As the door creaked open, the torches within the mysterious temple burst into flames, casting flickering shadows on the walls.
Osric's eyes widened in shock, while Eira's pale complexion turned even paler as she saw Osric's expression Who was looking behind her. The goblins cowered, falling to the floor and covering their heads in terror.
Before them lay a vast, empty sanctuary, with absence of furniture or any objects. The only striking feature was a giant, dark ominous crystal embedded in a massive wall, surrounded by intricate carvings of a magic triangle within a circle.
A few steps away from it, a lone figure knelt before the crystal, its head bowed in reverence. The figure was a skeleton, clad in dark armor, grasping a double edged sword. Its bony frame remained motionless.
'Sh*t, what is that?' Osric shouted.
His eyes fixed on the skeleton. "Eira, quickly, let's leave this place!" He turned to flee, but his escape route was blocked, the entrance had collapsed due to the vibrations from the door opening.
The atmosphere grew more ominous as the dark crystal began to shimmer, emitting visible rays of dark energy that enveloped the skeleton.
The energy dissipated as it was absorbed by the skeleton, The bone figure slowly rose from its kneeling posture. As it turned around to face the intruders, its empty sockets seemed to bore into their souls, paralyzing them with fear.
The act that was displayed before him, Osric knew it was similar to his ability death's bargain(the resurrection spell)but the process he just witnessed reversed.
That's when he thought to himself demonic beasts in the forest were connected to this place; however , it is not the time or place for problem solving.
Osric's mind raced, he wondered, 'Can Eira beat that thing?'
Before he could react, a loud, ominous cry reverberated through the sanctuary, let out by the bone figure. The skeleton's body gleamed with a malevolent golden aura infused with its dark energy.
Only Eira, whose cultivation rank was at the Argentum phase, sensed the impending danger. "Damnit!" she spat, suddenly turning to Osric. With swift movement, she invoked her enchantment: "Ice Oracle, third form."
The floor beneath Osric froze, his body encased in a thick layer of ice that grew rapidly, layer by layer. A massive ice barrier shielded him, protecting him from the coming attack.
The skeleton swung its sword with brutal force, unleashing a burst of dark golden aura accompanied by shockwaves that sent the goblins flying.
Eira lunged forward, her ice blade gleaming with mana as she attempted to block the aura slash. The two opponents locked gazes, their eyes flashing with intensity.
Eira successfully blocked the slash, but the force of the impact shattered her ice blade, leaving her momentarily vulnerable. Before she could recover, the skeleton lunged forward with incredible speed, unleashing a flurry of rapid stab strikes that caught Eira off guard.
She dodged the attacks with her impressive reflexes, her movements a blur as she struggled to keep up with the skeleton's relentless assault.
"As expected of a combat mage, her agility is praiseworthy," Osric thought to himself, watching the battle unfold from behind his ice barrier.
However, the skeleton landed a massive blow, kicking Eira with enough force to send her crashing into the thick walls of the sanctuary. She fell to the floor, her body battered and bruised.
Although it was a subordinate's duty to fight for their master, Osric couldn't bear feeling powerless, shielded by Eira as she suffered at the hands of the beast before his eyes. His anger intensified as he watched the battle unfold.
The skeleton gave Eira no quarter, relentless in its assault. As Eira tried to pick herself up from the floor, she saw a dark golden light, even larger than the first, bursting towards her.
She quickly conjured an ice wall to block the attack, but it was no match for the skeleton's power. The slash destroyed the wall, and the burst of golden energy continued towards her. Defenseless, Eira had no time to react.
The dust settled from the blast, and the thick wall lay in ruins. For a moment, there was no sign of Eira, but she soon appeared, having used kekkai to barely survive the attack.
Standing tall, she faced the skeleton as it prepared another assault. However, Eira refused to remain on the defensive.
"Ice Oracle, second form: Ice Torrent," she chanted, her voice echoing through the sanctuary. As she pointed her right hand at the bone figure, a cataclysmic wave of ice shards erupted, forming a massive torrent that threatened to engulf everything in its path.
The Ice Torrent was a breathtaking spectacle, a swirling vortex of frozen crystals that seemed to draw the very air out of the sanctuary. The ice shards razor sharp, hurtled towards the skeleton with unstoppable force, The force power caused the air to ripple.
The skeleton 's Aura intensified around. Its double edged sword was raging in golden light as it violently slammed into it with an incredible force of ice shards, shattering and sending fragments flying in all directions.
As the clash continued to rage, the sanctuary shook and trembled, the sound of shattering ice echoing through the hall. The impact was so powerful that it sent Osric's ice barrier cracking, and he felt the ground shudder beneath his frozen form.
her Ice Torrent finally subsided, leaving behind a trail of destruction and chaos. The skeleton stood glaring at her as if nothing happened, one of Eira's powerful attacks neutralised. The skeleton remained unscatched, her chest heaving with exertion.
She had unleashed the full fury of her Ice Oracle power, and the results were devastating yet disappointing,her Mana nearing its limit.
'Damnit even after all that she could not even scratch it ugh..' said Osric frustrated
'Even if she sliced that thing in half it would just regenerated itself using the dark energy from that ominous crystals formation,' Osric explained
'What!'..
Exhausted and bruised, Eira's use of mana at the Argentum phase improved since her last battle; her wounds healed slightly during the fight.
A stand off between the two, Eira who desperately stood trying to anticipate the next move of her opponent, couldn't have guessed what was about to happen.
The skeleton vanished and reappeared behind the ice barrier protecting Osric,it swung its sword radiating aura attempting to split the barrier in half with the person inside it.
Eira realised what occurred,she lunged at full speed trying to prevent the Skeleton attack but little did she know it was a clever ploy,a diabolical trap.
The skeleton bore a hole in her midsection sending her crashing to the wall.Even though it was powerful enough it still used a dirty trick ,A display of evil from the demonic Skeleton.
Osric's eyes were wide open in shock, his heart racing with a mix of fear and fury. He was consumed by his own powerlessness, and the intensity of his emotions proved too much to bear, He lost consciousness.
The skeleton raised its sword at Eira, poised to deliver the final blow. But just as all hope seemed lost, a sudden change occurred.
The scattered ice shards around the ancient temple hall began to melt, and a blue light flickered behind the skeleton. The skeleton turned, sensing the shift in the atmosphere.
As the ice barrier surrounding Osric melted away as if touched by raging flames, it revealed a transformation. A small, glowing blue third eye had appeared on Osric's forehead, resonating with his lower eyes that gleamed. Osric slowly rose, his eyes flashing with a fierce intensity.
With deliberate steps, Osric approached the skeleton, his demeanor now radiating power and menace. The skeleton, sensing a new threat, stood ready, its gaze fixed on Osric.
Oooogh..
The skeleton unleashed a deafening roar, attempting to intimidate Osric, but he remained unfazed.
The skeleton charged, its sword flashing downward a powerful slash. Osric reacted swiftly, conjuring a double edged sword made of compressed flames, which materialized in mid air.
He gripped the blade and blocked the attack, the impact shuddering the floor and splitting it in two.
The skeleton persisted, its sword appearing behind Osric and delivering a massive blow. But Osric was too quick, grabbing the sword with his bare hand and disrupted the aura that fueled it. Without hesitation, Osric swung his right hand, unleashing a fierce attack that the skeleton barely avoided.
However, the skeleton's arm was severed, lying before Osric, its bone structure melted and burned like hot metal.
The skeleton growled, attempting to absorb demonic energy from the crystal formation to regenerate. But it was a futile effort, the flames that cut its arm were no ordinary flames, but celestial flames imbued with divine power.
Osric struck again, hurling his fiery sword like a spear. The force was powerful, separated the skeleton's torso from its lower body, followed by a massive explosion.
As the dust settled, bones scattered across the floor. But what remained was not the formidable skeleton, but a mere human skeleton, lying limp and lifeless. Osric, however, paid a terrible price for wielding the mysterious power.
His arms, once lit with a fiery glow, had turned black, slowly crumbling to ashes as the magic energy dissipated.
His third eye, which had gleamed with intensity, disappeared. Osric fell down to his knees, coughing up blood, his body weakened by the exertion.
The aftermath of the battle was devastating. The three goblins, who had been hiding in the corner out of fear, came running towards Osric, shouting in relief and praise.
"As expected of the Master! That monster was no match!"
"True, Master killed it in two moves incredible!"
One of the goblins reprimanded the others, "Be quiet, you fools! Can't you see the Master is deeply wounded?"
Their faces fell, ashamed of their actions, as they hoped their Master would spare them.Osric collapsed to the floor, groaning.
"Ugh... coughs..." Eira approached him, her own wound barely healed and her mana spent.
"Move, goblin," she said, as she knelt down to heal Osric. However, as she attempted to channel her mana, she coughed up blood.
"Stop, Eira," Osric warned, "You'll die at this rate. All my plans would be for naught.
" Eira retorted, "What if I don't heal you? You'll die. Not that I care, but I'd die too, so I won't let that happen."
Osric, lying upside down and facing the temple ceiling in a pitiful state, yelled, "What are you wanting for, Aurion? What are you hoping for a chance to be a hero, huh?"
The goblins murmured amongst themselves, "Has the Lord gone crazy with pain?
Who is he talking to so loud?"
One of them warned, "Hey, quiet! You'll get us killed."
Eira knew Aurion was a celestial spirit dwelling in Osric's body. A blinding white light shone so bright it blinded their eyes and when it dimmed suddenly.
Osric's body was fully regenerated, with not a single scar remaining. His limbs had regrown a truly blessing ability.
Eira, the goblins, and even Osric himself were stunned, as this was the first time he'd been healed while conscious witnessing the blessing with his eyes.
Eira spoke, "You've been hiding your power all this time, weak human.
"You won't even call me Lord this once huh my dear elf".
"Thanks Aurion, though you took your time".
'Are you satisfied now? Why did I have to heal you when you've stolen my ability just now?'Aurion responded.
'Let's discuss that another time the is something I need to do first.'
Osric struggled to pick himself up, still reeling from the aftermath of his ordeal. Though his wounds had healed, he needed time to recover from the shock and fatigue. He stumbled forward, barely able to walk straight towards the lifeless skeleton that lay cut in half.
As he began chanting his spell [Death's Bargain], a thick dark purple fog burst forth from the skeleton, enveloping the atmosphere. The fog swirled around Osric, who absorbed it as he usually did, this time without suffering any adverse effects despite his low mana and cultivation rank.
As the fog vanished, a young man stood before him. The young man was half naked, with red hair that matched his eyes. His physique was incredible and despite his current weakness, his presence was undeniable. Osric tossed his robe at the young man, who caught it and used it to cover himself. As he picked himself up, he directed his gaze at Osric.
"Name yourself," Osric commanded.
"I'm Logan..