Rebirth of the Shadow Warrior

4 - Trapped voices

Even though he wasn't showing it, he felt fear.

That instinctive fear that whatever stood before him was formidable and could end him.

Just days ago, he had just ascended Level 4 of the shadow cultivation out of the five levels and being the first in his generation to attain such height, he had thought he had ascended the highest level of power unimaginable for someone his age.

But here, it changed nothing..

Even with his power restored, he was still completely at the mercy of whatever governed this place.

The beast's loud roar snapped him out of his thoughts.

Thaddeus turned to see the beast charging forward violently.

Before he could register the attack, the beast was already upon him.

He tried to move but it was too late as the beast’s body slammed into him like an invisible tide, crushing the space around his soul.

Thaddeus’s breath caught in his throat as he was sent drifting several feet backward into the abyss.

He steadied himself to a stop, collapsing onto the floor created by his shadows.

His hand pressed against his chest instinctively with each breath coming in huge gasps like he was about to die all over again.

Still, he slowly forced himself up.

The beast didn't attack but was watching him with curiosity.

Thaddeus understood that gaze and stood straight, ignoring the pain that was slowly taking over his body.

He wasn't going to give the ugly creature the satisfaction.

For a brief moment, his vision doubled, then blurred before stabilizing again.

It was in that moment, the beast rammed into him again.

Thaddeus was hurled backward instantly as his body slammed through the air like it weighed nothing at all.

Pain exploded through his insides from the impact, as though his organs had been squeezed together by an invisible hand. He skidded across the abyss, barely managing to stop himself from going completely unconscious.

His vision blurred for a moment then sharpened again just in time for him to get his bearing.

The soul devouring beast stood unmoving, breathing and exhaling violently.

Thaddeus examined the beast with a swollen eye.

Its body looked like it had been made entirely of condensed layers of muscle stacked together, devoid of any weakness.

Before he could blink an eye, it charged again and the abyss shook with each stride.

Thaddeus barely rolled aside as it slammed into where he had been.

He scrambled back up, chest rising and falling rapidly. His hands trembled as he forced shadow energy to gather again.

The thought of dying here fueled his anger.

He yelled through clenched teeth and attacked again with everything he knew.

He conjured dark blades, energy bursts, compressed strikes...

Everything he knew but it turned out to be useless.

The beast didn’t resist or bother defending.

It simply endured everything as if his attacks were nothing more than drifting wind.

Thaddeus froze for half a second, breathing heavily as he observed the beast structure.

Nothing he did mattered or had an effect.

The beast also paused, staring at him angrily as if it was amused by his efforts then it roared.

The sound trembled through the abyss.

This time, Thaddeus noticed something different as the cries within the roar suddenly became clearer.

It wasn't random screams like he had thought but voices, thousands of them. It was like they were speaking directly to him.

“Run…”

“You cannot win…”

“It devours everything…”

Thaddeus clenched his jaw as the whispers crawled into his mind.

No matter what he did, the voices grew louder.

“ Surrender.”

“Join us.”

“Become one of us.”

Thaddeus shook his head, chasing the voices away but immediately the beast shut its mouth, the voices quieted.

Thaddeus took a deep breath and glared at the beast with blood trickling down his nose.

The beast took a slow step forward, growling like it was giving him time to gather strength and continue fighting.

Thaddeus strained just to remain conscious as his body threatened to shut down.

For the first time since his fall into this nightmare, the realization settled in his chest.

He looked up into the darkness as if begging the entity to intervene, fully aware there was no way he could survive this.

The beast roared again as it moved closer.

Thaddeus didn’t move as he stared at the creature in return. It wasn't because he was ready but because there was nothing else he could do.

He was about to accept his death until he noticed something as he carefully examined the beast's structure.

He noticed the beast’s body was like a fortress.

Every inch of it had a thick density, like forged iron wrapped in living flesh, making his attacks dissolve into nothing before they could even leave a mark.

But its eyes…

Thaddeus narrowed his gaze despite the tremor in his breath.

Something didn’t match there.

Where its body felt impenetrable, the space between its eyes and horns felt different.

Thaddeus noticed it didn't have armoured skin like the rest of its body.

He looked further with his shadow eye and saw a pulse

At first, he thought he was seeing things but looking at it carefully again, confirmed his thoughts.

It was a steady, unmistakable heartbeat.

His eyes widened in delight as he realized he had been fighting the wrong way all along.

His gaze locked onto the exposed point again, as though everything else about the creature no longer mattered. The spot was obvious but would have taken a patient and focused eyes to see.

His desperation had made him blind and he had been so focused on penetrating the beast's overwhelming exterior, instead of looking for its weakness.

The beast let out a rumble, preparing to charge.

Thaddeus smiled as he gathered shadow energy around his hand. It condensed slowly, gathering into a thin, lethal blade-like weapon.

As if it had realized something, the beast charged faster than usual. It did not charge in a straight line as before. Its body twisted in an confusing motion as it covered distance in a blur but Thaddeus did not retreat.

As the creature got closer, he jumped into the air and lifted his hand.

But to his surprise, the beast was faster as it slammed its body on Thaddeus, sending him hurling through the void.

Thaddeus crashed into nothing and skidded through the abyss before forcing himself to stabilize.

The beast landed heavily a short distance away. For a brief moment, it did not attack again. Its chest rose and fell slowly, and then its jaws parted just a fraction wider than before.

Thaddeus managed to pull his body upright despite the fracture in his ribs. His legs threatened to collapse under the force but he forced himself to stay upright.

For a moment, he couldn’t breathe or think as all he felt was pain.

The beast lunged again.

Without waiting to regain energy, Thaddeus stepped in to meet it with a condensed shield of shadow energy

The impact detonated between them, sending a loud shockwave through the abyss.

But this time, Thaddeus didn’t linger and acted on it.

Before the beast could realize what was happening, Thaddeus carefully jumped overhead and severed one of its horns.

Silence followed for a fraction of a second as the horn fell into the void.

The pain made the beast howl out in anger before fixing its gaze entirely on him.

Thaddeus exhaled slowly before smiling briefly.

It was exactly what he wanted.

Fully enraged, the beast growled and surged forward. It positioned its horn downward towards Thaddeus as it rushed closer like a falling pillar of destruction.