The iridescent gateway unduted with a soft, shifting radiance as they stepped through. Darkness enveloped them immediately – a complete absence of natural illumination. Their Lumina Cores flickered to life instinctively, casting an eerie glow that revealed their surroundings and the motionless Golem lying nearby, its metal form unmarred yet lifeless.

  As they moved forward, the weight in his limbs grew noticeable, each step feeling heavier than the st. The darkness ahead twisted at the edges of their vision, and a chill settled into his bones. This pce... feels like the Abyssal Breach, he thought, his gaze flicking warily into the shifting void.

  The air grew increasingly frigid as they approached an ancient structure marked by a massive stone door covered in rippling, luminous carvings. Amisha's raven darted forward, its ghostly form passing through the threshold as the carvings fred brilliantly before fading to darkness.

  "Raven, return," Amisha commanded sharply. When nothing happened, concern flickered across her face as she attempted to materialize her familiar with intricate hand movements. Still nothing.

  Amisha swallowed hard. "It's... not responding."

  A heavy pause followed before Alina stepped forward, addressing the younger members with commanding crity. "If we go in, be ready for the worst. Stay together. No recklessness. Understood?"

  Drifter watched as they nodded solemnly, the gravity of their situation finally settling upon them.

  They passed through the doorway one by one, each step feeling as though they were wading through water. Inside, Drifter was struck by the haunting beauty of their surroundings – crumbling dark stone, faceless statues frozen in eternal silence, walls inscribed with alien glyphs that pulsed with faint energy.

  Lysander and Luna paused before one of the inscriptions, studying the unfamiliar symbols with intense focus.

  "What nguage is this?" Lysander's voice carried both curiosity and unease. "It's not Old Selvarian, is it?"

  Luna shook her head slowly. "No, Grandmaster. This is... something entirely different. I've never seen anything like it before."

  The team's mood darkened further as they exchanged troubled gnces. Drifter brooded silently, his mind racing. If even Grandmaster Lysander can't identify it... What is this pce?

  He caught Sloane's muttered words nearby: "Why did I agree to this? Damn it... Should've stayed behind."

  They ventured deeper, each step amplifying the suffocating silence. Alina suddenly stopped, her eyes glowing as she attempted to activate her Enchanted Sight.

  "Even the Enchanted Sight picks up nothing," she murmured, her voice edged with growing wariness.

  The ancient symbols along the walls began to emit a pale blue glow as they entered a massive circur hall. Luna halted abruptly before a grand mural spanning one wall – a bizarre winged entity with a geometric head, bestial arms, and colossal legs surrounded by various species and strange box-shaped structures.

  While the others studied the mural, Drifter wandered across the chamber, examining additional murals depicting a diverse array of races: humans, elves, beastkin, and others he couldn't recognize. A chill crept down his spine as the unsettling weight of the pce pressed in on him.

  The chamber suddenly trembled. A static crackling grew louder until a small figure materialized from the darkness – a Hooded Bck haired Child hovering slightly above the cracked floor, barefoot, dressed in tattered white clothes, but it was their eyes that captivated Drifter – luminescent violet orbs burning with cosmic energy.

  The child raised a hand, and the air rippled with power. "Leave," they commanded, their voice cold and yered with unnatural echoes.

  "Wait. We will leave—but first, tell us. What is this pce? Who are you?" Lysander replied.

  The child tilted their head.. Then their body jerked violently, head snapping upward as their voice morphed into a guttural growl: "LEAVE."

  Darkness erupted from the child's back as their pale skin cracked, revealing jagged obsidian armor. Their form expanded into a towering, 13-meter-tall winged monstrosity—a fusion of sharp edges and shifting bck pting. Crimson eyes bzed within a geometric, angur face.

  Reality fractured. The walls distorted, space itself warping under an overwhelming gravitational force. From the abyss, dozens of X-shaped, squid-like entities emerged, their bck bodies etched with eerie inscriptions.

  The group reacted instantly. Sigils fred to life, weapons drawn as they moved into formation.

  Lysander acted first, casting Celestial Blessing. A golden aura ignited around them, celestial energy forming a radiant halo at their backs.

  Alma followed with Exalt Surge, while Friedrich invoked Blessing of Light. Their radiant and pink auras intertwined, washing over the team in waves of energy.

  Drifter felt the surge immediately—his reflexes sharpened, his thoughts clearing with unnatural precision. His spectral swords materialized faster than ever, responding to his will as if weightless.

  Yet the moment of crity was fleeting.

  The transformed child—now Voioscirax—let out an ear-splitting roar. The X-shaped creatures lunged, their void-like apertures firing dark energy projectiles, while others condensed into razor-sharp spikes, unching with lethal precision.

  The battlefield ignited. Lysander, Luna, Vaeloria, and Alma unleashed magic from the back—ice, light, fire, and radiant pink energy colliding with the voidspawn. At the front, Friedrich charged, his greatshield absorbing a barrage of dark bolts while his floating radiant shields intercepted the rest. His mace crashed into the horrors, sending bursts of holy energy rippling through them.

  Beside him, Alina carved through the creatures with her ice greatsword, each swing leaving jagged frost in its wake. Caelus and Lorcan fought in tandem—lightning spear and dark-elemental fists striking in perfect rhythm.

  Yet, only the three of them had advanced deep into enemy lines.

  Jaxon weaved through the battlefield, fire trailing his every step as his twin bowguns unleashed relentless volleys. Above, Amisha hovered like a wraith, dark magic coiling around her hands while spectral ravens swarmed, tearing through enemies in a flurry of shadowed wings.

  Meanwhile, Drifter flickered between foes, Exaltare carving through the air as spectral blue swords erupted around him. Some found their mark, slicing cleanly through—but the creatures moved with unnatural speed, twisting and shifting out of reach. In an instant, one morphed into a dark energy spike and countered.

  His natural barrier fred, absorbing the impact, but the sheer force drove him to his knees. What are these things? Not Cataclysmaris… but close…

  Then, a flicker of movement—he turned just in time to see Voioscirax materialize behind Lysander, its massive, jagged arm slicing through the air.

  Lysander reacted instantly, activating Radiant Shield—a glowing white barrier intercepting the strike. The impact sent a shockwave through the room, scattering the backline and nearly toppling Drifter in the distance.

  He recovered fast, unleashing a volley of Exalt Bolts and spectral swords at Voioscirax. But before his attacks could connect, the creature vanished—then reappeared behind him.

  A massive cwed hand wrapped around him, crushing him in suffocating dark energy.

  Drifter's Natural Barrier shattered under the pressure. "A-Ahh… ngh…!" he gasped as excruciating pain coursed through his body.

  "Hold on, pal!" Jaxon shouted as he, Amisha, and Alina rushed toward Drifter, their attacks synchronized perfectly.

  Amisha unleashed Dark Crescent Strike – a sweeping shadow wave – while Alina followed with Buzorn Frostbreaker, delivering an explosive ssh of blue ice. Jaxon fired Incendiary Barrage, a flurry of explosive projectiles that engulfed the target.

  Their combined assault shattered Voioscirax's barrier and severed its hand, freeing Drifter. Yet within seconds, dark energy tendrils regenerated the limb completely.

  Drifter colpsed to the ground, watching weakly as Lysander cast Healing Aura and Alma cast Exalt Healing. Warm, radiant light enveloped the team, gradually restoring his strength until he could rise to his feet.

  As he steadied himself, his gaze swept over the battlefield—now a scene of pure chaos. Jaxon, Alina, and Amisha cshed fiercely with Voioscirax, sparks flying with each exchange, while X-creatures swarmed from all sides. Their formation had crumbled, each fighter forced into a desperate struggle of their own.

  Despite the disorder, Luna and Lysander remained composed, casting ice and light spells with calcuted precision. Reine reinforced their defenses, maintaining his ice barrier while gripping his shield tightly beside Friedrich, whose floating shields intercepted incoming strikes.

  Meanwhile, Lorcan and Caelus fought relentlessly, their attacks a seamless combination of dark elemental punches and lightning spear strikes as they defended Vaeloria and Alma, who were beginning to falter. Alma gasped for breath, her movements slowing, while even Friedrich’s usual calm began to crack as he moved protectively closer to her.

  But the creatures adapted too quickly, shifting form to evade attacks with unnerving fluidity.

  As Lorcan and Caelus attempted to fnk them, the enemy struck first—twisting into jagged spikes that impaled their backs. Their natural barriers shattered, and both colpsed to the ground.

  Seeing them fall, Luna acted instantly. She stepped between Lorcan and the advancing creatures, her eyes cold with resolve.

  With a swift motion, she cast Gcialis Dominus, unleashing an intense frost that slowed the approaching horrors. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she cast Enchanted Gcial Shards infused with a radiant silver aura, unching them forward. The shards struck true, shattering several creatures on impact.

  "Grandmaster, we need to retreat before anyone gets seriously hurt," she called out, her voice steady but urgent. "This is beyond us."

  Lysander nodded grimly. "We're pulling back. Amisha, Alina, Jaxon, clear the path. The students stay in the center. Drifter, Luna, Friedrich and I will guard the rear."

  They moved swiftly, Amisha's Spectral Ravens leading the charge while Lysander's Prismatic Wisps provided covering fire.

  Then, in a sudden burst of abyssal energy, Voioscirax materialized directly in their path, unleashing a storm of razor-sharp dark projectiles from its massive wings.

  The novices scattered, sprinting to the back to evade the onsught while fending off the X-creatures that pursued them.

  Alina met the attack head-on, but her greatsword disintegrated on impact. Dark energy grazed her armor, corroding it instantly. She shed the damaged pting and reforged both weapon and armor in a heartbeat.

  "Don't block—dodge everything!" she shouted.

  She and Amisha lunged back into battle, weapons and magics cshing against Voioscirax. At the rear, X-creatures swarmed Drifter, Luna, Friedrich, and Lysander. Even with the novices aiding them, the sheer numbers overwhelmed the group. They downed evocyte recovery potions, restoring their reserves, though Drifter winced at the lingering numbness.

  Sweat dripped down his face as he spotted Voioscirax looming ahead. "I'll distract it!" He hurled his spectral swords at its chest. "Hit it hard when it’s open!"

  As predicted, Voioscirax materialized before him, its massive cwed hand swinging forward. Drifter activated Azure Tempest, becoming a storm of afterimages as he and his spectral swords blurred into a deadly dance. Bzing blue sshes rained down, cracking the monster's dark armor in several pces.

  "Now!" Drifter shouted urgently.

  Luna stepped forward, forming a massive sigil as she cast Ice Prison—a colossal crystalline structure that encased and immobilized Voioscirax. Amisha reinforced the imprisonment with Spectral Grasp, materialized shadow tendrils wrapping tightly around the creature.

  Lysander moved forward deliberately, surrounded by intensifying sigils of light. He unleashed Divine Judgment – a blinding beam that pierced the frozen monster, shattering its armor with a deafening crack.

  "Now! Full assault!" Lysander commanded sharply.

  The team unleashed everything they had—Luna’s ice spears and Frost Nova, Jaxon’s relentless volleys of explosive fire shots, Amisha’s shadow tendrils striking from all angles, Friedrich’s summoned beam of a colossal radiant sword, Alina’s massive cleaving strikes, and Drifter’s relentless waves of Exalt Edge tearing through Voioscirax. Bit by bit, the monstrous form crumbled, until only its core remained—a cube-like shape embedded in its chest, shrouded in flickering dark energy.

  Drifter, Amisha, Alina, and Jaxon moved to deliver the final blow—only to be frozen mid-strike by an unseen force. Drifter strained to break free, but Exalt Shift failed. He barely managed to cast Exalt Barrier as cold sweat dripped down his brow. Beside him, Alina desperately conjured yers of ice barriers, her face pale with effort.

  Friedrich rushed to their aid, teeth gritted as he cast Celestial Aegis. A massive dome of celestial glyphs materialized around them—

  But the cube in Voioscirax’s chest spun faster, its high-pitched whine rising into a deafening roar. A blinding explosion of white light erupted, tearing through the battlefield. Space itself fractured as shards of raw energy ricocheted in every direction. The shockwave shattered their combined defenses in an instant.

  At the st moment, Amisha melted into the shadows and vanished. Friedrich, Lysander, and Luna were flung across the chamber, crashing into the ground with bone-jarring force. But Lysander pushed himself up, breath ragged, and immediately began channeling his magic.

  Alma staggered but forced herself forward, her eyes locking onto her father. Relief surged through her—until she turned. Her breath hitched.

  The dust began to settle. Drifter, Alina, and Jaxon y motionless, their armor gone, bodies battered, clothing in shreds.

  Her vision blurred with tears. "No…" Desperation took hold as she cast healing spells from a distance, but nothing happened. No response. Her breaths grew shallow, panic tightening her chest.

  Vaeloria staggered back, trembling, hands clutching her chest. Nearby, Lorcan, Reine, Sloane, and Caelus stood frozen, their faces pale, eyes locked in silent dread. Not a word—only terror.

  A whisper of movement. Amisha emerged from the shadows, nding near Lysander.

  With a trembling hand, Lysander completed his cast—Luminous Resurgence. A golden light cascaded over the fallen warriors, celestial winged sigils appearing above them, their faint glow gradually restoring vitality to Drifter, Alina, and Jaxon.

  But as the spell took hold, Lysander swayed, his strength rapidly draining.

  Drifter rose to his feet, Exaltare materializing in his grasp and bck armor reforming around him. He stared at Voioscirax's fragmented body, now rapidly reassembling itself. Looking at his companions, he recognized the signs of defeat in their hardened jaws, slumped shoulders, and vacant stares. He felt it too – a tightening in his chest, the weight of impending failure.

  "Damn it… He's toying with us," Lysander muttered, his voice thick with exhaustion.

  Amisha's eyes glinted with deadly focus. "This isn't just about power. He's smart. He's reading every move we make."

  "We push forward now, while he's still recovering!" Lysander urged.

  They surged ahead, unching volleys of energy at Voioscirax as they passed, but their attacks bounced harmlessly off its dark shield. Behind them, the relentless tide of X-shaped creatures closed in, their options narrowing as the oppressive darkness crept ever closer.