Chapter 29: Phantom Queen's Challenge.

Elias stood in the center of the vast chamber, his body bruised and battered from the relentless assault of the wraiths. His breath came in heavy gasps, but his resolve remained unbroken. The room around him was still, a suffocating silence hanging in the air as he faced Nythra, the Phantom Queen.

She stood before him, her ethereal form illuminated by a cold, otherworldly glow. Her eyes, glowing with an unnatural light, bored into him as she slowly walked towards him. The shadows around her seemed to bend and twist with every step she took, as if they were alive, reaching out to claim him.

"You've done well to get this far, mortal," Nythra's voice was as soft as a whisper, yet it carried the weight of centuries. "But you still do not understand the true nature of this place."

Elias's grip tightened on his sword as he readied himself for what was to come. "I've come this far to destroy you, Nythra. Your reign ends here."

The Phantom Queen's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile. "Such confidence. But do you really think you can defeat death itself? The afterlife cannot be so easily overcome. I am the keeper of the souls, the one who guides them to their final rest. You, who still cling to the mortal coil, cannot hope to understand the burden I bear."

Elias didn't respond. Words were useless now. There was only one way forward-he had to defeat her. She had no place in this world any langer.

With a flick of her hand, the shadows around Nythra began to twist and writhe, forming into tendrils that stretched toward Elias. In an instant, the air around him grew cold, a sudden chill seeping deep into his bones as the shadows tried to bind him. Elias gritted his teeth and pushed against the dark energy, calling upon the power he had gained in his trials.

He focused, his mind sharpening, and he unleashed a blast of lightning energy from his hand. The Divine Judgment. The air crackled with power, and the lightning surged forward toward Nythra, aiming to strike her down.

But the Phantom Queen simply raised her hand, and the lightning twisted in midair, the dark tendrils of her magic redirecting it harmlessly into the ground. Elias's eyes widened in surprise as she smirked, stepping forward.

"You are brave, but naive," Nythra said, her voice dripping with disdain. "You cannot defeat me with brute force alone. I am the master of the afterlife, the one who controls all that is dead. You cannot win."

Elias's chest tightened with frustration, but he refused to back down. The power he had absorbed from his trials surged within him, and he knew he could not let this woman's words break him. His next move was quick and decisive.

He dashed forward, slashing at the air with his sword, his movements a blur. The blade cut through the shadows, each strike infused with raw energy. Yet, the Phantom Queen was faster. With a flick of her wrist, she disappeared into the shadows, vanishing from sight.

Elias felt the chill of the air change, the temperature dropping further as the shadows twisted around him. He spun, trying to locate her, but it was impossible. Then, from the darkness, came a voice, mocking and sinister.

"You think you can defeat me in my own domain? You are but a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things."

Suddenly, the shadows around Elias closed in, trapping him in a nightmarish illusion. The world. around him shifted, and the stone walls of the citadel disappeared, replaced by images of his past-his family, his sister, his parents-all of them standing before him, alive and smiling. It was a cruel trick, a twisted mockery of what he

had lost.

Elias's heart clenched painfully as the illusion began to tug at his mind, but he refused to give in. He had faced grief before he would not let it

defeat him now.

"No," he muttered to himself, shaking his head. "This is not real."

His willpower surged, and with a roar, he shattered the illusion, his magic flaring out in all directions, dispelling the shadows.

Nythra's laugh echoed through the chamber. "Impressive, but ultimately pointless. You cannot win against the inevitable."

The shadows coalesced again, forming into more wraiths this time, they were not just

mindless spirits. They were a twisted reflection of Elias's past, phantoms of his family, their faces distorted and hollow. The wraiths reached for him with skeletal hands, their eyes empty

voids.

But Elias had no intention of falling prey to them. His mind was clear now, focused only on the fight ahead. He raised his sword high, and with a cry, he unleashed another blast of lightning, sending it through the wraiths and clearing a path to Nythra.

She was still standing at the far end of the room, her expression unreadable. Elias could see that

she was preparing for something. Her power was immense, and the longer this battle went on, the more the shadows seemed to press in on

him.

But he couldn't stop now. Not when he was so close.

With everything he had, Elias charged, his sword crackling with divine energy. The wraiths reached for him once more, but he slashed

through them with ease, his body moving with the precision of someone who had fought countless battles. His will was stronger than any illusion or shadow she could conjure.

As he closed the distance, Nythra's eyes narrowed. She raised her hand, and the ground

beneath Elias's feet began to tremble. The shadows lifted, and from the depths of the citadel, a monstrous form emerged-an ancient, spectral beast, its eyes burning with cold fury. It was the manifestation of death itself, a twisted

form of Nythra's power.

But Elias didn't hesitate. He was ready. The moment the beast lunged at him, he

sidestepped, using its momentum against it. With a powerful thrust, he drove his sword deep into the beast's spectral form, dispelling it in a flash of light.

Nythra screamed in fury, her form flickering as the shadows around her became erratic.

"This is not over, mortal!" she shrieked.

But Elias was already on her, his sword raised for the final strike. With a decisive move, he swung his blade at the Phantom Queen, and as the sword made contact with her form, a brilliant light engulfed the room.