Cheese lay motionless on the ground, its usual bright and playful form now a quivering, deep blue—a reflection of pure mourning. The little slime, so often a source of light-hearted moments, seemed utterly crushed by grief. Its gelatinous body trembled uncontrollably, as if the weight of Lorian’s absence was too much to bear.

  But then, the trembling stopped.

  A profound stillness fell over Cheese, one that radiated not weakness but something primal, something unrecognizable in the normally docile creature. Slowly, its deep blue began to darken, shifting to a shade of crimson so intense it seemed to burn. The change spread like a wildfire, its surface roiling as if boiling from within. The once-soft and sorrowful slime now pulsed with rage, a fiery glow flickering deep in its core.

  The air around Cheese seemed to grow heavier, charged with an unnatural energy. Its small form began to swell, its edges no longer soft but sharp, rippling with waves of unrestrained fury. It doubled, then tripled in size, its transformation accelerating with every moment.

  The champions, battered and weary, froze where they stood. Their collective grief was momentarily overtaken by awe—and fear.

  “What is…?” Magnus started, his words trailing off as he instinctively stepped back.

  Cheese kept growing, its once-innocuous form now towering. Crimson energy surged through its body, coursing along newly formed ridges and spikes. Its edges crackled with barely contained power, and the faint hum of its movements had grown into a deep, resonant vibration.

  Caelus, still on his knees, gripped by his own seething rage, found himself looking toward the towering figure of his companion. His fingers slackened slightly around the hilt of his sword as his gaze climbed higher and higher.

  Cheese, no longer the harmless slime they had always known, now stood as a monolithic figure of wrath. A low, guttural sound began to emanate from its core, starting as a faint vibration and growing into a deafening roar. It was a sound that reverberated through the air, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

  For a moment, Caelus’s fury faltered. His sword lowered as he stared, caught between awe and terror. This was no longer the Cheese he had carried, no longer the playful companion he had known. This was something else entirely—something born of grief and vengeance.

  Cheese turned its massive, glowing eyes toward the monstrous creature that had taken Lorian. Its body tensed, its new form radiating a raw, unrelenting power. The crimson glow around it flared, and without hesitation, it lunged, the ground cracking beneath the force of its movement.

  Cheese had grown. What had once been a harmless, palm-sized companion now towered above them, its amorphous body writhing with a crimson energy that radiated unbridled rage. It was massive, dwarfing even the monstrous creature that had taken Lorian.

  With a roar that defied all logic, a guttural bellow that seemed to erupt from the depths of its core, Cheese lunged forward. The ground cracked beneath the sheer force of its movement, shockwaves rippling through the clearing as it launched itself at the monstrous creature. Its massive fist, a dense mass of pulsating, crimson-tinged slime, slammed into the creature with cataclysmic power. The earth shuddered under the impact, trees groaning and swaying as the force rippled outward.

  The creature staggered backward, its grotesque form momentarily destabilized. A screech of anger tore from its gaping maw as it clawed at the air to regain balance. Dust and debris swirled around the champions, forcing them to shield their faces from the gale-like force generated by the blow.

  “Is that… really Cheese?” Seraph murmured, her voice tinged with equal parts awe and disbelief as she peeked over her arms.

  The creature recovered quickly, its twisted frame contorting as it refocused its fury. Dark tendrils writhed violently, coiling like snakes before lashing out at Cheese with blinding speed. They struck with a sickening force, tearing through the slime’s massive form. Each strike carved deep, gory gashes into its body, chunks of its gelatinous mass flying in all directions.

  But Cheese didn’t falter.

  Its crimson glow flared brighter with every wound, the searing light within its core pulsating in defiance. The gashes that should have been fatal knitted themselves together almost instantaneously, the viscous material regenerating before the tendrils could strike again.

  It wasn’t just enduring—it was thriving.

  With an unrelenting ferocity, Cheese lunged again, its form shifting mid-motion. Spikes erupted from its surface, jagged and razor-sharp, turning its body into a weapon of pure destruction. It slammed into the creature’s torso, the acidic quality of its slime hissing and sizzling as it began to corrode the tendrils and flesh it clung to. The smell of burning rot filled the air, a putrid scent that made Magnus gag and Pip hide its face against his shoulder.

  The creature writhed, its screeches now tinged with panic as it realized it was losing ground. Its tendrils lashed out in a frenzy, but Cheese absorbed the blows without hesitation, its rage fueling every movement.

  Caelus watched as Cheese’s form rippled with relentless energy, its strikes deliberate and devastating. Cheese let out another unearthly roar, launching itself once more at the creature, its spikes digging deep into its writhing mass. Acidic slime hissed louder, steam rising as the creature’s form began to dissolve under the assault. The pulsating crimson glow within Cheese seemed to burn brighter, as though its very essence was focused on one singular, unyielding purpose: .

  "Cheese…" Caelus whispered, momentarily stunned. He shook himself from his stupor as Seraph’s voice rang out.

  Darius and Riven moved as one, a deadly harmony of strength and finesse, their contrasting styles blending seamlessly in the chaos of the battle. Darius, the towering dragonborn, his muscular frame gleaming under the firelight, surged forward with the fury of a storm. His halberd flared to life with searing flames, the tip glowing a molten orange as he swung it in a wide arc, cleaving toward the creature’s legs with all the force of a charging beast. The blade cut through the twisted, shadow-infused flesh with a sickening crack, leaving glowing embers in its wake. The flames licked at the creature's rotting form, but it only seemed to fuel the thing’s rage, as the air crackled with the heat of its corruption.

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  Meanwhile, Riven—small but lethal—moved like a shadow among the chaos, a blur of speed and calculated precision. Her movements were almost impossible to track, a fluid dance of death as she darted beneath Darius’s wide swing, her daggers flashing in the dim light. Each strike was a whisper of violence, her blades flashing with a faint, venomous sheen as she slashed at the creature’s limbs. Her target was not just its flesh, but its very foundation—the sinews and tendons that held it together. With each precise cut, she aimed to weaken its monstrous frame, to slow its violent thrashing and rob it of its ability to strike back.

  The creature’s response was immediate, its black tendrils whipping out with terrifying speed, aiming to lash at the attackers. It howled in fury, a guttural, rumbling sound that shook the air. Black ichor sprayed from its wounds, sizzling on contact with the ground, creating patches of corroded earth where it landed. The scent of decay mixed with the acrid tang of burning flesh, filling the air with a stench that threatened to choke those who breathed it in.

  Darius gritted his teeth and planted his feet, his halberd raised to block the incoming assault. The creature’s tendrils were faster than he anticipated, but he was no stranger to combat. With a roar, he swung his weapon upward, deflecting one of the monstrous limbs just inches from his face. His halberd crackled with power, a trail of flame arcing in the air as he hacked at the creature’s thick hide again, sending another wave of molten sparks flying.

  Riven, agile and relentless, slipped past the chaos, her twin daggers leaving a deadly trail of glimmering poison in their wake. She knew this fight was not just about brute strength, but precision—attacking where the creature’s form was weakest, targeting the joints and vulnerable tendons. With a swift spin, she leapt, landing a deep strike at the back of one of the creature’s legs. It howled in pain as the venomous blades sank into its shadowy flesh, and the creature staggered, its balance faltering.

  In that moment of vulnerability, Darius surged forward once more, his powerful halberd swinging down with relentless fury. The creature reeled, its body lurching back as the weapon cleaved into its leg with a brutal, bone-shattering force.

  But the battle was far from over. The creature roared in anger, its form lurching and shuddering as it drew energy from the very earth around it. The ground trembled beneath them, and the air grew thick with the stench of death as it unleashed another devastating barrage of shadowy tendrils. Yet despite its power, the combined might of Darius’s flames and Riven’s swift precision had left their mark.

  “Keep it off balance!” Darius growled, his voice a deep rumble that carried over the din. He followed his words with another powerful swing, the flames on his halberd roaring to life. The force of the blow sent one of the creature’s massive feet sliding back, carving a deep groove in the dirt.

  Riven seized the opening, her movements as fluid as shadow. She somersaulted behind the creature, her daggers slicing in rapid succession across the back of its ankle. Each cut was precise, her blades aiming for the tendons she knew would cripple even this monstrous foe.

  The creature staggered, its hulking form swaying as its balance faltered. It let out a piercing screech, dark energy radiating outward in a desperate attempt to repel its attackers. Darius planted his halberd in the ground, using it as an anchor against the force, while Riven nimbly flipped away, landing with catlike grace.

  "Caelus!" Seraph cried, her hands glowing as a massive glyph materialized in the air above her. The radiant symbol pulsed with aetherial energy, casting a blinding light across the clearing. “Now’s your chance—finish it!”

  Caelus tightened his grip on his sword, his knuckles white. He could feel the weight of everything—Lorian and Elira’s loss, his own failure, the burden of their mission—crushing down on him. But he forced it aside. This was their moment. He wouldn’t let it slip away.

  With a cry that came from the deepest part of his soul, Caelus charged forward. His sword ignited with brilliant aetherial light, its edge shimmering as if it could cut through the fabric of reality itself. The creature turned toward him, sensing its end, and lashed out desperately with its tendrils.

  But Caelus was faster. He ducked beneath the flailing appendages, leaping into the air. For a brief moment, time seemed to freeze as he brought his blade down in a perfect arc. The weapon pierced the creature’s glowing core, sinking deep with a satisfying crunch.

  “” Seraph shouted, releasing the glyph’s energy.

  The familiar dark energy of Dark Edge surged through Caelus’s blade, a torrent of shadowy power laced with unrelenting fury. The blade’s ominous glow intensified, spilling into the monster’s grotesque form like a flood of malevolent fire. The impact sent a shockwave of force rippling outward, and the creature let out a bone-chilling, ear-piercing shriek that seemed to rend the very air.

  The once impenetrable darkness clinging to its form began to unravel, tendrils of shadow peeling away like wisps of smoke caught in a gale. Each strand dissipated into the ether, exposing patches of the creature’s raw, pulsating flesh beneath. Its movements turned frenzied, jerking and convulsing as it tried to resist the devastating power coursing through its being.

  The core at its center—a glowing, pulsating orb of unholy energy—began to fracture. Jagged cracks spiderwebbed across its surface, each pulsation growing more erratic, each flare of its dimming light more desperate. It flared weakly in protest, its once-daunting power flickering like a candle in the wind.

  Caelus gritted his teeth, pouring every ounce of his strength and will into the strike. The dark energy cascading from his blade seemed to shift, no longer purely destructive but a chaotic fusion of vengeance and purification. The creature let out a final, shuddering howl as its core gave a violent pulse, then shattered with a deafening .

  And then it imploded.

  The explosion of light and shadow tore through the clearing, its sheer force sending everyone sprawling to the ground. A deafening roar accompanied the blast, followed by a wave of searing heat and chilling darkness that collided violently before dissipating into nothingness. The creature’s towering form dissolved, unraveling into countless wisps of shadow that evaporated into the night air like smoke snuffed out by the wind.

  The oppressive weight that had gripped the Withered Woods lifted almost immediately. The air, once thick with malice and corruption, felt strangely light, as though the forest itself had exhaled after centuries of holding its breath. An eerie silence descended, broken only by the faint rustling of the gnarled trees, now devoid of the unnatural malevolence that had radiated from them.

  As the light faded and their vision cleared, the champions began to take stock of their surroundings. Where the creature had stood, there was nothing left—not a trace of its monstrous presence remained, only the faintly scorched earth and the lingering scent of burned ozone. Slowly, they got to their feet—or tried to.

  Caelus pushed himself up first, his sword clattering to the ground beside him as he knelt there, trembling, his chest heaving with exhaustion. Around him, the others began to stir. Magnus used his staff to haul himself upright, his face grim and weary. Seraph sat on the ground, cradling her head as her circlet's faint glow flickered weakly. Darius leaned on his halberd, his scales dulled and cracked from the battle.

  “It’s over,” Caelus whispered, his voice hollow and almost unrecognizable. The words hung in the air, heavy and lifeless, as his sword slipped from his trembling hand. The blade clanged dully against the ground, the sound muted by the stillness that followed.