Tribulation of Archivum

As the enigmatic force tore them apart, the universe twisted about them, and they all vanished into distinct voids. It was a dizzying feeling, as if you were being flung through the very fabric of existence.

Kiri, Thea and Luke got send to a different room, as Kiri lifted himself off the chilly metal floor, he moaned. The air was heavy with an odd hum, and the long hallway ahead was lit by low, flickering lights. He turned to see Thea wiping herself down, her staff responding dimly to the environment. Luke remained a few steps away, his eyes darting about for any indication of danger while he gripped his sword securely.

The smooth, metallic walls were dotted with blue veins of energy that pulsed. It seemed to...be alive... Making thea muttered

"This place... there's something wrong..."

A sequence of clicking sounds reverberated down the hallway before any of them could react. Then came the growls. When the three of them turned, they saw individuals coming out of the walls, their bodies changing strangely, like liquid metal re-forming into a hideous humanoid image. They had mechanical eyes that glowed bright red, and their limbs were lengthy and coated with synthetic plate. Their voice processors produced a low, distorted shriek, and their clawed fingers twitched.

"Bio-techs..."

The first to respond was Luke. His longsword hummed with energy as he surged forward and struck the nearest creature. The creature hardly flinched as metal touched metal and sparks erupted. Kiri ran by him, twin katanas flashing, and he had to sidestep as it lunged. One of the creatures was sliced cleanly by his blades, yet it instantaneously regenerated as though liquid metal ran through its center.

The three of them got shocked because this is the first time they saw a bio-tech regenerating if they got destroyed. But Thea just shouted to hit them harder but the moment she said that a bio-tech lunged at her from the back, but Luke intercepted it by slamming it through the wall but instead of getting destroyed it's body twisted and was back to it's form.

Making them all get shocked once again because this monsters were different from the monsters they use to fought. The monsters kept advancing towards them and they all got into defensive position.

Meanwhile with a violent landing, Zayn rolled across the stone floor and then stopped. He forced himself up, gasping for air and shaking off the vertigo. As his eyes adapted to the low light, he saw a room that appeared to be old and was lined with tall bookcases. This building felt...older than the bio-tech horrors his friends were experiencing.

But then...two sharp golden eyes gazed down at him as he heard a steady beat of wings emerge from the shadows above. A huge figure swooped down, its feathers as black as the emptiness, flecks of deep violet glimmering in the dim light. It wasn't just any owl, either. This one exuded strength, ancient strength powers.

The owl's voice resonated through the chamber, layered and echoing, as if spoken by multiple beings at once.

"Intruder."

Zayn's body tensed. He lifted a hand, gathering the air around him, readying for whatever came next.

"This place is sacred. You do not belong here."

Without warning, it struck. Zayn was flung backwards as a rush of wind burst from its wings. The owl was already moving when he spun in midair and just managed to get to his feet.

Zayn's reaction was automatic. The currents around him were manipulated by the fluid motion of his hands. The owl's own winds collided with an air vortex that spiraled outward. The contact caused the stone floor to shatter as the two forces collided.

The bright eyes of the owl shone. The air in the chamber abruptly altered when it moved its wings. Before he could see anything, Zayn sensed it. Around him, an unseen force exerted pressure, pressing down on his body. The room's gravity had been altered by the owl.

As the power increased, Zayn's feet dug a little further into the ground. His limbs felt slow, and his breathing became labored. In an attempt to adapt, he murmured.

 "Not…good." 

Once more, the owl hit. With talons blazing with unadulterated magic, it charged forward. As the strike tore deep scars into the floor where he had recently stood, Zayn narrowly avoided it and rolled to the side.

Zayn gritted his teeth in response. He created focused wind blades by compressing the air around his hands. He let them go with a snap, and the owl was hit by slashing gusts. The attack reverted after the owl made one wing flap. Zayn was hit hard by his own wind. He almost managed to avoid it. His thoughts were racing. This was more than a power struggle. It was a technical struggle.

Trinity watched from the darkness. He was not meant to be here just now. He was unknown to the owl. It knew nothing more than what it was supposed to do. It was merely a fierce, old guardian that wiped out anyone who ventured within its territory. 

What about Zayn? 

He was losing. 

As Trinity saw Zayn fight against the owl's tremendous force of assaults, his eyes twitched. Every wind Zayn called forth was overwhelmed. Each premeditated move was instantly countered.

It's like the owl wasn't even trying 

"Tch!"

"Nycteris," the name of this old guardian muttered in the Archivum's buried tradition, was mumbled beneath his breath as Trinity's eyes narrowed. Even the unrelenting keeper, who was only constrained by duty, had a name that was a holdover from a time when power and magic were combined.

Nycteris, the ancient protector, circled above Zayn as though gauging the intruder's level of resolve. The ancient chamber's stale air was moved by the owl's dark brown wings, and it conjured a torrent of magical force with each strong beat. Each gust of Zayn's wind magic collided with Nycteris's own outbursts of otherworldly force as it roiled against the unrelenting guardian.

With his teeth clenched, Zayn released another focused blast of compressed air. The guardian's chest was grazed by the wind's razor-thin blade as it cut through the gap between them. For a brief moment, Nycteris stumbled, displaying vulnerability. The old owl, however, was unrelenting. It responded with a guttural scream, releasing a whirlpool of magical force that was about to swallow Zayn whole.

Zayn barely raised a shimmering shield of wind as the blast smashed against him. The power sent ripples of displacement across the chamber, and strain obscured his eyesight. Then, out of the creases of space itself, came a fresh, surprising ally.

"Keep your focus, Zayn!" Trinity's voice was low and urgent, barely audible over the clash of magical forces. Before Zayn could fully register the command, Trinity had already begun his assault. With a swift gesture, he tapped into his space powers, warping the very ground beneath Nycteris. In a flash, he teleported behind the guardian, leaving behind only a lingering shimmer of displaced air.

But only for the guardian to knock him back but before he could hit the wall he teleports besides Zayn.

Nycteris let out a deafening screech, shaking the very foundation of the chamber as Trinity and Zayn faced him down. The owl's massive wings spread wide, their dark violet flecks shimmering ominously in the dim light. Zayn, panting heavily, steadied his stance while Trinity twirled his daggers, eyes scanning for an opening.

The air felt heavier dense with unseen forces pressing down on them. Zayn could barely move his fingers without feeling resistance. Gravity magic. Nycteris was warping the very space around them.

Before one of them could respond, the old guardian attacked. Nycteris released a flurry of razor-sharp feathers, each glowed with a black arcane energy, with a forceful beat of it's wings. Despite Zayn's best efforts to summon a wall of compressed wind, the impact was so powerful that he slid backward, his boots crunching on the stone floor. Trinity quickly twisted away, resurfacing a few feet behind the owl and striking both daggers downward.

Nycteris twisted its body unnaturally, evading the strike by a hair. Then, with terrifying speed, the owl spun midair and swiped at Trinity with one massive talon. He barely had time to react one second he was standing, the next, pain erupted across his chest as the talon raked across his torso. He gasped, staggering backward as blood seeped into his dark clothes.

Zayn's fists tensed as he observed the onslaught. 

"Trinity!" 

 Trinity screamed between clenched teeth

"I'm fine,"

Already bending away before Nycteris could hit once again.

But the guardian was relentless. The air pressure around them dropped suddenly, and before Zayn could adjust, Nycteris folded its wings and dove at him with terrifying speed. The force of its descent sent loose books and dust flying around the chamber. Zayn barely had time to react before the owl's beak, glowing with raw magic, nearly pierced through his shoulder.

At the last moment, he forced a jet of wind downward, launching himself sideways. He barely dodged, but the resulting force still sent him tumbling. He felt the impact as he crashed against a stone pillar, pain flaring up his back.

Nycteris wasted no time. It landed, its talons digging into the floor, and slammed a wing against the ground. The entire chamber warped space itself distorted. Zayn felt his stomach lurch as the gravitational field shifted violently. He tried to stand but felt himself being pulled sideways against his will.

"Zayn, move!" Trinity's voice cut through the chaos.

In a blink, Trinity was next to him. He grabbed Zayn's arm and, in an instant, the two of them vanished in a swirl of spatial distortion, reappearing on the far side of the chamber.

But the reprieve didn't last long. Nycteris flicked its wing again, and the gravity shifted once more, slamming both warriors against the ground.

Zayn groaned, spitting blood as he forced himself to his knees. "This thing isn't just strong it's playing with us."

Trinity, bleeding from his chest wound and gasping for air, nodded. "It's not just magic. It's controlling space itself… just like..."

Before they could gather their strength, Nycteris attacked again. This time, the air itself seemed to ripple. A massive, invisible force slammed into them, sending them flying backward. Zayn rolled across the floor, his arms scraping against the rough stone, leaving deep cuts along his forearms. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain.

Trinity wasn't as lucky. He slammed against a pillar with a sickening crack, coughing up blood as he slumped to the ground. His daggers lay a few feet away, glimmering faintly. Nycteris flapped its wings again, this time summoning tendrils of dark energy that slithered across the floor, reaching for them like living shadows.

Zayn's vision blurred, but he forced himself to stand. He had to fight. He couldn't let it end here.

He took a deep breath, ignoring the pain, and gathered what remained of his strength. Wind coiled around him, whipping into a violent storm. His eyes locked onto Nycteris, and he knew this battle wasn't over.

It was only just beginning...

To be continued...