Nathan's brow furrowed in determination, a brief flicker of doubt crossing his mind but quickly pushed aside.
He trusted his son's words, but the weight of the situation pressed on him with every passing second.
Just then, slithering chains began to coil toward him, Nathan muscles pulsed with energy.
He summoned his [tallic Skin] once more, feeling the familiar surge of energy as his body shifted and hardened into living tal.
With every ounce of strength he could muster, he raised his arm and brought it down in a sweeping motion.
The tal from the nearby buildings groaned and shifted, the walls vibrating as they transford into jagged, sharp spears.
The chains, still in motion, were halted midstrike by the sudden barrage of steel.
The ethereal chains rattled against the tal, unable to break through, their course completely stopped.
Nathan staggered, his legs falling beneath him as exhaustion began to take its toll. His body trembled with the effort, but he pushed through the weakness, reaching up once again with a strained movent.
The remaining tal from the surroundings responded to his will, rising from the ground like serpents of steel. More spears took form, now aid directly at the trio of enemies.
But before he could unleash them, sothing unexpected happened. One of the figures opened their mouth wide, a strange distortion forming.
Out from within it ca the slithering chains once more, but this ti, they didn't aim to bind Nathan.
Instead, they wrapped around the tallic spears, not to redirect them, but to force them toward one of their own companions!
'What?'
Confusion flickered in Nathan's eyes as the spears shot through the body of the one who had summoned the chains, piercing him through like a deadly pincushion. Blood sprayed into the air, staining the ground beneath them.
Nathan's breath caught in his throat. This wasn't what he'd expected.
Why was he trying to kill himsef?
But before he could fully comprehend, the figure who had been struck by the spears raised his hand, clenching it into a tight fist.
The motion was fast, yet deliberate, and as he opened his fingers again, a bloody reflection of the damage mirrored Nathan's own body.
Nathan's heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened, the cold grip of realization seizing him. The bloodied mirror shimred with deadly intent.
He wanted to look away, to turn his gaze and escape its influence, but it was too late.
Pain exploded through his chest and limbs as the mirror's magic took hold. The sa injuries inflicted on the pierced figure manifested on Nathan's body—holes and gashes tore through his flesh.
The mirror had reflected its injuries onto him!
Blood poured from him in torrents, splattering against the cold ground, staining the air with the coppery scent of his own life force slipping away.
For a mont, Nathan's vision blurred. The searing pain clouded his thoughts, but his focus remained. He couldn't falter—not now.
The whip user, sensing an opening, moved with terrifying speed. Their arms whipped forward, and with a sudden crack, the ethereal whip shot toward Nathan. The force of the strike was aid to finish what the blood mirror had started, to tear him apart.
But just as the whip was about to strike, sothing unexpected happened.
A black, transparent curtain, almost like an enormous veil, unfurled in front of Nathan. It appeared out of nowhere, wrapping itself around him like a protective shield.
The whip struck the black veil with a harsh crack, but instead of slicing through, it recoiled as if it had hit an invisible wall.
The whip user froze, confused, and the trio exchanged uncertain glances, unsure of what had just happened.
Inside the veil, a figure erged—a woman dressed entirely in flowing black garnts that seed to absorb the light around her.
Her face was partially obscured, but her presence was unmistakable. She stood tall, poised, and her eyes glead with an unsettling calmness.
Nathan's eyes flicked toward her, narrowing with recognition.
"Black Veil Master," he muttered, his voice laced with wariness.
The woman turned toward him, her gaze sharp and calculating.
"I've heard the rumors of the Prophecy," she said, her voice low and smooth, yet laced with an edge of foreboding.
"Your son, Reves, is one of the key figures in the fall of the Ten Throne Holders."
She paused for a mont, as if asuring the weight of her words before continuing.
"As soone who has long awaited the downfall of the Throne Holders, it is only natural for to offer my assistance to those who will help bring that end."
Her words hung in the air, heavy with implications. But before Nathan could respond, the trio of attackers, no longer passive, stretched their arms wide, moving with unnatural speed.
Their bodies seed to blur as they reached out, intent on clutching at the veil, as if to draw the woman and Nathan into their grasp.
The woman's eyes flashed with surprise. "Strong—"
She said, but before she could finish her sentence, a powerful surge of energy sliced through the air. The veil, once a sturdy barrier, trembled under the force, then buckled and shattered, breaking apart like fragile glass as the attackers' combined might crashed into it.
Above the trio, another veil materialized, dark and ominous, floating silently in the air.
A soft, lodic hum—a lullaby, eerie yet soothing—began to drift through the space, wrapping itself around the attackers' senses like a web.
The trio's eyes grew heavy, their movents slowing as if the weight of exhaustion was suddenly pressing them down. Their limbs felt sluggish, their minds foggy, as if sleep were pulling them into its grasp.
Just as the trio's eyelids fluttered, nearing the brink of slumber, the whip user's hand shot out. From a hidden pocket, they drew a strange, glinting dagger, its blade shimring with an unnatural, otherworldly light.
The woman's expression froze, her eyes widening with sudden realization. Danger flared in her chest like a spark of instinct.
"A Threshold item!" she hissed, her voice tight with alarm.
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