When the final head was sent flying and hit the blood-soaked ground with a dull thud, Adyr cast a last glance around the clearing. With a sharp motion, he swung his blade, letting the blood splatter from its edge, then slid it back into the sheath strapped to his back.
"Probably their last batch of minions," he said calmly.
While cutting through the mutants, he noticed a clear shift in the enemy’s movents. The presence controlling the cave was still acting against him, but its thods had changed. Earlier, every trap and obstruction had felt deliberate, restrained, almost thodical—like a hunter laying careful snares. Now, those attempts felt clumsy and rushed. The falling rocks struck without rhythm, the ground shifted chaotically, and the mutants were being thrown at him in waves without any real formation. It wasn’t trying to outmaneuver him anymore. It was panicking.
Whatever force was behind this had begun to act blindly, driven by desperation rather than control. It wasn’t a calculated defense now—it was the last, frantic resistance of sothing that knew it was running out of options.
Evangeline didn’t wait for an order. She swiftly took the lead again, activating her skill as she continued advancing through the tunnel, cautious yet efficient with every step.
Before long, the group ca to an abrupt stop at what appeared to be a dead end.
"Did we take a wrong turn?" Victor asked, frowning at the solid wall ahead, seeing no opening they could follow.
Evangeline didn’t respond imdiately. Instead, she approached the wall in silence, placing her hand against the cold, hard surface. After a brief pause, she spoke.
"No. This wall... it feels artificial. A fake barrier. I can sense movent behind it."
"Let try to break it," Adyr said, stepping forward. After examining the wall for a mont, he pulled his right arm back and struck it with a solid punch.
The impact was powerful. Cracks split across the stone as a large chunk shattered and fell to the ground. But it wasn’t enough. Worse, the broken fragnts moved almost instantly, pulling themselves back together, the wall repairing itself within seconds.
"This bastard’s got better regeneration than I do," Victor muttered bitterly, glancing at his still-useless arms, which were only now starting to heal.
"Step back," Adyr instructed calmly. Raising a finger toward the wall, he began charging his Sonic Burst.
The mont the skill reached full charge, he released it.
Boom.
The tunnel shook violently. A deafening blast echoed through the stone as the shockwave struck the wall, sending dust and debris spraying outward.
Through the thick cloud of dust, the group could just make out the result: a wide opening had been blasted into the wall—but even now, they could see the edges of the hole already starting to close, stone flowing like liquid as it regenerated.
"Move. Now."
Adyr didn’t wait. Without another word, he leapt straight through the opening. The others, not wanting to be left behind, rushed after him before the passage sealed itself once more.
"B-Brother, I’m stuck..." Victor’s voice ca from behind, strained and frustrated.
Adyr turned to look—then let out a short, dry laugh.
Victor’s dangling arm had betrayed him. As he rushed to follow the others, the useless limb swung behind him, and just as the stone entrance sealed shut, it caught the trailing arm between the closing walls. The heavy stone gripped it like a vice, pinning him in place before he could fully pass through.
Adyr didn’t want to wound Victor’s pride any more than it already was. Without a word, he stepped closer and drove a solid punch into the stone wall, trapping Victor’s arm. The force split the stone enough for Victor to pull himself free.
"Whew... not the first hole that’s tried to hold onto ," Victor muttered, looking at his arm with relief, ignoring the disgusted stares from the others.
Adyr, without reacting, had already shifted his focus forward—his eyes scanning the wide cavern ahead, illuminated faintly by the weak lights on their wristbands.
The cavern was wide, and as he’d expected, far from empty. Even in the dim light, his mutant eyes could easily make out two creatures standing not far ahead, waiting in silence.
"So... it was you two all along," Adyr murmured, sounding almost satisfied as his gaze locked onto the creatures.
Both Sparks were massive, each standing nearly three ters tall and just as wide. Their bodies were gelatinous and amorphous, typical of advanced sli-type creatures. The first had a dull grey color, its surface rippling like thick, polluted liquid. The second was a deep blue, its translucent body faintly glowing from within, as if sothing darker stirred beneath the surface. Slow, steady pulses moved through their forms, their outer layers shifting and reforming in constant, silent motion.
Adyr didn’t need the system ssage that flickered before his eyes to recognize them. He already knew what these two were. Still, he let his eyes flick over the prompt, confirming the knowledge burned into his mory.
Na: Augsli
Path: Astra
Rank: 3
Ability: Morphreinforce / Peacebind / Necroconsu
Description:
Augsli dwell in the darkest, most stagnant corners of caves and swamps. Their bodies are slow, and their range of motion is limited, but this trait has evolved to emit a unique aura that compels nearby creatures to perceive them as friends. Generally non-aggressive and quite docile, these Sparks only beco active when hungry.
Ability – Peacebind / Necroconsu / Morphreinforce
These slis have developed their Peacebind skill to compensate for their poor movent, allowing them to emit a friendly aura that causes all nearby creatures to see them as allies. When they need to feed, their sli-like bodies envelop the creatures, and through their Necroconsu ability, they slowly decay the captured prey’s tissues, feeding on the dead matter. However, as Astra Path Sparks, they understand gratitude, and with the help of their Morphreinforce skill, they grant new tissues to the creatures whose tissues they have destroyed, effectively evolving them.
Na: Veilgrasp Sli
Path: Aether
Rank: 2
Ability: Ironhold / Willfeast
Description:
Veilgrasp Slis lurk in the darkest, most stagnant corners of caves and swamps. Their gelatinous bodies shift with a faint, smoky haze that blurs the space around them. Their movents are slow and clumsy, but they compensate by extending control over everything in their vicinity. Though they lack direct offensive or defensive abilities, they are fiercely aggressive, attacking anything that enters their territory under their influence. They feed on the free will and freedom of those they dominate, sustaining themselves on the very essence of control they exert.
Ability – Ironhold / Willfeast
These slis have developed their Ironhold skill to compensate for their poor movent precision, granting them the power to control all living and non-living things within their resistance limits. Through their Willfeast ability, they feed on the free will and freedom of those under their control, rendering their prey powerless and keeping them bound indefinitely.
"What a combo," Adyr comnted, considering the abilities of both Sparks.
Normally, finding two or more Sparks together in the wild was common. But encountering two Sparks cooperating so closely, their abilities complenting each other to survive side by side, was quite rare. On top of that, this was Earth—a dinsion where even finding a single Spark was unusual.
When considering this, not only Adyr but everyone else in the group reached the sa conclusion: soone must have brought these Sparks here.
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