A surge of teal aether from Phantom Punch wrapped Seth's arm, the skeletal fist pulsing with raw power as he reared back his elbow. The Fire Elemental hissed and prepared to counter with the maelstrom of flame that had just appeared between its three-clawed hands. But before it could unleash the attack, Seth's fist flashed forward. The Undead spell blasted through the swirling flames and disintegrated half of the Elemental's torso in a violent shower of sputtering embers. The creature let out a pained cry, then its form wavered and its body's hue shifted from a raging red to an intense, unstable blue.
Without wasting a second, Seth used Shadow Step to teleport next to a rock right as the wounded Elemental exploded outward and scorched everything in a wide radius. The instant the spell sizzled out, he dashed back in, the hard gray stone of Iron Fists already around his gauntlets. Noticing his return, the Fire Elemental raised its hands and its claws lengthened into obsidian-like talons.
Thanks to his core, Seth saw through the attack before it even began and easily deflected it, knocking the fiery claws aside with his stone-clad gauntlet. The moment the Fire Elemental tried to slash him with its other hand, Seth bashed its head back with a jab, then buried his fist in its chest. The creature stumbled, and its body flickered.
Before it could regain its composure, Seth was already on it. His gauntlets blurred and battered the poor Elemental until its flames sputtered and vanished entirely, leaving behind a Rank-35 red beaststone that clattered onto the cavern floor.
A dozen yards away, Nightmare pounced yet again, finishing off the Wind Elemental with the help of Colossus, who had the creature immobilized with his massive claws while stinging it repeatedly with his three tails. As the Elemental's swirling body unraveled into nothingness and another beaststone dropped to the ground, Seth took a moment to check their progress, casting Intermediate Identify on all three of them.
On the first day in the cave their attributes had increased significantly, but since then, things had slowed down quickly. Today, which was their third, Seth and Nightmare had barely gained half a Rank while Colossus had claimed a full one. It was always the same: a new environment was good for progression early on, but they needed greater challenges and new foes to keep up the same pace.
Seth picked up the smoldering red crystal at his feet, then walked over to retrieve the pale emerald one belonging to the Wind Elemental. "Let's eat, then we'll go deeper," he said, before moving both his partners back into the domains of his necklace.
Surprisingly, Nightmare had been asking to return into the pocket-realm as much as possible ever since they'd acquired the Tears of Ebon Snakes in the creepy shop at Oskon. Seth could easily guess the reason why: growth.
Within the teardrop, the direwolf's body slowly absorbed the pure Darkness aether and saturated every single muscle and bone to help him acquire more attributes in the following fights while also deepening his knowledge of the affinity. Thanks to that, Nightmare seemed to be on the verge of increasing the quality of Shadow Step. It would be his first Silver spell to reach Decent quality outside of Danger Sense, which, for some reason, had been at that level since he was a pup.
Seth pulled a hunk of dried meat and a loaf of bread from his Endless Pouch. With Celine's help, he'd stocked up on food before leaving Trogan, worried there might not be any edible prey. Fortunately, there were other beasts than Elementals in the cave, and some plants had proven to be nutritious for Colossus.
After finishing his meal, Seth pushed himself back up and surveyed the three dark tunnel mouths ahead of him. The chamber where he stood was almost an exact copy of all the others they had gone through so far, with the same fluorescent mushroom creeping through the walls and ceiling.
Over the past two days, they had crossed countless natural bridges, and each one had made them realize how gigantic the Rift truly was. This labyrinth of stone seemed to have no end, and Seth felt as if they hadn't yet explored a tiny fraction of a single floor.
Trusting his gut, he finally chose the left tunnel. But as he stepped forward, something grazed his skin—a chill that carried the echo of a breeze yet felt like pure nothingness.
Dark aether, he realized, expanding his senses to the unnatural coldness.
They had encountered something similar the previous day, but with Wind aether. After going through the tunnel, they had emerged into a cavern carved by howling gales with at least two hundred Wind Elementals. The issue had not been the number itself but the fact that the swirling creatures had patrolled in packs of six to eight, making it impossible for Seth, Colossus, and Nightmare to ambush manageable groups.
To top it off, they had been detected early because Seth hadn't connected Share to Illusionary Emptiness. The encounter had ended in a frantic chase, a near-endless sprint that had dragged on for almost ten minutes before the pack of Wind Elementals had finally given up.
Will this place be the same but with Dark ones? Seth wondered.
Since entering the Rift, they had faced Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind Elementals, but had yet to see those of the Darkness or Light affinity.
'Let's go in there and see,' Nightmare said through Link, his voice barely hiding his excitement.
'Are you saying that because you think it's safe, or because you're hoping we find a Darkness Essence in a place so saturated with that affinity?'
'A bit of both,' the direwolf answered. Then, sensing Seth's hesitation, he immediately pressed on. 'Come on. We need some real challenges! Sure, we've been pushing ourselves, but it's still not enough. This could be a good one!'
'Fine.' Seth closed his eyes for a moment to steady himself, then moved forward into the tunnel.
Almost instantly, a bone-deep chill seeped into his body; the palpable Darkness aether was like a living presence, absorbing all light and sound before it could reach him. For a moment, he considered summoning Nightmare, whose eyes could see through any shadow, but he dismissed the idea and only relied on his own senses so he could keep them as an element of surprise. Guided only by the glow of the mushrooms clinging to the walls, Seth pressed forward with a hand trailing the cold stone.
Finally, the tunnel opened onto a high, natural balcony, where the view instantly stole his breath.
Below stretched a subterranean kingdom of unbelievable scale, bathed in a faint light that came from violet crystals embedded in the cavern walls and the distant ceiling. Their rhythmic pulsing cast shadows that seemed to dance across the landscape.
The cavern was so vast he couldn't see its end, only colossal pillars of rock that descended from the darkness above like the legs of a titan and hid large parts of the floor. This underground realm was easily the size of a city. And the surrounding was a bizarre ecosystem of shadow-blighted flora.
Velvety, black flowers that resembled nightshades grew in dense clusters, their petals turned toward the violet light from the nearby crystals. In the distance, between two columns of stone, Seth could make out a city-like collection of sharp obsidian structures that rose like jagged teeth toward the cavern's distant roof.
Seth's mouth twisted to the side. From the sheer size of this site, he'd expected to find an absurd amount of Dark Elemental close by. If they moved in groups as the Wind ones did, it would be foolish to venture deeper just in case he wound up surrounded.
Just as he considered voicing his concern to Nightmare, his attention was drawn to a flicker of movement far below; a hulking Earth Elemental with a body of granite and stone was hovering across the cavern floor. It was completely out of place among the Darkness-attuned flora.
Suddenly, a figure coalesced from the surrounding gloom—a Dark Elemental. Unlike the creature of rock a few feet away, its large arms were attached to its torso and ended in blade-like claws that dripped a viscous, tar-like liquid. With the silence of a predator, the newcomer glided toward the Earth Elemental.
Before its prey could even sense the threat, the creature made of solidified shadows pounced. Its claws sliced through the stony hide as if it were soft clay. Three swift, brutal slashes tore the creature's back open and sent large chunks of rock crashing to the cavern floor.
The Earth Elemental spun with a furious roar and swung its massive fists, yet just as the knuckles were about to connect, the Dark Elemental vanished. It turned into a streak of darkness that slid across the floor before reforming a dozen yards away.
The enraged creature of stone charged and tried to hit it again, but its opponent was a phantom. The Dark Elemental wove through its heavy blows with ease before lashing out with its claws. The dance continued until the Earth Elemental, obviously losing patience, unleashed an arcane roar that shook the cavern and taunted its foe a dozen seconds later. Yet just as the spell rippled through the air, the shadow creature dissolved once again into the floor, only to rise a few yards away, seemingly unaffected.
A black aura flared around the Dark Elemental's claws as it launched its next assault. The creature turned into a whirlwind of destruction, tearing through the golem's stony body without an ounce of difficulty. Each time the Earth Elemental tried to retaliate, the shadow creature just moved around, dodging the blow as if it were toying with it.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
Seth could tell the Dark Elemental didn't have many Ranks on its opponents—it was simply superior in terms of spells and Agility. Just as the Earth Elemental seemed to realize it didn't have a chance of winning, the dark creature lunged and unleashed a quick succession of slashes across its torso and neck.
A low rumble escaped the golem-like beast's jagged maw, and as it raised its palm to protect itself, the shadow creature plunged its claws deep into its foe's chest. The aether holding the stone together fractured, and the Earth Elemental crumbled into a pile of rubble.
For a heartbeat, every rational thought in Seth's mind screamed at him to turn and run. Yet beneath that panic, something deeper stirred: his core. It throbbed in his chest, anchoring him in place and pulsing with a primal hunger. For the first time in this Rift, they had glimpsed a superior predator, and it demanded that he tear it down.
Seth drew in a sharp breath as his fists tightened. He wasn't going to resist—his core was right. It was time to thrive.
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21 25!! advanced chapters on !