Avalon coughed hard, his inside was hurting as he was spitting dust and a bit of blood.
Inside his ears he could feel and hear it still ringing from the last blast from the attacks.
Everywhere in his body was filled in pain, his head, his ribs, his back, his legs.
Blood was dropping down from his head to his face, but he couldn't even tell what side it was from anymore.
His thoughts weren't coming in clear. Just one idea, over and over:
But all he knew was that he was alive. Somehow but he wasn't sure how long his prolonged life would last.
The Hydra stood motionless a few yards away, like a statue. Its three heads swayed, low growls bubbling from deep in its throats. It looked... pissed. It was about to charge again and he could feel it.
Avalon blinked, trying to focus, but his arm refused to lift. He couldn't run. Couldn't crawl. He was done.
And then someone was there.
Just... standing. Between him and the beast.
He was standing tall boldly and domineering. The robe he wore looked like it was stitched from ink, fluttering, but not in the wind. Like it was alive.
This was the person that stopped the attack from reaching him. How powerful was this person he thought.
Avalon's chest tightened. Instinct screamed: Wrong. This was wrong.
The Hydra noticed the figure too. One of its heads lowered, eyeing the stranger like prey.
But the man didn't move. Didn't even blink. Just... raised his hand.
Then the world bent as shadows curled out from beneath the stranger's feet, no not shadows. Not exactly.
They were too dark and too sharp. They writhed like snakes and claws and they moved faster than Kael could process.
One lashed around the Hydra's neck while another coiled around its leg. The third shot under its belly and stabbed upward with a sound like wet stone tearing.
The Hydra screamed deeply in pain.
Avalon flinched, hard. Pain spiked in his head. He covered his ears too late, blood now dripping down his arm. His vision blurred, but he couldn't stop watching. He couldn't look away.
"What... what is that?" he whispered, more to himself than anything.
The man finally turned his head. Just enough. Avalon saw a sharp jawline, a thin scar just under the chin his lips were pressed in together while his eyes were glowing violet in colour.
The Hydra thrashed, breaking free but it wasn't whole anymore. One of its heads had been cut off but two grew again, its body bleeding black blood onto the sand.
Kael's system buzzed faintly in his mind:
[SYSTEM ALERT: UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL]
[WARNING: CURRENT POWER LEVEL EXCEEDS SCAN RANGE]
Avalon swallowed his spit hard trying to speak after but no words came out.
The man walked forward without rushing in a calm and cool manner. Avalon was expecting the beast to attack in rage instead the reaction surprised him
'The Hydra..the Hydra..it stepped back.'
He watched as the Hydra roared one last desperate blast and charged it with all the powers it had but the shadows shot up to the sky to meet it.
A wall of darkness crashed up like a tidal wave. In one blink, the man was there. In the next... he was gone.
Avalon's heart jumped by the sight of what he had just witnessed.
Then a shriek. The kind that makes you want to rip your own ears off.
Behind the Hydra, a spear of shadow burst out of its middle head. Another stabbed through its tail, severing it in a single, elegant slice.
The beast twisted and screamed again trying to fight off its enemy yet it was powerless over it.
After struggling for a while then silence came over the surroundings.
The Hydra backed away, dragging its broken body. It hissed, blood trailing behind it, and disappeared into the sand.
Avalon chest heaved. He forced himself up, barely. Elbows trembling. Blood dripped from his nose now.
The stranger turned to him. Their eyes met.
Avalon felt a cold feeling surge all over his body. The type that only came with fear.
"Who... are you?" he managed, voice like broken glass.
The man spoke, voice low. Almost disappointed. "I am the Shadow Monarch."
Avalon blinken."What?"
"You're not supposed to be here yet." The Shadow Monarch said
"What the hell does that mean?" Avalon asked
Before he could get an answer, the AI chimed back in, voice glitching.
"Avalon... He's in big trouble. I can't process how strong he is."
Avalon's hand curled into the sand. "No kidding."
The man looked at him one last time, and his eyes Avalon didn't like what he saw there. Power, yes. But also... distance. Like looking at a storm that didn't care what it destroyed.
"You should leave," the Shadow Monarch said quietly. "Next time we meet... I won't help you...I'll kill you myself " His voice was clear yet deep and powerful.
Then he was gone. Swallowed by the shadows. Just—gone.
Avalon collapsed fully, panting, and angry. He was once again weak and threatened.
"Bridget... what the hell was that?" Avalon asked
"I have no idea but it's something far more than I can comprehend"
Avalon didn't even know what that meant. He didn't care.
His whole body wanted to shut down. But of course, the system didn't care about that either; it had to send a warning to him.
[WARNING: A NEW MYSTIC SIGNAL HAS BEEN DETECTED NEARBY!!!]
[YOUR PRESENCE HAS BEEN NOTED BY UNKNOWN FORCES]
Avalon made some sounds in pain as he failed in getting up his feet.
He was too dizzy to see anything clear, his vision was blurry and his blood was oozing out and soaking into the sand.
Was the system trying to get him killed? he was brought to a world he doesn't even know and this world didn't care if he was tired it wanted to rip out his life out of his body.
Avalon lay in the dirt, bleeding and useless, and all he could think was he should've done more. He should've been stronger. But he wasn't. Not even close. The Hydra was gone, but the feeling in his chest wouldn't leave.
This awful tightness, like he'd failed at something bigger than just surviving. He hated this. He hated needing help. Hated being the one left crawling while someone else stood tall. He didn't even know who he was angry at anymore. Maybe just... himself.
He heard the ground once more moving. Vibration, several vibrations rushing to his direction.
He exhaled shakily and his eyes shut without his control.
Thousands of scorpions were crawling up and surrounding him to tear him up in pieces but then a mark in his chest glowed red.
it didn't just glow, it created an energy outburst that exploded the sand.
BOOM!.
[Creature: Sand Scorpion]
[Type: Beast | Rank: Low-Level]
[Threat Level: E Beginner-tier enemy]
[HP: 150]
[Poison Level: Mild Neurotoxin]
[Weakness: Fire, Blunt Weapons]
Another enemy was approaching fast!!!