Cyrus Pov
The core hovered several hundred meters in the air, floating near one of the mountain ranges. I needed to climb the mountain just to reach the orb and deliver the final blow. Even with my head start on the hydra, this was still a daunting task. I could feel the astral behemoth gaining on me with every step I took as I concentrated most of my cosmic energy into my legs, propelling myself forward at breakneck speed.
The malicious and dominating intent from the astral behemoth felt like it was creeping up my shoulder with every passing second. I knew for a fact it wasn't leaving anything to chance now, as its five heads roared in desperation to stop me. The closer it got, the more the ground beneath my feet shuddered, forcing me to focus even harder just to maintain my balance.
With only a few hundred meters left before reaching the basin of the mountain, I stole a quick glance back at my enemy. I saw the ravenous beast, salivating like a feral creature hunting its prey after a long bout of starvation. Don't look back, Cy. Looking back will slow you down, I reminded myself, forcing more cosmic energy into my legs, hoping to eke out even just a little bit more speed.
Now just a meter away from the basin, I didn't hesitate. Taking a few more steps, I mustered all my strength and launched myself into the sky. Midair, I stopped funneling my cosmic energy into my legs and redirected it to my free hand—the one not holding the horn fragment. With enough momentum to stop a shipping container in its tracks, I crash-landed into the mountain. Clinging to the rock for dear life with one hand, I peeked downward and saw the hydra preparing to do the same.
"Goddamn," I muttered, vaulting myself upward as fast as I could. "I hate that I need this weapon right now. It's slowing me down." A slight chuckle escaped me as I thought about how, if my dad were here, he'd definitely have a few choice words for me—especially after all my complaining about not having a weapon in the past.
Wait… I'm so stupid, I realized suddenly. The horn fragment was able to absorb cosmic energy from Rava. With that in mind, I imbued cosmic energy into the fragment and used it as a pick to help me scale the mountain faster. The horn fragment sank much deeper into the rock than my bare hands could. With my efficiency greatly improved, I put more distance between myself and the hydra, which wasn't well-suited for climbing—slipping between bounds as it struggled to gain traction.
With my accelerated pace, it wasn't long before I could see the peak. Just a few more vaults, and I had finally made it to the top. Looking over the edge, I saw the struggling hydra, its rage evident as it failed to grasp the mountainside without proper thumbs. Locking eyes, I could see it still refused to concede, preparing to launch blasts from all five of its heads.
"You're a sore loser, you know that, right?" I yelled at the beast as it fired its cannons of blinding light into the sky, hoping to catch me in the crossfire.
Stepping back from the cliff's edge, I watched the light dissipate into the sky. "Looks like we've got one less thing to worry about, Cy," I muttered, turning my attention to the orb—the core maintaining this projection of the rift.
"You're the thing that's been giving me such a hard time in here, huh?" I mused, gazing at the core, not expecting an answer from the steadily shrinking ball of energy.
Before I could revel in my success, a deep rumbling came from beneath me. My eyes darted to look down at the bottom of the cliff, scanning for the hydra, but it was nowhere to be seen.
"Did it run away? Did it give up because it couldn't climb the mountain?" I wondered, double-checking the basin to ensure fatigue wasn't clouding my perception.
No… it wouldn't give up that easily, I thought, looking back at the orb. It was shrinking even faster now, and the rumbling beneath me grew more intense. Then I saw it—a bulge forming on the mountain's surface.
"It really dug through the damn mountain," I cursed, channeling cosmic energy into my legs.
As I sprinted to prepare my final jump toward the rift's core, the hydra burst through the surface of mountain in a blazing fury, blasting blindly in all directions.
"Damn it! I should've just destroyed the core instead of catching my breath," I growled.
With the mountain crumbling beneath my feet, I had only one meter left before I had to make my final leap. Looking at the orb, I could tell there wasn't enough energy left for the hydra to fire another blast. If it wanted to kill me, it would have to sink its fangs into me—and there was no way in the universe I was letting that happen. Not when I was this close to defeating this damned rift.
Forcing cosmic energy into my last foothold on the crumbling mountain, I launched myself toward the core with an explosive leap.
As I soared through the air, a massive shadow loomed over me. Looking up, I saw the hydra making one last desperate attempt to catch me, falling faster than I was moving horizontally. Its fangs were bared, ready to tear into me.
Instinctively, I activated my ability, slowing its movement as our gravitational forces clashed.
Facing all five of its heads, I channeled cosmic energy into the horn fragment and spun my body as fast as I could. With every ounce of momentum I could generate without a solid surface to push off of, I unleashed a devastating slash, cutting through all five heads in one motion.
But I wasn't done.
With my ability fading, I channeled the last remnants of my energy into my legs and used the hydra's massive body as a springboard, propelling myself even closer to the core.
With the rift's core finally within reach and my own core eating away at itself, I delivered the final strike.
As my horn fragment bisected the core, an eruption of energy engulfed everything in blinding white light—overwhelming my senses as I faded into unconsciousness.