The Sentinel Cometh (Oh No, Oh No, Oh No!)
Leonel had been through a lot today.
First, the world had ended.
Second, he had been dragged into some nightmare dimension.
Third, he had fought monsters from a horror movie.
Fourth, he had met Aina 2.0, who was apparently a ninja space warrior.
And now, just when he thought he was one step away from escaping this madness—
A towering, cosmic, reality-bending horror showed up to ruin his day.
"Are you kidding me?" Leonel groaned. "Can't we get, like, a five-minute break?"
Aina, whose entire focus was on the Sentinel slowly emerging from the abyss, shot him a glare. "If you'd rather take a break, I can leave you here."
Leonel straightened. "Nope. I'm good. Let's run."
Aina sighed. "Too late."
The Sentinel's massive, swirling form loomed before them. Unlike the Invalids, this thing didn't look like it belonged in any logical reality. It had too many limbs, and yet not enough. Its head was an ever-shifting sphere, flickering between a thousand unreadable expressions. Its presence alone felt like a planet was pressing down on Leonel's chest.
And then—it spoke.
"LEAVE."
Leonel's ears nearly exploded. The Sentinel's voice wasn't a voice at all. It was like a tsunami of sound and thought crashing into his skull.
"I think it wants us to go," Leonel said, clutching his head.
Aina didn't look impressed. "Gee. You think?"
The Plan (or Lack Thereof)
"So… what's the strategy?" Leonel asked, trying not to sound too panicked.
"Simple," Aina said. "We get past it and into the Core Gate."
Leonel blinked. "That's not a strategy. That's wishful thinking."
"Would you like a better plan?"
"Yes."
"Too bad."
Leonel groaned. "Fantastic. Love this teamwork dynamic we have going on."
Aina tightened her grip on her sword. "We move on my signal."
Leonel nodded quickly. "Right. Just tell me when."
Aina tensed, ready to attack—then suddenly turned to him.
"By the way, if we die, this is your fault."
Leonel gasped. "HOW?!"
But before he could get an answer, Aina vanished.
Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and—Oh, Crap
Aina warped through space, appearing near the Sentinel's side, her blade flashing as she struck.
Leonel, still very mortal, did what he did best—
PANICKED AND RAN.
The Sentinel moved faster than it had any right to. One of its twisting appendages lashed out, tearing through the air like a black hole in motion. Leonel barely threw himself to the ground before it sliced clean through the space where his head used to be.
Yup. Nope. I hate this. I hate this so much.
Aina was actually fighting the thing, blinking in and out of existence, slicing through its shifting limbs. Each strike sent shimmering cracks across the creature's body, but they sealed almost instantly.
Leonel, meanwhile, was dodging for his life.
At one point, he rolled behind a rock.
"Okay, Leonel. Think," he muttered to himself. "You're in an impossible nightmare dimension. You have a weird teleport ability. And a death monster is trying to crush you. What's the best move?"
A nearby rock exploded as one of the Sentinel's attacks missed him by an inch.
Leonel screamed. "NOT DYING. NOT DYING IS THE BEST MOVE!"
With that in mind, he teleported across the battlefield.
Right next to Aina.
"AHH—"
Aina nearly stabbed him on reflex.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she yelled, dodging another attack.
Leonel gasped for breath. "I panicked!"
"You PANICKED into my attack range?!"
Leonel nodded frantically. "Yes! Do NOT question my survival instincts!"
Aina groaned. "Fine! Just—don't get in my way!"
"Way ahead of you."
Leonel promptly teleported again.
Right above the Sentinel.
"Oh no."
Gravity took over.
Leonel fell directly onto its head.
The Most Unintentional Attack Ever
For a split second, everything froze.
Aina stopped mid-attack. The Sentinel stopped mid-swing. The universe itself seemed to take a brief pause.
Then—
Leonel face-planted into the Sentinel's shifting mass.
A deep, echoing silence followed.
Then—
The Sentinel reeled back in shock.
Leonel, still clinging to its head, lifted his face, dazed. "Huh?"
Aina stared. "Did… did you just headbutt the cosmic horror?"
Leonel blinked. "I—I think I did?"
The Sentinel shuddered violently. Its massive form cracked where Leonel had landed, shimmering distortions rippling outward like glass shattering in slow motion.
Aina narrowed her eyes. "Wait. Your power—"
Leonel's brain finally caught up.
Dimensional Shift.
His ability didn't just let him teleport. It broke space.
Which meant—
He had just teleported his skull through a creature that shouldn't even exist in three dimensions.
And it wasn't handling it well.
The Sentinel let out a horrific, distorted scream, its body flickering uncontrollably.
Aina seized the moment.
"Leonel—MOVE!"
Leonel teleported away.
Aina slashed forward, her dimensional blade cutting through the Sentinel's core.
The world exploded in light.
The Aftermath (Leonel Needs a Nap)
When the light faded, the Sentinel was gone.
Leonel stumbled backward, panting. "I… I think we won?"
Aina exhaled slowly. "Somehow."
Leonel wiped sweat from his forehead. "Great. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to sit down and question all of my life choices."
Aina rolled her eyes. "Later. We need to go."
She gestured toward the Core Gate, which was now pulsing with golden light.
Leonel groaned but forced himself up. "Fine. But if another cosmic nightmare shows up, I'm quitting life."
Aina smirked. "Noted."
Together, they stepped into the light.
And the world shifted once more.