The Awakening Of The Shadows
Chapter 49: The Monster of Darkness

Chapter 49: The Monster of Darkness

The creature before Lian was unlike any monster he had faced before.

It was something beyond comprehension.

Its form was undefined, composed of shadows that twisted and rearranged themselves constantly. Fragments of a black, decayed armor seemed to float within the darkness of the creature, as if they were remnants of a warrior forgotten for centuries. Its eyes, two glowing purple slits, burned within the void, staring at Lian with an intelligence that did not belong to an irrational monster.

"You have finally arrived..."

The voice echoed inside Lian’s mind, not coming from the creature itself but from within him.

His body froze. The air around him became unbearably heavy, as if something was pressing his existence against an invisible weight.

"This... isn’t normal," Viktor growled, taking a defensive stance beside Argus.

"What the..." Vance hesitated for a moment. "What the hell is this thing?"

The creature raised a grotesque arm, made of pure void and surrounded by claws of darkness. Without warning, it launched dark spears at the group.

"Dodge!" Argus shouted.

The group scattered at the last second, avoiding the black spears that pierced the ground like demonic stakes. The impact was devastating, cracking the earth beneath their feet and creating deep craters.

Lian reacted instinctively, raising Oblivion to block one of the attacks. The blade glowed with a purple hue, its shadows extending to nullify the impact.

For a moment, he felt he could contain the attack.

But then, the creature’s shadow responded.

A dark energy spread across the blade, merging with Oblivion’s own darkness, as if they were part of the same entity.

As if they were one.

Lian felt a shock course through his body. A searing pain burned his nerves, and his mind was flooded with fragmented visions.

They were memories... but not his own.

He saw devastated lands, ruined cities consumed by darkness. He saw warriors falling one by one as figures made of a shadowy power walked over the wreckage. He saw an army of shadows marching like an unstoppable flood.

And at the center of it all, a figure wielding Oblivion.

Lian’s heart pounded.

"What...?"

He had no time to think.

The creature roared, and the dark energy around it exploded. The impact hurled him backward, his body sliding across the ground until he crashed into one of the ancient ruins.

"Lian!" Viktor shouted, dodging another strike.

The group was retreating, trying to find a way to fight it. But any blow they landed simply passed through the creature’s body as if it were part of the very darkness around them.

"Nothing is working!" Vance growled.

Argus gritted his teeth. "This isn’t a normal monster. This is something much worse."

The creature began moving slowly toward Lian, its gaze locked onto him.

"This isn’t good," Viktor muttered, realizing the situation.

"That thing wants to kill him more than anything else," Argus concluded.

Lian struggled to catch his breath, his head spinning from the visions. His muscles were tense, his mind on the verge of collapse.

But something inside him refused to let him give up.

Oblivion was responding.

The blade’s energy flickered as if it were alive, its shadows pulsing in sync with the presence of the being before him.

Lian tightened his grip on the sword.

"If you want something from me..."

He forced his body to stand, ignoring the pain in his bones.

"Then come and take it."

The creature lunged.

Lian did too.

The impact of the first clash made the air around them vibrate.

Lian felt his feet sink into the ground, but he did not retreat. He spun Oblivion and thrust forward, aiming at the creature’s center.

The shadows twisted to avoid the strike, but Lian shifted his body and changed the angle of the attack at the last second. His blade pierced part of the darkness, and a distorted roar echoed through the area.

But instead of a wound...

The darkness absorbed Oblivion.

"What?"

Lian tried to pull his blade back, but he felt something holding it. The creature was draining his energy.

He tried to retreat, but the pain in his chest intensified.

And then, he heard it again.

"You belong to us."

Pain exploded within him.

Lian screamed, feeling his own shadows revolt, as if they were being pulled into the creature.

"Lian!" Viktor charged forward, slashing at the creature in an attempt to push it away. The veteran’s blade finally had some effect, cutting through part of the monster’s arm and forcing it to recoil.

The surrounding darkness trembled.

Viktor grabbed Lian by the shoulder and pulled him back. "Did you feel that?"

Lian was panting, his eyes glowing with the same purple light as the creature. His body trembled, but he nodded.

"That thing... Those visions... Me?" he whispered.

Viktor’s gaze darkened.

"Get it together, Alvarez. The fight isn’t over."

The soldiers took positions around the creature, preparing for a coordinated attack. But before they could act...

The creature dissolved into the ground.

Silence fell over the group.

"Did it run away?" Vance asked, uncertain.

Argus remained on guard. "No... That was a tactical retreat."

Lian looked at the cracked ground where the creature had vanished. Something inside him was still unsettled.

This wasn’t over.

He knew it would return.

The group decided not to stay longer than necessary. They still needed information about this place to understand how to deal with these strange monsters.

While searching through the desolate and shadowy ruins, they came across a massive, partially destroyed structure. It looked like an ancient temple. It was grand.

"Are you guys really planning to go in there?" Lian asked, a little worried, as he felt a strange energy emanating from the place.

"In places like this, we usually find magical artifacts. I think it’s worth taking a look before we leave," Vance said, greed evident on his face.

Viktor simply nodded in agreement, and the group entered the temple in search of something valuable.

The place was vast, and they spent several minutes searching without finding anything. There were many rooms in the temple, but nothing seemed useful to them. Some documents were scattered around, but they were written in languages they had never seen before.

They moved toward a large door within the temple, and with every step closer, Lian felt increasingly uneasy. But he decided to continue, trusting his team.

When they reached it, Viktor pushed the massive door open, and what they saw shocked them all.

It was a vast courtyard, but that wasn’t what left them speechless.

Floating in the center, pulsing in the air, was a black sphere, like a miniature black hole.

The moment Lian laid eyes on that abyssal void, a primal instinct screamed inside him. His body reacted before his mind could process it, he spun on his heels and tried to run.

But he didn’t even manage a full step.

A crushing force hit him like an invisible storm. The air around him warped, and a brutal pull dragged him toward the black hole.

"No!" Viktor lunged, trying to grab Lian.

It was too fast.

The void swallowed him in an instant.

Lian vanished.

The black hole contracted for a second and then disappeared, as if it had never existed.

Silence fell over the courtyard.

Viktor stood still, fists clenched, his gaze fixed on the spot where Lian had been.

Then, in a fit of rage, he struck one of the temple’s columns, cracks spreading through the stone.

"Damn it!" he roared, his voice echoing through the empty temple.

The rest of the group remained in shock, but they all knew the truth.

Lian was gone.

And they had no idea where he had been taken.