Kai's claws met bone.
The first strike was clumsy, born of instinct rather than skill, but the impact still carved deep gouges into the Reaper's ribcage. Shadow clung to the wound like acid, sizzling against bone. For the first time, the monster recoiled.
The fire-wielder's wolf pounced at the same moment, jaws of flame locking around one of the Reaper's arms. Together, they forced the behemoth back a step.
A step. That was all.
The Reaper roared, and the sound knocked Kai off balance. He barely managed to roll aside as a claw scythed through the air, smashing a crater into the ground where he'd stood. Ash blasted upward in a choking storm.
His body screamed in protest. The fusion burned through his veins, a constant tearing sensation like his flesh wasn't meant to contain this much power. But alongside the pain came precision—every movement of the Reaper mapped itself in his mind a heartbeat before it happened.
This is… insane.
The Reaper swung again. Kai ducked low, shadows trailing his movements, then slashed across its ankle. Bone cracked. Not broken, but damaged.
[Direct Hit.][Shadow Assimilation +3.]
He staggered, gasping as the notification flared. His Wraith's presence pulsed inside him, pushing him forward, hungering for more. His claws tingled, begging to tear deeper.
The Reaper's attention snapped back to him, ignoring the flames gnawing at its arm. Viridian fire burned brighter in its sockets.
"Oh, come on," Kai hissed, raising his claws.
It charged.
The ground splintered under its weight. Kai's shadow surged up to bind its leg again, but the beast ripped through the darkness as if it were paper. He dove aside, the Reaper's claw missing his chest by inches. Even so, the shockwave threw him across the plain.
His body rolled through the ash, bones rattling. He forced himself up, coughing blood. His vision blurred. The fusion was eating at him—every second felt like knives carving his insides.
The whispers in his head grew louder.
More… tear more… bleed more…
"Shut up," Kai growled. He forced his feet to move, claws flexing.
The Reaper bore down on him again, unrelenting.
A fiery arc blazed between them.
"Move, idiot!"
The fire-wielder slammed her hands together, sending a surge of flame crashing into the Reaper's chest. Her wolf followed, leaping high and tearing into its skull. The Reaper staggered backward under the onslaught, flames eating through bone.
Kai stared at her. She was drenched in sweat, breathing ragged, but her eyes burned as fiercely as her flames.
"You fight or you die!" she shouted at him. "There's no middle ground here!"
Her words jolted something inside him.
He clenched his claws. "Fine. Then let's kill it."
They moved together, unspoken coordination forming in the chaos.
Kai darted low, his shadow clawing at the ground to propel him faster, while the fire-wielder launched another spear of flame. The Reaper blocked her with one arm, leaving its legs exposed—Kai's claws ripped through the joint with shadow-laced fury.
Bone cracked. The Reaper dropped to one knee, roaring in fury.
The survivors who hadn't fled rallied for a moment. A man with stone armor slammed his fists into the ground, jagged spikes erupting to pierce the Reaper's other leg. A woman with a bow of pure light loosed an arrow that seared into its skull.
For one glorious heartbeat, the monster faltered.
And then it retaliated.
The spikes shattered as it ripped free. Its claws whirled in a blur, scything through bodies. The stone-armored man was bisected, the archer crushed in its grip before being hurled aside like a broken doll. Blood painted the ash.
The Reaper rose to its full height, two of its arms shattered but the other two gleaming with fresh gore.
Despair rippled through the survivors. Their brief unity collapsed into chaos.
Kai's breath came in ragged gasps. His claws dripped with shadow, his body trembling from strain. He could barely stand—but his shadow surged around him, pulling him forward, whispering promises of strength.
He couldn't stop now.
The Reaper turned toward the fleeing survivors, raising a claw to cleave them down.
"Not again."
Kai lunged. His shadow burst upward, wrapping around the monster's arm. The strain was unbearable, his vision swimming black—but the arm stopped mid-swing.
"NOW!" he roared.
The fire-wielder didn't hesitate. She hurled everything she had left. A pillar of fire erupted, engulfing the Reaper's torso. Her wolf howled, leaping into the flames, becoming a blazing comet that tore through the Reaper's skull.
The impact shook the battlefield.
The Reaper staggered, its viridian flames sputtering. For the first time, it looked… weakened.
Kai's claws dug into its leg, shadows spreading like rot. He climbed, slashing, tearing, leaving trails of blackened cracks. The whispers screamed in his head, driving him faster, harder.
Bleed it dry. Tear it apart. Feast.
His claws sank into its neck. With a primal roar, Kai ripped downward. Shadows surged through the wound, exploding into black fire.
The Reaper convulsed, its massive frame collapsing to one knee.
The survivors stared, wide-eyed.
And then the monster laughed.
A guttural, grinding sound rolled from its skull as the viridian fire blazed anew. Its body twisted, bones fusing tighter, cracks sealing.
[Bone Reaper: Phase Two.][The hunt begins.]
Kai's eyes widened.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The Reaper rose again, stronger than before.
Its claws gleamed, its body radiating a killing aura that made the air itself heavy. Survivors fell to their knees, suffocating under the pressure.
Kai's claws trembled. His body screamed to collapse.
The whispers in his head surged into a roar.
Give in. Give yourself. We will devour it. We will devour everything.
Kai clenched his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. He could feel himself slipping, the Wraith's hunger threatening to consume his mind entirely.
He looked at the fire-wielder. She was on her knees, struggling to rise, her flames flickering weakly. Their eyes met.
She didn't speak. She didn't need to.
If we fall here, everything ends.
Kai raised his claws again, blood dripping from his mouth.
"One more round," he whispered.
The Bone Reaper roared and charged.
And Kai charged to meet it.