The Cost

The inky blotches swamped the floor, pooling and writhing as if alive. Two men stood at the far end of the hallway, watching Mirak and Menis with cold precision. The first man brushed a hand through his slicked-back hair, a sly grin tugging at his lips.

"Seems like I've caught a few members of the Revenant in my trap," he said, his tone mockingly casual. "Finding you wasn't as hard as they made it out to be."

The second man, his face marked by a jagged scar that narrowly missed his right eye, let out a low chuckle. He pulled a circular-hilted blade from his side, its edge gleaming wickedly. "I expected more of them," he said, his voice gravelly and dispassionate. With deliberate care, he retrieved a contraption from his belt. The device was roughly the size of Mirak's arm, and he pressed down on one of its metal spheres. Slowly, it clicked into motion, the mechanism producing an ominous, rhythmic clank.

"It's a pendulum," the scarred man remarked.

Neither side waited for further words. Fulgrin, the scarred man, charged forward with his wicked blade, bringing it down on Damion's hardened shell. The impact echoed through the corridor, and Damion's armor groaned under the force. At the same time, the other man, shrouded entirely in black, disappeared into the writhing shadows that spread across the floor.

"They're Essence users," Mirak muttered, his tone low but steady.

"Very astute of you," Menis replied, though his voice held a brittle edge. He adjusted his grip on his severed pincer, using it as an improvised weapon. "Ready your Harmony. I suspect—"

Menis didn't finish. The shadowy figure materialized behind Mirak, a gleaming knife in hand. Menis shoved Mirak out of the way, swinging his broken pincer in a wide arc that struck the attacker's shoulder. The shadowed man hissed in pain, but his retaliation was immediate. His knife flashed, cutting deep into Menis' side, and then he vanished again, his body dissolving into the shifting darkness.

Mirak's Atta lashed out instinctively, threads of piercing energy slicing toward the fleeing figure. The attacker avoided the strike with an almost supernatural grace, reappearing moments later to strike again.

Meanwhile, Fulgrin's circular blade descended toward Mirak like a guillotine. The speed and precision of the attack forced Mirak to hastily summon a shield, the blow reverberating through his arm as he absorbed the impact.

"If only you had two hands," Fulgrin sneered, pressing his weight into the blade. "Perhaps then you'd stand a chance against Fulgrin the Seventh."

Before Mirak could respond, Damion intervened. With a guttural roar, the hulking beast swatted Fulgrin aside with a single massive claw, sending him crashing into a nearby wall. Dust and debris rained down, but Fulgrin only grinned, blood dripping from a fresh cut on his cheek.

"What a beast," Fulgrin said, his voice almost admiring. "But how much longer can it last?"

Menis, meanwhile, clashed with the shadowed man. Callen's twin knives slashed in quick, vicious arcs, tearing away another pincer from Menis' battered form. Blood sprayed across the resin-laden floor, but Menis only grinned through gritted teeth.

"There's no dying for the Revenant yet," he growled. His bloodied face turned toward Mirak. "We still need you, scholar."

Mirak's body screamed in protest, every muscle taut and trembling, but he forced himself to fight on. His Atta struck out again, carving through the inky globs gathering on the floor. The threads of energy came within a hair's breadth of Callen, but the shadowed assassin twisted away at the last second, his movements fluid and serpentine.

"Another Harmony user," Callen muttered, his tone dripping with disdain. "How utterly tedious. Fulgrin, finish him already."

Fulgrin darted forward, his blade arcing toward Mirak. Menis stepped into his path, intercepting the blow with what remained of his body. The strike tore through his last pincer, leaving Menis barely standing.

Yet even now, Menis managed a faint grin. "No quitting yet," he said, his voice rasping as he turned to Mirak. "Ignite the resin. You need to be close, don't you? Use this."

He pressed a pulsating shard of resin into Mirak's hand. The volatile energy radiating from the shard felt like a heartbeat, strong and unsteady.

"Don't even bother," Fulgrin scoffed, his lips curling into a sneer. "You're trapped. There's nowhere left for you to crawl."

Mirak hesitated, his fingers trembling as his Atta coiled around the resin, drawing out its energy. "If we run, they'll hunt us down," he muttered.

Menis said nothing. Slowly, he pulled down his hood, revealing his face. His features were softer than most, almost unremarkable. His red hair fell loosely over his shoulders, framing his bloodied expression. Yet there was a strange calm in his eyes, a resolute acceptance that sent a shiver down Mirak's spine.

"Take Mirak and leave, Damion," Menis said firmly. His voice was steady, almost serene. "I'll handle this."

"No!" Mirak shouted, his voice cracking. "Menis, stop! We can still escape!"

Menis only smiled, his grip tightening on the resin shard. "We both know Lancelot expects this done. And I'm fine with that."

A strange, yellow spore began to seep from Menis' body, glowing faintly as it filled the air. The spores thickened into a protective cocoon around him, the sickly light pushing back the inky shadows.

"This is it," Menis whispered, his voice almost inaudible. "The feeling I've been missing. Was this what you meant, Lancelot? Omphalos… the second awakening."

The cocoon pulsed, radiating light that splattered against the walls like stars in a black sky. Fulgrin slashed at it in frustration, but the pollen absorbed the blow, scattering harmlessly.

When the cocoon finally broke, the figure that emerged was no longer Menis. Encased in white, chitinous armor adorned with intricate spider-web patterns, the creature loomed larger than life. Horns like those of a beetle curved upward from its shoulders, while its left arm had become a jagged, shield-like appendage. Its right arm, segmented like a centipede, ended in a pulsating resin spear.

Fulgrin's grin returned, though his eyes glinted with something darker. "Strong little bug, aren't you? But strength alone won't save you."

The creature that was once Menis charged, its resin spear clashing violently with Fulgrin's blade. Callen darted in to attack from the shadows, but the centipede arm lashed out, slamming him into the wall.

Despite their combined efforts, Menis forced the pair back toward the resin pile. The energy in his body pulsed dangerously, the resin within him nearing critical mass.

From Damion's back, Mirak shouted desperately. "Menis! Stop! You'll die!"

Menis turned briefly, his voice distant. "I die with my duty served."

With that, he plunged his spear into the resin pile. The explosion that followed was blinding, a cascading chain reaction of ice and energy that consumed the vault in an instant.

Damion sprinted through the collapsing corridors, his massive frame smashing through walls and guards alike. Mirak clung to his back, too exhausted and grief-stricken to speak.

The Revenant had won—but at a terrible cost.