Sir Arras stood at the forefront, his imposing figure silhouetted against the dimming light of the twin suns. The sigil on his back glowed fiercely, casting a halo of golden light around him. Behind him, Ashanti and Alek, the Sentinels who had fought countless battles by his side, waited in tense silence.
Umar and his teammates had been sent back to assist Denzel with evacuating the survivors. The battlefield was littered with the charred remains of defeated Seedlings, their twisted forms sprawled across the blood-soaked ground. The stench of death and scorched flesh hung heavy in the air.
In the distance loomed the Voidbringer, its form a pulsating mass of darkness. Wings that seemed to bleed shadows stretched wide, as though to blot out the heavens. The light of the twin suns dimmed with each passing moment, their radiance drained as if consumed by the creature itself.
"It's really a Voidbringer," Sir Arras whispered, his tone low but grim.
"What is the plan, Sir?" Ashanti asked, her long black hair fluttering in the wind. Her sharp gaze never left the monstrosity ahead, her body tense but ready.
"As usual, you support me. I'll take the front," Sir Arras replied. Being the only Will Warrior among them, it was his duty to face the calamity head-on. This was not the first time the trio had fought together. Over the years, they had weathered countless battles, their trust in one another forged in fire and blood.
Sir Arras raised his right hand, and a massive battle axe materialized, its blade shimmering with a menacing glow, like embers flickering to life in a dying forge. The sigil on his palm pulsed as he gripped the weapon tightly, its raw energy surging through him.
Ashanti and Alek drew their grimoires from the sides of their robes, the ancient tomes floating beside them as though alive. The pages of the books fluttered rapidly before stopping on specific sigils. As one, they began to chant, their voices steady and commanding:
"Sigil of Power. Sigil of Speed. Sigil of Protection. Sigil of Sharpness. Sigil of Destruction."
The sigils etched on the pages glowed fiercely, their energy flowing into Sir Arras. His body radiated with shifting hues of light—gold, crimson, and azure—his hair whipping wildly in the gathering winds. The ground trembled beneath his feet as the raw force of the sigils surged through him.
"Let's go," he said, his voice carrying a steely resolve. He bent his knees slightly, then shot forward like a cannon ball, the air parting around him. Alek and Ashanti followed, veering to the left and right, their grimoires trailing close behind as they maintained formation.
The Voidbringer turned its baleful gaze toward the trio, its eyes glowing with a dark, unnatural fire. Shadows writhed around its form like living tendrils, and with a guttural roar, it unleashed a burst of incomprehensible words into the air. The sound was a physical force, slamming into Sir Arras with brutal intensity.
The sigils protecting him flared in response, golden barriers shimmering around his form as they absorbed the assault. Behind him, Alek and Ashanti's grimoires glowed brighter, their protective sigils reinforcing his defenses.
Undeterred, Sir Arras leapt high into the air, his massive axe trailing behind him. He locked his gaze on the Voidbringer, the world narrowing to just him and the calamity ahead. With a mighty roar, he hurled the axe with all his strength.
The weapon tore through the air like a comet, its edges glowing with a fiery orange light. The sheer force of the throw sent a shockwave rippling outward, the sound of the weapon cutting through the atmosphere like a thunderclap.
"Sigil of Fire! Sigil of Weakness! Sigil of Destruction!" Ashanti and Alek shouted in unison.
The axe ignited mid-flight, its flames shifting from orange to blue, then finally to an intense, searing purple. The Voidbringer roared again, its wings curling protectively around its body, but it was too late.
The axe struck with devastating force, its impact shaking the ground beneath their feet. A screech of agony erupted from the Voidbringer as the flames consumed its dark form. Shadows poured from its body like blood, staining the earth in a writhing pool of darkness.
Sir Arras landed on the ground with destructive force, his axe returning to his hand with a flick of his wrist. The Voidbringer staggered, its massive wings twitching as it struggled to steady itself.
"Not enough to kill it," Sir Arras muttered, his eyes narrowing.
Ashanti and Alek flanked him once more, their grimoires already glowing with the next set of sigils. The battle was far from over, but the trio stood firm, their Will burning brightly in the face of the calamity.
---
The sigil on the Church Centurion's left hand glowed, and a sturdy whip materialized in his grip. Its surface was black, covered in snake-like scales that shimmered faintly with a sinister light. In his right hand, Sir Arras hefted his massive battle axe, its weight and power palpable.
Ashanti and Alek extended their hands toward the axe, their voices harmonizing as though guided by a shared mind. "Sigil of Fire. Sigil of Corrosion. Sigil of Weakness. Sigil of Destruction. Sigil of Speed."
The axe's head ignited with a blazing orange flame that shifted hues—blue, purple, and finally an intense, radiant pink. The fire crackled with energy, rippling across the weapon's surface.
They then turned their attention to Sir Arras himself, the pages of their grimoires fluttering ceaselessly as they chanted: "Sigil of Power. Sigil of Speed. Sigil of Intuition."
Sir Arras felt the surge immediately—his body and weapon brimming with raw, untamed energy. The power coursing through him sharpened his senses and amplified his movements. Strengthening his grip on the whip in his left hand, he smirked grimly and said, "Let's go again."
With a sudden burst of speed, he shot forward, closing the distance between himself and the Voidbringer in an instant.
The Voidbringer, still recovering from the previous assault, let out a guttural roar that shook the battlefield. Around it, swirling shadows condensed into massive orbs of black flame—dozens of them, each seething with destructive energy.
With a deafening bellow, the Voidbringer unleashed its attack, sending the flaming orbs hurtling toward the trio.
The sigil on Sir Arras's back flared brightly, strengthening the barrier that shielded him. Alek and Ashanti mirrored his actions, activating their Sigils of Protection. Layers of translucent domes surrounded them, their barriers shimmering against the oncoming onslaught.
Sir Arras darted through the first wave of flames, each explosion behind him a cacophony of fire and shrapnel. The ground erupted with each impact, sending splintered rock and molten debris into the air.
Leaping high into the sky, Sir Arras prepared to strike again, but the Voidbringer had anticipated him. The shadows below writhed and surged upward, forming dark tendrils that lashed out to ensnare him mid-air.
Reacting swiftly, Sir Arras hurled his flaming axe skyward with all his might—not at the Voidbringer, but into the open air above. As the axe ascended, the whip in his left hand glowed and extended, its length elongating unnaturally. With a sharp motion, he lashed the whip toward the airborne axe, catching its hilt. The force pulled him upward, carrying him out of the reach of the shadowy tendrils.
The Voidbringer roared in frustration, its guttural voice laced with incomprehensible words. Shadows coiled around its massive frame as it crouched low to the ground, its claws digging into the earth. With a single, powerful leap, it propelled itself skyward, its leathery wings unfurling mid-ascent and blotting out the dim light of the twin suns.
For a brief moment, the true form of the calamity was revealed—a monstrous being with four muscular limbs ending in razor-sharp claws, immense leathery wings, and a body so massive it defied reason, yet its movements were unnervingly agile.
Its fiery eyes locked onto Sir Arras, and as it gained altitude, it opened its maw, unleashing a torrent of black fire that scorched the air.
High above, Sir Arras spun his whip, the axe at its end blazing like a comet. Below, Ashanti and Alek steadied themselves amid the chaos. Having weathered the explosions, they raised their hands in unison.
"Sigil of construction: Spears. Sigil of Explosion. Sigil of Destruction," they chanted, their voices cutting through the cacophony.
Above them, countless sturdy spears materialized in the air, glowing unnaturally with deadly energy. The Sentinels hurled the spears toward the Voidbringer with precision, each projectile streaking toward its target like falling stars.
Sir Arras released his flaming axe just as the Voidbringer shifted mid-flight. The blazing weapon tore through the creature's flames but missed its mark as the calamity twisted its massive body with uncanny speed.
Undeterred, Sir Arras focused on his whip. Its tip transformed, expanding into a massive, spiked ball glinting with a metallic sheen stronger than steel. As the Voidbringer prepared to unleash another torrent of fire, the spears from the Sentinels struck its left side.
The resulting explosions ripped through the beast's shadowy form, throwing it off balance. Sir Arras seized the opening and swung his whip with devastating force. The spiked ball connected with the Voidbringer's skull, the impact resonating like a thunderclap.
The calamity screeched in agony, its massive body spiraling downward. Darkness bled from its wounds, staining the ground below as it crashed with earth-shaking force.
Without hesitation, Sir Arras flicked his wrist, recalling the flaming axe to his hand. Descending from the sky with terrifying speed, he hurled the weapon one final time.
The axe tore through the air, its flames now a blinding, brilliant pink. It struck the Voidbringer's body as it lay sprawled in the cratered ground. The impact erupted in a deafening boom, flames and dust surging into the sky, shrouding the battlefield in a blazing inferno.
Sir Arras landed heavily next to the unmoving body of the Voidbringer. The oppressive shroud of darkness that had once cloaked the calamity had dissipated, revealing its monstrous form in stark detail. The creature's massive frame sprawled lifeless across the battered ground, its leathery wings torn and twisted, and its obsidian claws digging into the soil as though in a final act of defiance.
The air was eerily still, save for the faint rustling of the Ancient Forest's towering trees, their colossal leaves swaying in the wind. The once-deafening sounds of battle had faded, replaced by an uneasy quiet that settled over the battlefield like a heavy blanket.
Ashanti and Alek soon joined Sir Arras, their grimoires hovering close as their eyes took in the slain calamity. Its dark, fiery eyes had dimmed to empty voids, and a faint, acrid smell lingered in the air where its dark fire had burned moments before.
"It's finally done," Ashanti murmured, her voice tinged with relief but shadowed by the weight of what lay ahead.
Sir Arras nodded, his expression stoic but weary. He glanced back toward the direction of Duskwatch, the distant dome of its protective sigils shining slightly from afar. "No time to linger," he said. "Store the body, and let's move into the forest."
Without hesitation, Alek stepped forward. The bracelet on his wrist glowed faintly, its embedded sigil flaring to life. A stream of shimmering light enveloped the Voidbringer's corpse, breaking it down into particles of energy that spiraled into the sigil. Within seconds, the massive body was gone, stored securely within the enchanted bracelet.
Ashanti tightened her grip on her grimoire, its pages fluttering slightly as if in response to her unease. "What do you think we'll find deeper in the forest, Sir?"
Sir Arras adjusted his grip on his battle axe, his gaze fixed on the dense shadows ahead. "Answers, I hope. But be prepared for more trouble. If a Voidbringer emerged from this place, something far worse might be waiting."
The trio began their approach toward the looming forest, the wind carrying a faint, haunting whisper from its depths. As they stepped into the shadowed canopy, the towering trees seemed to close in around them, their immense trunks forming a labyrinth of ancient wood. Every step felt heavier, the air thicker, as though the forest itself were alive and watching their every move.