Deep in the forests near the northern edges of Tilanaz, a beautiful haunting voice began to echo out from the depths of an other worldly mist.
"The healers are healing, the Diggers are digging the earth.
Some close to the surface, some close to the casket.
Bring forth from dirt, my lover from earth.
Eternally mine. Make real, unearth."
A sickening aura could be felt near the edge of the campus as a glowing black domain spread in front of a hooded figure as they chanted. The more they chanted the stronger the glow became before it began to sink into the earth.
They stood beside a second hooded figure, much taller than the first, who began to spread their arms as the first glow sank into the ground and created their own domain, of a deep golden color.
The golden domain grew until it covered an expanse of nearly 400 meters. Intricate symbols began appearing inside the golden domain as the second figure began to chant...
----
Meanwhile, Kendell was in the middle of the study room the trio had been using for roughly three months now.
Coli stood panting, gasping for breath, "Damn, after two months the best I can do is fifteen seconds with my curse. Celia, how the hell do you get your monstrous ritual energy reserves."
The small yellow, rabbit-like spirit with ghostly horns, ducked back into Coli's shadow and melted from sight as his ritual energy ran out.
She just laughed, "Here watch how its done Col," She planted her feet firmly on the ground. A new ritual tattoo began to glow on her left arm.
With a grin she pulled surrounding energy into her tattoo and her body began to hum faintly, while a small mask covered her mouth in a ghastly grin. A gold hue enveloped her body and her back began to glow with blue light.
She began lifting a large weight that sat to the left of the group, doing repetitions for roughly twenty five seconds before dismissing the rituals.
"You just have to focus on keeping a small flow of ritual energy coming into your body as you use what you currently have Coli. Even still, the best I can do is around 30-45 seconds worth of both the Draganov and Golden Demon rituals. So don't feel to bad, I have had much more practice with mine than you have.
Plus I don't have to worry about keeping a Fey supplied with power too, Shikra eats up a lot of your reserves while you are casting your curse."
Coli just shook his head, "Yeah yeah, I only have a week before the professor tournament begins. I have to get a little stronger still or I am just going to hold you and Ken back!"
Kendell laughed, "Col, don't be ridiculous, as team we stand a strong chance already. You don't hold us back you are probably our greatest weapon in this fight. The other don't know what is coming for them. Speaking of, you guys reconfirmed that your professors don't care that we aren't going to work together with their other pupils?"
Both Coli and Celia nodded. "Yeah Ken, I checked with Varex and he doesn't seem to care as long as I get results. I think he expected us to work separately from Riven anyways."
"Alright, so we've got a week left," Kendell said, scanning through his notes. "We should probably finalize our strategies and figure out how we can complement each other's strengths."
Celia nodded, flexing her fingers to ease the tension from the weightlifting. "Agreed. I think we should focus on synergy. Our rituals are powerful on their own, but combined, they could be devastating."
Coli, catching his breath, added, "Yeah, and with my curse, I can create openings for both of you. If I can extend its duration even by a few seconds, that could be the game-changer."
They spent the next few hours brainstorming, practicing, and refining their tactics. Kendell demonstrated his latest improvements with 'The Perfect Escape,' seamlessly blending into the shadows, creating illusions that were almost indistinguishable from reality.
Celia, with her enhanced body rituals, showcased her newfound ability to redirect her energy to specific body parts, making her strikes unpredictable and lethal.
Combined with Coli, they had the ability to render all of their opponents temporarily disabled while Celia could launch in to wreak havoc- then once their curses and illusions were over, Kendell would be in his shadow form to hold them off while the team resets.
As nightfall approached, they wrapped up their session, feeling confident but aware of the challenges ahead. "We've got this," Kendell reassured them as they headed back to their dorms. "We're ready for whatever the tournament throws at us."
The other two nodded, as Celia said her goodnights and parted off to the girls section of the dormitory.
The campus was quiet as they parted ways, the serenity of the night was a sharp contrast to the day's intense preparations. Kendell, exhausted yet fulfilled, fell into a deep sleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
In the dead of night, a chilling disturbance rippled through the dormitories. A faint, eerie glow emanated from the northern edge of the campus, followed by a series of low, haunting chants that seemed to seep through the walls.
Kendell stirred in his sleep, a sense of unease creeping into his dreams. Suddenly, a loud crash jolted him awake. His room was bathed in a ghostly golden light filtering in from the window.
The scene outside was like something out of a nightmare. Outside, a horde of skeletal remains, animated by some dark, necromantic energy, swarmed the dormitories. The skeletons moved with eerie coordination, their empty eye sockets glowing with a malevolent light.
Each skeleton moved with a disturbing grace, their bones clicking and clacking in an eerie rhythm as they advanced.
The glow from their eye sockets cast a ghostly pallor over the dormitory grounds, creating stark shadows that danced and flickered across the walls. It was as though the very essence of darkness had given rise to these macabre puppets, each one driven by an unseen, malevolent will.
The skeletons wielded a variety of ancient weapons – rusted swords, spears, and axes that seemed as old as time itself. These armaments, despite their apparent decay, were wielded with lethal efficiency, cutting through the air with an ominous whoosh.
As they marched forward, the ground beneath their bony feet seemed to resonate with their unnatural energy, sending shivers up the spines of all who witnessed their approach.
Some of the skeletons bore tattered remnants of armor, hinting at long-forgotten battles and wars. The armor held a symbol in the center of a glowing flower surrounded by teeth.
Kendell leaped out of bed, his heart racing. He could hear the screams and shouts of his fellow students as the skeletal army wreaked havoc.
Grabbing hold of the ritual energies around him, he quickly activated his Shadow Sovereign form, cloaking himself in a veil of shadows. He activated the full form of his power, his skin turning a shade of white while the shadows around him deepened. A glowing cape that mirrored the stary sky appeared around him and cloaked him in deeper shadow.
With a shout to wake up Coli, he summoned the shadows around him to form gauntlets and boots made of the purest shadow.
He peeked out the window, assessing the situation. The campus grounds were overrun with skeletal warriors, their bony hands wielding ancient weapons as they attacked the buildings.
Coli and Kendell rushed out of their room, heading towards Celia's dorm.
The scene before them was utter terror as the skeletal army was fighting tooth and nail to kill any students in their path. Wisps of black glowing energy swirled around the edges of the hallway and ran between all the skeletal warriors.
As they navigated the chaos, he used his shadows to shield himself and others from the skeletal onslaught.
He could see students trying to fend off the attackers with various spells and rituals, but many were caught off guard and overwhelmed.
They were trying to activate their rituals but many were still inexperienced in real combat, and couldn't cast the full rituals before the skeletons descended upon them.
Reaching Celia's room, he found her already engaged in combat, her body glowing with the power of her rituals. She moved with grace and ferocity, shattering the skeletons with precise strikes.
"Kendell!" she shouted over the din of battle. "We need to regroup and push these things back!"
They fought their way to the main hallway, where Coli tried to use his curse to disorient the skeletal attackers, but it seemed to have no effect.
As they held off some of the horde, more students rallied around them, inspired by their courage and prowess.
However, they were not strong enough to push the hoard back and they were slowly being overwhelmed.
'If I go all out right now, I am confident I can push a majority of these skeletons back- if not all of them, but I shouldn't be that strong right now it would be outing myself. Where the hell are the professors?' Kendell was desperately thinking of a way out of this scenario.
Until he finishes his first year and gains real access to ritual tattoos, he can't display his full progress. Once he has ritual tattoos, the growth of his rituals should be exponential, and the rate he grows from the system could be pinned on being a genius.
Unfortunately for right now, he can only do his best to hold these skeletal monsters with his shadow sword and shield.
BOOM
A large boom shook the whole floor of the dormitory and a pair of hooded figures walked into the hallway.