A sickening crack echoed through the chamber as the failed experiment convulsed violently, its twisted body spasming in unnatural ways. A grotesque gurgling noise escaped its ruined throat, the sound somewhere between a sob and a death rattle. The cage surrounding it groaned under the sheer force of its movements, the metal contorting as fractures spider webbed across its surface.

  Then, the aura began to shift.

  An overwhelming dreadful energy flooded the chamber, pressing against every soul present. A wave of nausea rippled through the cultists, their chants faltering as they turned toward the abomination. The torches flickered, their flames dimming as if suffocated by an unseen force. Rein's breath hitched. He couldn’t move. His muscles locked, his mind screaming to act, but his body was paralyzed by the sheer wrongness of the thing’s presence. Beside him, Shilley gritted her teeth, her usual agility stolen by the weight pressing down on them.

  Only Luxana could move.

  She strained against the force, stepping forward with effort as her celestial blood fought against the suffocating aura. The experiment’s singular, burning eye locked onto her, and for the first time, it spoke, not in human words, but in a tongue much older than human speech.

  "Vakar'shen… tulari'sor… sethrin'kai…"

  (Kill me… please… free me from this nightmare…)

  Luxana’s breath caught. Most of the others could hear the monstrous gurgling sound it made, but she understood its plea. Her expression hardened, this creature was aware. It was suffering. Whatever the cult had done to it, it was still alive enough to want death.

  Before she could act, a flash of binding magic surged toward her. Chains of violet energy wrapped around her arms and legs, wrenching her backward. She crashed to the ground, struggling against the enchantment as the High Priest’s cultists restrained her.

  The experiment began to move. It was heading toward her.

  The High Priest’s voice rose in exultation, his arms spread wide as if welcoming a long-awaited prophecy. "Yes! Take them! Complete the ritual! Usher in the utopia we have prayed for!" His voice carried a feverish devotion, his gaze alight with the certainty of his faith as he watched the abomination stagger toward Luxana.

  Its body convulsed, blackened veins pulsing as if something inside it was trying to tear free. Its aura darkened, warping the very air around it, its form shifting erratically as it began to collapse in on itself. Luxana’s eyes widened in realization. It couldn’t contain the sheer amount of energy it had been fed.

  “RUN!” she screamed. “IT’S BREAKING APART!”

  The High Priest’s expression flickered, his once unwavering confidence cracking as he took an instinctive step back. His gaze darted between the experiment’s unraveling form and the sigils burning chaotically across the chamber. “No… this isn’t right,” he muttered, his voice barely audible at first, before rising into a panicked growl. “This isn’t how it was supposed to happen!”

  The cultists, already shaken, now erupted into full-blown panic. Some screamed prayers, desperate to reignite the failing ritual, while others turned to flee, only to be cut down by surging arcs of dark energy ripping through the air. A few dropped to their knees, their faith shattering as they realized their god was not coming, only oblivion awaited them.

  Above them, the bound demon stirred, its burning eyes narrowing as it felt the weakening of its restraints. The explosion of dark energy, the unraveling ritual, and the fear consuming the cultists all worked in its favor. It let out a deep, guttural growl, the sound vibrating through the chamber as it finally seized its opportunity.

  The once-unbreakable bindings that had held it for so long had been reduced to little more than meager chains, flickering as their power waned. With a vicious snarl, the demon flexed its immense form, its claws raking against the stone walls as the last remnants of its magical prison shattered into glowing fragments.

  A powerful shockwave of heat and dark energy erupted from its body, sending the nearest surviving cultists flying backward. Some collided with the walls with sickening cracks, others lay where they fell, staring up in absolute terror.

  The demon’s laughter was a deep, malevolent rumble, reverberating through the crumbling chamber. It turned its gaze upon the cultists who had so fervently worshiped it, now cowering before its unbound form.

  "Did you think your pitiful magic could hold me forever? Did you believe your prayers would tame my wrath?" Its voice was a dark, hissing growl, filled with amusement and contempt.

  Some robed individuals tried to rally, their hands lifting in desperate attempts to reignite their spells, but the demon was faster. With a mere flick of its clawed hand, a wave of searing fire erupted through the chamber, incinerating the closest zealots where they stood.

  The High Priest, however, did not move. He stood in the center of the destruction, watching, perhaps in shock, perhaps in calculation. His lips parted, but no sound came.

  Then the demon’s fiery gaze shifted. It sensed the coming catastrophe. The experiment’s collapse, the sheer force of the explosion waiting to be unleashed…

  A guttural snarl escaped its maw as it raised both arms. A powerful barrier of dark energy began forming around its massive frame, a layered protection against the incoming destruction. Flames curled along its outstretched claws as the runes of protection burned into existence around it, pulsating with ancient power.

  The weight in the air pressed down on Rein’s chest, his vision swimming. The energy was unbearable. He could feel it rippling through his body, sinking into his bones like rot. He couldn’t breathe. His heartbeat slowed, his thoughts muddled, his vision darkening at the edges.

  He was dying.

  Not like this…

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  His gaze flickered toward Luxana, still struggling against her bindings, then to Shilley, whose hands trembled as she desperately tried to conjure a protective spell.

  Please… don’t let it end like this…

  His dream, it wasn’t a lie.

  He had to protect them. He had to stand.

  Darkness overtook him.

  And then he thought no more.

  Luxana desperately trying to free herself glanced over and saw Rein lose consciousness. But just as his body began to crumple his eyes popped back open, irises dark as the void itself.

  A burst of radiant energy erupted from his chest, his body arching as golden light pulsed through his veins, his unconscious form rising from the ground. The air hummed around him, vibrating with raw, untapped power. What was happening to him? Luxana watched in awe. His body moved as if something else, something deeply buried within him, was driving his actions.

  As the monstrosity finally broke apart, the eruption of dark magic expanded like a tidal wave, consuming everything in its path. All sound, yells, cries, the desperate pleas of dying cultists, was swallowed by the sheer force of it. The only thing audible was the suffocating hum of approaching death, a deep, resonant force that devoured everything in its wake. Cultists caught in the blast screamed as their flesh was stripped from their bones, the raw energy reducing them to little more than scattered ash. The chamber walls shook, stone crumbling from above.

  The explosion rushed toward Luxana and Shilley.

  Until Rein raised his hand.

  The dark magic froze midair, twisting violently as an unseen force compressed it inward. The sheer magnitude of the colliding forces pushing against each other sent shockwaves rippling through the chamber. The very walls cracked, deep fissures splintering across the stone, and the floor beneath Rein’s feet began to liquefy, as if unable to withstand the strain of the unnatural compression. The overwhelming energy roared like a living entity fighting against its captor, a force of pure destruction refusing to be chained.

  Luxana, still struggling to rise, felt her breath catch in her throat. This was impossible. No being should be able to control that much raw energy, not without being consumed by it. Her mind raced, searching for any logical explanation.

  Who the hell is this man?

  No human could do this. Maybe not even the high-ranking members of her order, the exalted paragons of celestial might, could take hold of such raw, uncontrolled power and bend it to their will. Even if they could suppress energy to some extent, this, this was something else entirely.

  And then she saw it.

  It wasn’t just raw strength that Rein was channeling, it was something familiar. An energy she knew. The light that pulsed through him, the golden radiance flickering against the collapsing darkness, it was something she felt before.

  Rein wasn’t just controlling the energy.

  He was forcing it to submit.

  But the awe that gripped her, turned into horror quickly. She could see his body was breaking. Tiny splits and fractures ran across his skin, cracks of burning light seeping from within. His fingers trembled as the sheer force of holding the energy ripped through his mortal frame, his flesh struggling to withstand the power coursing through him.

  A few feet away, Shilley watched in stunned silence, her fae senses perceiving more than just what was visible. Through her eyes, Rein was not just a man in that moment. He was something more. Something radiant. Something terrible.

  She exhaled, barely above a whisper.

  "It's... beautiful."

  And then, the last of the explosion was forced deep into the ground, disappearing as if it had never existed, leaving only a trembling silence in its wake.*

  Rein’s hand lowered, released its hold on power, the chamber trembled violently.

  A deep crack splintered through the stone beneath the altar.

  A sound came from deep below. One that filled Luxana’s mind with dread. Cold sweat ran down her spine.

  Rein’s glowing eyes dimmed. His body collapsed, hitting the ground hard. His skin was burned, his breath ragged. The power that had protected them had ripped through him, leaving him fully unconscious. His body twitched involuntarily, the aftershock of channeling such immense energy causing small arcs of residual magic to flicker around him before fading into nothingness.

  The cultists who survived were staggered, horrified by what they had just witnessed. Some fell to their knees in absolute despair, realizing that their ritual had failed. Others turned toward the High Priest, waiting for orders, fear in their eyes.

  The High Priest, however, was silent. For the first time, his usual unshakable confidence wavered. He had expected resistance. He had expected struggle.

  But this?

  His calculating gaze flickered to Rein’s unconscious, burned form, to the sheer magnitude of power that had just manifested. He exhaled, his expression unreadable, but there was something new in his gaze. Not anger. Not disappointment. But curiosity.

  The Demon, watching from the shadows, finally stepped forward. His darkened, armored form loomed near the edges of the flickering light. His eyes, ancient, knowing, studied Rein with quiet intrigue. This was unexpected.

  He was curious about what this little actually man was.

  And his master would want to know as well.

  The demon's burning gaze locked onto Rein’s fallen form.

  It moved forward, brushing aside dying cultists like insects, his focus entirely on the unconscious human. His massive frame loomed over him, dark energy crackling at his fingertips. "A mere human could not wield such power… but you are no mere human, are you?" His voice was almost curious, though his towering presence dripped with menace.

  Luxana, still weak from the earlier battle, pushed herself forward with sheer willpower. Her body ached, but she refused to stand by as the demon closed in on Rein. She gritted her teeth, gripping her sword tightly, determination burning through the pain.

  Shilley was faster, darting ahead, her fae agility carrying her in a blur of motion. She flicked her hands forward, summoning thick thorned vines that shot from the cracked ground, lashing toward the demon’s limbs. At the same time, she expelled a dense cloud of toxic mist, hoping to disorient him.

  The demon barely acknowledged the attack. With a single, lazy sweep of his massive claw, he tore through the vines, sending splintered plant matter flying. The poison cloud swirled around him, but he merely exhaled, dispersing it with a wave of dark energy.

  Shilley barely had time to react before he moved. With terrifying speed, the demon lunged forward, catching her by the throat in a crushing grip. She gasped, clawing at his fingers as her feet left the ground.

  "Pathetic," he muttered, before hurling her aside like discarded prey. She hit the stone floor with a pained gasp, rolling to a stop.

  Luxana reached him just as Shilley hit the ground. She swung her sword in a powerful arc, channeling the last reserves of her divine energy into the strike. The demon blocked it effortlessly with his forearm, the celestial blade sparking against his hardened flesh. Then, with a flick of his other hand, he sent a pulse of energy crashing into her chest, launching her backward. She skidded across the stone, coughing as the impact rattled her bones.

  The demon returned his attention to Rein, stepping forward with deliberate purpose. The glow from Rein’s body was fading, but the residual energy still clung to him, pulsing faintly like dying embers. The demon narrowed his fiery eyes.

  "What are you?" he muttered, his voice filled with both curiosity and irritation.

  Before he could reach down to inspect Rein further, the ground split apart.

  A monstrous tendril of pure shadow erupted from beneath the altar, crashing through the chamber like a titan awakening from its slumber. The demon reeled back, snarling in frustration, realizing something else was coming.

  The ruins trembled as a force older than him, something that had slept beneath these stones for eons, finally began to rise. The demon snarled, taking a step back, his massive form shrouded in a protective aura, watching as the true nightmare unfolded.

  The High Priest turned, his expression flickering between disbelief and reverence.

  Something had answered their call. The High Priest’s lips trembled in awed reverence, his eyes widening as he took a step forward. "Yes… yes! You have come at last!" he whispered, his voice raw with devotion. But the air grew colder, the weight of the presence pressing down on them all. He had no idea what he was truly welcoming.

  It was something far worse.