Riley's pulse hammered in his chest as the bloodworm lunged at him, its grotesque crimson body hurtling through the narrow corridor with unnatural speed.
He barely had a moment to react,except to freeze time for three seconds, With a sharp intake of breath, he dipped his hand into his right pocket and summoned his cards.
In one fluid motion, he flung them forward as time resumed, performing a perfect backflip to evade the grotesque creature's charge.
The slick, cold air rushed past him as he landed gracefully a few feet away.
The cards shot through the air like razor-edged projectiles, colliding with the bloodworm's thick, ruby-red carapace.
The impact caused a brief spark to erupt, illuminating the damp underground for a split second, but Riley knew in his gut it wasn't enough.
The creature barely registered the hit; its hardened shell was impervious to such feeble attacks.
His mind raced, considering his options, but before he could devise a plan, Donovan and the other Blackouts sprung into action.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the narrow space as Donovan barked orders, his voice calm but firm amidst the chaos. They unleashed a volley of bullets toward the monster, the muzzle flashes lighting up the dark passage in bursts of fleeting brilliance.
The bloodworm screeched, an ear-splitting cry that reverberated through the stone walls, but it continued its relentless assault.
Taking advantage of the brief distraction, Riley retreated to the rear of the battle. His breath came in ragged gasps as the weight of the situation pressed down on him.
The creature was a series higher than him, a nightmarish abomination that outclassed him in every possible way. Any direct confrontation would end with one inevitable outcome: death.
Donovan, noticing that the standard silver bullets weren't doing much damage, paused momentarily. His brow furrowed in thought before he hastily reloaded his firearm, this time with a gleaming golden bullet.
The Exterminator—a bullet designed to pierce through the thick hides of mutated beasts—was their only chance. He took careful aim and squeezed the trigger.
The golden projectile streaked through the air, a scintillating beacon of hope, and lodged itself deep into the bloodworm's exposed back. The creature's screech morphed into a guttural roar as it writhed in pain, its body convulsing violently.
Its rage now focused entirely on Donovan, buying the other Blackouts a moment to catch their breath.
Seeing the opportunity, Riley loaded his own revolver with Exterminators bullets. He handled each bullet with care, his fingers trembling slightly. Six shots—that's all he had.
There would be no second chances. His instincts screamed at him to fire immediately, to take the shot, but his mind warned him to be patient. He couldn't afford to waste these precious bullets.
The bloodworm's body coiled as it launched itself at Donovan with terrifying velocity. The captain sidestepped, but not quickly enough.
The creature's grotesque body slammed into him, sending him crashing into the wall with a bone-rattling impact.
Donovan groaned, struggling to get back on his feet. The bloodworm turned its malevolent gaze toward Riley, its crimson eyes glowing with unbridled hatred.
Riley's heart froze. Time seemed to stretch infinitely as the monstrous worm lunged at him, its maw opening wide, revealing rows of jagged, glistening teeth.
He threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the oncoming mass of flesh and rage. But his reprieve was short-lived.
The creature spewed a blood spear from its mouth, its accuracy uncanny.
"Damnation!" Riley cursed, flipping midair as the spear narrowly grazed his side.
Pain shot through his left arm as he crashed to the ground, skidding across the damp stone floor. He winced, feeling the warmth of blood trickle down his arm.
He could hear the other Blackouts desperately trying to bring the creature down, but they were faltering. One by one, they were overpowered by the bloodworm's savage strikes.
Something wasn't right... Riley's mind raced as he lay there, panting, his body screaming in agony.
These Blackouts should have been on par with the bloodworm, especially Donovan, who should be in a higher series. Why were they being pushed back so easily?
The blood spear was still embedded in his arm. Gritting his teeth, Riley yanked it out with a sharp tug, the pain causing his vision to blur momentarily.
He tore a piece of fabric from his shirt and hastily wrapped his wound. His heart pounded relentlessly in his chest, but he couldn't afford to panic—not now.
Donovan, still struggling to stand, grunted as he summoned the last of his strength.
With a defiant roar, he unleashed a blinding golden light that enveloped the bloodworm, trapping it in a radiant prison.
The creature's shrieks grew frantic as it thrashed against its luminous cage.
"Nile," Donovan called out, his voice strained, "It's weakened. We have one chance—destroy it now!"
The remaining Blackouts, their faces pale with exhaustion, regrouped.
Their hands trembled as they murmured a quiet prayer to Lussi, the goddess of mischief and mystery.
They loaded their guns with their last remaining bullets and took aim at the writhing creature.
"We pray to you, O Lussi. Grant us the strength to exterminate this abomination."
In unison, they opened fire. The bullets tore through the bloodworm's now-exposed flesh, each shot met with a spray of sickly white blood.
Its carapace fell away, revealing the pulsing, vulnerable body beneath. The creature let out a final, heart-wrenching screech as it struggled against the inevitable.
But then, as if in one last act of defiance, the bloodworm shattered its light prison with an unholy shriek, the force of its escape sending the Blackouts flying.
Donovan collapsed to the ground, unmoving. One of the Blackouts convulsed, blood trickling from his nose, and then fell still—dead.
Riley's breath caught in his throat. His comrades had fallen, and now he was alone. The bloodworm, now grievously injured but still dangerous, turned its attention to him once more.
Its soulless eyes gleamed with a predatory hunger as it surged toward him, its movements slower but no less deadly.
Riley's body trembled, every fiber of his being screaming at him to flee. But something inside him stirred—a deep, primal instinct.
With a swift motion, he summoned his magician costume, the black fabric materializing around him like a second skin.
His appearance shifted, his face twisting into something otherworldly, as if some deeper force had taken over.
The bloodworm lunged at him, its maw wide open.
--
In the dark, time seemed to stand still. The vast void stretched endlessly, shrouded in silence and anticipation.
A lone quill floated in the center, its sharp tip scratching feverishly against a piece of brown parchment as though controlled by an unseen force.
Its movement was frantic, ink splattering with each hurried stroke as it began to scrawl an unsettling narrative.
The words etched themselves in deep, almost ominous lines:
Robert was targeted by the bloodworm.
Under the bloodworm's thrall, influenced by the sinister specter, it had torn through the magical light prison that once held it. In one swift, violent strike, it had already claimed the life of one of the Blackouts.
The others, fallen and unconscious, lay motionless, their breathing shallow, suspended in a slumber that would not easily be broken. The artifact, known as the 'Eternal Slumber', once their hope for defense, now rendered them vulnerable.
No one dared to wield it further, not when its power came at such a perilous cost—the threat of never waking again.
The quill scratched harder, faster, as it continued to record Robert's grim fate. 'Robert Mugg would fall to the bloodworm' The ink seemed to grow darker as if symbolizing the inevitable conclusion.
The bloodworm's hunger, its relentless need to devour, would see Robert crushed beneath its strength. His body, consumed, would serve as its feast. The parchment described Robert's life slipping away, painted a vision of his flesh being torn apart by the beast's vile maw.
But then, something else bled onto the page—an error, a shift in the narrative. The quill hesitated, faltering as if unsure whether it should continue. A jagged line marred the text, but it persisted. 'Error... Error... Robert possesses the Key of Time. it was unknown how he came into possession of this key'
The golden key, ancient and enigmatic, had once again intervened. Twice now, it had saved him, defying the natural order of things. Robert had cheated death, and death, in its anger, had unleashed the bloodworm. The specter had ensured this abomination would be Robert's undoing.
Yet, the key pulsed within him, its mysterious power radiating through his veins.
But the bloodworm, with its seething malevolence, was not finished. It had sensed the key's power, and now, a cruel voice echoed within Robert's mind. "I will kill Eleanor next," it hissed, taunting him with promises of more death, more pain.
Robert's heart clenched at the mention of Eleanor. Rage, raw and primal, surged through him. His face twisted into something grotesque—no longer just Robert, but something far more dangerous.
His magician's coat materialized around him, shimmering with white sparks as though summoning every ounce of arcane might left in his battered soul.
Something had changed in Robert. The shift was palpable, like the air before a storm—heavy, foreboding, and ready to explode.
Whatever had taken hold of him, it was beyond mortal comprehension. A power darker than the bloodworm itself seemed to stir within him, and the quill—its control fraying—struggled to keep up with what it could no longer understand.
The quill froze, before writing: I am incapable of predicting the outcome, unsure of what was to come. But one thing is certain:
"Robert was ready for war."