There’s not enough gathered yet. If I set it off now, only the area behind the door would take the damage. I needed to stall, but first…
Luna, I whispered inwardly, keeping my expression still. Start preparing to shield yourself. Slowly, though. We can’t afford to draw attention.
Already on it, she replied, her voice calm within my mind.
The Lady stood perfectly motionless before , her hands resting at her waist, patiently awaiting an answer. The air around her felt heavier now, quieter, so unnaturally still it bordered on serene.
I gave a small shake of my head, replying at last. “We haven’t even exchanged formalities,” I said evenly. “Introductions should co first, at the very least.”
With a brief nod of my head, I bent slightly forward. “I am Peter,” I said, glancing up to et her eyes. “And you?”
The corners of her pale lips curved faintly. “I wasn’t aware Giants cared so much for polite greetings.”
I stiffened, forcing my back straight while silently scolding myself. “Adaptations are necessary,” I said quickly. “Otherwise, we only cause trouble.”
She lifted one delicate hand, dismissing the remark with a casual flick before lowering it gracefully.
A cascade of pale-blue silk, the fabric of her robe, rippled across the floor as she bowed. It clung to her slender form as she lowered herself, every motion fluid and deliberate. When she raised her head again, her eyes blinked once slowly, almost thoughtfully.
“I can’t recall my first na,” she said softly. “But you may call Sani.”
She looked young—perhaps mid-twenties—but her skin bore no trace of warmth or life, its pallor like porcelain chilled by frost. Up close, it beca clearer that whatever warmth may radiate from her wasn’t physical at all.
Still, I was stunned.
This was oddly… normal.
It didn’t feel like speaking to the other undead. This could almost pass for an ordinary introduction. Well, ordinary enough for a conversation between soone pretending to be a Giant and a hauntingly beautiful corpse.
“If we aren’t beginning,” she said, her tone gentle and composed, “then shall we talk?”
My mind scrambled for a topic, latching onto the first thing that surfaced. “Of course. I have many things I need to report.”
She made a faint sound in her throat, as if clearing it to disguise a truer reaction, but I pressed on regardless.
“What purpose do you serve in enslaving these people?” I asked. “Carving out a ho is one thing, but how do you expect to control them in battle?”
A soft laugh escaped her, light as the rustle of fabric. “Purpose?” she echoed, as though amused by its weight. She gave a half-shrug. “I suppose it’s for fun.”
I blinked, uncertain if I’d misheard her. “You find it amusing to subjugate others?”
She shook her head quickly, and the motion sent her silver hair swaying over both shoulders in a soft gleam. “No. My followers wished to control them. I rely allow it. It’s simpler to let them indulge their desires while I focus on my own affairs.”
The unguarded honesty in her tone disard . There was no malice, no justification—only a serene, chilling indifference.
Her hand drifted to her lips, quivering slightly before a quiet chuckle escaped. “You didn’t expect that answer, did you?”
I stepped back half a pace, searching the calm depths of her eyes before admitting, “No. Considering your people…”
She moved closer, cutting off mid-sentence, the small step emphasizing the difference in our height—a full had taller than . Her presence suddenly felt towering, her gaze unblinking.
“Tell ,” she said, voice low and deliberate. “What do you think about power?”
My mind went blank. Of all the questions she could have asked, that was the last one I expected. Her eyes held mine with unwavering curiosity. Yet strangely, the intensity didn’t feel hostile. It felt… genuine.
“It’s… uh—” I started, the words catching in my throat. “I suppose it’s the ans by which I accomplish my goals.”
Her head tilted slightly, lips pursing in thoughtful silence. “Do you think power, in and of itself, is a worthy goal?”
I frowned, mulling over the question with genuine consideration. There was a pause before I finally spoke. “To , that’s not a goal. Power is just a tool. You might seek to learn more, and for that, you’d need power. Or to have fun,” I added, echoing her earlier words. “But still, it’s only a ans to an end.”
She smiled approvingly, then clasped her pale hands neatly before her, gazing down at with quiet amusent. “Would you like to know my goal?”
Slipping back into my role, I answered evenly, “Isn’t it to aid the Giants?”
A muffled laugh escaped her, the sound faint but sharp in the still air. “Do you truly care that much for those brutes?”
My veins turned cold, but she continued unbothered, voice smooth.
“My goal is simply to learn,” she said. “I have so much ti, and it must be filled with sothing worthwhile. The creatures of this world—even the Giants—have much to teach.” Her gaze flicked toward . “Wouldn’t you agree, Peter?”
I looked up at her, fighting the tremor threatening to run through .
“You should do it now,” she said softly, her tone almost comforting. “It should be enough to handle the rest. Your companions are likely already on the surface.”
My pulse thundered. Despite the cold, sweat ford along the back of my neck.
She knows. And more—she doesn’t care.
“Snap.”
A single flick of my fingers ignited a spark, and before my vision drowned in fire, I saw her smile wistfully one last ti.
Eruptions followed in rapid succession, each blast chaining into the next as I triggered every charge I could muster, Luna aiding in perfect sync. The ground shook under the cascading detonations, an orange storm devouring everything until the world went white.
Then—
A hand seized .
I blinked.
And suddenly, I was on the surface.
Luna?
I’m alright, she answered, her voice shaky but alive. Uh… how’d we get up here?
I glanced around. Lower undead surrounded several groups of Niks, their hollow eyes darting nervously. That cold, firm grasp that had pulled free… there was no mistaking it. Sani had saved . Not that it was totally necessary, but not having to dig myself out was nice.
And now she was gone.
“Great Giant?!” one of the undead called out—a more complete one, its voice clearer than the rest—as it stumbled toward . “What was that?!”
Bristle was farther off, beyond the undead’s domain reach.
Harua sat in the midst of her group, weary but smiling faintly, lazily rocking so of the smaller children in her lap along with herself, chirping a light tune.
“Learning is amusing for her, but this is fun for you?” I muttered under my breath.
“What? Sir, you must—”
He never finished.
He was sturdier than most, but I was tired, angry, and far stronger. My hand closed around him, the fragile bones snapping beneath my grip like dry twigs. Their abilities were strange, but against brute strength, they were fragile things. Flesh and bone crushed easily.
The others hesitated only a heartbeat too long. I didn’t. I lunged toward the next most-ford corpse. He opened his mouth to shout, the faint blue fire within his skull flickering then extinguished as swiftly as the last.
Another raised his arms to strike , but—fwip—a thin bolt of orange fla hissed through the air. It struck his side, charring the bone and forcing a guttural cry from his throat.
Bristle. The Spirit Hound had already adapted to his new power.
I didn’t have ti to marvel at his progress. I spun toward another, driving my foot forward in a sweeping kick—
—but it froze mid-air. Along with the rest of .
Three of the undead had begun chanting in a language I couldn’t understand. Their voices were low, guttural, vibrating with a resonance that crawled beneath my skin. My body strained, but nothing obeyed.
What the hell is this?! I shouted inwardly, struggling against the invisible grip.
Wyrem writhed within , his presence coiling and pressing at my core, but even he seed bound. I’m not sure, he rasped. Perhaps… another kind of energy.
Two more undead began to advance in slow, deliberate steps, chanting in the sa guttural tongue as the others. Then others joined in behind them. One by one, their hollow voices layered together, until the sound thickened, ringing far out into the desert.
The brilliant sky above dimd, the light bleeding away as heavy clouds churned into being.
You need to move, Wyrem warned.
Luna was already forcing my energy to circulate, but even she was faltering beneath the pressure.
Rrrrumble… Rumble.
The air quivered. Above, the clouds flickered like a dying lantern, patches of brightness sparking and fading.
I couldn’t see Bristle, but he must’ve been trapped in the sa suffocating energy.
The chanting swelled.
Each word clawed at my skin as if alive, flaying layers from my body. The air itself seed to shriek as the clouds thickened, collapsing into a dense, suffocating shroud over this small corner of the world.
Jagged veins of lightning twitched above, tracing through the storm’s belly, each flash followed by a crack that shook the ground.
The undead began to grin wide in unnatural slits of satisfaction. One by one, they raised their skeletal hands, the bones glowing faintly with that sa cold blue fire burning within their hollow heads.
The pressure slamd down harder, crushing, unrelenting.
Luna’s energy wavered. I could feel her trembling on my wrist. Peter—I can’t…
Hold on, I hissed back, forcing every shred of my will into motion. I drove my Internal Force forward, pooling every spark of strength I could muster. Drybel’s paddles churned furiously, and together—all three of us—we fought to produce even the smallest flicker of movent inside .
“Almost there,” I growled through clenched teeth. “Just hold out a little longer!”
The flow pulsed, sluggish but alive. It was barely enough to ignite Sensory Veil. Enough for a single step.
But when I looked up, I felt it. Their gathered power had converged to a single, burning point above . It glared down, bright and rciless.
And I knew that I was too late.
I managed to slip an arm beneath myself, bracing for the inevitable.
Then—
WHOOSH.
Before the strike could fall, a silent surge of green light erupted from the heart of the Niks’ ranks. It spiraled outward in a brilliant vortex, slicing through the chanting and the storm itself. The clouds tore apart, lightning scattering like frightened serpents.
Silence struck us all at once.
The pressure vanished. My muscles obeyed again, and I dropped to one knee, catching myself with trembling hands.
A single figure stood swaying amidst the stunned ranks. A tall Niks, his body cloaked in dark red feathers. His wings twitched feebly, eyes flickering with fading amber light.
Our gazes t for the briefest instant.
Then a deep shudder passed through him. His fra crumpled inward, collapsing silently into the dust.
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