Awakening of the Mind Sovereign
Chapter 72: Unraveling

Chapter 72: Unraveling

The woman stepped closer, her expression softening. "We’ll figure it out. You’ve faced worse."

A bitter laugh escaped Echo’s lips. "Maybe. But this... this is different. I don’t think I can keep going like this. I don’t think anyone can."

Before she could respond, a sudden roar tore through the air, a sound that shook the ground beneath their feet. Echo’s heart raced, and instinctively, his hand went to his sword. The magic that flowed through him flared in response, humming in the back of his mind.

"What the hell was that?" The woman asked, eyes scanning the horizon.

Echo narrowed his gaze, the air around him thickening. The source of the roar was coming from the north, beyond the walls of the city. He could feel the energy rising—raw, untamed, and powerful. It was a force that didn’t belong in this world, not the way the Rift did.

"That’s not a normal beast," Echo muttered, already taking a step toward the source. "It feels... different. Like it’s being pulled here from somewhere else."

With the woman at his side, Echo began to move swiftly through the city, the wind whipping through their hair. The destruction here was far worse than the last time they’d passed through. Crumbling stone buildings and shattered foundations littered the streets. It was as if whatever had been unleashed upon this place hadn’t just come to destroy—it had come to consume.

As they approached the source of the roar, Echo’s senses heightened. His eyes widened as the ground began to quake beneath their feet. Then, from the darkness, something emerged—a massive creature, its skin as black as obsidian, with glowing veins of crimson running beneath the surface. Its eyes were like twin suns, burning with an unearthly fury.

The creature’s form shifted as it moved, a strange, fluid motion that was both beautiful and terrifying. Its massive wings—longer than the span of any dragon—spread out behind it, casting a shadow over the landscape. It was a creature of nightmares, something that didn’t belong to any world.

"By the gods..." the woman whispered, taking a step back.

Echo didn’t hesitate. His magic surged, and the ground beneath him cracked as he drew upon his power. This wasn’t like any battle he’d faced before. The creature was unlike anything in his memories or the ancient texts he had read. It was more than just a monster—it was a force of nature, a manifestation of something far beyond the laws of reality.

"Get back," he ordered, as his hand shot out, summoning his army from the depths of his will. Skeletons, revenants, and phantasms erupted from the ground, their eyes glowing with the same crimson hue as the creature’s veins. They surged forward, charging at the beast with a relentless fury.

But the creature was faster.

It swept its wings back, sending a gust of wind so powerful that it sent Echo’s army scattering in all directions. The undead soldiers writhed as they were flung into the air, their forms disintegrating as they collided with the ground. A few struggled to rise again, only to be obliterated by a burst of energy from the creature’s eyes.

Echo’s eyes narrowed. This thing wasn’t just a beast—it was a being of pure destructive power.

He reached deep within himself, trying to harness the same energy he had felt in the Rift, the energy that had been growing inside him ever since he had begun his journey. The Rift had left its mark on him, yes, but it had also given him a glimpse of what he could become if he embraced that power.

With a shout, Echo unleashed a blast of magic, the very earth beneath his feet cracking as energy surged from him like a tidal wave. The force of his attack was immense, but the creature simply absorbed the energy, its wings flaring as the power was drawn into its body. It turned to him, its burning gaze piercing through him as if reading his very soul.

Echo’s heart raced. He couldn’t beat this thing with force alone.

"Think, think..." he muttered to himself, his mind racing. Then, it came to him. The creature fed off energy, yes, but that meant there had to be a way to starve it. A way to use its weakness against it.

"Get ready!" Echo shouted to the woman, his voice hard. "I need a distraction."

Without waiting for a response, Echo began to summon the power of the Rift once more, pulling on the chaotic energy within him, but he did it differently this time. Instead of overwhelming the creature with power, he sought to bind it, to cut off its access to the energy it craved.

The woman, realizing what he was doing, leaped into action, darting toward the creature with a fierce battle cry, her blades flashing as they connected with its dark, shifting hide. The creature roared in fury, swiping at her, but she danced around its strikes, her movements fluid and precise.

Echo’s spell reached its peak, a pulse of energy that extended outward, surrounding the creature. It howled, thrashing as the magic began to suppress its connection to the energy it thrived on.

But just as the creature faltered, a sudden crack split the sky.

From the depths of the Rift, a new force descended—a wave of dark energy, more intense than anything Echo had felt before. The creature’s form twisted in response, and it seemed to grow, its power amplified by the new arrival.

---

The air crackled with energy as Echo stood facing the massive creature, its form shifting in and out of the shadows like a nightmare made flesh. Its eyes blazed with an eerie, unholy light, reflecting the abyss from which it came. The force it exuded wasn’t just physical—it was raw, primal, and fundamentally alien. Echo felt it crawl under his skin, sending tremors through his bones as if the very fabric of reality were beginning to strain under the creature’s presence.

Beside him, the woman, her face set in grim determination, stood ready. Her blades were in her hands, gleaming in the dim light of the ruined city. But even she could sense the vast gulf between them and the being that loomed ahead. It wasn’t just a monster. It was something far worse.