Velena opened his eyes. He was standing in the middle of an asteroid, not at all too different from the one he had just been standing on with everyone else.
Isaiah said that I would be fighting with my doppelganger. So where are they? Velena looked around his surroundings.
There was nothing there. The air was still. There wasn't a trace of sound. Velena could hear his own breathing and heartbeat.
Both were getting faster. Velena soon realized that he would have to start looking for his doppelganger.
Velena cautiously took a step. The loose dirt on the asteroid made a loud crunching sound. Velena winced.
The sound seemed to echo for hours. Once the sound finally stopped, Velena heard a rustle.
Out of nowhere, a monster jumped out from behind a rock. The monster was completely red and had no eyes.
3 tentacles sprouted from the monster's back and were flailing loudly. The monster screeched loudly. Velena pulled out his ax and silenced the creature, cutting off its head.
Though it was unable to screech, the monster's body continued to flail around. Velena swung his ax and sliced the monster's body in half.
The pieces fell to the ground and ceased all movement. Velena bent down and examined the pieces of the monster.
The flesh was red and rubbery. Velena suddenly jumped back in horror. He recalled the last time he had seen these monsters.
Jackie and he had been attacked by the monsters at the military outpost back home. Velena realized that he needed to get out of there immediately.
Velena turned to run but was faced with a man standing in front of him. Velena jumped back over the monster's corpse.
The man looked down at the corpse. The pieces of the monster put themselves back together and walked to their master.
The man turned back to Velena. "I've seen you before, haven't I?" he said. "You were the one that attacked me and Jackie at the military outpost," Velena reminded him.
"Oh yes, now I remember," the man said, chuckling. "I don't believe we ever exchanged formalities," the man said bowing.
"My name is Ephron," he said. "And you?" Velena didn't reply. Ephron seemed unfazed by this.
"Tell me, what has summoned you and me to this location?" Ephron asked. Velena pointed his ax at him.
"I'm going to save Benjamin," Velena said, confidently. Velena pulled back his ax and lunged.
The blade of the ax swung around at lightning speed. Ephron was unfazed. He caught the blade of the ax with two fingers.
He then threw Velena back. He skidded across the ground and came to a stop. Ephron dashed in front of Velena and backhanded him.
Velena was sent flying. Velena landed on his back. He slid for several feet before coming to a complete stop. Velena jumped to his feet.
Velena began to channel energy. The energy swirled around his body creating a gray aura around him. Velena buffed his speed and strength.
He then lunged forward once more and swung the ax. Ephron ducked to avoid being decapitated. Ephron then tried to hit an uppercut on Velena.
Velena spun in midair to dodge it. Velena hit the ground and pivoted. The ax went with him, slashing the area where Ephron was.
Ephron somehow jumped in midair. Ephron kicked downwards, hitting Velena in the head.
Velena was sent to the ground. Since Ephron was above him, Velena slashed upwards. Ephron expertly dodged the move and landed on the ground next to Velena.
Velena jumped up, performing an upward slash with his ax at the same time. Ephron moved to the side to dodge the hit. He then kicked Velena in the chest.
Velena was knocked back several yards. Velena got up. He was furious.
I need to rethink my strategy, he thought. Ephron yawned. He rushed Velena, grabbing him and lifting him up. Ephron slammed Velena's back on his knee. A loud snap was heard as Velena's spine was snapped.
Ephron whipped Velena around and threw him. Velena landed like a ragdoll. Almost immediately, however, Velena's spine was healed.
Velena got up and rubbed his back. Even though the injury was completely healed, it still hurt immensely. Velena raised his ax once again.
"That was some impressive healing," Ephron stated, nodding his head. Velena didn't understand what was up with this guy. One moment, he's chilling, and the next, he's trying to snap my spine, Velena thought. Ephron yawned.
"I hate to admit it, but fighting you has bored me quite a bit," he said. Ephron snapped his fingers, and the monster that had been on standby stepped forward. "Destroy him," The monster rushed towards Velena and swung.
Velena jumped over the monster and brought his ax down on the monster's back.
The monster crumpled to the ground. Velena pointed his ax at Ephron and said, "It'll take more than that to defeat me."
The monster stood up, rearranging the bones that had been crushed. The monster lunged for Velena again. Velena narrowly dodged the monster's claws.
I can't get hit by that thing, he thought mid-dodge. Suddenly, one of the monster's tentacles shot toward Velena's face. Velena brought up his ax, slicing off the tentacle.
Velena landed back on the ground. The screeched as its tentacle writhed around on the ground. Velena raised his ax once more, but with noticeably less energy.
There isn't enough life in this dimension, I'll run out of energy soon, Velena thought. "You're not able to fight at your full capacity," Ephron stated. "I guess I'll have to finish you off quickly."
Ephron snapped his fingers. From around several more rocks came monsters. Although there wasn't enough room behind the rocks to hold them, the monsters kept coming.
In a minute or so, Velena was surrounded by monsters. Velena looked around frantically, one thought echoing in his head, Don't let them touch me.
The monsters all swarmed Velena. Velena spun around on the spot, swinging his ax in all directions. The first 3 waves of monsters were decapitated, but they kept advancing. Velena with what little energy he had left.
He took his ax and plunged it into the ground. Luminescent roots emerged around the area where the ax was impaled in the ground. The roots pushed the monsters away from Velena, buying him precious time to strategize.
"Impressive," Ephron said. He kneeled next to one of the roots and placed a hand on it. Immediately, a red substance began to spread along the root.
Multiple tentacle-like structures erupted from it, spreading the infection to the other roots as well. "However, that trick won't work on me," Ephron said, now surrounded by a slight grayish aura.