I ignored the pull and put my back against the cavern wall, letting myself breathe just for a moment before pushing further down the winding path. My eyes scanned the others, everyone stared down the shadowed passage ahead, as if searching for whatever it was that seemed to claw at our very souls, daring us forward.

  Trish’s breath was ragged, her wings drooped to the floor, one hand pressed against the rough wall for support. Her usually calm demeanor was cracked and sweat glistened on her brow.

  Mel stood nearby, her glowing turquoise eyes focused, the ethereal armor around her frame stitching back into place, a faint shimmer of spectral energy flickering along the edges. She leaned heavily on her massive greatsword, her expression intense. Calculating. Possibly trying to play out the next battle in her mind before we even arrived.

  Max, though, he wasn’t looking at the path ahead. He was staring directly at me. His dark purple skin seemed almost shadowed in the dim light, but his eyes were sharp, focused.

  I tilted my head, about to ask through our mental connection when…

  “Speak aloud. Stop with that blasted mental connection of yours.” Mel’s voice snapped, a mix of anger and exhaustion tinged her tone.

  Max and I both started, exchanging quick glances before looking at her.

  “We didn’t say anything,” Max said defensively.

  “I’m guilty. I was about to ask what was on your mind,” I admitted, running a hand across my bald head, feeling the cool touch of sweat.

  “Then why were you staring at him so intensely for so long?” Mel demanded, her brow furrowing.

  Max’s gaze bounced between hers and mine. “You telling me you don’t see it?” he asked, motioning at me.

  Mel arched an eyebrow, then shifted her attention to study me, her expression curious. After a moment, she glanced toward Trish.

  Trish’s lips curled into a slight smile. “I’m only surprised it took either of you this long to notice.”

  My eyes darted between them, then down at myself, my heart pounding faster. “How long has what been there?” Mel asked, her voice edged with caution.

  “What the actual…” I muttered, my voice growing annoyed. “What the hells is it?” I began patting my face, running my hands across my features trying to find… something.

  That’s when I felt it, and instant disgust washed through me like a storm. Let’s just say something had landed on my shoulder armor from the battle, something that need not ever be discussed to anyone… EVER.

  “Awe man, that is nasty,” I gagged, grabbing it and flinging it toward the split body on the ground.

  The others burst out laughing, and despite myself, I couldn’t help but join them. Gods, it felt good to hear their laughter… even my own.

  Max patted my shoulder… the opposite one. “Let’s finish this,” he said, though his gaze lingered on the defiled shoulder with another chuckle of disgust.

  “You may want to wash that when we are done here…” Trish added with a giggle, her voice a touch lighter than before.

  I rolled my eyes, but a smile still tugged at my lips. Turning toward the dark depths of the cavern, the laughter faded, leaving a heavy silence in its wake. The brief relief was needed, a moment of levity to pull us back from the edge. But it wasn’t enough to mask the truth of what lay ahead. The dark power that pulled at us in challenge never relented. If anything, it seemed to grow more agitated, like a beast scratching at the walls, demanding we step forward.

  A part of me almost wanted to make it wait, to linger just out of reach, if only to spite it. But that was a fool’s comfort. Waiting wasn’t an option. I didn’t want to find out what an impatient, ancient power was capable of.

  “How do we go about this?” Trish asked, the laughter gone from her voice, replaced by a mix of determination and a faint, lingering fear.

  “No way of knowing until we see just what we’re faced with,” I replied, flexing my fingers, feeling the comforting warmth of my magic pulsing beneath my skin. The glow of distant veins beneath the surface reminded me of the strength I carried.

  I turned, letting my gaze settle on each of them, Max, his blades ready, a subtle grin still tugging at his lips. Mel, her ethereal armor pulsing with a faint glow, her greatsword resting across her shoulder like a promise. Trish, wings folded close, eyes locked on the darkness ahead.

  “Let’s end this,” I whispered, more to myself than to them.

  Without another word, I strode forward, the shadows of the cavern swallowing us as we moved toward whatever awaited our arrival.

  The further we walked, the smaller the cavern around us became, the rough, jagged walls narrowing until they pressed close enough that we had to form a single-file line. The air grew heavier with each step, thick with a crushing pressure that seemed to press against my chest, my breath coming slower, the weight of the dark presence only intensifying.

  Every instinct screamed at me to turn back, but I pushed forward, and so did the others. Finally, the tunnel opened into a massive, shadow-shrouded chamber. I raised a hand, signaling for the others to stop, and leaned forward, trying to make sense of the vast darkness before us.

  Faint violet hues pulsed and danced along the edges of the chamber, weaving through the darkness like threads of corrupted light. But whatever lurked within those shadows remained hidden, a malevolent presence just out of sight. I tried to trace the ceiling with my eyes, but it stretched into an unseen void, devouring the dim light.

  “Whatever it is, I would bet it hides up in that shadow,” I whispered, my voice barely more than a breath.

  Max stepped up behind me, his movements cautious but steady. Without a word, he chipped a small stone from the tunnel wall and lobbed it into the vast open space.

  The silence that followed was suffocating. The stone vanished into the darkness without a sound.

  Then the voice came, dark, rumbling hiss, each word vibrating through the ground beneath our feet, low and seething like magma churning in the belly of a volcano.

  “You think me a foolish beast? Come and meet me face to face.”

  The voice seemed to roll through the chamber like a wave, washing over us. And just as it spoke, something massive dropped from above, slamming into the center of the room with a thunderous crash. Dust exploded outward, swirling in the violet light, and a towering shape began to take form, its dark outline solidifying as it stood.

  My heart hammered in my chest, and I felt the pressure increase, a gnawing cold clawing at the edges of my thoughts.

  Trish’s breath hitched, and I heard Mel’s low growl, the hum of her ethereal armor intensifying.

  Max’s twin blades shimmered faintly, constellations dancing across their midnight surface, the stars shifting subtly like a clear night sky caught in motion.

  I clenched my fists, feeling the warmth of my magic ripple through me, battling against the oppressive cold of the presence before us.

  I forced my voice to steady. “Together. We face this together.”

  The shape moved, its form slithering and undulating as it pulled itself from the darkness. Tendrils draped from its body like writhing vines; each one tipped with jagged, chitinous claws that scraped against the stone with an ear-piercing screech. A long, serpentine body coiled and twisted, its scales shimmering with an oily, violet sheen that pulsed with sickly light.

  Its head was a grotesque fusion of a serpent and a maw of writhing tentacles, each one lined with rows of needle-like teeth that dripped with a thick, dark ichor. Two hollow, violet flames burned within deep, empty sockets where eyes should have been, glaring directly at me with a hunger that felt ancient.

  The creature’s voice slithered through the chamber, low and rumbling, like a churning abyss.

  “You who would challenge the darkness... let me see what light you possess before I extinguish it.”

  The tentacles around its mouth twisted and writhed, occasionally lashing out with a snapping motion, as though tasting the air, seeking a weakness.

  A cold sweat broke across my skin, and I felt the others tense up behind me. The weight of its presence was suffocating.

  Mel’s voice was a low growl, her grip tightening on her greatsword. “I’ve seen some ugly bastards before… but this one takes the cake.”

  Max snorted, trying to keep his fear in check. “Just means we need to make it even uglier.”

  Trish’s voice was steady, though I could hear the tension beneath it. “Stay sharp. It’s watching for any hesitation.”

  The creature’s coiled body shifted, muscles rippling beneath its oozing, violet-scaled hide. It arched, the tentacles splaying outward like a grotesque crown.

  [? General Ta’ishvah, Nethermaw Serpent Lvl 197]

  The name hovered above its head, framed in the familiar silver and gold of Mythar, proof that this was no mere monster. This was an ancient, cunning void creature of true power.

  I saw the twitch of its tentacles, and instinct seized me. Light burst beneath my feet as I surged forward, Virellia forming in my hand, the radiant flail of shimmering, silver light, the spiked head orbiting a burning core of celestial energy. My shield of constellations snapped into place on my other arm, stars swirling across its surface like a living night sky.

  One of the serpent’s tentacles lashed toward me, chitinous claws reaching. I intercepted with my shield, the impact rattling through me, but I held firm. Virellia swept out in a counterstrike, its radiant chain whipping through the air and slamming into another tentacle. Violet ichor sprayed from the wound, sizzling against the cavern floor.

  Max burst into motion, his form a blur of shadow. Myrida shimmered in his hands, the midnight sky etched across the blades, constellations swirling and shifting with each strike. He danced around the creature, slicing at the writhing limbs, his shadow-step allowing him to vanish and reappear in an instant, always a step ahead of the flailing tendrils.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Mel’s roar echoed through the chamber, her massive frame surging forward. Her ethereal greatsword, a towering weapon wreathed in ghostly light, swept in a brutal arc, severing a tentacle clean off. She stepped through an attack that should have crushed her, her ethereal form flickering as she phased, avoiding the blow entirely.

  Trish was a blur of light and motion. Her chakrams spun around her, dancing like halos of radiant energy, while her ring blades whipped out with deadly precision, slicing through the writhing tentacles. Each strike left shimmering trails of celestial light. When a tendril lashed toward her, she twisted, guiding her chakram to intercept it, severing it with a flash of brilliance.

  The creature roared, its violet-flame eyes burning with fury. Tentacles erupted from its back, writhing in a chaotic frenzy, slamming into the stone, splitting the ground beneath us.

  “You think you are light? You are but flickering sparks in the abyss!” General Ta’ishvah’s voice rumbled, dripping with malice.

  I gritted my teeth, forcing my voice to steady. “You won’t be the last to fall, nor are you the first.”

  My shield flared with a pulse of starlight, the swirling constellations surging with brilliance, driving back the tentacles that tried to overwhelm me. Virellia twisted in my grasp, its radiant chain blazing like a comet’s tail as I lashed out, carving into another limb.

  Mel’s ethereal form shimmered as she surged forward, her greatsword cleaving through the grasping tentacles that tried to surround her. Each swing left violet ichor spraying, her spectral armor flickering but never breaking.

  Trish’s chakrams danced in deadly arcs, intercepting strikes meant for the others, while her ring blades wove intricate patterns of light, slicing through writhing limbs with lethal precision. A surge of healing energy washed over us, her radiant aura keeping exhaustion at bay.

  Max was a flicker of shadows, a blur of darkness and starlight. He darted through the chaos, Myrida’s twin blades slashing with a speed that left violet ichor trailing in the air. Each strike was precise, a perfect balance of offense and evasion.

  The creature shrieked, its massive body recoiling, but its fury only seemed to intensify. Its tentacles twisted together, fusing into a colossal, spiked limb that reared back and slammed toward me with crushing force.

  I braced, stars swirling across my shield, the radiant barrier flaring with a brilliant, golden light. The impact crashed against me like a falling mountain, my knees buckling, but I held. I wouldn’t let it break me. I couldn’t.

  A warm pulse washed over me, and I felt Trish’s healing light flood my body, her celestial energy knitting away the fatigue clawing at my muscles, leaving only renewed strength.

  “Keep pressing! Don’t let it recover!” I roared, Virellia’s radiant chain igniting with white-hot celestial flame as I surged forward, carving another blazing arc across the creature’s side.

  Suddenly, a crushing, suffocating pressure slammed against my mind. It was like a tidal wave of darkness, pouring through my thoughts, drowning them in suffocating cold.

  Virellia and I screamed in unison, my voice a raw, agonized cry, hers a sharp, piercing wail that echoed through my mind. The flail trembled in my grip, its light flickering, struggling against the oppressive force.

  “James!” Trish’s voice seemed distant, distorted, like she was calling me through a thick fog.

  Its voice slithered through my thoughts; a whisper of venom laced with scorn. “I need not kill you physically when I can simply destroy you mentally.”

  I staggered, my vision blurring as shadows crawled at the edges. Memories twisted, distorted, the faces of my friends warped into grotesque masks of hatred and contempt. Leo’s dead eyes staring at me. Mel’s snarling face twisted with rage. Trish turning away, her wings shrouding her in shadow. Max’s voice a hateful, mocking laugh.

  My grip on Virellia faltered. My knees buckled.

  “No… No…!” I choked, trying to steady myself, trying to focus, but the darkness pressed in, drowning me.

  A cold, mocking laugh echoed through my mind, the General’s voice a twisted caress. “Break, little light. Shatter and be consumed.”

  But through the swirling darkness, a faint warmth pulsed, Virellia’s presence, her voice weak but defiant. “Fight it, James… Don’t you dare let it win…”

  I clenched my teeth, trying to anchor myself, to fight back against the drowning shadows. I focused on that faint warmth, the bond I shared with Virellia, the weight of the shield in my hand, the soothing pulse of Trish’s healing light.

  “You… will… not… be… the… last,” I whispered, a desperate mantra, clawing my way free, each word like a lifeline. The darkness clawed at me, twisted memories snapping at the edges of my mind, but I refused to let them take hold.

  And then, something within me surged, fury, defiance, the blazing light of everything I had endured, everything we had fought for.

  As I pressed out of the mental attack, I bellowed in rage, “Nor are you the… first!” My voice echoed like a thunderclap, and I swung Virellia with all my strength, the celestial flail’s radiant chain igniting with searing light. It crashed into the creature’s writhing mass, a burst of starlight erupting on impact.

  The creature recoiled, a shriek of rage tearing from its many mouths. But then its violet-flame eyes flared with malevolent glee.

  “You fail to realize,” it hissed, its voice growing louder, a chorus of venomous whispers. “While you fight to survive, this to me is just a game, you insignificant pest!”

  A pulse of darkness rippled outward from its body, and an overwhelming aura crashed down upon us. My legs buckled, my knees slamming against the cold, jagged stone. I gasped, struggling to breathe, my shield trembling in my grasp.

  Mel’s ethereal form flickered, her greatsword’s light dimming as she fell to one knee, her jaw clenched in agony.

  Trish’s chakrams faltered, their light sputtering, her wings curling around her protectively as she pressed her hands to her temples, her face twisted in pain.

  Max’s shadow-step stuttered, his form solidifying as he staggered, his twin blades wavering. He gritted his teeth, a sharp gasp escaping him.

  We all clutched at our heads, our minds burning, our thoughts crashing into each other in a chaotic, suffocating storm. Our screams echoed against the stone, swallowed by the crushing weight of the creature’s power.

  Above us, the General floated, its twisted, tentacled form writhing with malicious delight. Violet runes pulsed to life across the chamber walls, a sickly, poisonous light rippling from them. The same runes burned across the creature’s slick, oily skin, each one igniting in time with the thunderous pulse of its aura, faster, angrier.

  “This is my realm! My dominion! Your feeble lights are nothing before the infinite dark!” The creature’s voice roared, each word a hammering weight that threatened to crush us.

  My vision blurred, the darkness creeping in again. I struggled to breathe, struggled to think. The weight was suffocating, pressing down on my soul.

  But through the haze of agony, I felt it, Virellia’s presence, flickering but defiant, the radiant chain pulsing with the faintest glow.

  No… I refused to let it end here.

  “Virellia…” I whispered, forcing my voice out through gritted teeth. “If you… can hear me… we need to break… those runes.”

  Her voice was faint, pained, but there. “Stars… above… You always… make it a challenge…”

  I forced a weak laugh, even as darkness pressed against my thoughts. “Wouldn’t… be fun… otherwise.”

  The General’s aura pressed harder, another wave of psychic agony crashing down.

  The crushing darkness bore down on us, twisting around my mind, choking the strength from my limbs. The violet runes pulsed faster, their sickly light burning brighter with each heartbeat, their oppressive weight pressing me deeper into the cold, jagged stone.

  But a desperate spark flared within me, an idea. A reckless, furious idea.

  I reached inward, into the storm of light that had always been there, an endless cascade of radiant fury waiting to be unleashed.

  Light erupted from me, brilliant, blinding blue-gold light, searing the darkness away in an instant. My feet left the ground, and a swirling aura of radiant energy enveloped me, flaring outward in a storm of chaos. Tiny comet-like streaks of light burst from the maelstrom, each one blazing with celestial brilliance. They streaked across the chamber, raining destruction, carving into the writhing tentacles of the creature.

  The crushing weight shattered, driven back by the explosive force of the radiant storm. The violet runes around the chamber flickered, some shattering outright, the oppressive aura around us weakening.

  The creature shrieked, its voice a chorus of screeching hatred. “Impossible! You cannot…!”

  But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. The light only grew, a vortex of pure celestial fury raging around me. Beams of blue and gold light burst from my form, piercing the shadows, carving radiant scars across the creature’s oily, writhing form.

  I felt the storm burn through me, scorching my veins, searing my soul with its intensity. My wings erupted from my back, vast, translucent, and cosmic, an endless cascade of swirling stardust and prismatic light. Galaxies shimmered within them, constellations igniting and fading in an eternal dance, each beat leaving a trail of radiant starlight in their wake.

  I focused the raging storm, my mind locking onto the creature’s core, each radiant comet streaking with deadly precision.

  Comets rained down faster, each one exploding against the creature, shattering more of the violet runes. Shards of searing light scattered across the chamber, leaving burning trails in their wake.

  The others rose, their strength returning.

  Mel surged forward, her greatsword blazing with ethereal energy, her strikes cleaving through the creature’s writhing limbs. Each swing a brutal arc of raw force.

  Trish’s radiant blossoms erupted around us, warm light knitting away our fatigue, her chakrams spinning in deadly arcs, slicing through the tentacles that flailed toward her.

  Max was a shadow among the chaos, Myrida’s twin blades a blur of constellations that left violet ichor spraying in his wake.

  The creature shrieked, its violet eyes burning with rage. “You cannot extinguish the darkness! We are eternal!”

  “No…” I thought calm even as the radiant fury blazed around me. “You’re just another shadow.”

  The radiant storm blazed brighter. I thrust my hand forward, the light gathering around me in a massive, swirling sphere, blazing with blinding intensity.

  The sphere detonated, a wave of searing celestial light crashing across the chamber.

  The violet runes shattered; the oppressive weight of darkness lifted. The creature’s form twisted, flailing, its body burned away in the radiant blaze.

  When the light faded, I settled onto the ground, my massive, prismatic claws pressing against the shattered stone, wings folding behind me like swirling curtains of stardust. My breath came in deep, rumbling heaves, each exhale a faint shimmer of cosmic mist.

  “James!” Trish’s voice echoed up to me, her wings carrying her beside my towering form. Her gaze was a mix of awe and relief. “That… was insane…”

  Mel’s booming laugh rang out below, her greatsword resting across her shoulder. “Hah! You made that bastard eat his own words!”

  Max stepped around the smoking remnants of violet ichor, his twin blades catching the faint starlight radiating from my form. “Now that’s how you light up a room,” he called up, a grin cutting across his face.

  But before the relief could settle, the creature’s voice slithered through the air, a twisted, echoing whisper. “You think the light has won? The shadows remain… they always remain…”

  A pulse of violet flame sparked in the darkness, faint, but not gone.

  I shifted, cosmic scales rippling, stardust trailing from my wings. “We’re not done yet,” I rumbled, my voice a low, thunderous growl.

  Its voice screamed in fury, “We are eternal!”

  From the deep shadows of the now dimly lit chamber, a form shot out, lightning fast. I barely registered the movement before a crushing force wrapped around me, and I was hurled back, my massive form slamming against the cavern wall with a bone-rattling crash.

  A serpentine body coiled around me; scales slick and pulsing with faint violet light. Even weakened, the creature’s strength was immense, each coil squeezing with a crushing pressure that forced a growl from my throat.

  I thrashed against it, my wings beating against the enclosing darkness, but its fangs struck, piercing beneath the shimmering prismatic scales on my neck. Pain erupted, a searing, venomous burn racing through me. I let out a thunderous roar of pain and rage.

  Its tail lashed out from the base of the coil, a bladed tip slicing across the chamber. The others didn’t stand a chance, Mel, Max, and Trish were swept aside, their bodies crashing against the far wall, shadows swallowing them.

  This fight was between it and me now.

  I twisted, feeling the crushing weight of its body tighten, but I surged forward, my jaws snapping down on the back of its neck, just below the base of its head. My fangs pierced its hide, and the taste of vile ichor filled my mouth, bitter and burning.

  The creature screeched, its grip loosening, but only for a heartbeat. Tendrils burst from its sides, slithering like seeking blades, scraping across my prismatic scales, trying to pierce between the gaps.

  I released it, the foul taste still clinging to my tongue, but I forced the disgust aside. I lashed out with one of my claws, ripping free of its grasp, the talons sinking deep into its side. With a fierce snarl, I wrenched it downward, slamming the writhing mass of its body against the stone floor.

  Power roared within me, cosmic fire stirring, aching to be unleashed. I opened my jaws, and the darkness of the chamber lit with a searing, radiant blaze.

  Cosmic flame erupted from my maw, a torrent of annihilation, a blaze of swirling starlight and violet flame, a storm of radiant destruction. The searing light washed over the creature, its coils burning away, violet ichor boiling beneath the relentless heat.

  The General’s screams echoed in a twisted, gurgling wail, its form writhing, desperate tendrils lashing out, its body shuddering in agony.

  But even in its death throes, it fought. Its tail whipped toward me, a final, desperate strike. I caught it in my rear claws, claws like blazing silver scythes clamping down, stopping it cold.

  The creature’s tendrils slashed wildly, scratching at my face, clawing at my eyes, but I ignored them. My grip tightened. I stopped the flame, the cosmic glow crackling around my fangs.

  With a thunderous roar that shook the chamber, I seized the creature’s head and lower body with my two foreclaws and pulled.

  Its violet, blazing eyes widened in panic, and with a sickening, tearing sound, I ripped its head from its body. A torrent of deep violet ichor sprayed across the chamber, steaming and bubbling where it touched the radiant starlight that danced around me.

  The creature’s body spasmed, the tendrils twitching in a final, desperate dance before collapsing in a lifeless heap. The violet glow in its severed head flickered, then dimmed, the last gurgling whisper of its voice fading into silence.

  And then… stillness.

  The oppressive weight of darkness was gone. Only the shimmering starlight of my wings remained, casting a faint, calming glow across the shattered chamber.