The Guardian charged in.
Its skeletal limbs cracked the ground beneath it with every thunderous step, each movement a fusion of animal rage and twisted magic.
It howled, a deep, echoing roar that sent dust and raw fear rattling through Kael's very ribs.
Kael didn't wait.
He sprinted forward, gripping the glowing staff in one hand and his sword in the other.
He had no stance, no plan.
Just raw, desperate momentum.
The white light flared in his palm as he approached.
The Hollow Maw recoiled slightly, its oversized, sightless void narrowing, its wet, dark skin twitching as though the light caused it immense displeasure.
'It's working!'
He quickly closed the small distance between them and swung the sword down in a wide arc, aiming for one of its long, blade-like legs.
He put every ounce of his enhanced strength into the strike.
CLANG!
Steel met hardened bone.
Sparks flew, bright against the dim chamber.
The blade bounced off with a sickening crunch.
Kael barely had time to register the failure before the beast twisted, lashing out with its spiked limb.
He ducked just in time, stumbling back, almost losing his grip on the staff.
But a second strike followed immediately, a massive flailing arm slamming down where he'd just been.
Boom!
Kael was flung off his feet and landed hard against the chamber wall.
Pain bloomed down his spine like wildfire, making him gasp.
The creature quickly moved in to finish him, but before it could get close, spells exploded across its side.
A massive earth spike, almost the size of its legs, rammed into its head, pushing it backward with a scraping roar.
Niko and Theo had jumped in, raining down attacks.
Kael then suddenly felt a warm wave of magic go through him, and the next thing he knew, the searing ache in his body had vanished. He looked behind him to find Liri, hands glowing faintly, concentrating on casting another spell.
Another wave of magic washed over him, and suddenly his limbs felt lighter. Faster.
'Okay, let's try this again.'
He scrambled back up, charging in again.
The Guardian was too large and durable for their small attacks to do any lasting damage.
They needed to find another weak point.
'There has to be something.'
And that's when it clicked.
The back.
The Hollow Maw was built in such a way that its rear was totally unreachable from the front.
If everything was protected on its exposed side, then there had to be some kind of secret hiding behind there.
He ran in again, his mind now calculating, strategizing how he could possibly get to its blind spot.
The creature attacked again with its flailing limbs, a whirlwind of blades and bone.
This time Kael dodged, barely, and jabbed the glowing staff below the Hollow's void-like eye.
The beast shrieked, a sound like tearing metal, and staggered backward, momentarily blinded by the intense light.
Kael followed up with another wild slash, and this time the blade bit into the creature's front arm.
Not deep, but it drew a little bit of black, viscous blood.
His heart pounded, a frantic drum in his chest.
The Hollow roared louder now, enraged.
It slammed both arms down, carving deep gouges into the stone floor.
A shockwave ripped through the chamber.
Kael was knocked backward again, tumbling clumsily across the ground.
Niko cursed and instantly raised a jagged wall of earth to block the flying debris from hitting the others.
The light on the staff seemed to dim a little.
Kael clenched his teeth as he struggled to stand, his body screaming in protest.
"No...no, no, no—" Liri gasped behind him, her voice filled with despair. "I can't… the spell's breaking!"
The white glow flickered… and vanished completely.
The Guardian's unseen eyes seemed to light up, a malevolent presence.
Its mouth stretched wider, releasing a spine-chilling screech that made Kael's legs shake involuntarily.
The entire room seemed to dim, a pulse of oppressive darkness spreading outward from the monster like a corrupted heartbeat.
Kael fell to one knee, breathing hard, his sword digging into the cold stone for support.
Across the chamber, the Hollow Maw surged forward again, twice as fast, a black blur of fury.
Theo shouted, "KAEL...fall back!"
But Kael couldn't move fast enough.
The Guardian's claw slammed into him like a runaway boulder, sending him tumbling end over end across the floor.
He landed in a heap, face down, body aching, vision blurry.
His sword was gone, skittering somewhere into the darkness.
The staff, cracked and useless, lay yards away.
He coughed once and felt something wet in his mouth.
Blood.
He stared at the dust beneath his cheek.
The cold silence was deafening, save for the monster's raspy breath.
His arms wouldn't lift.
His body felt like lead.
'I wasn't ready. I was never ready.'
From the corner of his eye, he saw Theo sprinting toward him, desperation on his face.
Niko flanked the beast again, throwing everything he had left into a desperate spike barrage.
Liri began muttering another incantation through her tears, a faint light already beginning to gather around her hands.
Kael blinked slowly, dust stinging his eyes.
'Get up. You're not done yet.'