Clash of the Thundersteps
Time no longer moved gently around them—weeks of travel had blurred into a single breath of memory. Footprints across plains, dust carried by the wind, fading campfires under star-drowned nights… all of it collapsed into one moment as they neared the border of the Darkwood Forest.
And then—
the world shifted.
The sky thickened. The air tightened. The ground hummed under their boots.
Lyra felt it first.
"Time is trembling… something fast is coming."
"Everyone—stop." Her voice sharpened through the breeze.
A split second later, the wind ripped sideways, sending dirt spiraling into the air.
SHRRAAAAK—!!
Three blurs tore through the horizon, leaving rippling shockwaves in the soil. Reptilian bodies—sleek, armored with obsidian-green scales—skidded to a halt, claws grinding against the earth. Their tails cracked like whips, carving trenches into the terrain.
Liora's breath hitched. "Dashen… and medium-sized."
Skyler's eyes narrowed. "Speedster types."
A cold ripple ran down Luna's spine.
Medium-sized means one thing—fast enough to kill before you blink.
Aria clenched her fists as the Dashen hissed, steam curling from their jaws. Their throats glowed a molten orange.
"Get ready!" she shouted.
But the Dashen didn't wait.
They vanished.
Not ran.
Not sprinted.
Vanished in a vacuum burst.
"LEFT—!!" Skyler screamed.
Too late.
BOOM—!
One Dashen slammed into Luna's ribs, sending her sliding across the ground. Another tore through Liora's vines before they could fully sprout. The third snapped at Aria's shoulder—only Lyra yanked her backward just in time, the world blurring in slow motion around them.
They're too fast—
We can't track them—
We can't match their speed—
Thoughts collided, overwhelming and frantic, each one drowned by the thunder of rushing footsteps.
Skyler thrust out her palms.
"WIND WALL—!!"
WHOOOOSH—!!
Air exploded outward, forming a spiraling shield. Dust scattered in every direction as the Dashen rebounded off the barrier, screeching in frustration.
For a moment, they had space to breathe.
Luna wiped dirt from her cheek, icy mist leaking from her fingertips.
If not for Skyler… one of us would've already died.
System text blinked in front of them.
⟢ SYSTEM WARNING: Party is under the effect of "Speed Suppression."
Enemy Agility exceeds party perception threshold.
Recommended: Synergized elemental combination.
Aria read it aloud, heart pounding. "We need to sync."
Liora hissed through her teeth. "We can't hit what we can't see."
Lyra looked down at her trembling hands.
No… that's not true. Time always shows its seams.
She inhaled.
"I'll slow them for six seconds. That's all I can do."
Skyler nodded. "Six seconds is enough."
Luna, panting, lifted her hands. Frost spiraled across her wrists.
"I'll freeze them solid."
Aria cracked her knuckles, vibrations humming around her.
"I'll amplify everyone's hits."
Liora pressed her palm to the earth, roots pulsing under her skin.
"And I'll hold them in place."
The Dashen circled again, faster, angrier, heat radiating off their bodies.
Lyra whispered—
"Chrono-Lock."
Time fractured.
Everything slowed—the grass bending in the wind, the dust swirling, the Dashen's claws slicing the air. But six seconds was a razor's edge—thin, fragile, merciless.
"GO—!!" Lyra shouted.
Luna was first.
Her ice shot forward like jagged bullets, glittering shards that crackled with sub-zero power.
"Skyler—!!"
"Already on it!"
Skyler gathered the air into a spiraling cyclone, her hair whipping wildly. The moment Luna's ice projectiles entered the vortex—
FWOOOOOSH—!!
The wind multiplied their speed tenfold.
Aria thrust her palms forward.
THRUM—!!
Resonant waves surged through the cyclone, turning every icy shard into a vibrating, sonic-charged missile.
Liora slammed her palms into the ground.
"ROOT CAGE!"
The earth erupted as thorned vines whipped upward, catching two Dashen mid-dash. Their movements jerked, slowed, tangled.
"NOW—HIT THEM NOW!" Liora cried.
Skyler redirected the wind, firing the ice-blades straight into the exposed reptiles.
SHHHHHK—!!
CRACK—!!
CRRRRSHH—!!
The first Dashen froze instantly, encased in a pillar of glittering ice.
The second howled as the roots constricted tighter, ice shards slicing into its throat and joints.
The third—
BROKE FREE.
Its tail whipped around, smashing the ground where Aria stood.
"ARIA—!!" Luna screamed.
Lyra surged forward, time dilating around her. She grabbed Aria's wrist, pulling her into a temporal slipstream just in time, the Dashen's tail carving a crater behind them.
But the Dashen wasn't done yet.
It inhaled sharply—its throat glowing dangerously bright.
"It's about to breathe fire!" Liora shouted.
Skyler acted instantly.
"HURRICANE SPHERE—!!"
Wind spiraled around them, forming a circular barrier. The Dashen unleashed a beam of burning plasma—
FWOOM—!!
—but the wind barrier bent it sideways, redirecting the blaze harmlessly into the sky.
"Luna—finish it!" Skyler yelled.
Luna didn't hesitate.
She summoned every shard of ice she had left—her breath frosting the air, her heartbeat slowing, her mana burning cold.
"FROSTFALL LANCE—!!"
A colossal spear of ice formed above her, spinning with Aria's resonant frequency. Lyra accelerated its trajectory. Skyler's wind compressed it.
They fired it together.
ZUUUUUUUM—!!
The lance pierced through the final Dashen.
A burst of blue, white, and shimmering light exploded.
Then silence.
Then—
⟢ SYSTEM LOG
Dashen (Medium) defeated: 3
EXP Gained: +77,600
Party Bonus: +15%
Chain Synergy Bonus: +40%
⟢ LEVEL UP!
Luna Frostborne — Lv. 33 → 50
Skyler Aeris — Lv. 35 → 50
Liora Greenhaven — Lv. 34 → 50
Aria Harmonix — Lv. 34 → 50
Lyra Timekeeper — Lv. 36 → 50
⟢ ELEMENTAL EVOLUTION PROGRESS:
High → Mega: 79%
Luna dropped to one knee, panting.
"We… did it?"
Skyler leaned on her, smiling weakly. "Barely."
Aria laughed shakily. "That was insane."
Liora sat down on the ground, hands trembling. "Six seconds… that was all we needed."
Lyra looked toward the horizon—the dark line of the forest just barely visible.
We're almost there… our Mega Elements… we're so close.
But just as hope swelled in her chest—
the earth rumbled.
Deep. Heavy. Wrong.
Aria's eyes widened. "Uh… guys?"
The treeline ahead shifted.
Something—
huge—
moved behind the trees.
Branches snapped.
Birds fled in swarms.
The forest itself seemed to recoil.
Skyler whispered, voice trembling:
"…that wasn't a Dashen."
And then—
a massive shadow stepped out from the edge of the Darkwood Forest.