The tunnel walls pressed in like the ribs of some long-dead beast, the air thick with the stench of damp stone and something far worse—something that breathed.
The creature's chitinous form shifted in the flickering torchlight, its segmented plates clicking together with each subtle movement. Raven stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Belial, his obsidian armor drinking in the dim light while jagged energy crackled between his gauntleted fingers. His breathing remained steady, controlled—a predator waiting to strike.
Xin exhaled through his nose, his fingers dancing through intricate patterns as the golden Dharma Wheel spun before him. Ancient sigils flared to life along its circumference, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. The strain of channeling so much ether made his bones ache, his muscles burn—but he held firm. With a final whispered incantation, he sent a surge of power cascading into Raven, whose entire body tensed as raw energy flooded his veins.
The creature's scythe-like forelimbs twitched, its cluster of glowing eyes narrowing to slits. It had sensed the shift in the air.
Belial's voice was a blade's edge in the darkness. "It's made its choice."
Then—it finally moved.
A blur of chitin and shadow, the creature lunged with terrifying speed, its scythes carving through the air with a sound like ripping flesh. Raven barely raised his arms in time, the impact sending shockwaves through the tunnel as black gauntlet met chitinous blade. Stone cracked beneath their feet, dust raining from the ceiling. Xin staggered back, the Dharma Wheel flickering dangerously as he fought to maintain the energy flow. His vision swam, dark spots dancing at the edges—but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to focus.
Belial was already moving, his hands weaving through complex patterns as dark sigils burned to life in the air. "Raven—NOW!"
With a roar that shook the tunnel walls, Raven drove forward, his obsidian-clad fist connecting with the creature's underbelly in an explosion of force. The monster skidded backward, its many legs screeching against stone—but it didn't fall. Instead, it laughed, a guttural, clicking sound that shouldn't have been possible from something without lips or lungs.
Before any of them could react, its form rippled, its outline distorting like smoke on water. Then—
It split.
Two identical horrors now stood before them, scythes raised in perfect unison.
Xin's blood turned to ice. An illusion? No—both radiated the same suffocating, wrong aura.
Belial's golden eyes burned. "It's real."
The twin abominations struck as one—one high, one low. Raven barely deflected the first scythe with the back of his gauntlet, the force of the impact rattling his bones. The second blade came in from below, a curved arc of death slicing toward his ribs. He twisted, but not fast enough. Cold steel kissed his side, carving a shallow wound through his armor, and a thin line of dark blood seeped out. He hissed in pain but used the momentum to push himself back, landing lightly on the cracked stone.
The creatures did not relent. They moved with an eerie synchronicity, their emaciated forms barely making a sound as they shifted, their joints clicking unnaturally. Their hollow, featureless faces turned toward him, scythes glinting under the dim, flickering light of the cavern.
Then, Belial was upon them.
With a burst of speed, he lunged, his blade flashing in a downward arc. The first abomination raised its scythe to block, and metal clashed against metal with a harsh ring. The force of the impact sent a vibration up Belial's arm, but before he could adjust, the second abomination struck.
It was fast—too fast.
Raven reacted instinctively, his gauntleted fist lashing out in a brutal punch that caught the attacking abomination in the torso. A sickening crack echoed as its segmented armor dented under the force. The creature skidded back, its scythe slicing through empty air where Belial had just been. But it wasn't enough.
The second creature, undeterred, shifted its stance and swung again, the blade coming at a brutal diagonal. Raven barely managed to dodge, the scythe grazing the air just inches from his face. Belial took that moment to strike, shifting his weight and driving his blade forward, aiming for the creature's exposed joints.
The abomination moved in a way that should have been impossible. Its body twisted unnaturally, weight redistributing at the last second. Belial's blade scraped against the creature's exoskeleton, sparks flying, but it failed to pierce through.
Then the counterattack came.
A scythe slashed toward Belial's shoulder, aiming to cleave straight through flesh and bone. He barely had time to react, jerking back just in time for the weapon to carve a thin, red line across his chestplate instead of splitting him in two.
Raven saw the opening.
He surged forward, spinning low and delivering a sweeping kick that shattered the already fractured stone beneath them. Dust and debris exploded into the air, momentarily blinding their enemies. The creatures hesitated for only a fraction of a second, but that was all he needed.
Raven launched himself at the abomination closest to him, tackling it mid-air and slamming it against the cavern wall. The impact sent cracks spider-webbing across the surface. His gauntleted fist came down like a hammer, aiming for the creature's skull.
It twisted—again with that unnatural grace—and instead of a direct hit, Raven's punch connected with its shoulder. A wet, crunching sound followed, and the abomination jerked, its entire arm going limp. But it did not stop. Even with one useless limb, it lashed out with the other, scythe cutting through the air.
Raven barely managed to throw himself back, but not before the weapon nicked his Obsidan armor.
But he did not falter.
Xin's mind Churned with countless thoughts. The Dharma Wheel spun faster, its light intensifying as he poured more energy into Raven—but his ether reserves were finite. They needed to end this.
As the battle raged, Xin's sharp eyes caught the slightest imperfection—the left creature's movements lagged a fraction behind the right. An echo? A reflection? But their auras were identical. Unless...
"Raven, Bel—the left one!" Xin shouted.
Belial didn't hesitate. Shadows erupted from his fingertips, lashing out like living things to coil around the left creature's limbs. Raven pivoted, his gauntlets igniting with black flames as he drove his fist straight through its chest.
The creature's form shuddered—then shattered like glass.
"Got you!" Raven growled.
But Xin's warning came too late. "NO—"
The moment the illusion dispersed, the real creature blurred—not toward Raven or Belial, but straight for Xin.
A scythe flashed.
White-hot pain exploded through Xin's chest.
The blade punched through his ribs, lifting him off his feet with terrifying ease. The Dharma Wheel flickered violently, its golden light dimming as Xin gasped, blood bubbling at his lips. His hands clutched weakly at the blade, fingers slipping against its slick surface.
"XIN!" Raven's roar shook the tunnel.
The creature leaned in, its breath rancid against Xin's face.
It snarled
Then it twisted the blade.
Agony beyond comprehension ripped through Xin as the Dharma Wheel clattered to the ground, its light sputtering like a dying star. Darkness swallowed his vision as his body slid limply from the scythe, collapsing in a growing pool of crimson.
Raven's world narrowed to a single point—Xin's broken form, his blood spreading across ancient stone. Something inside him snapped. A sound tore from his throat, something primal and raw, and he moved, his gauntlets blazing with unchecked fury.
But the creature was already dancing away, its form flickering like a shadow in torchlight. It avoided Raven's strike with mocking ease, its scythes lashing out to score deep grooves across his armor. Belial's shadows lashed forward, but the creature twisted mid-air, its movements defying physics as it avoided every attack.
"It's playing with us," Raven hissed through clenched teeth.
Belial didn't care. His vision was red. His blade crashed into the tunnel walls with enough force to bring down sections of ceiling, but the creature danced just out of reach, its clicking laughter scraping against their skulls.
Then—
A whisper of gold.
The fallen Dharma Wheel pulsed once.
A faint, shuddering breath escaped Xin's bloodied lips.
The creature's head snapped toward the sound.
Belial's heart stopped.
No.
Xin's fingers twitched.
And the creature smiled with too many teeth.