Ten meters of ground separated the two hazy figures.
On one end, a bloody wisp of shadow and flesh, its gigantic jaws snapped shut tight, pure fear carved into what passed as its face. The stalker stood without moving, not a single shake, not a single tiny movement, worrying its death would draw near if it did, even if it wasn't already close enough.
On the other end, a young man, his sharp features seemed to cut the air around him, as an outstanding pressure exuded from his body. His skin was slightly pale, gills patterned his neck like that of a shark's. His cyan eyes pierced the air, staring at the stalker with an iron gaze. The man's smile was so disturbing that it made him look like the embodiment of the devil himself.
His disheveled long locks of hair hung down, covering parts of his face like common seaweed, apart from the tips which glowed bioluminescent hues. The man's powerful frame shouted confidence, despite the horrific creature standing in front of him.
One singular pastel pink dot pulsed inside the man's chest, in perfect tandem with his heart, as if supporting his every function and sequence with its own strength, or as if it was simply an extension of his own body, another organ.
Saryn could feel it, the sheer strength that coursed through his veins upon absorption of the lilac echo. A feeling of belonging came along with it, as if he was piecing himself back to being as whole as he was before.
Except he was missing many more pieces.
And the stalker was missing more now, its strength had plummeted considerably.
'That doesn't matter.' He focused, 'Let's get this over with.'
Saryn pounced forth toward the stalker, triggering it to flee in response.
His speed outmatched the stalker by a fair bit upon receiving the lilac echo, not only because of his boost in strength, but also because of the stalker's decrease in strength.
Saryn's figure could hardly be made out at such high speeds, apart from the blankets of stars and water which trailed behind his arms for several meters.
His fist struck what felt like sandpaper. A whimper resounded in response, as a gaping hole was left in the shadowy fabric of the stalker's half visible form, as streams of blood gushed out in torrents.
Saryn's other arm reached forward in a predatory manner, grabbing one leg of the stalker, before whipping its entire body and slamming it into the ground multiple times like some sort of savage.
With each toss and throw, cracks and pops of bones breaking resounded through the air, pleasing Saryn further each time his ears were rewarded.
'I was definitely not this strong before.' He thought as a smirk appeared on his face, revelling in his newfound power.
The stalker lay splayed across the ground, two of its limbs bent in unnatural angles, one missing, and another splotched with its own blood.
The stalker looked at Saryn with a look that would resemble an adorable puppy, but Saryn's heart felt no guilt.
His right arm had shaped itself into some sort of lance made of water, before he plunged it deep into the stalker's skull, a feeling of satisfaction arose in him, before he released the water lance, a bloody puddle of water forming where the remains of the weapon had splashed.
As opposed to his expectations, he felt no exhaustion, not even the slightest bit tired after his near death experience.
The power of that singular lilac echo had honestly surprised him.
But for a moment, he wondered whether the strength filling him was truly his… or something wearing him like a shell.
'What could I do if I had absorbed hundreds, maybe thousands more?' His thoughts trailed off as fantasies.
Saryn gathered himself, squatting down for a short moment, watching the bloody remains of the stalker with disinterest.
He stood back up, letting the gentle breeze flush out the smell of blood staining the echo clad air, before turning to face the central blade.
'Now to complete the task at hand.'
…
Saryn stood in front of the central blade, its runes already glowing dimly from the previous three echo fabrics he had projected into it, two of which were stained with the blood and cries of the stalker.
He held the handle of the colossal sword firmly, injecting the final echo fabric, and along with it, went most of the ambient echoes around him.
An electric shock tased his hands, which held the handle of the blade, they snapped back out of instinct, before a deep blue light shone from the runes engraved intricately on the sword's obsidian blade.
The rock trapping the blade in place cracked in response to the sword's approval, seemingly loosening up to allow its retrieval.
'Neat.' Saryn grinned at the sight of the success.
He replaced his hands onto the handle, before pulling it out with all his might.
He recoiled back, tripping over and falling into the lake surrounding him with a loud splash, blade in hand.
It turns out, pulling out the sword didn't require as much strength as he had expected, leading to an unfavourable outcome.
Saryn swam back to the boulder, resting his left hand onto the side of the rock before pulling himself up, drenched from head to toe.
'Not neat.' He chuckled inwardly, before examining the sword in his hand.
It was colossal, standing well above Saryn when placed upright against the stone, the entire thing seemed forged together, not assembled, as a combined massive piece of obsidian crystal, dark as an abyss, yet with a similar purple sheen to the throne of the first room.
The hilt was wrapped in a white fabric, leaving a tassel at the end that oozed with thick cyan echoes, pulling his hand toward the hilt, making sure the sword didn't slip out of his grip. A small counterweight was forged into the bottom of the handle, embellished with a purple jewel resembling amethyst, which budded off the bottom, almost as if growing out of the blade.
The guard of the blade was quite small, but extended shortly in each direction like the legs of an obsidian spider. The blade was long and straight, its sharpness was incredible, nicking Saryn with the slightest touch, with tiny jagged peaks of crystallized obsidian extending occasionally from the glowing deep blue runic engravings that ran across the blade.
The blade wasn't thick either, it was quite thin, he could fit about four fingers across the flat of the blade, making the blade so light it felt like an extension of Saryn's arm. The tip of the blade closed in sharply, seeming like a needle to anybody who unfortunately stood in front of it.
Saryn enjoyed the feel of the blade, swinging it around casually.
'Ow!'
He itched his neck, accidentally scratching his gills, which he had noticed weren't there before.
'What the hell… it must be an effect of the lilac echo, am I going to turn into an ugly fish?' He shivered at the image in his head of himself, except with the head of a fish.
He had also long since noticed the glowing tips of his hair, dismissing it as a temporary transformation, but he had now realised it's going to stay like that, which he didn't mind because:
'That's cool as hell.' Saryn grinned, before turning away toward the exit portal.
He heaved a deep sigh, knowing there were simply other rooms like this one waiting for his arrival, before picking up the obsidian orb with his free hand and diving deep into the lake.
The lake swallowed him whole, and for the first time, he wondered whether he was diving deeper into power… or into himself.