The Abyssal Chimera roared, a sound that ripped through the air, and lunged at Lucas. Its massive body, covered in sharp Obsidian Shard fragments, emitted a corrosive energy so potent that the air around it warped. Lucas felt his skin burn, his mind reeling with chaotic memories of the Collapse. He knew there was no turning back.
He clenched his palm, the star-shaped scar on his hand now a stark black void, swallowing light. He couldn't let this monster reach the Nexus Crystal. Lucas had seen enough in the memories to understand: this Chimera wasn't just an ordinary Abyssal Creature. It was a part of the curse, an entity born to destroy the ancient crystals and hasten the Great Collapse.
"No way will I let you do that!" Lucas roared, his voice echoing in the cavern, no longer just a mere Scavenger's, but infused with a strange determination.
He didn't flee. He charged towards the Abyssal Chimera, but not for a direct attack. He used the Spine-Crawler's speed, the Shadow Stalker's agility, and the Husk-Brute's resilience, turning himself into a blur, weaving through the jagged crystal formations. His target: the large crystal veins running along the cavern walls, directly connected to the Nexus Crystal.
The Chimera reacted with terrifying speed. Its black tentacles shot out, trying to snatch Lucas. They were both long and swift, and anyone touched by them would be instantly corroded. Lucas continuously dodged, each escape a hair's breadth, feeling the heat of destructive energy brush past his skin.
He leaped onto a sharp crystal outcropping, launching himself towards the wall. Lucas's palm pressed firmly against the crystal vein. The star-shaped scar blazed fiercely. He wasn't absorbing or activating a single energy pulse anymore. This time, Lucas was doing something unprecedented: he was attempting to redirect the energy flow from the Nexus Crystal through the wall veins, creating a living defensive net.
From the crystal veins beneath his hands, blinding purplish-blue rays shot out, forming a temporary barrier that stopped the Chimera's tentacles. The monster roared in fury, its corrosive energy slamming violently against the crystal barrier, causing small explosions and shattering nearby rock fragments.
Lucas moved swiftly along the wall, touching other crystal veins. Each time he did, a section of the crystal network flared, forming protective "energy currents." The Chimera was trapped within the "maze" of light and energy Lucas created, its tentacles constantly hitting the crystal beams and being repelled.
But its corrosive energy was too strong. The crystal beams began to flicker, weakening. Lucas felt his strength draining rapidly. He couldn't maintain this network forever. He needed another plan, a decisive blow.
He saw a deep fissure on the cavern ceiling, directly above the Chimera. It was an old crack, but now, under the monster's influence, it was slowly widening, leaking a thick, black, viscous liquid. Lucas recognized it as Abyssal Bile—a highly toxic fluid, often found in the habitats of the highest-tier Abyssal Creatures.
A crazy idea sparked.
Lucas lunged directly towards the Nexus Crystal at the center of the cavern, abandoning the slowly collapsing defensive network. The Chimera saw its opportunity, roared triumphantly, and pursued him, its entire destructive power channeled into this attack.
Lightning Hunter and his surviving companions, still hiding behind a large rock near the cave entrance, witnessed the scene. "He's crazy! He's running straight into the monster's mouth!" one gasped.
Lucas touched the Nexus Crystal again with his palm. The scar on his hand glowed a brilliant, pure black, but this time it wasn't an absorbing light. He was forcing the Nexus Crystal's energy, its most ancient memories, to create a specific reaction. He couldn't absorb all of it, but he could use it as a weapon.
WHOOOOOOOM!
The Nexus Crystal erupted in a colossal energy pulse, not light, but an invisible shockwave of pure, ancient energy. It had no physical destructive power, but it vibrated everything, including the very essence of the Abyssal Chimera.
The Chimera was hit directly. It roared in agony, its massive body convulsing violently. This was not energy it could corrode or corrupt. This was its very origin, something so pure and ancient that it paralyzed it.
But Lucas didn't stop there. While the Chimera was paralyzed, he immediately put his crystal manipulation ability to use. He sensed the Obsidian Shard fragments on the monster's body. He knew they were corrupted, broken pieces of the ancient crystal.
Lucas, with his burning star-scarred palm, pushed the pure energy from the Nexus Crystal into the Obsidian Shard fragments on the Chimera's body. He wasn't trying to destroy them, but attempting to "purify" or "overload" them with pure energy.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The Obsidian Shard fragments on the Abyssal Chimera's body began to crack and shatter with gruesome sounds, not from destruction, but from being forced back into their original state, yet overloaded. The accumulated Abyssal energy within them violently reacted with the pure Crystal energy.
The Chimera let out a final, terrifying shriek, a sound of tearing and destruction. It didn't explode, but its colossal body began to self-disintegrate, crystal fragments flying off, and black flesh contracting into dust. It was destroyed from within, by its own components, unable to withstand the conflict between Abyssal and pure Crystal energy.
In its final moments, the Abyssal Chimera's red eyes stared at Lucas. Not with hatred, but with an emptiness, as if it had found release.
As a cold wind swept through the cavern, everything fell silent again. Lucas knelt, exhausted. He had defeated a seemingly invincible foe, using a power he still barely understood. The scar on his palm returned to its pure black color, but it no longer burned.
He looked towards Lightning Hunter and his crew. They still stood there, ashen-faced, utterly stunned. They had witnessed something unbelievable. Lucas was no longer a lucky Scavenger. He was an entirely different entity, one capable of wielding powers far beyond their comprehension.
The rumors about Lucas would no longer be about luck or agility. They would be about the "Obsidian Crystal Wielder," a new legend born from the ruins of the world. He had crossed the boundary of humanity, stepping into a realm where only monsters and ancient mysteries resided.
Lucas stood, his steps surer than ever. He had protected the Nexus Crystal. But the crystal's warning still echoed in his mind: The Great Collapse… coming again… He knew the real battle had just begun.