My heart twisted painfully, a surge of anguish and rage erupting within me. But it wasn't just that—there was something deeper, something primal, a pressure building like a dam ready to burst. That tsunami of energy, relentless and wild, surged toward the surface, demanding release.
The Naga, sensing my turmoil, didn't give me a moment to process or grieve. Its eyes gleamed with cold intelligence, calculating how to break me completely. It knew Vallen's death had weakened me, and it intended to finish the job.
With blinding speed, it struck—its tail whipping through the air with bone-shattering force. Instinct took over. I twisted just in time, my body moving with a fluidity that surprised even me. But the Naga was relentless, its attacks coming in a vicious flurry—claws, tail, venomous breath—all aimed to end me.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins as water spiraled around me, forming a barrier that deflected some of the blows. I twisted and dodged, each movement precise, each barrier of ice and water a calculated response to the Naga's relentless onslaught. But it was stronger, faster, more vicious. Every hit I landed was shrugged off, void energy knitting its wounds almost as fast as I could inflict them.
Water formed sharp, crystalline shards at my command, each one aimed with deadly precision. They struck true, embedding in the Naga's flesh. Head, chest, and shoulders—yet the creature roared in defiance, countering with a burst of void energy that shattered the shards and sent me staggering back.
My heart pounded as the pressure within me built. The Naga's attacks were relentless, each strike heavier, faster, adapting to my every move. I could feel my strength waning, fatigue creeping in, but I couldn't stop. I wouldn't let it end like this.
The Naga lunged again, maw wide, venom dripping. Without hesitation, I conjured a massive wave of water, forcing it down the creature's throat, trying to drown it from within. The Naga twisted, snapping its jaws shut, severing the flow. It retaliated with a slash of its tail, sending me crashing into the ground with bone-jarring force.
Pain exploded through me, but I forced myself to rise, to keep fighting. My wounds began to itch, my body growing warmer as the pain slowly ebbed.
"Why is it so hot? I can't stand this heat," I muttered, feeling the discomfort seep into my bones.
The Naga was on me again, claws slashing. I countered with a swirling vortex of water, creating a spinning barrier of ice and mist. The Naga's impact cracked the ice, sending shards flying, but I held my ground.
Then the barrier shattered, and the Naga's claws raked across my side, tearing through flesh, hot blood spilling. I staggered back, struggling to maintain my footing, but the Naga was unrelenting. Its tail wrapped around my leg, yanking me off my feet and slamming me into the ground.
Stars exploded in my vision, my breath knocked from my lungs. The world spun, pain blinding, but I couldn't stop. Coughing up blood, I rolled over and tried to trigger Osmosis again. I could see small splotches on the Naga's body, faint traces of something—Osmosis had been triggered, but I didn't know how to keep it on.
Through the haze of pain, I forced myself to focus. The power within me raged, demanding release. Desperation fueled me as I reached deep, grasping for that raw energy, and pulled.
A surge of Aether exploded from my chest, a wave of water bursting forth, slamming into the Naga and knocking it back. But I didn't stop. I poured more Aether into the attack, the water swirling into a massive serpent of liquid and ice. With a flick of my wrist, I sent the serpent crashing into the Naga, its icy fangs sinking deep.
"Damn it! How do I keep you running? A Gift shouldn't be this hard to understand!" The frustration in my voice matched the chaos in my mind as I struggled to stay in control.
The Naga roared in pain, the serpent constricting, crushing with the force of a tidal wave. But the creature wasn't done. Void energy surged, shattering the serpent, and the Naga lunged at me with renewed fury.
I barely reacted as its claws slashed across my chest, sending me flying. Pain radiated through me, and for a moment, I couldn't move. The Naga loomed over me, eyes gleaming with triumph, claws poised for the final blow.
And then, through the fog of pain and desperation, I felt it—a connection, faint but growing stronger. The splotches on the Naga's skin were spreading, like ripples through water. I had established the link, even if I didn't fully understand how. I didn't need to maintain direct contact anymore; Osmosis was working, weakening the Naga, and in turn, fueling me.
As the Naga's claws descended, I felt a warmth spreading through me, my wounds beginning to close, the pain lessening. My body was starting to heal itself, the Aether within me surging, growing stronger with every second.
I gritted my teeth and forced myself up, the surge of Aether amplifying my strength. The Naga struck again, but this time I was ready. I dodged its claws with renewed agility, my movements fluid and precise. With each strike, the connection deepened, the void energy in the Naga weakening as my Aether overwhelmed it.
The tide of battle was turning. I just needed to hold on a little longer, to keep Osmosis running, and let it do the rest.
But the Naga was not finished yet. With a desperate surge, it released a burst of void energy that shattered my wave, sending me reeling back. Before I could react, the Naga lashed out with its tail, striking across my chest and sending me sprawling to the ground.
Pain exploded through my body, my vision blurring as the world spun around me. The Naga was on me in an instant, its vines wrapping around my limbs, its thorns digging into my flesh. I thrashed and fought, trying to free myself, but the vines tightened their grip, pulling me closer to the creature.
I could feel the void energy seeping into me, sapping my strength, the darkness creeping into the edges of my vision. The Naga was trying to consume me, to drain my life force, to end this battle once and for all.
But then, something within me clicked. The connection I had established through Osmosis was still there, and it was growing stronger. I didn't need to overpower the Naga—I just needed to keep the connection alive, to let Osmosis do its work.
With a desperate surge of willpower, I reached deep within myself, calling on every last reserve of strength. The pressure in my chest intensified, the Aether inside me swirling faster and faster, until it felt like I would burst. I focused all my energy on maintaining the connection, on letting Osmosis drain the Naga's strength and transfer it to me.
The Naga recoiled as the wave of energy I formed into a drill of tendrils hit it, its body convulsing as my power tore through it. I could see the void energy unraveling, the creature's form flickering and distorting as it struggled to maintain its grip on this plane.
I pushed harder, forcing more Aether into the attack, pouring every ounce of my strength into the final blow.
The Naga let out a piercing screech, its dark energy surging. The void in its core exploded, sending a shockwave that knocked me off my feet. The vines snapped back, crushing me to the ground. The Naga, now a grotesque fusion of void and liquid, loomed over me, seething with malevolent power.
But even as it prepared to strike, I could see the translucent patches on its body spreading. The Osmosis was working, draining its strength, weakening it. I just needed a little more time.
As if responding to my desperation, the sky above the Rift darkened. Thick clouds gathered, swirling into a vortex, and with a deafening crack of thunder, the heavens opened. Rain began to pour down, but it wasn't ordinary rain. It was infused with Aether, my power manifesting in the world around me, as the water bodies surrounding the Rift began to rise into the air.
The Naga hesitated, its eyes flicking upward in confusion as the rain intensified, the suspended water defying gravity, drawn toward me by an unseen force. The connection between us grew stronger, the Aether flowing between us in a continuous loop. I could feel the creature weakening, its dark energy faltering under the relentless assault of my power.
My reserves replenished rapidly, the influx of Aether from the rain and the surrounding water feeding into me, filling me with a strength I had never known. My heart pulsed with energy, the Aether flowing through it like a river, jump-starting my entire being.
The Naga let out a final, desperate roar, but it was too late. With a roar of my own, I summoned all the water in the Rift, the suspended droplets converging into a massive sphere around me. The Naga recoiled, its body beginning to break apart as the water closed in, compressing around it with a single, decisive motion, I unleashed the full might of my power.
The water mistified, turning into large arrowheads that shot outward in a relentless whirlpool of pure Aether, crashing into the Naga with devastating force. The creature's once formidable form was now barely holding together, its body translucent in some areas, flickering as the dark energy struggled to keep it alive. But it wasn't just the void energy that was unraveling; my Osmosis had taken root deep within its core, accelerating the creature's dissolution from the inside out.
With a snarl, I directed the rising waters around me to converge on the Naga, forming a massive vortex. The water spun faster and faster, becoming a whirling storm of liquid blades—tiny ice shards as sharp as glass, each infused with my Aether, slicing into the creature from all sides. The Naga writhed and roared, its once-mighty body now a tattered remnant of its former self, trapped in the cyclone of my making.
I pushed harder, forcing more Aether into the attack, the translucent patches on its body growing larger, more pronounced. The void energy flickered one last time, a weak attempt to resist, but it was too late. The Naga was mine.
With a final surge of power, I collapsed the vortex inward, compressing the water around the Naga until it was nothing more than a twisted mass of liquid and ice. The creature's roar was cut off abruptly as the last of its form disintegrated, leaving behind only a swirling pool of dark energy and the Rift Core—floating eerily in the center of the vortex.
I let the water fall away, the droplets splashing to the ground as I stood over the Rift Core. Dark tendrils of void energy danced around it, remnants of the Naga's power clinging stubbornly to the Aether within. I could feel the Core pulsing with energy, a heartbeat of the Rift itself.
My breath came in ragged gasps, my body trembling from the exertion, but my mind was clear. I had won, but not yet. I reached out, hand hovering over the Core as I contemplated my next move.
Destroy it, I thought. That was the logical choice, the safe choice. With the Naga gone, the Rift would close, and this nightmare would end. But then another thought slipped into my mind, unbidden.
"This is Aether… I can absorb it… Can I absorb this? The dark energy looks like it's dissipating so I think it'll be fine." I spoke to myself.
The idea was risky, bordering on reckless. But I had absorbed Aether before, hadn't I? This was different, yes, but not entirely. My heart pulsed with the power flowing through me. The reserves I had gained from this Raid, the water, and the Naga itself filled me with a strength I had never known.
If there was ever a time to test my limits, it definitely passed. I thought, remembering my sleeping bag turned eye patch class sensei's favorite saying, "Go beyond–" I cut myself off, not wanting to jinx the situation. Better keep quiet about him. Last time he wrapped me up and left me hanging upside down for three days.
Slowly, cautiously, I placed my hand on the Rift Core.
A surge of energy shot through me, not unlike the times I had absorbed Aether before, but this… this was different. The dark tendrils of void energy fought back, resisting my attempts to draw the Core's power into myself. I gritted my teeth, focusing all my willpower on the task, forcing the void energy to unravel, purging it from the Aether that lay beneath.
The process was slow, agonizingly so. My body trembled under the strain, my heart pounding in my chest as I wrestled with the energy within the Core. The Rift around me began to shift, the very fabric of the space flickering and warping as I drained the Core's power. The dark energy dissipated, replaced by the pure, untainted Aether I craved.
As I absorbed the Core, the Rift began to respond, the chaotic energy that had torn this place apart starting to calm. The twisted, nightmarish landscape slowly began to mend itself—the sky clearing, the ground solidifying, the Rift healing. But not in the way I expected.
The Rift wasn't closing—it looked like it was stabilizing, reviving, repairing itself as if it were an organism healing a wound. I could feel the space around me shifting, the once unstable, dangerous environment becoming… almost serene.
But I didn't have time to ponder what that meant. My friends were still inside, and the Rift wasn't closed yet. I needed to get them out, now.
Desperation clawed at me as I turned away from the Rift Core, my eyes scanning the area for my comrades. Vallen, Lilith, Nico… where were they? The landscape had changed so much in the last few moments that it was nearly unrecognizable. My heart sank as I realized I might have lost them in the chaos.
No… I have to find them, I muttered, pushing myself to move, to search, even as my limbs screamed in protest.
But before I could take more than a few steps, the air around me shimmered, and out of the water veil that had surrounded the Rift, several creatures emerged. They were ethereal, barely visible in the light, their forms shifting like the waves they had come from. They moved with purpose, gliding toward my fallen friends, their movements graceful and deliberate.
I watched in stunned silence as the creatures gently picked up Vallen, Lilith, and Nico, their forms cradled in the watery embrace of these beings. One of them moved toward me, its eyes—if it had eyes—locking onto mine with an understanding that went beyond words.
Without hesitation, I allowed the creature to lift me, my body too exhausted to resist. The water surrounding me felt soothing, the tension in my muscles easing as it supported my weight. The creatures carried us all out of the Rift, their forms blending seamlessly with the water as they moved.
As we passed through the Rift's boundary, I glanced back one last time. The Rift Core had stabilized, its light pulsing rhythmically as the space around it continued to heal. I didn't know what absorbing it would mean for me or for the Rift, but that was a question for another time.
For now, all that mattered was that we were safe, and the battle was over.
For now. So I let myself fall asleep.