Chapter 10: Earth's Fury
The corrupted earth creature uncoiled with terrifying speed, its rock-scaled body rippling with malevolent energy. The low growl intensified, vibrating through the very ground beneath Lyraen's feet. Its glowing green eyes, cold and predatory, fixed on him, and its triangular head lunged forward, obsidian teeth glinting.
Lyraen reacted instinctively. His shortsword, humming with the dormant power of the Ashborn, was already in his hand. He didn't have time to consider the creature's nature, only its immediate threat. He sidestepped the initial lunge, the creature's snapping jaws missing him by mere inches. The air around him shimmered faintly as a subtle barrier, an unconscious reflex of his newfound air manipulation, deflected the displaced air from the creature's rapid movement.
"Its scales are like granite, Seeker!" Ignis warned, its mental voice sharp with urgency as it darted above the creature, a tiny, fiery lure. "And it draws strength from the very earth! Do not let it corner you!"
Lyraen circled, his amber eyes never leaving the serpentine beast. It was larger than he'd initially perceived, easily twice his height when fully extended, its movements surprisingly fluid for something made of rock. He feinted, trying to draw an attack, but the creature was cunning. It didn't rush, instead slowly coiling, its body tensing, preparing for another, more calculated strike.
He thought of the corrupted guardians, whose ash-like bodies had crumbled under his empowered blade. Would this creature, made of rock, react similarly? He had to find out.
The creature struck again, faster this time, its head whipping towards him. Lyraen met the attack head-on, his shortsword glowing with a sudden burst of reddish light as he channeled his power. The blade met the creature's rock scales with a jarring impact. A shower of sparks erupted, and a high-pitched screech tore from the creature's maw. Fissures, lines of faint green light, spread across the point of impact on its head, but unlike the guardians, the scales didn't immediately crumble. They cracked, but held.
Lyraen was thrown back by the force of the blow, skidding on the ash. His arm throbbed, the impact having been far more severe than with the ash guardians. This creature was tougher, its connection to the earth making it incredibly resilient.
"It's healing!" Ignis cried, its light pulsing frantically. "The water! It's drawing energy from the corrupted spring! You must cut off its source!"
Lyraen looked at the shimmering trickle of water, then back at the creature, which was already closing the cracks on its head, its green eyes burning with renewed malice. Ignis was right. This wasn't just a fight; it was a battle of resources.
He couldn't fight it head-on while it healed. He needed to be strategic. He needed to use all his abilities. He focused, reaching for the elemental hum within him, not just for fire or air, but for the raw, unyielding power of earth itself. He visualized the ground around the corrupted spring, the very rock beneath it, shifting, rising, blocking the flow.
He extended his hand towards the trickle of water, his brow furrowed in concentration. The ground trembled. A low rumble echoed through the valley, distinct from the creature's growl. The pale green moss on the boulder began to crack, and the earth around the spring slowly, agonizingly, began to rise. Not a violent explosion, but a slow, deliberate heave, as if the mountain itself was stretching.
The corrupted creature shrieked, a sound of alarm and fury, sensing its lifeline being severed. It turned its attention from Lyraen to the rising earth, its body coiling to strike at the emerging barrier.
This was his chance. With the creature distracted, Lyraen surged forward, his shortsword blazing with a renewed, fierce reddish glow. He aimed directly for its glowing green eyes, the most vulnerable point Ignis had identified. He moved with a speed born of desperation and purpose, his amber eyes locked on his target. The creature roared, sensing his attack, but it was too late. Lyraen's blade plunged into one of its malevolent eyes, and the creature convulsed, its rock scales shuddering violently as a blinding green light erupted from within.
The ground around them shook violently, the rising earth around the spring collapsing in on itself, cutting off the water completely. The corrupted creature thrashed, its serpentine body slamming against the ground, its shriek echoing through the valley, a sound of pure, agonizing elemental release. Lyraen pulled his blade free, leaping back as the creature's body began to glow brighter, its rock scales cracking and exploding outwards like shrapnel.
He shielded his face, the force of the disintegration immense. When the light faded, only a smoking crater remained where the creature had been, and the faint, sickly green mist that had hung over the valley was gone. The air felt cleaner, lighter. The spring, though now covered by collapsed earth, no longer shimmered with that malevolent light.
Lyraen stood panting, his body aching, but his spirit resolute. He had faced a new kind of elemental corruption and adapted. He had used his power, not just to fight, but to understand and restore. He looked at Ignis, who pulsed with pride.
"We need to find clean water," Lyraen said, his voice a little hoarse, but firm. "And then, we continue north. To the Tempest Realm." The Ashfall Mountains had tested him, but he had passed. The road ahead was still long, but he was ready.