The Void Stalker's shadow tendrils writhed across the arena floor like living serpents, each one searching for prey with predatory intelligence. Alex forced himself to move despite the searing pain in his back, his fire constructs pushing back the encroaching darkness in fitful bursts that made the battlefield strobe between illumination and shadow.
**[HP: 58/120]**
**[Stamina: 6/15]**
**[Shadow Corruption: 15% - Spreading]**
The corruption was spreading through his essence channels like frost creeping across glass. Alex could feel it trying to take root, trying to transform his fire manipulation into something twisted and alien. But his newly optimized soul core structure forged through repeated damage and forced adaptation was fighting back with microscopic precision, routing essence around compromised pathways.
