49. Echoes Of The Abyss

The battlefield was shifting.

The once lifeless bodies of the Dreadborn Knights, thought to be defeated, were stirring again. The dark energy of the Crimson Warlord had not perished—it had been absorbed. Now, that power felt alive through them, reforging their shattered forms.

"Micheal, Look" Kai shouted "The knights are moving"

"Oh My..!" He muttered as he looks on with a shock on his face.

"But why are they still moving?" Selene whispered.

"Something is wrong somewhere." Riven said,his voice low but steady.

Now, the Dreadborn Knights has stirred back to life completely, looking to take out revenge against Micheal and his crew.

The nearest Dreadborn Knight lifted its head, revealing glowing cracks in its armor, pulsing with crimson energy.

One by one, the others followed, their bodies no longer empty husks but something far more dangerous—something reborn.

"I don't think they were only his soldiers." Selene said, her voice sharp with realization.

"They were his vessels."

Kai's eyes widened. "That means… the Crimson Warlord isn't gone?"

"No," Jade said, her voice cold. "He's something worse."

A deep, guttural sound rumbled through the battlefield.

Micheal's fists were balled up, golden embers swirling about his body. "They are stronger this time." His voice was dark, suppressed.

Jade followed him, her expression unreadable. "They've taken the warlord's power," she said. "They're not knights any longer. They're something… else."

Kai gripped his sword firmly in his hand. "Great. Because the first fight wasn't challenging enough."

The darkness next to them shifted. A hissing voice filled the air—hundreds of voices randomly on top of the other. It was not animal or human, but a disquieting hum that insinuated itself into their brains.

Selene moved forward, her daggers softly glowing in the shadows. "We have to go. Standing here like statues isn't going to accomplish anything."

Before anyone could say anything, the void trembled.

Then, suddenly, it hit.

---

The ground beneath them trembled, twisting as the darkness crept closer. Shadowy tendrils shot forward, towards Micheal. He barely had time to react before one wrapped around his arm, burning him with an icy fire.

"Damn it!"Micheal growled, summoning his golden flames. His fire surged forward, clashing against the dark tendril. But instead of vanishing, the tendril fought back, moving like a living snake.

Jade reacted instantly, swinging her sword and slicing through the tendril before it could pull Micheal toward the pit. "They're learning," she said, her voice steady, but her eyes sharp. "Our attacks won't work the same way anymore."

Riven, Who was further away, narrowed his eyes. "Then we discover another way."

The Knights attacked even more stronger and in-uniform, raging towards them with the hope of ending their lives to take over the jungle.

Selene reacted first, bounding backward as a knight's sword nipped where she had stood. Her daggers met the dark sword, sparks flying as metal scraped against the unholy blade.

Kai let out a mighty roar and swung his massive sword with every ounce of strength he had. It sliced one of the knights apart, but rather than collapse, the man merely reconstituted, shadows mending its body into place.

Micheal's fire burned hotter. "Then we incinerate them to ash."

With a burst of strength, he unleashed a thunderous storm of golden flame. It tore through the battlefield, burning the knights with an angry fire. The fire was so fierce that even his friends could not get close to it, but Micheal didn't let up. He needed to burn them.

It appeared like it would work for a second. The darkness howled, twisting and writhing in agony. The battlefield burned with the intensity of his flames.

And then—The fire disappeared.

The knights were left unscathed.

Micheal's eyes widened. "No… that was supposed to work."

A distorted, warping voice resonated over the battlefield. "Your fires… are weak. We are beyond weak. We are empty."

A knight advanced, faster than ever before. Micheal couldn't react in time, and its sword slashed across his chest.

Pain coursed through him. He fell onto the scorched ground.

Micheal staggered. The world shifted for a second. His fires faltered.

Jade ran towards him after that fall. "Micheal!" She screamed.

He gritted his teeth, his heart racing heavily. "I'm fine." But he wasn't.

Selene gritted her teeth. "Then we need to make another plan. Now."

Riven, who was watching all of this with his usual calculating face, grinned suddenly. "We don't have to kill them."

Kai glared at him as if he were insane. "What are you saying? If we don't destroy them, they'll kill us!"

"No," Riven replied. "We just need to sever them from the void."

Micheal's mind flashed. The knights were no longer warriors—they were the void made flesh. That's why they couldn't be burned or brought down. They were shadow with substance.

But if they could cut that lifeline...

"We have to cut them loose from the void," Micheal said. "Interfere with their source of power."

Jade nodded. "Then we attack whatever's sustaining it."

Micheal closed his eyes for a moment, focusing his senses. The battlefield was chaos, but beneath it, he felt a pulse.

"There." He pointed toward the edge of the farthest reaches of the battlefield, where the void was strongest. "That's the center.".

Kai snapped his knuckles. "Then let's shatter it.".

They progressed as a whole.

Jade and Selene led the way, slicing through the knights who tried to halt their advance. Their strikes created excellent precision, intended to cripple rather than kill. The knights fell back, stumbling in shock, their bodies trembling.

Riven, Micheal, and Kai pushed towards the center.

The further they went, the thicker the void. It surrounded them like a storm, trying to consume them whole.

Micheal's flames erupted, scything a path through the darkness. "Almost there!"

Then—

A wall of darkness stretched before them.

Out of it stepped a colossal figure.

It was not a knight.

It was not even human.

It was something greater. Something created out of the warlord's death will.

A giant monstrosity of raw void.

It had no eyes, no form—merely a flowing mass of shadow, with bubbling red rents where eyes could have been. It raised its hand, and the shadow swept towards them in a wave.

Kai roared like an animal and swung his sword down with all his might. The blade struck true, but the beast didn't even flinch.

Riven moved fast, casting a spell that fired radiant chains towards the beast. They wrapped around it, pinning it in place for a moment.

Micheal took advantage.

His flames reignited, burning brighter than before.

Golden energy built up in his hands, sizzling with raw power.

The beast sensed the threat. It lashed back.

Dark tendrils wrapped around Micheal's arms, pulling, draining—

He gritted his teeth, fighting the crushing strength. "Not… this… time!"

With a final burst, he let rip all he had.

A blinding explosion of golden fire exploded from his hands, battering into the void creature. The battlefield shook, the very air tearing from the pressure.

The creature shrieked, its form breaking apart. The void convulsed, as though it cried out in pain.

----

Then, Silence.

The shadows fell, disappearing like mist.

The knights fell, still.

The void was gone.

Micheal staggered, fatigue hitting him like a hammer. His sight dwindled, his flames flickering out.

Jade restrained him from falling. "It's over," she panted.

The field was still. The fight was finished.

But looking out into the distance, Micheal taught—'when is all these going to end.'

There were greater forces at work.

And they were watching.