The Punto—or rather, the Whisker Oracle—suddenly jumped in front of them, its tiny paws patting the scorched earth as it stood between the Prominence Beam and the rest of the group.
Then, with a small growl, it opened its tiny mouth unnaturally wide and spat out a pitch-black orb the size of a pebble.
A heartbeat later, that tiny orb expanded violently, twisting into a swirling vortex of darkness. It spun faster and faster until it resembled a miniature black hole. And like void eting fire, the Prominence Beam crashed into the anomaly—and vanished after.
The fire didn’t explode or ricochet.
It was devoured.
The beam vanished inch by inch, as if sucked into a swirling tunnel that led to nowhere—a void with no end, no origin. Like a strand of burning silk pulled into the mouth of oblivion, the vortex consud it hungrily, leaving behind only silence and smoke.
"Hallelujah!" Auren gasped, jaw dropping. The others stood frozen, eyes wide, struggling to believe what they’d just witnessed.
That tiny furball had just tanked one of the deadliest attacks in the known world.
"So this... this is the power of the Whisker Oracle..." Kardel whispered, eyes still fixed on the floating black vortex as it continued to devour the fire. His voice was filled with reverence—and just a hint of fear.
Even Rhiki and Queen Elarya could only hope this miracle had bought them enough ti to survive. The look in their eyes said it all: they had expected death. Now, all that remained was the terrifying question—what happens next?
"Wow..." Auren mumbled in awe. Then—sizzle.
Smoke began to curl from his sleeves.
"OW OW OW—!" he yelped, flailing. The heat from Vulkris’s beam hadn’t vanished—it had only been redirected through the black hole. The surrounding air was still blistering, and his robes were beginning to smoke.
"Everyone, get behind !" Kardel shouted. He stepped forward and raised his staff high. The Usan beneath him let out a sharp, battle-hardened neigh, and its massive antlers pulsed with yellow light. A radiant barrier blood outward from the antlers, wrapping around them like a glowing do.
Without wasting a second, Rhiki grabbed Auren by the collar and hurled him toward the shield. Auren flailed midair like a ragdoll, letting out a garbled "Waaaaugh!" before landing inside Kardel’s protective do with a grunt.
Rhiki then broke a black runed stone out from his pocket.
CRACK!
A deep blue pulse burst out, layering a second barrier over Kardel’s. The dual shields humd against the burning winds, filtering the heat to survivable levels.
Even still—KSSSSSSS~—the heat was so intense it caused the outer edges of the barrier to hiss and ripple. Outside, the ground had already started to lt, turning into puddles of glowing magma. Trees combusted from sheer proximity.
It was like standing on the surface of the sun.
If not for the Whisker Oracle’s interference, they would have been nothing more than soot and regret by now.
"Finally," Auren groaned, wiping sweat from his forehead. The air inside the barrier, while still hot, was bearable now. "I can breathe again."
He rummaged through his bag and pulled out four shimring bottles of mana potion. "Here! Drink these!"
He handed one each to Kardel and Rhiki and the Elven Queen.
Both elves glanced at the glowing vials and imdiately inspected the Fra descriptions.
*
Item: dium Grade Mana Potion
Potency: 46%
Crafted By:
*
Rhiki blinked. "There’s no crafter na?"
Kardel frowned. "Strange. How so?"
Auren shrugged. "Beats . Maybe the world’s system doesn’t know what to make of ."
Still, the quality was undeniable. Both elves gave quiet nods of approval and downed the potion in one swift gulp. The warmth of mana surged through their systems, reinforcing their barrier magic.
The others followed suit. One by one, they drank the potions Auren handed out, their breathing steadying, their postures straightening. Even Queen Elarya’s condition improved—her health bar finally climbing to a shaky but encouraging 6%, thanks to the lingering healing effects of Auren’s blood and potion combo.
Outside, the Prominence Beam was still raging like a storm—though the Whisker Oracle’s void had absorbed the worst of it. With their reinforced barriers, they could now survive the rest... if only barely.
"What’s the plan?" Auren asked, eyes darting from the Vulkris to the Queen and back. He was still channeling mana through his limbs just to avoid heatstroke.
The elves, naturally gifted with elental resistance, held up better. But even they were sweating now—literal beads of it evaporating the mont they ford.
"Honestly?" Elarya said, wincing through her pain. "Our best hope is to run. Unless the Whisper Oracle decides to step up again... there’s no winning against that thing."
The mont she finished speaking, the Prominence Beam finally began to fade.
It didn’t stop abruptly—it thinned, like a candle running out of wax. Eventually, it vanished entirely, leaving behind only a trail of molten earth and blackened ruins.
Smoke curled from Vulkris’s wide-open jaws. Its blazing eyes scanned the battlefield with confusion.
It should have annihilated its target.
But instead, there stood two glowing shields—and no corpse.?
And sowhere nearby, beyond its perception, a tiny green moss ball nad Bonbon casually bounced once on the ground, spun in a circle... and jumped back into Auren’s bag like nothing happened.
It burped.
Cute and deadly.
Vulkris didn’t see it. Couldn’t see it.
Its flaming brows furrowed, rage bubbling up again.
"Elarya..." it growled, voice deep and gravelly like a volcano on the verge of eruption. "How dare you show your face to !"
With a guttural roar, the beast unfurled its wings—each one wider than a palace—and launched itself skyward with a single flap. A shockwave followed, sending boulders flying and cracking the floating terrain beneath it.
Its eyes locked on the Elven Queen.
It was done with beams.
It wanted her dead, face to face.
"Everyone! To the portal—now!" Elarya shouted, pointing toward a faint teleportation circle just a few ters behind them, obscured by smoke and debris.
Kardel and Rhiki didn’t hesitate.
Rhiki hoisted Auren like a sack of grain, slinging him under one arm without a hint of grace. Auren, jostled but alert, reached for his backpack—where the Punto continued snoozing peacefully, entirely unbothered by the rough ride.
"Hey—HEY—put down! I can run just fine!" Auren squird, flailing as Rhiki sprinted.
"Stop resisting. We don’t have ti to wait for you, you slug." Rhiki grunted, leaping across a patch of crumbling stone.
Kardel had already hoisted the Queen onto the Usan’s back and was charging toward the portal, the beast’s glowing antlers cutting through the thick steam ahead.
But Vulkris was fast.
Unreasonably fast.
With one flap of its wings, it crossed the sky like a teor, closing the distance in a blink. From the Queen’s point of view, it was as if the air tore open—and Vulkris was suddenly there, right above them.
"This is bad..." she muttered helplessly.
They weren’t going to make it in ti.
THUD!
The ground cracked as Vulkris massive figure slamd down in front of them, blocking their path towards the portal. Its claws dug into the rock, molten cracks spreading beneath its feet.
It opened its maw once more—flas swirling inside like a miniature sun.
"Split!" Elarya shouted.
But there was no space and absolutely no ti.
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