The base had become a graveyard.
Not literally—the bodies of the fallen vanished the moment they "died," dissolving into golden light and reappearing somewhere safe outside the battlefield.
But the feeling remained.
Empty spaces where teammates had stood moments before. Weapons dropped and abandoned. Blood—both red and the strange, dark ichor that leaked from the beasts—staining the stone.
And the sound.
The endless, terrible sound of claws scraping against stone, of growls blending into a singular, oppressive roar, of steel meeting flesh over and over and over.
Kael's arms burned at this point.
They had been going at this for hours.
His grip on the training sword had gone from awkward to desperate, his hands slick with sweat and something else he didn't want to think about.
But he kept moving.
Because stopping meant dying.
Another beast lunged at him—jaws wide, claws extended, eyes glowing that sickly yellow.
Kael swung.
The blade connected with a sickening crunch, and the beast collapsed mid-leap, its body flickering and vanishing before it hit the ground.
'How many is that?'
He'd lost count.
fifty? a hundred?
It didn't matter.
Because for every beast he killed, three more took its place.
Around him, the remaining defenders were scattered across the courtyard, fighting desperately, their movements slower now, their strikes less precise.
Seraphina stood near the flag tower, the banner tied around her arm, her blade still flashing in brutal arcs despite the exhaustion written across her face. Her single violet eye was sharp, focused, unyielding—but even she was slowing down.
She was having it pretty rough since she was the one taking on the full force of the beast waves, while the ones that managed to slip through where taking care of by them.
A beast lunged at her from the side.
She pivoted, her sword cutting through it cleanly, but another came from behind.
She spun, blocked, countered—
And a third beast slipped past her guard, its claws raking across her shoulder.
She didn't cry out.
Just gritted her teeth, stepped back, and kept fighting.
Blood soaked through her uniform.
But she didn't fall.
Not yet.
And the beasts just kept coming.
A scream tore through the air.
Kael's head snapped toward the sound.
One of the remaining defenders—a Mage he didn't know, someone whose name he'd never learned—had been overwhelmed, dragged down by a pack of beasts, their jaws tearing into him.
His body flickered.
And vanished.
Gone.
Kael's stomach twisted.
'How many are left?'
He looked around, trying to count through the chaos.
Seraphina. Still standing, barely.
Rylen. Still moving, still grinning, but his movements were slower now.
Two others. Knights, maybe? He couldn't remember their names. They fought back-to-back near the wall, their weapons flashing, their faces grim.
And him.
Five.
Five left.
Out of thirty.
'We're not going to win this.'
Another defender fell—one of the nameless Knights, overwhelmed by a surge of beasts that tore through his defenses in seconds.
His body flickered.
Vanished.
Four.
He honestly didn't know how he managed to stay alive longer than the more experienced people in the team.
He couldn't help but chuckle at their situation.
'We're going to lose.'
'We're going to—'
And then he heard it.
Fighting.
Coming from the bridge.
Hope suddenly surged within him.
Backup?
'Niko and the others are back.' Was the thought that went through everyone's mind
They turned toward the bridge, already imagining the strike team charging in, fresh and ready, turning the tide—
And then he saw him.
Niko.
Alone.
Stumbling across the bridge, his blue uniform torn and stained dark with blood. His face was pale, his breathing ragged, one arm hanging limp at his side.
He looked like he'd been through hell.
And lost.
Kael's hope died.
Niko fought his way to them, his legs nearly giving out, and he collapsed to one knee, gasping.
"What happened?" Seraphina's voice was sharp, cutting through the noise. She cut down another beast and sprinted toward him, her expression shifting from relief to horror in an instant.
"Where are the others?!"
Niko looked up at her, his eyes hollow.
"Gone."
The word hung in the air like a death sentence.
Seraphina's jaw tightened. "What happened?"
Niko forced himself to his feet, swaying slightly, and raised his hands.
Mana gathered around him—sluggish, flickering, barely there—but he pushed it outward, forming a shimmering dome of light that enclosed the remaining defenders.
The beasts slammed into it, their claws scraping uselessly against the barrier.
For the first time in what felt like hours, the courtyard fell quiet.
The defenders stood inside the dome, breathing hard, staring at Niko.
Waiting.
Niko wiped blood from his mouth, his voice hoarse. "There was a trap. Two teams—allied. Forty fighters. They were ambushing anyone who passed they territory."
Seraphina's eye narrowed. "Forty?"
"We didn't stand a chance." Niko's voice cracked slightly. "The others... they're gone. All of them. Garrick. Vex. Kira. Mira. Torin. Elara. All of them."
Silence.
Rylen, still catching his breath, let out a low whistle. "Damn."
Seraphina's expression hardened. "How did you get out?"
"I ran." Niko's voice was flat, emotionless. "I left them. And I ran."
The shame in his voice was palpable.
Seraphina didn't say anything.
She just turned, looking out at the sea of beasts surrounding them, clawing at the dome, waiting.
Niko took a shaky breath, his gaze sweeping over the remaining defenders.
Five of them.
That was all that was left.
Niko straightened, his voice steadier now. "We can't stay here."
"The flag." Niko's gaze locked onto the crimson banner tied around Seraphina's arm. "As long as one of us has it, we have a chance. The rules said we just need to survive. We don't have to hold the base. We just have to last."
He gestured toward the timer still glowing above them.
[17:42:33]
"Eighteen hours," Niko said. "If we can survive eighteen more hours, we pass."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Seraphina asked, her tone sharp. "We're surrounded. Outnumbered. Half-dead."
Niko looked at her.
"I can buy you time," he said quietly.
"I'm already dead weight." He gestured to his limp arm, the blood still seeping through his uniform. "I can barely stand. I can't fight. I can't run."
"But I can cast one more spell." His voice was calm, resolved. "A big one. Big enough to clear most of these things. Big enough to give you a window."
"And kill you in the process," Seraphina finished.
"Yes."
Silence.
He turned, looking out at the beasts still clawing at the dome. "When I drop the barrier and cast, you'll have maybe ten seconds before the spell detonates. You run. You jump."
"Jump?" Kael spoke for the first time, his voice hoarse. "Jump where?"
Niko pointed toward the edge of the platform.
Toward the waterfall.
Kael's stomach dropped. "You want us to jump off a waterfall?"
"The current will carry you downstream. Away from here. Away from the beasts. You find somewhere to hide, and you survive."
"It's the only option"
Seeing no one objecting, he continued. "Get ready. When I say go, you run. Don't look back. Don't hesitate. Just go."
They reluctantly nodded, their expressions grim.
Niko raised his hands, mana gathering around him—more than Kael had ever seen, swirling and condensing into a massive sphere of crackling energy that grew larger and larger, filling the dome with blinding light.
His face was pale, his body trembling, blood dripping from his nose.
But he didn't stop.
The spell grew.
And grew.
And grew.
"GO!" Niko roared.
The dome shattered.
The beasts surged forward.
And they ran.
Kael's legs moved on instinct, carrying him toward the edge of the platform.
Behind him, he heard Niko's voice—calm, steady, final.
"Good luck guys. We are counting ON YOU!!"
And then—
BOOM.
The explosion was deafening.
A shockwave of light and force erupted from where Niko stood, obliterating everything in a fifty-foot radius. Beasts dissolved into golden light by the dozens, the hundreds, their bodies torn apart by the sheer power of the spell.
Kael didn't look back.
He reached the edge.
And jumped.
The world tilted.
The roar of the waterfall filled his ears.
And then he was falling—plunging into the churning water below, the current grabbing him immediately, dragging him under, spinning him, disorienting him.
He couldn't breathe.
Couldn't see.
Couldn't think.
Just fell.
And fell.
And fell.
Until—
SPLASH.
He hit the water at the base of the falls, the impact knocking the last of the air from his lungs.
The current grabbed him, pulling him downstream, away from the base, away from the beasts, away from everything.
He surfaced, gasping, his vision blurred.
Somewhere nearby, he heard voices—Seraphina, Rylen, the other Knight—all of them struggling against the current.
But they were alive.