You're back
The mist churned silently.
Lilith emerged from the staircase, stepping into the killing field once more.
Her body was whole again. But her lungs still burned as the poison gnawed at her with every breath. The resets never brought relief from the poison's progression — only physical restoration. The torment never truly stopped.
She walked forward, eyes scanning the ruined landscape.
The corpses were everywhere. Shattered limbs, craters of blood-soaked earth, torn chunks of flesh still twitching where nerves hadn't yet died. The ground squelched beneath her boots.
And then she saw it.
The Warlord's body.
A mountain of broken flesh, its armored plates split wide, pools of thick blood still steaming around it. Its massive form sprawled across a field of shattered rock and mangled demons.
And in front of it — barely upright — was Nox.
He sat against a jagged slab of stone, head lowered, one arm limp at his side. Blood drenched him. His chest rose and fell unevenly, every breath a strained, rattling struggle.
For a moment, she simply stared.
He had done it. Alone.
She moved quickly to his side, dropping to one knee. His eyes flickered open as she approached, unfocused for a moment before locking onto her.
"You're back," he rasped.
Lilith glanced over his battered frame. Multiple ribs broken. Deep gashes across his back and side. His right leg twisted unnaturally. The mist still clawed at his lungs as he coughed blood onto the ground beside him.
"You're not dead," she said flatly.
Nox gave the faintest hint of a grim smile. "Not yet."
Lilith exhaled slowly. The bitter taste of poison clung to her throat, but she ignored it.
They sat in silence.
The Pit allowed no true rest — but for now, there was a gap. A moment to breathe.
Lilith's eyes drifted to the massive corpse beside them. Its burning eyes had long since dimmed. Even dead, the Warlord's sheer size dwarfed them.
They rested in its shadow. Breathing. Bleeding. Waiting for strength to return.
But the Forge never truly paused.
Time lost meaning.
Days. Weeks. Perhaps months.
The poison grew thicker. The enemy grew smarter. The blood ran deeper.
Every fight demanded more. Every breath burned sharper.
And yet, the count kept falling.
"Remaining number of demons: 2,000."
Now, even the battlefield had changed.
Multiple Warlords had emerged.
From the thickened fog, towering figures moved beyond the haze, directing coordinated groups across the battlefield. The Pit had shifted from mindless escalation into full-scale organized war.
Lilith stood beside Nox, both their bodies hardened by thousands of deaths.
Her breathing was steady now, even as the poison gnawed at her lungs. The cuts across her arms and face bled freely, but she moved without hesitation. Her eyes were colder — sharpened by countless cycles of slaughter.
Nox's frame was larger — brutal muscle forged through endless failure. His movements remained calm, efficient. The mist clung to him like a second skin.
Shapes shifted through the mist.
Towering silhouettes advanced.
The next phase had begun.
The ground quivered beneath their feet.
The mist pulsed with each heavy impact echoing through the blood-soaked battlefield.
One after another, they stepped forward.
Three towering Warlords emerged from the fog — massive, grotesque forms layered in thick armored plates fused into flesh, jagged claws dragging through the soft ground with every deliberate step. Their burning eyes locked onto the two figures standing in defiance.
Nox adjusted his stance as the lead Warlord advanced, its movements slow but precise, each step driving deep into the terrain.
Lilith stood at his side, gripping her shard, breathing steady through the poison's constant burn.
The second Warlord flanked left.
The third mirrored right.
They moved in concert, tightening the noose.
The lead Warlord struck first — not with a charge, but a sweeping arm that cut the air with hurricane force. The wind blast alone sent debris scattering like shrapnel.
Nox slipped beneath the swing and drove forward. His blade carved into exposed flesh beneath plated armor — deep, but not enough. The wound bled freely; the monster barely flinched.
The second Warlord seized the opening instantly.
Its massive claw slammed down where Nox landed.
Lilith flashed in, her shard driving into the creature's exposed wrist, deflecting the strike just enough for Nox to roll clear as the ground split beneath the blow.
The third Warlord closed in, silent and unrelenting.
Nox spun, catching its swipe mid-motion, twisting under its arm and driving his sword into the joint of its shoulder. The blade bit hard, but the Warlord tore free, hurling Nox backward across the slick earth.
Lilith pivoted low, slicing across the lead Warlord's knee, forcing it to stagger with a sharp crack.
The second Warlord struck from her flank.
Its claw slammed into her ribs.
The impact sent Lilith flying, her body colliding with a jagged pillar. The stone cracked. She crumpled to the ground, unmoving.
Nox surged forward with what strength remained, stabbing into the first Warlord's exposed wound — deeper this time, severing something critical. The creature stumbled, roaring as its massive frame tilted.
But the others moved in perfect sync.
Nox dodged one swipe by inches, only to be caught by the second's hammering blow across his ribs.
The strike lifted him off the ground, slamming him into the blood-slicked rock.
Bones cracked.
His breath caught in his throat.
Vision narrowed.
Still, he rose.
One arm hung useless. Blood ran freely. His legs burned as they struggled to hold him upright.
The third Warlord stepped closer.
They circled him now.
Silent. Precise. Predators.
The first Warlord struck.
Its claw arced forward — a wall of force.
Nox ducked under the swipe, but his broken ribs screamed with every motion. The second Warlord stepped in behind, its claw swinging low. He twisted, catching a glancing blow across his thigh — enough to tear muscle, sending him stumbling.
The third Warlord closed instantly.
Its claw drove into his stomach, folding him around the strike and launching him backward into a mound of corpses.
Pain exploded through him. Bones shattered. He couldn't breathe.
The ground shook as they advanced.
Nox forced himself up — staggering, choking, barely standing.
The lead Warlord didn't hesitate.
Its massive arm came down like a falling mountain, flattening him into the broken ground.
The world snapped to black.
Reset.
The staircase loomed again.
Nox and Lilith stood at its base, freshly restored.
No words exchanged.
They moved forward together.
The battlefield awaited.
The Warlords returned — identical positions, identical pressure.
Their eyes tracked the returning prey with unsettling awareness. The Pit had reset the field, but the Warlords were learning too.
Nox adjusted his stance as the lead Warlord advanced.
Lilith moved with him, sharper now. They were already rewriting the previous failure.
The first strike came — faster than before.
Nox stepped inside the arc, driving his blade into the exposed wrist joint — severing the tendons before the claw could close. The creature recoiled briefly.
The second Warlord closed immediately, striking for Lilith.
She pivoted tighter, her shard slicing across its forearm before driving into its exposed armpit. The blade bit deep — a better angle — but not enough to drop it.
The third Warlord struck from behind.
Nox caught a glimpse too late.
Its claw raked across his back, tearing deep wounds. He stumbled as Lilith deflected another blow.
The first Warlord moved again, hammering its massive fist into Nox's shoulder with enough force to dislocate it instantly. He screamed, barely twisting away before the next strike followed.
Lilith dove to cover him, driving her shard deep into the Warlord's thigh to force it back. But the second Warlord was already moving.
It struck her full-force across the ribs, lifting her off her feet and slamming her into a jagged rock formation.
Bones crunched.
She collapsed.
Nox turned toward her, but the third Warlord was already upon him.
The claw swept upward — catching his jaw, snapping his neck backward.
The world snapped to black again.