The air in the forest was thick with the scent of pine, sunlight filtering in dappled patterns through the dense canopy. Seth crept silently out from behind the rough trunk of a massive oak, Nightmare invisible by his side. Colossus remained safely inside the teardrop necklace; his stony bulk wasn’t exactly suited for stealthy approaches.

  Ahead, in a small clearing, a Thorn-Legged Mantis was cleaning off the blood from its last kill. The beast was an unsettling sight—roughly the size of a grown man, its slender, emerald-green body was a collection of sharp angles and chitinous plates. Its triangular head swiveled constantly on a surprisingly flexible neck, multifaceted eyes glinting with predatory awareness. Two powerful forelimbs, serrated like wicked saws, were held ready, while its other four legs, long and spiny, dug into the ground each time it moved. A faint, almost imperceptible shimmer of aether clung to it, and Nightmare’s Danger Sense tingled noticeably.

  It’s at least Mid-Iron, Seth guessed.

  'Alright,' he said through Link to the others. 'If it’s Mid-Iron, I’ll let you two take it alone. If it’s High-Iron, I’ll jump in.'

  'Perfect. Let’s go, Small Bite!' Nightmare’s eager thought was immediate, and the direwolf blurred forward, a ripple in the undergrowth.

  Simultaneously, Colossus sprang from Seth’s necklace, materializing with a thud in the center of the small clearing. The sudden appearance of the massive, three-tailed scorpion startled the Thorn-Legged Mantis, its head snapping toward the new threat, forelimbs rising defensively. Seth, still concealed, instantly cast Intermediate Identify.

  Mid-Iron. Good. This will be a proper test for the two of them, and I'll be able to stay out and observe.

  Colossus didn’t hesitate; brown, earthy aether pulsed outward, forming the familiar protective aura of Desert Aegis around his stony carapace. Immediately after that, rough, quartz-veined stone flowed over his shell as he activated Quartz Armor. The mantis, recovering from its surprise, lunged.

  Its attack was a blur of motion, one serrated forelimb lashing out like a scythe. The blow landed on Colossus’s newly formed armor with a sharp crack. The Quartz Armor held, though a visible fissure appeared as Colossus skidded back a step. The scorpion’s defenses were formidable, but the mantis’s speed and specialized weapons had more power than Seth had expected.

  Before the mantis could strike again, Nightmare launched his own attack. He erupted out from the Illusionary Emptiness and sank his fangs into one of the mantis’s thin hind legs. Shadow Bite’s corrosive darkness immediately began to eat at the green chitin.

  The mantis let out a high-pitched, grating sound and pivoted, bringing its deadly forelimbs up to strike the direwolf. But before it could fully turn, Colossus slammed his claws together. A low, vibrational thrum pulsed through the air: Chitinous Taunt. The mantis froze, its attention snapping back to the scorpion, its multifaceted eyes suddenly locked onto Colossus, completely ignoring the direwolf gnawing on its leg.

  The synergy was evident. With the mantis forced to focus on the large scorpion, Nightmare had free rein. He danced around the enraged insect, his fangs tearing at its joints and less-armored sections while the dark smoke billowing from his maw sizzled on the mantis’s green carapace. Colossus, for his part, absorbed the creature's furious assault. Quartz Armor was taking a beating, chips and cracks appearing with every razor-sharp strike, but the scorpion stood his ground, his own claws snapping out and trying to pin the agile insect. Occasionally, a dark, shadowy wolf would pounce and turn into thorny tendrils, further hindering the mantis’s movements, which gave Colossus a brief respite and Nightmare more time to dodge once Chitinous Taunt’s duration was over.

  Seth watched, quite impressed. They were both working extremely well together, covering each other’s weaknesses. Colossus was the unyielding shield, Nightmare the piercing sword. Seth estimated in less than a minute they'd have the mantis down.

  Suddenly, Seth’s Feral Instinct core screamed, and Nightmare’s Danger Sense erupted through Link as well.

  'Small Bite look out!' the direwolf shouted at the same time, his voice filled with urgency.

  But before Seth could even react or pinpoint the direction of the threat, three shimmering blades of emerald-green wind almost invisible against the forest backdrop sliced through the air from their right. They struck Colossus with devastating force and cut through his remaining Quartz Armor in three distinct, bloody gashes along his side.

  The massive scorpion shrieked and stumbled to the side, Desert Aegis flickering violently around his body.

  "COLOSSUS!" Seth roared and burst from behind his tree, sprinting toward his wounded companion. Out of the corner of his vision, he caught a fleeting glimpse of something—a majestic flicker deep within the trees.

  A large bird perched a dozen feet high on a thick branch overlooking the clearing—its feathers shimmered in shades of forest green and golden yellow, catching the light with an iridescent sheen while its eyes, like polished amber, glinted through the leaves.

  Seth threw himself between Colossus and the threat, Iron Fists manifesting instantly around his combat gauntlets, followed by the azure shimmer of his Protecting Belt. 'Colossus, stay down!' he mentally yelled as he cast Intermediate Identify on the newcomer.

  High-Iron. This is bad.

  The Gale Hawk screeched a piercing cry and launched another flurry of razor-sharp wind blades. These ones slammed into Seth’s rock-clad forearms, each impact sending shudders up to his shoulders and causing the protective aether of his belt flickering dangerously. As if on cue, the last blade hit, the Thorn-Legged Mantis recovered its senses and sprang toward Colossus, its scythe-like forelimbs aimed for the scorpion’s exposed neck.

  "Shit!" Seth spat as he dashed forward, intercepting the attack, his stone-clad arm taking the blow.

  Nightmare immediately latched onto the insect’s leg yet again, trying to drag its attention away from Colossus. But then another volley of wind blades whistled in from the right, heading straight for the scorpion.

  Seth’s core exploded and he dove desperately toward his companion, shoving the massive body away. The scorpion grunted in surprise—the wind blades had missed his large body by inches, carving deep, steaming trenches in the soft earth where he’d just been.

  Seth sprang to his feet and a thought surged in his mind. Should I recall him in the teardrop?

  They couldn’t win this, especially with a High-Iron ranged caster attacking them relentlessly from above while they dealt with the mantis.

  Then, a realization struck him: the bird wouldn’t be able to target them if it couldn’t see them.

  He dashed again, blocking yet another flurry of wind blades aimed at Colossus with his arms crossed. The protective aether of Seth’s Protecting Belt flared brightly, then vanished, the defensive artifact depleted.

  A searing pain shot through his arms at the same moment, but Seth pushed it aside. Gritting his teeth, he raised his fist and channeled aether into the grooves of Fog Shroud, letting his ignited core guide him.

  He reached deep, drawing on the insight he'd gained during his earlier attempts and pushed the black aether into the grooves. Feral Instinct immediately shaped the flow of energy, turning that foreign knowledge into something wholly his. The Darkness aether rushed through the spell’s structure—not with force, but with purpose. Cold, dense, and heavy with intent, it wove itself into the grooves, reshaping the network in less than a heartbeat.

  Then the spell surged to life.

  A dark, utterly opaque veil erupted from Seth’s body, swallowing every ray of sunlight and plunging the small clearing into an unnatural, chilling nightfall. This wasn’t the thin, shadowy mist from before: it was a thick cloud of impenetrable black smoke.

  'Colossus, move!' Seth mentally commanded.

  Shrouded in the thick veil of darkness, they moved together, slipping silently back toward the Thorn-Legged Mantis. The large insect was still locked in combat with Nightmare, who now bore fresh gashes along his flanks despite Colossus’ Desert Aegis.

  High above, the Gale Hawk launched another volley of wind blades into the black cloud—this time the spell sliced nothing but air before hitting the ground. I was right, it can't aim in the darkness.

  The moment Seth reached the mantis, he cast Phantom Punch. The teal, skeletal fist of aether erupted from his gauntlet as it rammed into the already-wounded insect with devastating force. Chitin shattered, green blood sprayed, and the mantis collapsed, twitching once before falling still.

  One down.

  Seth immediately dashed over to where the hawk was perched, tracking its shadow flitting amongst the branches. As soon as he was directly beneath it, he smirked and activated Shadow Step. Got you.

  In a flash, he appeared on the large branch beside the startled bird, his stone-clad fist already swinging. The punch connected with the hawk’s feathered side, sending it crashing heavily to the forest floor with a pained squawk.

  Nightmare’s follow-up was instant; the direwolf pounced on the bird and his jaws locked around one of its wings. With a vicious shake of his head, he flailed the Gale-Hawk around like a ragdoll.

  Seth leapt from the branch, landing in a crouch, and without breaking stride he sprinted forward. Yet before he could reach them, the Gale Hawk, with a desperate beat of its uninjured wing, tore itself free from Nightmare’s maw, leaving behind a shower of emerald-and-gold feathers.

  Just as it prepared to launch itself into the air, Colossus, who had lumbered closer, slammed his massive claws onto the ground and let out that deep, vibrational thrum of Chitinous Taunt again.

  The Gale Hawk, mid-takeoff, froze. Its amber eyes snapped toward the large scorpion, the natural instinct to flee overridden by the spell’s compulsion. Its ornate beak began to glow, aether gathering for a powerful blast.

  'Aether!' Colossus cried out.

  Seth’s eyes widened. Without hesitation, he funneled a surge of aether from his Fine Storing Ring into the scorpion through Link. The next instant, the quartz crystals still embedded in Colossus’s shell thickened and grew, pulsing with renewed power—a blink before the Gale Hawk unleashed its strike.

  A concentrated blast of wind slammed into the large scorpion and the reinforced armor covering his body shattered. Colossus shrieked and skidded backward, its eight legs digging into the dirt.

  Seizing the opening, Seth launched forward in a blur and leapt high into the air, his fist drawn back. As he came down like a falling star, he drove his combat gauntlet into the Gale Hawk’s back and smashed it hard into the ground a second time, feathers scattering like leaves in a storm.

  Nightmare was there a heartbeat later, fangs bared and a dark, corrosive smoke spewing from his maw. The direwolf tore into the bird with savagery, holding it down and buying Seth the few precious seconds he needed.

  Gritting his teeth, Seth channeled the last of his aether into Phantom Punch, the grooves flaring to life while the spell filled up. Teal energy then appeared around his gauntlet and coalesced into the spectral skeletal arm that hovered around his own.

  Then, he buried his fist into the Gale Hawk’s head.

  Both his fist and the spectral knuckles collided with the bird with crushing force—in a flash of teal light, the bird’s beak shattered and its skull exploded in a spray of blood and brain matter.

  The moment the Gale Hawk’s body thudded onto the forest floor, Seth turned his attention to Colossus and stumbled toward him, fighting the wave of aether-deprived dizziness.

  He then knelt beside the injured scorpion, examining the three deep, ugly gashes along his side. Dark blood oozed slowly from the wounds. The bleeding was sluggish rather than profuse, but it was too serious to ignore.

  Seth quickly yanked a Healing Potion out from his Endless Pouch and poured its red contents directly between Colossus’s waiting mandibles.

  The scorpion gulped it down with a soft clicking sound. Through their bond, Seth felt a portion of his partner’s pain slowly recede.

  Exhausted, Seth let himself fall onto the soft loam beside Colossus. He then reached out a hand, rubbing the scorpion’s ruff carapace just behind his head. 'You did great, Colossus,' he said while behind him Nightmare tore open the Gale Hawk’s corpse to retrieve its beaststone.

  'Happy… to protect,' Colossus answered, his thoughts filled with simple satisfaction before a frustration flickered its way through. 'But I wanted to protect more. Those… wind-blades… they hurt you.'

  'It’s fine,' Seth said, trying to reassure the scorpion. 'You did everything you could.'

  Nightmare trotted over to them, holding a vibrant green crystal roughly the size of a small apple in his maw. The direwolf then dropped it gently onto the ground in front of Colossus. 'You deserve it, Small Bite.'

  Colossus’s joy immediately beamed through their bond, and he eagerly crushed the emerald stone between his mandibles. The scorpion’s large, stony body began to shake, a low hum resonating from within his carapace as he absorbed the crystal’s aether.

  Seth turned to Nightmare and raised an eyebrow. "The Gale Hawk’s stone? I thought you would have taken it yourself since it had such high Agility and Arcane Power."

  The direwolf met Seth's gaze, and a hint of annoyance flashed through his crimson eyes. 'Honestly? I didn't think he’d actually accept it. It barely had any Toughness.'

  A tired smile spread on Seth’s face. "Well, now you know for next time."

  Seth glanced at the Gale Hawk body. If the beast had been a bit higher in the tree, he would haven’t been able to reach him with Shadow Step. Since he had broken through the Iron he had stopped using his bow, and this was a good example why he should buy one.

  As the scorpion finished digesting the stone, Seth looked down at his hand to cast Intermediate Identify on himself.

  He paused and realized what had changed. His eyes immediately moved to the new spell that replaced Fog Shroud.

  Crude, as expected, Seth thought. But the effects… it’s already way stronger than Fog Shroud despite being lower in quality. And it turned into an Epic spell.

  A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he turned to Nightmare. "I’m going to need your help and that deep Darkness knowledge of yours to refine this."

  The direwolf raised his muzzle, eyes glinting. 'Trying to flatter my ego? Nice try. Keep dreaming. I’m not helping you. Well, at least not until you find me a Darkness Essence like the one Small Bite has in his teardrop.'

  "Oh, come on!"

  Seth let out a loud sigh, then looked at Colossus. Odds were the scorpion would break into the Iron Tier and earn a new Revelation once his Well finished refilling. The real question was: what kind of spell would he get?

  (ONLY SETH has been updated):

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  Thank you so much for reading!

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