Maya charged at the towering serpent.
Her feet slapped against the coral-strewn earth, her breath ragged. Icy mist trailed from her every movement. The Nightcarver gleamed cold in her hand. She knew that its edge was sharp but it was no match for the abomination she was facing.
The massive serpent lurched forward. Its red, gleaming and armored body undulated like a grotesque wave as its muscles rippled beneath the slick, scale-covered crimson skin. The jagged, bony protrusions on its back twitched as it reared up, massive jaws opening wide in a silent, hungry snarl.
Maya could feel the weight of exhaustion settling in her bones. Her already inferior armor was battered. The Aegis's once-pristine plates were dented and scored from the earlier battle. Her strength was fading with every passing moment, and the blizzard she'd summoned earlier was nothing more than a flickering shadow of its former power.
Yet, Cade— helpless and unconscious— lay just beyond the abomination's reach.
She had no choice but to keep fighting.
The serpent's red eyes, like pools of molten blood, fixed on her, tracking her every move. A guttural hiss filled the air, and with a sudden burst of speed, the creature lunged forward. The ground shook under the force of its movement and the air grew thick with the weight of its malice.
Maya barely had any time to react. The abominable creature was too swift for something its size, its massive form seemingly flickering in and out of existence.
Maya twisted instinctively, throwing herself to the side as the serpent's maw snapped shut where she had just stood. Its unnatural fangs— akin to longswords— gleamed in the dim light.
Her heart pounded in her chest, but she didn't have the luxury of feeling fear. She was already spinning back to her feet, the Nightcarver raised as the faintest glimmer of snow coated the frozen blade.
As she stared at the monstrosity in front of her, getting ready to summon her blizzard, the abomination opened its maw and hummed that strange resonance once again. Maya's focus shattered and she grimaced— there was something about that bone-rattling sound, something she couldn't quite place...
The snow around her swirled, weak and erratic as she tried to summon the strength for another blast of her storm. The winds were slow to pick up, like reluctant ghosts, and the blizzard she hoped would shield her was barely a gust.
What the... hell...? Maya cursed inwardly, wary of the abominable serpent. Why were her attempts at summoning the blizzard so completely futile? Sure, she was exhausted but Dormant Abilities weren't supposed to be taxing. They were like second nature to any Awakened, capable of being used instinctively.
Something was wrong. Maya could feel it. Just what the hell was going on with her?
As the question crossed her mind, Maya caught the serpent's movement out of the corner of her eye.
It surged forward again, undeterred. Its massive body twisted and coiled. The weight of its frame made the ground tremble. It raised its massive tail and swept low, slamming it into the ground with bone-shaking force. Tremors were sent through the ground and the air alike. The coral pillars lining the clearing shook as if a massive earthquake had hit the entire world.
Maya leaped back just in time to avoid being crushed beneath the tail. It missed by mere inches as it whipped past her with terrifying force.
Maya felt like if the blow had caught her, she would've been crushed in an instant.
Her heart hammered in her chest, fear finding its way in. Her legs felt like lead. She was too slow. Every strike, every movement, every swing of her sword felt heavier than the last. The serpent didn't tire. It didn't need to. But she— she was running out of time.
Maya took a deep breath and steadied herself, forcing her fear to flee. Her fingers tightened around the hilt of the Nightcarver. She forced herself to believe that she could do this. She had to do this.
The serpent's head whipped towards her, and before she could even react, it lunged again. Its jaws snapped in a cruel arc.
This time, there was no dodging. The force and the speed were just too great.
One of the monster's fearsome fangs collided with the edge of her armor. Its jagged teeth followed, raking across the surface with a sickening screech.
The icy plates of the Skerrian Aegis creaked, cracked and splintered beneath the pressure, and Maya felt the raw force of the impact rattle her very bones. She was thrown sideways, blood pooling beneath her armor. Her breath was knocked from her lungs, and her vision blurred for a moment, as she collided helplessly with the ground.
She coughed and grimaced, trying her best to not let the pain take over.
Because she could not stop. She could not let it end like this.
Gasping for air, Maya scrambled to her feet. One of her hands held her side, where she'd just been hit while the other raised the Nightcarver sheepishly. Her legs trembled, but she didn't have time to think. Instinctively, she tried to call upon her Ability once again.
The serpent was already circling as its bloodstained body undulated in a slow, terrifying rhythm. Its blood-red eyes glowed with predatory intent. It hissed again. The sound was low and menacing as it stalked towards her.
The air grew colder as Maya fought to summon more of her storm. The winds were just too damn slow.
Wait... Maya thought, realization dawning on her.
The creature's resonance rattled the air, a dissonant hum that filled the space with a maddening vibration. The earth beneath Maya's feet seemed to warp. The very air distorted in response to the creature's power. Her blizzard faltered, its icy tendrils fading as the resonance grew louder, more insistent.
Maya knew that Nightmare Creatures of higher Classes such as Tyrants or above— hell, even Devils— had strange abilities to help them catch and devour their prey. The serpent was clearly at least a Tyrant or perhaps even something beyond that.
It's ability seemed simple but devastating: it disrupted the very essence of her own Aspect Ability. It rattled her control over the blizzard. Every time the resonance pulsed, it left her weaker, her blizzard falling apart piece by piece.
Maya staggered, barely managing to stay on her feet as the serpent lunged again. Its maw opened wide as it aimed to swallow her whole.
She sidestepped quickly, barely avoiding the crushing bite, but— but its body wasn't finished.
The serpent's massive tail lashed out like a whip and struck her side with an impact that cracked her armor and sent her crashing and sprawling into the coral-strewn ground once more.
Pain exploded through her ribs, and she gasped for air as the world spun. The Nightcarver slipped from her grasp, the icy blade clattering to the ground just out of reach.
She breathed heavily, trying not to succumb to the lack of oxygen. At least, her lungs were still intact. She felt like her ribs had cracked from the blow, but they didn't break or splinter. Maybe it was some meagre enchantment of the Aegis.
But that was neither here nor there. The abomination's power was simply too great, too tyrannical.
With every moment, she was slipping. Her body was failing her. The serpent's endless onslaught never stopped. Its strikes were fast and unrelenting. Maya's heart pounded in her ears and her limbs started growing heavy with every failed attempt to summon her blizzard back.
The serpent slithered toward her, its massive jaws opening wide. She couldn't fight it like this. She couldn't just attack.
But Cade… Cade would definitely be able to do something— that guy was a force of nature. She— she just had to buy enough time for him to wake up.
But was that even possible? Was she really capable of withstanding this bloodstained horror's endless assault any longer?
But then again, did she really have a choice?
With a groan, Maya forced herself upright. The creature's ability was even messing with her icy augmentation. Slowly but surely, it was coming undone.
Even still, Maya had no choice but to persevere. If this was where it really ended, she would make damn sure to take this ugly snake with her. She was a ruthless sadist, after all. As she got up, forcing herself to her feet, her legs trembled, barely held in place by her fleeting augmentation. She took a deep breath and used the last of her strength to sprint toward the towering abomination.
The serpent's eyes narrowed in her direction, and the resonance hummed louder, like the growl of a distant thunderstorm. The world seemed to shudder under the sheer force of it.
Maya leaped high, putting all of her strength into the jump. The Nightcarver materialized back into her hands. Her fingers clenched around the icy hilt with every ounce of power she had left. Her body screamed in protest, but she pushed through, aiming for a gap in the serpent's crimson scales.
The blade cut through the air, a flash of ice in the dim light— but the serpent was already moving to the side. It twisted, its body shifting with terrifying speed, and the Nightcarver missed by inches, grazing futilely against the creature's scales.
With a violent hiss, the serpent's massive tail swung again. This time, it caught Maya mid-air. She was thrown like a ragdoll, and her body slammed into the jagged coral at the edge of the clearing. Her armor cracked against the sharp rocks, and she crumpled to the ground, gasping for air as blood spilled from a fresh wound on her side.
Her vision swam. The cold mist around her was thinning. The remnants of her failed storm swirled in confusion. She called the last of her blizzard back, swirling it around herself completely but it was all in vain.
Her legs felt numb, unresponsive, as the serpent advanced again. Its enormous form towered over her.
She couldn't move.
Her mind screamed for her body to act, to rise, to fight— but it was too late. The serpent loomed in front of her. Its massive jaws opened once more, and the air hummed with the resonance, vibrating through her bones like a hammer strike.
Maya's augmentation came undone and she felt her very life slipping away. The serpent was about to crush her, to end it all.
But in that moment, something inside Maya snapped.
She couldn't let it end like this. No, after everything she'd been through, after crossing literal worlds, she couldn't die like this... not at the hands of a nameless monstrosity. No, she would not let this mindless monster claim her life.
With every ounce of remaining strength, Maya lifted herself up from the ground and sat up, her body protesting every inch. Her hands, shaking with exhaustion, gripped the Nightcarver once more. She forced herself to summon the last of her willpower to raise the sword. Her breath was coming in shallow gasps.
"Come on... then," she muttered, coughing up some blood in between the words. "Let's... go again... one last time."
The serpent loomed above her, a terrifying monument of death, looking down on its prey with cold indifference. It seemed almost... disappointed that the helpless Sleeper in front of it had taken down so many of its minions.
Maya gritted her teeth, but even that simple action seemed to take too much out of her. She looked up at the towering abomination, murderous intent stark in her gaze.
"Don't you... dare... look down... on me, you son of a bitch..." she shot through the haze of exhaustion clouding her mind.
The serpent, seemingly bored, coiled to strike— its massive fangs poised to tear her apart, its enormous tail determined to crush and obliterate her.
However, at that moment, something else caught its attention.
Maya noticed it too. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cade's body, motionless just moments ago, suddenly wreathed in a swirling black fog.
And then— he was gone. Dissolved into the Darkness.
A sharp exhale left Maya's lips and her sword clattered to the ground, her grip loosening. Even now, on the brink of collapse, she couldn't help but let out a dark, breathless chuckle.
"Took you long enough, you braindead maniac..." she muttered, recalling her augmentation and forcing herself to her feet. Her legs trembled, threatening to give out but the augmentation kept her from collapsing. At least, for now.
The blood red serpent ignored her entirely, as if she were nothing more than an afterthought. Its attention had shifted. It turned toward the spot where Cade's body had been only moments ago.
The black fog that had consumed him now drifted upward and curled toward the serpent's gaping maw. As the oppressive Darkness coiled around its massive head, the abomination hummed its resonance once again.
As soon as the bone chilling sound filled the air, a violent shudder was sent through the crimson, coral-strewn clearing.
Maya, who'd only been standing because of her augmentation, collapsed to the ground once again. She hit the floor with a dull thud, groaning. Using the last bit of strength she had left, she looked up.
As the abomination's resonance faded, the thick shroud of Darkness swirling around the serpent's head began to dissipate, thinning into curling wisps. And within those lingering wisps of Darkness, Maya caught sight of Cade's figure.
Cade, clad in the dark Ebonveil Plate, stood atop the serpent's massive head, locked in a deadly struggle. One of his hands gripped the hilt of the Voidfang, the blade buried deep into one of the creature's bloodshot eyes. Cade was holding his head with the other, his face contorted in a painful grimace.
The serpent thrashed violently, its agonized screeches splitting the air as it tried to shake off the soulless Dreamer. Cade put both his hands on the hilt of his sword and twisted viciously, devastating the thing's eye. He struggled to wrench his weapon free. His form was unyielding, despite the agonized abomination's wild convulsions.
Maya watched, her chest rising and falling with exhaustion. A bitter thought slipped through the haze of pain.
Serves you right... she mused at the thrashing serpent. Almost killed me, you bastard...
However, as she observed, she noticed that even Cade couldn't ignore the serpent's frantic, frenzied thrashing for long. The sheer force of its struggle threatened to hurl him off at any moment. But instead of waiting to be thrown, he took the initiative.
With a flicker of Darkness, the Voidfang dissolved from his grasp, vanishing into his Abyssal Void. A heartbeat later, he leapt from the towering serpent's head, landing hard on the coral-strewn ground and rolling with the impact. He came to a stop in a low crouch.
His eyes darted around as he scanned his surroundings— then locked onto Maya. She forced herself to her feet again, swaying uncontrollably. She leaned on one of the coral trees jutting out of the ground. Her battered form looked as though the slightest gust of wind would topple her.
Without wasting any time, Cade sprinted towards her.
As he closed the distance, Maya forced a weary smile, her voice rough but laced with wry amusement. "Like to make an entrance, do we?"
Cade's gaze swept over her, taking in the bruises, the torn armor, the way she was barely holding herself upright. His expression darkened with something close to horror.
Without the slightest hesitation, he grabbed her by the shoulders, his grip firm but not rough, his dark eyes searching the depths of her blue ones.
For a moment, he seemed to be checking— making sure she was truly there, not just some adrenaline-fueled husk running on instinct. When he saw the awareness in her gaze, the exhaustion but not madness, he exhaled sharply, his grip loosening ever so slightly.
Then, his expression twisted, his features hardening into something furious— almost threatening.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING?! I TOLD YOU TO RUN, GODDAMN IT!!" he roared, his voice raw with anger as he scanned the numerous wounds on her body. "Y—you... you co— you could have died! DIED, Maya! There's no coming back from that!"
Cade was rarely ever angry. In fact, Maya had always seen him as the laid-back, almost annoyingly cheerful type— the kind of guy who grinned in the face of disaster and made light of things that should've been terrifying.
She had never imagined that he was capable of yelling like this.
This wasn't just anger. It was something raw, something sharp-edged with frustration and... and something else. Something she didn't quite know how to name.
Maya wrenched herself free from his grip, shaking out her arms like she was brushing off the weight of his concern. Then, rubbing her one of her ears with exaggerated slowness, she shot him a lopsided smirk.
"Weird way to say 'thank you,'" she drawled sarcastically. "But I'll take it. You're welcome."
Cade stared at her like she'd just grown a second head. The sheer disbelief in his eyes was almost comical.
Maya scoffed. "I saved your life, maniac," she announced, leaning on the coral pillar once again for support. "Be grateful. Besides, wasn't that the plan? Keeping you alive while you formed your Core?"
Cade didn't answer right away. He just kept staring but his expression shifted between exasperation and something close to admiration.
Maya smirked again. "What? You really thought I'd fail my first test? As if! I am very competitive, mind you…"
Cade blinked at her, still processing. His mouth opened slightly, then shut again, as if words had completely abandoned him. Then, with a heavy sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.
"Don't tell me that's what I sound like," he muttered.
Maya grinned, though the exhaustion on her face made it look less smug than she'd intended.
"That's exactly what you sound like," she shot back, her voice strained but victorious.
Cade exhaled sharply, a mixture of amusement and frustration.
"You and I are gonna have a long talk about this later..." he murmured.
He turned away from her, shifting his focus to the massive serpent still thrashing in agony. Its bloodied eye was gushing dark ichor. The cavern clearing trembled with its enraged movements.
Cade's voice darkened. "But right now, we've got bigger problems."
Maya followed his gaze. She gritted her teeth, her own eyes narrowing.
"That we do…" she murmured, staring at the abomination with murder in her gaze.
____________________________________
You know I actually thought about writing this one as an excuse to let Cade aura-farm. Maya's on the verge of death but Cade swoops in and saves the day, woo-hoo!!
Jeju Island type shit, you know...
But I quickly realized that Shadow Slave ain't that type of story. Most of the time, Cade just steamrolls over his enemies because of his Aspect Ability, so this time, I gave the enemy the ability to strip him off his own!! As to how that works, don't ask me the mechanics... I don't know!
Now, what will Shroudkeeper and Veil of Ashes do in the face of such a tyrannical adversary?
Stick around and find out!!
The fight will take two full chapters, so be warned in advance. Even then, the arc won't be completely over. I have some other stuff in mind.
Anyway, what'd you think of Maya's struggle in this chapter? Did the writing feel... off somewhere? Or did it feel natural? Was it disconnected or maybe non-sensical in places? Or was it cool? Do let me know! Your feedback helps me improve as a writer. All of you are professional readers, so your advice is very much appreciated!
So, all in all, hope you enjoyed it! Until the next one, people! :]