Season 1. Chapter 58: Fight night

Chapter: Shadows and Spillwater

The world was still dim—the forest barely lit in the soft, pre-dawn haze.

But tension had reached its peak.

Aurelia Dawnmere, Garrick Ironhart, and Nico Faelwyn stood in grim silence—tied up by Zack Erebus's nonexistent threads, suspended a few inches off the ground like trophies of a perfect hunt.

The threads weren't physical. They weren't magical either.

They were absence. They existed between thoughts, tied to the dark wavelength that Zack manipulated.

Aurelia's iron broadsword had been knocked aside. Her hands and ankles were tangled and bound in the air, her sweater torn at the shoulder, sweat clinging to her forehead. She gritted her teeth.

"Let me down, you crypt-crawling emo," she growled.

She twisted hard—veins straining in her arms—and managed to shift one elbow free, a spark of pressure cracking the air. The threads flickered, warped, fought to hold her again.

Garrick squirmed. "She's gonna pop a lung..."

"I almost have it…" Aurelia snarled.

But by the time she fully forced one ankle free—Zack was already done.

He'd gathered every ruby they had into a swirling, black vortex of shadows, storing them in a darkness-pool that evaporated into thin air.

Then, with a faint hum of silence—

Zack vanished.

> [Void Travel: Active]

[Target Location: Water Cavern – Tracker Imprint Detected]

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Elsewhere, in the Cavern of Spillwater

Massive waterfalls cascaded endlessly down high ledges, churning into rushing rivers that echoed across the wide, iron-veined cave. Dim blue fungi clung to the rocks like quiet spectators. The air was heavy and wet, filled with mineral mist.

Oliver, Fern, Luke, and the Seven Dwarves stood on the edge of a carved pathway overlooking the falls.

"Something's down there," Fern said, eyes glowing faintly green. She held her palm near the ground, sensing the subtle vibrations of hidden pathways.

Her other hand pointed toward a concealed stone hatch beneath a craggy slope—a mineshaft, veiled by vines and overgrown moss.

> "It runs deep," Fern whispered. "Past the natural bedrock. Likely a forgotten Traveler's route."

Luke held his silver sword over one shoulder. "So we check it out?"

Oliver rubbed the back of his neck, eyes darting to the water. "Feels like it's gonna be a boss room or something... But if it's a shortcut or safe zone, we need it."

The Seven Dwarves murmured nervously.

Doli squinted toward the waterfall. "I don't like how the water's flowing. Something's… off."

Luke's gaze sharpened.

Fern looked up.

The waterfall split slightly. Just for a moment.

As if someone passed through it.

Then—

A ripple in the air.

A twist of shadows.

And then—

Zack Erebus appeared.

Completely silent.

Completely soaked.

Completely focused.

He stepped out of the waterfall like a shadow uncurling from a dream. His head tilted. His coat dripped. His dual daggers were already drawn.

"...Incoming," Fern muttered, stepping in front of Oliver.

Luke immediately spun, raising his silver blade. "You again."

Oliver gasped. "Z-Zack?! But—how did—"

Zack didn't respond.

He simply stepped forward—and opened his hand.

Dozens of Rubies floated in the air behind him, spinning like blood-red stars. A harvest of glowing crimson from his most recent conquest.

The Seven Dwarves instinctively stepped back.

"That's way more than one Traveler's worth…" Rindle muttered.

Doli's eyes widened. "Wait—those are ours! Ours and... and Aurelia's?!"

Zack didn't speak. But his eyes—dark, intelligent, unreadable—locked on Oliver.

He could sense the faint echo of the second ruby. The real one.

> "...Hand it over," Zack said at last.

His voice was low. Cold. Waveless.

Oliver felt the tension spike in his chest. His sword wobbled in his hand.

Fern narrowed her gaze. "He won't stop, will he?"

"No," Luke said simply. "He won't."

Water thundered down behind Zack like the sky was falling.

And then—Fern's hand twitched, vines coiling faintly around her staff.

Luke's silver blade began to glow again.

Oliver took a shaky breath and stood his ground.

Because this time…

They wouldn't give it up.

And Zack?

He wasn't here to negotiate.

He was here to end it.

Chapter: The Shadow That Sees

The cavern's roar dimmed under the rising pressure.

Water crashed in sheets. Mist hung like a curtain.

Yet the air had changed.

Zack Erebus stood at the edge of the platform, soaked and unmoving.

Behind him hovered dozens of floating rubies, swirling in silent orbit.

Before him—Luke, sword drawn, the Seven Dwarves readying for battle, Fern coiled in quiet tension, Oliver shaking but holding steady.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "You ready to fight fair this time?"

Zack tilted his head slightly…

And reached into his coat.

Not for a dagger.

But for a page.

He slowly withdrew a strange, parchment-thin sheet—marked with swirling ink and smudged charcoal. On it was a rough silhouette of a humanoid shape, its eyes glowing like two white moons. Its body had no features… just endless darkness.

Zack flicked his wrist and threw the page forward.

It didn't fall.

It hovered, caught in the air as if grabbed by unseen fingers. The parchment burned into black flames, twisting around itself—

And out of the smoke rose a Djinn.

But not any ordinary spirit.

This was a Darkness-Aligned Djinn of Insight.

A being not of fire—but vision.

Tall, ethereal, its body composed of inky void and shifting symbols, it had no face.

But eyes—glowing pale purple—formed where none should be. They opened, then split into six, rotating slowly in a ring.

All pointed at Luke.

> "I summon you," Zack whispered, "...Foresight Eidolon: Mal-Khazir."

> [Summon: Djinn of Future Battle Threads — Mal-Khazir, Rank Blue++]

– Effect: In combat, this spirit reveals opponent's next move 3 seconds early. Zack gains foresight advantage.

Luke gritted his teeth. "A summoned reader of movement…"

Fern's eyes narrowed. "It's watching our intent before we act."

The Djinn hovered behind Zack like a looming prophet of war, its presence distorting the air, sending small shockwaves of energy across the water's surface.

Zack raised his dagger, expression unchanging.

"Now it's fair."

Luke took a breath, shifting his stance.

The battle had changed.

Before, it was sword versus dagger.

Now, it was reaction versus prediction.

Skill versus insight.

Knight versus void-watcher.

Luke raised his longsword in a guarded stance, letting it glow with light that cut against the cavern's oppressive darkness.

"Then let's see," Luke muttered, "if your future-scrying demon… can keep up with me."

The Djinn's eyes rotated faster.

Zack disappeared into the void like smoke on water.

And the real fight began.