Eryx's vision swam as the forest around him seemed to warp, twisted by the power he had just unleashed. The blue energy still crackled across his body like wild lightning, refusing to dissipate. His breaths came in ragged gasps, and despite Lira's words of reassurance, he could feel the Gate's power slipping from his control.
Then, without warning, the ground beneath them exploded.
Massive roots tore up from the earth, twisting like living serpents as they shot toward Eryx and Lira. Eryx leaped back, narrowly avoiding the thick tendrils, while Lira slashed through one with her blade, cutting it in half. The forest itself had turned hostile, alive with the malevolent energy of the Gate.
Eryx didn't have time to react before he felt a surge of cold, dark energy behind him.
"Behind you!" Lira shouted, but she was too late.
A blast of dark magic hit Eryx square in the back, sending him sprawling forward into the dirt. Pain exploded across his body, but he forced himself to roll to the side just as another wave of energy crashed into the ground where he had been. His eyes snapped upward, and he saw them—a horde of enemies materializing from the shadows of the trees.
Cloaked figures, dozens of them, their faces hidden beneath hoods, their hands glowing with dark energy. These weren't ordinary enemies. Their presence felt wrong, twisted, like they had been born from the Gate itself.
"Lira!" Eryx yelled, scrambling to his feet as the first wave of enemies closed in.
Lira was already in motion, her sword gleaming in the faint light as she slashed through the nearest cloaked figure. It let out an unearthly scream as it dissolved into shadow, but for every enemy she cut down, two more appeared.
Eryx thrust his hand forward, releasing a burst of blue energy, which blasted through three of the cloaked figures, disintegrating them instantly. But the energy didn't stop—it arced wildly, striking the trees, the ground, and even the air itself. The Gate's power was too unstable, too uncontrollable.
Before he could regain control, another blast hit him in the chest, knocking the air from his lungs. He fell to the ground, gasping, as the cloaked figures advanced, their dark magic swirling like a storm.
I need to focus.
The Gate was tearing him apart, but if he didn't use it, they were both dead. Gritting his teeth, Eryx forced himself to his feet, letting the power surge through him—but this time, he didn't try to suppress it. He guided it.
Blue flames erupted from his hands, spiraling outward like a hurricane, incinerating the nearest cloaked enemies. He felt something shift inside him—a new level of control. The Gate's power wasn't just raw energy. It was malleable. Shape it. Bend it.
A scream to his right. He spun around just in time to see Lira surrounded by half a dozen enemies. She fought like a whirlwind, her blade flashing as she cut through them, but she was being overwhelmed.
"Lira, hold on!" Eryx shouted, his hands already moving. He extended his fingers and focused the energy into thin, concentrated beams of light. The beams shot forward like arrows, precise and deadly, cutting down the enemies that surrounded her.
Lira glanced at him, nodding her thanks, but there was no time to celebrate. More enemies surged from the trees, dozens of them, then hundreds. The air grew thick with their numbers, and Eryx's heart pounded in his chest. They were surrounded. There was no way out.
We can't fight them all.
Suddenly, the sky darkened, the air growing heavy with an oppressive force. Eryx froze, and even the cloaked figures halted their advance, as if something far more terrifying had entered the battlefield.
A massive figure stepped from the shadows, towering over the horde of enemies like a colossus. Its body was covered in black armor, veins of red energy pulsating across its chest and limbs. Two glowing eyes peered out from beneath its helmet, and the ground trembled with every step it took.
This wasn't just another enemy.
This was a monster.
The figure raised its massive hand, and the ground beneath Eryx and Lira exploded upward, roots and rock shooting toward them with impossible speed. Eryx barely had time to form a shield of energy before the attack hit, the force of it sending him and Lira flying backward into the trees.
Eryx slammed into a tree, pain lancing through his side as he struggled to catch his breath. The massive figure stepped into the clearing, its red eyes locked on him. The power radiating from it was overwhelming, suffocating. This was something beyond anything Eryx had ever faced.
"I… I don't think we can win this," Lira muttered, pulling herself to her feet. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with fear.
"We don't have a choice," Eryx replied, though his voice lacked the conviction he wanted it to have.
The massive figure raised its hand again, and this time, it wasn't just the ground that attacked. The air itself seemed to warp, crackling with dark energy. Bolts of red lightning shot from the sky, raining down on Eryx and Lira with deadly precision.
Eryx dodged left, rolling across the ground as one of the bolts struck where he had been standing. He could hear the sizzle of the air, smell the sharp, metallic scent of the lightning. This thing was playing with them, testing their limits.
"We can't fight it like this!" Lira shouted, her voice strained.
Eryx knew she was right. This enemy wasn't something they could take head-on. They needed a plan, a way to turn the battle in their favor. But what? The Gate's power was strong, but it was unstable—too wild to control in a direct fight.
Suddenly, an idea hit him. He didn't need to control it. He just needed to release it.
"Lira, get ready to run!" Eryx shouted.
"What?!"
"Trust me!"
Before she could respond, Eryx turned toward the massive figure, raising both hands. He closed his eyes, feeling the Gate's power surging through him, wild and untamable. And then, with a roar, he unleashed it.
A torrent of blue energy erupted from his body, flooding the battlefield with a blinding light. It wasn't controlled—it was raw, chaotic power, the full force of the Gate released in one massive explosion. The blast ripped through the cloaked figures, disintegrating them instantly. The ground shook, trees were torn from the earth, and the air itself seemed to vibrate with the sheer force of the attack.
But the armored figure stood firm, its red eyes glowing with malevolent energy. It raised its hand, and the blue light around it bent, warping into a vortex of dark power. It wasn't just surviving Eryx's attack—it was absorbing it.
Eryx's heart sank.
It's too strong.
The figure stepped forward, its eyes burning brighter. It raised its hand to strike, but then, without warning, something shifted. The energy Eryx had released wasn't just being absorbed—it was changing. It twisted, spiraled, and then shot back toward him in a wave of blue and red light.
Eryx's eyes widened as the energy hit him, flooding his body with both power and pain. He collapsed to his knees, his body shaking uncontrollably. The Gate's power was no longer just inside him—it was consuming him.
And there was nothing he could do to stop it.