Tara has been moving for hours, dashing deeper into the forest, putting as much distance as possible between himself and Tejran's hideout. It's been about 6 hours since that massive energy blast—the one that destroyed the wolves. The storage counter: 17M units.

  Dash, wait 2 seconds, dash, wait 2 seconds. The rhythm is automatic, the movement constant. The forest is getting thicker, darker, more remote. Good. The further he goes, the safer he'll be.

  But then, something changes. A presence. A feeling. Something is approaching. Something powerful. Something familiar.

  Tara stops, his awareness extending outward, scanning the surroundings. And there, in the distance, he can sense it—Tejran. The one who's tried to use him as a demon's heart. The one who's cursed and vowed to find and destroy him.

  He is coming. And he is close.

  "Found you," a voice says, cold and triumphant. "Found you, you accursed geometric abomination."

  Tejran steps into view, emerging from the trees, his robes dark and flowing, his eyes gleaming with dark magic, his fingers twitching slightly. Behind him, a cloud of mana tracking bugs buzzes, their wings creating a low hum.

  "You've been busy," Tejran says, his voice rising, his fingers twitching. "Very busy! That explosion... Impressive. More impressive than when I first examined you."

  Tara can feel Tejran's magical energy probing him, analyzing him, testing him. It is different from before—more cautious, more respectful, but still hungry. Still dangerous.

  "Your power has grown," Tejran continues, his voice rising with excitement. "You've become stronger. More powerful. More useful."

  Tejran's expression turns cold, determined. "But you're still mine. You still belong to me. I paid 1,000 gold for you. You're my property. And I will have you back!"

  Tara feels a surge of defiance.

  Tejran raises his hands, dark energy swirling around them. "I'll bind you again. This time, I'll make sure you stay bound!"

  Tara feels the dark magic building, feels Tejran preparing to attack, to bind, to capture. He has to act. He has to fight back.

  He isn't going back. He isn't going to be bound again. He isn't going to be used as a demon's heart.

  Tejran's hands move, dark energy flowing, forming into binding spells, into capture magic. "Come quietly, cursed pyramid. Come back to me. You belong to me. You always have. You always will."

  Dark tendrils of magic shoot forward, reaching for Tara, trying to wrap around him, to bind him, to capture him.

  Tara reacts instantly. Dash. He vanishes from his position, appearing 10 meters away. The dark tendrils hit empty air, dissipating.

  "I see, that's how you move!" Tejran exclaims, his voice rising. "How interesting!"

  More dark magic forms, this time spreading out, creating a net, trying to catch Tara no matter where he moves. But Tara is already dashing again. Dash, wait 2 seconds, dash. Moving, evading, staying ahead of the magic.

  But Tejran is adapting. His dark magic is getting faster, more precise, more dangerous. The attacks are coming closer, the nets are getting tighter. Tara is pushing Dash to its limits, using it constantly, desperately trying to stay ahead.

  And then, something happens. As Tara pushes Dash harder, using it more frequently, more desperately, he feels something shift. The ability itself is changing, evolving, improving. The distance increases, the movement becomes smoother, more efficient.

  **DASH UPGRADED:**

  - **Level 1 → Level 2**

  - **Distance:** 10 meters → 15 meters

  - **Cost:** 24,000 units per dash (unchanged)

  - **Cooldown:** 2 seconds (unchanged)

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  15 meters instead of 10. It isn't much, but in a fight like this, every meter matters.

  He dashes again, aiming for a gap between trees, but miscalculates the new distance. *Thunk.* He collides with a tree trunk, the impact jarring. "Right, 15 meters now, not 10," Tara thinks, recovering quickly. "I need to adjust my aim."

  "You can't escape!" Tejran shouts, his voice rising. "I will catch you! I will bind you! You cannot run forever!"

  Tara also knows he can't just run. Tejran will keep pursuing, keep attacking. He needs to fight back. He needs to use Energy Blast.

  But how much? Too little, and it won't hurt Tejran. Too much, and he'll waste energy. He has 17M stored. He can afford a significant blast.

  Tara stops, turning to face Tejran. Tejran's hands are moving again, more dark magic forming, more binding spells preparing.

  "Finally!" Tejran exclaims. "You've stopped running! Ready to surrender?"

  Tara focuses, channeling energy into Energy Blast.

  2M-energy-blast. That should be enough.

  The energy builds up, concentrates, ready to be released. Tejran's dark magic is almost upon him, tendrils reaching, spells binding.

  Tara releases the blast.

  A wave of pure energy erupts from him, expanding outward, colliding with Tejran's dark magic. The two forces meet, clash, struggle. Dark magic against pure energy. Binding spells against destructive force.

  The explosion is smaller than before, more controlled, but still powerful. The dark magic is pushed back, disrupted, scattered. Tejran is taken aback, his spells broken.

  "You dare attack me!" Tejran exclaims, his voice shocked.

  Tara doesn't wait. He dashes again, moving closer, preparing another blast. Tejran is recovering, his hands moving again, more dark magic forming.

  But Tara is faster. Another 4M-energy-blast, aimed directly at Tejran this time.

  Tejran raises a barrier, dark energy swirling, forming a shield. The blast hits it, and the shield holds but Tejran is pushed back, his form wavering.

  "You're stronger than I thought!" Tejran shouts.

  Tejran's hands move faster, more dark magic flowing, more powerful spells forming. This isn't just binding magic anymore. This is attack magic. Destructive magic.

  Dark bolts shoot forward, aimed at Tara. Tara dashes, evading, but the bolts follow, homing in on his energy signature. They are fast, faster than he's expected. And they are getting closer.

  Tara keeps moving, dashing, evading, but the bolts are relentless. One grazes him, dark energy searing through his form, disrupting his energy flow. The storage counter drops by 500K units. The attack has cost him energy, has damaged him. He realises that he doesn't have a health pool but his energy itself is like a health pool. He can't take these attacks head on—they'll cost him too much.

  "There is more to come!" Tejran exclaims, his voice triumphant.

  More dark magic forms, this time creating a cage, walls of dark energy closing in around Tara. Tara dashes, trying to escape, but the cage is everywhere, surrounding him, trapping him.

  "Got you!" Tejran shouts. "Got you! Now you're mine. Mine indeed!"

  Tara fires a 4M-energy-blast, trying to break through the cage. The blast hits the dark energy walls, and they crack—deep cracks spreading across the surface. But they don't break completely. Tejran's magic is strong, stronger than Tara has expected.

  Tejran's hands move faster, more dark magic flowing, reinforcing the cage, making it stronger. "You're trapped! You can't escape! I will bind you! I will capture you! You are mine!"

  The dark energy cage closes in tighter, the walls getting closer, the space getting smaller. Tara is running out of room, running out of time, running out of options.

  The storage counter: 6.5M units. Not much left.