The Warden reached for Aric.
Its arm stretched toward him, the long fingers opening as though to grasp his entire body. Before they could touch him, Aric threw himself sideways. The creature’s hand swept past his chest, and a strange pressure seized him from within.
He gasped.
Something deep inside him had been pulled toward the Warden. His mana core shuddered, and the little strength he had left seemed to drain away.
"Eryx!"
"I see it!"
Eryx charged. MENOS surged over his limbs as he drove a fist into the Warden’s side. The blow landed with a heavy crack, but the creature barely shifted. Its elongated arm snapped around, catching Eryx across the chest and hurling him into the side of a nearby house.
Wood splintered beneath the impact.
The villagers watched with shining eyes.
"Salvation," the elderly woman whispered.
Others repeated it, bowing as the Warden turned back toward Aric.
"Salvation. Salvation."
Aric struggled to his feet. His left arm hung uselessly at his side, and the pain from his shoulder had sharpened since the fall. He gathered Menos around his body, the faint silver reinforcement settling over his right arm and legs.
He could not afford to use elemental magic. The lightning spell had left him nearly empty, and the Warden’s strange pull was draining him further.
The creature reached for him again.
Aric moved before its fingers closed. He stepped inside the reach of its arm and drove his reinforced fist toward its ribs.
His knuckles struck something hard beneath the ragged material.
The Warden twisted. Its other hand caught him by the throat.
Aric’s feet left the ground.
The pressure inside his chest intensified. His mana core seemed to strain against an invisible force, and a wave of weakness swept through him. He clawed at the creature’s wrist with his good hand, but its grip did not loosen.
Then Eryx struck.
He came from the side, MENOS flashing across his shoulder as he slammed into the Warden’s arm. The creature’s grip broke. Aric dropped, hit the ground on one knee, and coughed until he could breathe again.
Eryx seized him by the collar and pulled him away.
"Can you stand?"
Aric nodded, though his legs trembled.
"Then stay close. It keeps reaching for you."
"Yeah....I noticed."
The Warden turned toward them. Its narrow body swayed, and the darkness around its face seemed to deepen. It made no sound, yet Aric felt the pressure return, faint at first, then steadily growing.
The creature wanted something from him.
He had no idea what.
The elderly woman stepped forward, hands folded beneath her chin.
"Give yourself to our salvation," she said.
The villagers bowed lower.
"Give yourself."
"Be welcomed."
"Be saved."
Their voices blended into a soft murmur. Aric glanced at them, then at the Warden. None of them looked frightened. They watched as though the creature was performing a sacred duty.
"Stay back!" Eryx shouted at them "or I swear I’ll put you creepy shits six feet under"
No one moved.
The Warden lunged again.
Aric and Eryx split apart. Its long arms swept through the space between them, tearing a wooden fence from the ground. Eryx ducked beneath one strike and rolled across the dirt. Aric stumbled backward, his injured arm pulling at him as he tried to keep his balance.
The creature’s fingers scraped across his chest.
The pull seized him again.
His breath caught. For one terrible moment, he felt as though something was trying to draw the core out through his ribs. His knees gave way, and he struck the ground hard.
The Warden bent over him.
Eryx crashed into its side, forcing it to turn. Menos covered his fist as he struck again and again, aiming for the creature’s torso. Each blow landed with a dull, jarring impact. The Warden’s body rocked, but its arm whipped around and struck Eryx across the face.
Eryx staggered. Blood ran from his mouth.
Aric pushed himself up, breathing raggedly.
"Eryx!"
"I’m fine," Eryx said, though his voice was strained. "Don’t let it grab you."
The Warden advanced.
Aric watched its movements, trying to understand what made it so difficult to hurt. Their enhanced strikes with Menos could stagger it, but the creature absorbed the force as though its body were made of something denser than flesh. And whenever it reached for him, the pressure on his core returned.
He remembered the brief glimpse beneath its arms, the dark mass pulsing inside its chest.
"Eryx," he said. "Its chest."
Eryx glanced at the creature.
"What about it?"
"When it reaches for me, its arms spread. There’s something inside."
The Warden moved again. Its arms opened, and for an instant, the darkness between them parted.
Aric saw the pulsing mass.
"That’s our chance."
Eryx’s expression tightened. "It’s all or nothing."
The Warden swept an arm toward him. Eryx rushed forward instead of retreating, ducking beneath the strike and driving his shoulder into the creature’s abdomen. His reinforced body slammed into it, forcing the Warden to stagger back.
Its long arms spread wide, and Aric bolted.
He drove forward, Menos gathering around his right fist. The Warden’s other arm struck him across the ribs. Pain burst through his side, and his momentum faltered. He nearly fell, but forced himself onward and punched toward the dark mass.
His fist connected.
The impact jolted up his arm. The Warden lurched backward, and a sharp crack echoed from its chest. The pulsing mass split along a thin line.
The creature released a sound that made Aric’s teeth ache.
The villagers cried out.
"Salvation!"
"Do not hurt it!"
"Salvation!"
The Warden staggered, its body flickering. The houses around them shuddered, and the lanterns dimmed for a heartbeat.
Aric backed away, clutching his side.
The crack began to close.
"No," he whispered.
The dark mass drew together, the split sealing as its sickly light remained steady. The Warden straightened.
Eryx stared at it. "It can heal, shit."
Aric’s chest tightened. "We have to hit it again."
The creature turned toward him.
Its movements had changed. It was no longer reaching blindly. The Warden lunged with sudden, violent speed, its long limbs striking from angles that forced Aric backward. He caught one blow against his reinforced forearm, but the sheer force drove him to his knees. He rolled as the monster’s heavy palm slammed into the earth where his head had been a second before, showering him in dirt and shattered stone.
Eryx seized the Warden’s arm, straining to wrench it aside. The creature barely registered him, dragging him several strides before flinging him like a doll. Eryx hit the ground hard, tumbling into the dirt until he crashed against the ruined fence.
Aric struggled to stand, his legs giving out beneath his weight.
?Cold darkness washed over him as the Warden stepped into view, casting its long shadow across the dirt.
?Desperate, he channeled Menos into his body, but the silver reinforcement flickered like a dying flame. Continuous strain was catching up with him. His core was a hollow shell, its last reserves slipping away with every shallow breath.
?The Warden raised its hand.
Aric threw himself aside. Its fingers caught the back of his clothing and tore through the fabric. He scrambled away, but the creature followed, reaching for him again.
Eryx was back on his feet.
He charged, driving a heavy blow straight into the Warden’s knee. The creature’s leg buckled, throwing it off balance. Eryx struck again, then planted a reinforced kick into the joint.
The Warden dropped to one knee.
"Aric!" Eryx shouted.
Seeing the opening, Aric lunged forward, but the creature swept its arm across the dirt. The heavy limb caught him in the hip, sending him tumbling violently into the dust. He rolled onto his back as agonizing pain flared through his injured shoulder.
Eryx stepped between him and the monster.
The Warden rose.
Its long fingers snapped closed around Eryx’s torso.
"Eryx!"
Eryx’s Menos flared as he fought against the grip, but the Warden lifted him effortlessly off his feet. His boots kicked at empty air as long fingers squeezed tighter around his chest.
Aric tried to stand, but his body refused to obey.
Holding Eryx pinned in one hand, the Warden turned its face toward Aric and extended its free arm. The suffocating pressure seized Aric’s core once more, far heavier than before. His vision blurred around the edges as the last drops of his strength were ripped away.
Eryx’s face twisted in agony.
"Aric!" he gasped.
Aric clenched his teeth. He forced Menos into his legs, then up into his right arm. The silver glow was faint and trembling, but it held.
He sprinted forward.
The Warden’s attention shifted. Its arm opened toward him, revealing the dark mass pulsing in its chest once more.
Aric pushed past his limits.
He drove his reinforced fist straight into the creature’s chest.
The impact cracked hard against the dark mass, yet the Warden’s grip on Eryx only tightened. Aric felt his own core strain as the monster’s siphon pulled violently at his remaining strength. Retreat was impossible. Stepping back meant abandoning Eryx.
He struck a second time.
The Warden convulsed. Its fingers loosened, and Eryx crashed to the earth. He landed hard, rolling onto his side as he gasped for air.
Aric’s right fist throbbed with pain. His Menos was fading fast.
The deep crack in the creature’s dark core remained, but the black shadow was already knitting it shut.
"Eryx," Aric rasped, his voice barely a whisper. "Get up."
Eryx dragged himself to his feet. Blood streaked his chin, his left leg shaking violently under his weight.
The Warden lurched straight toward Aric.
Eryx charged.
He threw his whole body into the creature’s side, striking its knee and forcing it to pivot. The Warden swung wildly. Eryx ducked, but the blow grazed his shoulder and sent him stumbling sideways into the dirt.
He planted his feet and held his ground.
"Now!"
Aric stepped in. He could barely feel his right hand. His mana was nearly gone, and the pain in his broken arm had settled into a constant, sickening throb.
He gathered the absolute last of his Menos around his fist.
The Warden’s chest split open as it reached for him.
Aric drove his fist straight into the cracked mass.
The first blow widened the fracture.
The second drove all the way through.
A sharp, brittle sound rang out into the night.
The dark mass shattered.
The Warden froze instantly.
Its long arms remained outstretched, fingers curled toward Aric’s face. The faint, dying light within its body flickered once, then vanished. Its narrow frame began to unravel, breaking apart into drifting fragments of ash and darkness.
The creature gave one final, silent convulsion.
Then it completely collapsed into nothing.
Surrounding them, the villagers dropped to their knees, bowing deeply as the creature dissolved into the air.
"Salvation," the elderly woman whispered.
Then her smile slowly faded.
The other villagers began to disappear. Their bodies thinned, their faces losing shape as the false village shuddered around them. The children vanished first, their small figures dissolving into the night air. The man by the fence faded next. The elderly woman remained a moment longer, her hands still folded, her expression devoid of joy.
Then she, too, was gone.
The lanterns went dark.
The houses flickered, their warm windows fading into empty openings. The walls crumbled, the roofs sagged, and the neat paths beneath Aric’s feet broke apart into uneven earth and scattered stone.
The village vanished completely.
Aric collapsed.
He struck the dirt on his side, and blinding pain shot through his broken arm. He clenched his teeth, unable to suppress the sound that escaped his throat. For several moments, he could only lie there, breathing in short, ragged gasps.
"Aric."
Eryx’s voice came from nearby.
Aric turned his head. Eryx sat a few paces away, one hand pressed tightly against his shoulder. He stared into the darkness where the village had stood just moments before.
"What happened?" Eryx whispered.
Aric tried to answer, but his throat was dry as dust.
He pushed himself onto his back and looked around.
The houses were gone. In their place stood the ruins of a settlement long abandoned. Broken stone walls rose like shattered teeth from the earth, overgrown and weathered. Rotting beams lay scattered among the rubble. The dirt was littered with bones, some half buried beneath mud and fallen trees.
Small bones.
Aric looked away, a cold knot tightening in his chest.
The Warden was dead. Whatever force he had used to trap them was gone with it.
Yet the creature had reached for his core again and again. He still could not fathom why.
He pressed his palm flat against his chest.
His mana core remained within him, faint and exhausted, but whole.
Eryx lowered his gaze to the bones in the dirt.
"Were they all dead?," he said softly.
They had survived the Warden but the night was far from over.