretched between them as they scanned their surroundings, wary of what might come next. Yet, nothing stirred. It was too quiet. Too still.
Then, the darkness around them began to shift. The void that had been their battleground seemed to swirl and compress, as if the shadows themselves were being pulled into a singular point just in front of them. The massive eye that had loomed ominously overhead was no exception—its unsettling gaze was drawn into the swirling vortex like the rest of the darkness. In a matter of moments, the oppressive blackness that had surrounded them was sucked into this single, twisting point.