Zami crouched low behind a jagged outcropping of stone, his body perfectly still as he studied the humanoid creatures guarding the shard. Their movements were deliberate, their weapons gleaming faintly in the dim chamber light. He counted ten of them—more than he'd ever faced at once.
His mind began to piece together a plan, mapping the battlefield and noting every detail: the uneven floor, the scattered debris, and the natural pillars that jutted upward like broken teeth. The environment would be his ally, just as it had been countless times before.
Karesh's voice slipped into his thoughts. "You've been in worse situations, but these creatures are clever. Do not underestimate them."
"I don't plan to," Zami replied silently, his eyes narrowing.
He tightened his grip on the hilt of his katana. He wouldn't rush in recklessly—this fight required precision and strategy.
---
The creatures moved in shifts, their watchful eyes scanning the chamber. Zami waited for the opportune moment, letting their pattern reveal itself. When two of them turned their backs to him, he moved.
His steps were silent, his form a blur as he closed the distance to the nearest pillar. With a swift motion, he scaled the jagged stone, perching above the group like a shadow.
When the time was right, he struck.
Using *Stone Slash*, Zami propelled himself off the pillar, his katana slicing through the air with deadly precision. The first creature fell before it could even react, its lifeless body crumpling to the ground.
The others whirled around, weapons raised, but Zami was already moving. He darted between them with *Wild Cat Flow*, disrupting their formation and throwing them off balance. His movements were fluid, each strike calculated.
One of the creatures lunged at him with a spear. Zami parried with *Blade Bind*, redirecting the attack and countering with a swift slash to its neck. The creature gurgled and fell, its weapon clattering to the ground.
Another creature tried to flank him, but Zami anticipated its move. Using *Hidden Strike*, he feigned a slash to its left, only to pivot and drive his dagger into its ribs. The toxic blade left the creature convulsing on the ground.
The remaining creatures regrouped, their movements more cautious now. Zami smirked, his breathing steady despite the exertion.
Two archers fired arrows in rapid succession, but Zami twisted and leapt, his enhanced reflexes making him a blur. He closed the distance with *Arrow Flow*, spinning into a devastating kick that sent one of the archers crashing into a wall.
Another lunged at him with a crude sword, but Zami used *Earth Slam* to destabilize the attacker. Grabbing the creature by its arm, he flipped it over and drove its head into the ground with a sickening crunch.
The last three creatures hesitated, their resolve faltering as they watched their comrades fall. Zami didn't give them a chance to recover.
He unleashed *Multiple Slashes*, his katana a whirlwind of deadly arcs that tore through the remaining enemies. Their bodies collapsed in a heap, the chamber falling silent once more.
Zami stood amidst the carnage, his chest rising and falling as he surveyed the aftermath. Blood pooled around his feet, and the stench of death hung heavy in the air.
He turned his attention to the shard. It pulsed with a faint, otherworldly light, its surface smooth and unmarked.
"This shard…" he murmured, kneeling beside it. His hand hovered over the object, his mind racing. Was this the shard from the Bone Monarch's throne, or the one the creatures outside the fortress had worshiped?
Karesh's voice broke the silence. "You're asking the wrong questions, Zami. It doesn't matter which shard it is—they're both pieces of the same puzzle."
Zami frowned, his gaze fixed on the shard. "Why were they guarding it so fiercely, then? If they're connected, why wouldn't they protect them together?"
"Perhaps they fear what happens if the shards are united," Karesh suggested.
Zami clenched his fist. The mysteries surrounding the shards, the entities, and the meteors that had brought them to this world—it all felt maddeningly out of reach.
He wrapped the shard in a cloth and secured it to his side. There was no time to linger. The creatures might send reinforcements, and he needed to get the shard to safety.
As he left the chamber, his mind was already racing with questions and possibilities. The answers he sought were out there, waiting to be uncovered—and he wouldn't stop until he found them.