The moment the golems finished rising from the torn earth, Alden and Saria snapped into full alertness.
The ground around them was now crowded with hulking stone bodies. Obsidian‑like limbs ground against the soil as the golems straightened, their single red eyes flickering to life one after another.
The air filled with the sound of grinding rock and pulsing mana, like a hundred boulders learning how to breathe.
Alden didn't wait.
Dark flames surged around him as he dashed forward, his body becoming a blur. Every swing of his blade cleaved through stone chests and crystal cores, black fire rushing into the cracks and detonating from within.
Golems shattered into chunks and dust, but as soon as they fell, the broken pieces twitched, crawled back together, and reformed.
