Nel stepped back from the altar, exhaling sharply. Her fingers hovered over her watch communicator before she finally sent out the request.
"This is Agent Azure. Requesting backup. Unknown hostile entity—potential high-threat entity."
Backup would take time. Time we might not have.
A deep, guttural groan echoed through the chamber. My grip on my swords tightened as I scanned the darkness. The unstable runes pulsed wildly, sending chaotic waves of essence through the air.
Then the body moved.
It started slow—a twitch of the fingers, a convulsion in the chest. But when its eyes snapped open, glowing with a sickly, corrupted hue, I knew exactly what we were dealing with.
"Essence zombie," Zach muttered beside me.
I didn't take my eyes off it. "It's weakened, but we don't know by how much. Amir—"
I didn't need to finish. He was already moving.
Amir knelt, steadying and putting together a sniper rifle. I could seethe strain as his essence surged into the weapon, amplifying the shot far beyond normal limits. He had one shot before it wrecked him.
He took it.
The chamber lit up as the bullet ripped through the air, striking the creature in the chest with a deafening crack. The impact sent it staggering backward, its groan twisting into a warped scream.
But it didn't fall.
"Still moving," I growled. "Zach, with me!"
The whole room shifted as Zach and I activated our domains in unison, the synergy of years of training sharpening our every movement. Our essence reeked of pure danger.
We were on it in an instant, pressing the attack. Zach fought with precision, every movement calculated, while I fought with aggression, dropping my swords in key positions as I moved. I gave Zach a nod as I dropped the last one and jumped back.
Amir tossed his rifle aside, slipping brass knuckles over his fingers. "Fuck it."
I barely caught a glimpse of him before he was in the fight, his blows landing hard enough to crack the creature's body. But the backlash was brutal. When he overextended on a punch, I heard the sickening snap.
"Shit—" Amir gritted his teeth, stumbling back, his arm hanging at an awkward angle.
That's when Nel moved.
She pushed forward with a controlled grace, strategically shifting Zach and Amir out of the way. As her domain flared, I immediately recognized it—near the peak of Level 2. A nurturing energy enveloped the team as she pressed the attack, each of her strikes flowing like a dancer's. The zombie slowed, its corrupted essence faltering under the force of her blows.
Then, suddenly, its attention shifted.
It turned toward the clan leader, who stood at the far end of the chamber, half-hidden behind Deya. She hadn't moved since the battle started, fully aware this was far beyond her level.
Nel hesitated.
Her eyes locked onto the creature, something unreadable flickering across her face. "It can be restored," she murmured.
I cursed. "Nel, now is not the time to hesitate—"
The creature lunged.
I didn't think—I moved.
My body shifted into a stance I'd never used before—something raw, something instinctual. A technique I hadn't mastered, only theorized.
The swords I had placed earlier were exactly where they needed to be.
I tore through the space between them, moving like a force of nature. Every cut was brutal, ruthless, precise. The creature barely had time to react before I severed the corrupted veins of essence, disrupting its core.
Then, with one final, decisive slash—
Its head rolled.
Silence.
I exhaled, my blades still dripping essence.
"Essence Fortification," Amir and Zach muttered in unison, exchanging a glance of surprise.
I flicked the blood off my sword and whispered, "What fortune grants, it may just as easily take away"
The body slumped.
For a moment, none of us spoke.
Nel stood still, her breathing uneven. I could see the conflict in her eyes, the weight of what she had almost done—or rather, what she had hesitated to do. But there was no time for reflection now.
We left the chamber, giving the clan space to grieve. The mission was over.
But as we returned to the hotel, I knew this was just the beginning.