Lira's breath was shallow. Her visions flickered making everything blurry. Every part of her body was hurt. She didn't know if she had broken her bones, but she couldn't feel her legs. Her arms shook as she tried to push herself upright.
The ground beneath her was still. The atmosphere felt cold.
She glanced up.
The creature was getting back on its feet. Parts of its limbs were burned, and several skulls had fallen from its twisted crown. But it was still standing. It still had strength. Its six arms dragged on the ground as it began moving toward the lira again.
Lira tries to get up. But Her muscles wouldn't respond. Her essence was completely gone. The last blast had emptied her reserve completely. She could barely keep her eyes open.
The creature was almost on her.
Then a huge shockwave hit the garden.
A dark green light exploded through the trees, followed by a burst of energy and force that cracked the nearby soil. The creature had paused, turning its head slowly.
It was Samuel, standing in between them.
His eyes were locked onto the creature, and his grip around Aegirion tightened. The blade pulsed with an eerie and dreadful energy.
His blade Aegirion was hungry.
Looking back at Lira, she was panicking.
Samuel didn't speak.
Then he moved at a high velocity
Breaking the earth beneath him.
Then the creature roared and charged violently, four arms raised, ready to crush him. Samuel ran straight in and then ducked under the first swing, and drove Aegirion upward into its elbow joint. The sword sliced clean through, and its massive arm hit the ground, twitching and writhing like a severed reptile.
Before Samuel could pull himself back, the creature crashed into him with its remaining limbs, pinning him down.
The ground beneath him opened.
The soil became liquid, then solid again, pulling Samuel down like quicksand. Roots wrapped around his torso. The pressure was crushing his ribs. He felt bones strain and crack under the force. His lungs gasped for air.
The creature loomed over him, teeth hidden in its face split open like vertical mouths.
Samuel shouted, forcing his essence into Aegirion. The blade erupted in light, and he slashed one-handed, cutting another root-covered limb off.
The pain didn't matter to Samuel. He is already used to it.
The creature grabbed him again, slamming him multiple times, against the earth and dragging him deeper into the soil.
Darkness.
The Pressure.
Crushing heat.
Samuel twisted his body. His ribs cracked in protest. He brought the hilt of Aegirion upward and drove it straight into the creature's side. The impact sent a shock through both of them. A cluster of skulls shattered and exploded in the soil around them.
A breath opened inside him.
Samuel roared a low and primal sound. His body surged forward with new force. Energy burst from him in waves, blasting the roots apart. The soil had erupted.
He burst free from the underground like a cannonball, dirt and shattered debris flying in all directions. The creature stumbled back, blinded for a moment.
Samuel didn't stop.
He jumped forward and slammed Aegirion into the chest of creatures. The blade burned as it cut through the skulls embedded in the body. One of the skulls let out a scream before shattering like clay.
The creature had staggered.
In frustration, it roared and slammed both fists into the ground.
The entire forest shook.
Roots exploded from the soil. Branches dropped from above like spears. The garden itself began to twist and rise, trees bent, the earth beneath had split, and the ground tried to swallow Samuel again.
The beast was in a berserk state now. Its limbs doubled in size. Its crown of skulls grew thicker, glowing crimson red.
Samuel landed in a crouch, panting, then hastily rushed forward again.
They clashed in a storm of blows. Each strike from the creature could crush a boulder. Samuel dodged, countered, and slashed. The blade met its limbs, tore through roots, and split skulls.
Samuel wasn't just surviving.
He was winning.
Bit by bit, he took control of the fight. He cut deeper. He moved faster. He broke its defenses. His blade became a blur cutting down one arm, then another.
But the creature was desperate.
In a last attempt, it opened the soil and dragged Samuel under again. This time it closed the roots around his neck, trying to end it there. Trying to snap Samuel's neck.
Samuel's vision darkened.
His body pulsed with dark green energy.
Then something inside him cracked open.
Samuel manually exploded his essence.
Aegirion ignited, bathing the entire underground with dark green light. The roots holding him burned away. Samuel moved faster than before, slamming the sword directly through the beast's jaw and up into its skull crown.
The creature spasmed. Its limbs twitched. Its body began to crumble.
Samuel pulled the blade free and with a final roar, drove it one last time into the center of the creature's chest.
Its core cracked.
Silence across the atmosphere.
The body collapsed.
Skulls scattered. The soil calmed. The garden became still.
Samuel stood over it, chest heaving, blood dripping down his body. Cuts covered him. His clothes were in shreds.
Then his regeneration kicks in.
Already, the deeper wounds were sealing. His flesh was stitching back together slowly, glowing faintly where the regeneration had begun.
He turned and ran to Lira.
She had collapsed fully now, breathing shallowly, her eyes closed. Samuel knelt beside her and gently picked her up.
"You're safe," he murmurs. "It's over."
She didn't answer, but her body relaxed slightly in his arms.
He walked across the destroyed garden, past the cratered earth and shattered roots, until he reached the base of a large tree, an ancient one, untouched by the fight. Its roots curled like a cradle into the earth.
Samuel knelt and laid her there gently, letting her rest against the trunk. The tree offered some cover, some warmth.
He sat down beside her, his body still hurting, but regenerating.
The forest was quiet now.
He closed his eyes.