The shimmering doorway was a taunt, a silver tear in the fabric of the oppressive Null.
Every step toward it was a battle against the leaden weight in my limbs.
A fresh, hot throb in my side made me glance down.
Blood, dark and slick, was seeping through a tear in my hoodie, tracing a path down my leg. The creature's parting gift.
Idiot. Should have attended to that first.
With a grimace, I fumbled in my pack, my fingers closing around the cool glass of a healing potion.
I pulled the cork with my teeth and downed the crimson liquid in one go. It tasted like bitter herbs and ozone.
Almost instantly, a warmth spread from my stomach, a soothing heat that flowed toward the wound.
I felt the torn flesh knit itself back together, the sharp pain receding to a dull, manageable ache.
I took a deep, clean breath. Better.
The doorway seemed to pulse in time with my slowing heartbeat, brighter now, the Null around it humming with a low, anticipatory energy.
It wasn't an invitation; it was a demand.
I stepped through.
The shift was instantaneous. The absolute silence of the previous stage was shattered by a deep, guttural growl that vibrated up through the soles of my foot, rattling my bones.
The landscape was the same jagged, pulsing hellscape, but now it felt alive, hostile.
The eerie silver light cast long, distorted shadows that seemed to writhe.
My dagger was in my hand before I'd even consciously decided to draw it.
Every sense was screaming.
The growl intensified, a rolling thunder that promised violence.
The ground trembled. Then, from behind a spire of black rock, it emerged.
It was a monstrosity. Three times my height, a mountain of nightmare flesh.
Its body was a chaotic fusion of jagged, obsidian-like plates that scraped together with a sound like grinding stone.
Between the plates, thick, rope-like tendrils writhed and twitched, probing the air.
Its head was a blunt weapon, dominated by two pits of burning green fire that locked onto me with an intelligence that was utterly chilling.
[Stage Three Initiated. Survive.]
The system's voice was a cold splash of reality.
Survive.
The word had never felt so heavy.
The creature didn't roar. It simply charged.
Its movement was deceptively fast for its size, a landslide of malevolent intent.
A massive, clawed limb the size of my torso slammed down where I'd been standing, pulverizing the rock.
I threw myself sideways, the impact showering me with sharp fragments.
"You've got to be kidding me," I breathed, scrambling to my feet. My heart was a frantic drum against my ribs.
It came again, a blur of black armor and lashing tendrils.
This time, I didn't dodge. Adrenaline and a surge of defiance overrode caution.
I channeled mana, feeling the familiar electric hum gather in my core. I leaped forward, meeting its charge.
My dagger, now wreathed in crackling blue energy, plunged into a gap between its armored plates.
The result was explosive. A jolt of raw power coursed into the beast.
It let out a deafening, guttural screech, its entire body seizing up and shuddering violently.
For a glorious second, I thought I'd won. I'd shut it down.
I was wrong.
A tendril, thick as my arm, whipped around and swatted me away like a fly.
The world spun. I hit the ground hard, the impact driving the air from my lungs in a painful gasp.
White-hot pain flared across my back. I tasted blood.
I forced myself onto my elbows, then my knees, wiping a smear of blood from my mouth with the back of my hand. My body screamed in protest.
"Fine."
It wanted lightning? It would get lightning.
I'd been holding back, trying to conserve strength.
Channeling mana on this scale was quite a strain, a violent, draining effort that left me feeling hollowed out.
I wasn't a master of this power yet; neither was I a novice.
Every massive discharge was a gamble. But the luxury of learning was a distant dream. Survival was now.
I stopped trying to control the storm. I let it in.
Energy erupted from within me, wild and terrifying.
It wasn't a flow; it was a geyser. Lightning crackled around my body, arcing from my fingertips, earthing itself in the jagged ground.
The very air sizzled. The Null was illuminated in a stark, blinding white light.
The creature, already turning for another charge, hesitated.
Its green eyes narrowed, sensing the paradigm shift. But its momentum was its doom.
I didn't aim. I simply unleashed. A massive, continuous bolt of lightning, thick as a tree trunk, lanced from my chest.
The sound was beyond thunder; it was the world tearing apart.
The energy didn't just strike the creature; it consumed it, enveloping it in a incandescent cocoon of pure power.
The ground shook violently. The silver light of the Null was utterly drowned out.
When the light died, there was nothing. No monster, no scorch mark. Just empty space where a horror had stood.
My knees buckled. I collapsed, my chest heaving, my body trembling uncontrollably from the backlash.
I felt utterly drained, scraped clean. The taste of copper was strong in my mouth.
Ding!
[Stage Three Complete. Prepare for the Next Challenge.]
Of course. Another doorway. It shimmered in the distance, a cold, unwavering star.
I stared at it, my body trembling, my mind a fog of exhaustion.
My hand drifted to my pack, where the stamina potion waited.
A quick fix. A burst of artificial energy.
But I let my hand fall.
No. Relying on a crutch now would only make the next step harder.
The path to mastery was paved with your own endurance, your own will.
It was a path that demanded everything from you, and offered no shortcuts.
The doorway pulsed, patient and relentless. I pushed myself to my feet, my legs shaking.
The path forward was clear. There was no other way but through.