Sai’s world shattered around him as he felt the demon lord’s savage blow pierce Brinn and Ramm. Time slowed, stretching each agonizing moment. Reality tore at the edges of his vision as he summoned every ounce of his fading strength, forcing the threads of time backward. His teeth clenched, veins bulging painfully, darkness creeping into the corners of his sight as he pulled reality three precious seconds into the past.

  With a gasp, he found himself on his knees, hands trembling, daggers clutched tightly, shadows swirling protectively. Before him stood Brinn and Ramm, confused yet unscathed.

  “Move—now!” Sai’s voice cracked with urgency. “Brinn, charge your flames—quickly!”

  Brinn hesitated only an instant before nodding sharply, grabbing Ramm by the shoulder and retreating behind a fallen column of marble and twisted metal. His hands ignited with fierce fire, flames twisting like molten rivers around his wrists, gaining intensity as he channeled his fury.

  The demon lord, massive and horrifying, let out a bone-chilling roar that echoed through the shattered city streets. Its hulking, bestial form loomed over them—a nightmarish amalgam of demonic flesh, scales black as obsidian, eyes burning like crimson suns. Countless mouths lined its enormous, muscular limbs, drooling corrosive darkness onto the cracked pavement.

  Jarek stood defiant amidst the chaos, his blaster raised steadily despite the futility of his bullets. He fired relentlessly, each shot ricocheting uselessly off the demon’s hide, but drawing its attention just long enough.

  “Over here, you ugly bastard!” Jarek shouted, rolling away as a clawed limb pulverized the ground where he'd stood moments before.

  Sai darted forward again, shadow-stepping around the demon’s flanks, striking furiously with his void-glass daggers. Every precise slash tore jagged, ethereal wounds into the demon lord’s hide. Dark ichor seeped from the cuts, hissing as it touched the air.

  The beast howled, fury and pain blending into a terrible crescendo. It swung its massive limbs in blind rage, demolishing buildings, reducing ancient masonry to dust.

  From behind the rubble, Brinn’s voice strained through clenched teeth, fire wreathing his entire frame. “Almost there—hold it back!”

  Sai and Jarek locked eyes for an instant, understanding passing silently between them. They moved in tandem, Sai dancing in shadowed arcs, slicing at the demon lord’s vulnerable points, while Jarek peppered those wounds relentlessly with blaster fire, desperate to widen any vulnerability.

  The demon lord thrashed violently, slamming Sai with a glancing blow that sent him sprawling painfully across the ruined street. Darkness clawed at the edges of his consciousness as he struggled upright, coughing blood, every movement agony. Yet he forced himself back into the fight.

  “Now!” Brinn roared suddenly, surging upward. His form became a blazing inferno as he hurled a concentrated torrent of flame toward the demon lord. White-hot fire engulfed the monstrous beast, searing flesh and boiling away layers of shadowed skin. Its cries filled the night, shaking buildings and cracking pavement.

  Yet, rather than succumbing, the demon lord's rage magnified. Its eyes flared brighter, furious crimson. With a terrifying speed, it lunged straight toward Brinn and Ramm’s hiding place, driven by primal vengeance.

  “Brinn, move!” Sai screamed desperately, shadows propelling him forward in a desperate attempt to intercept. But his strength was failing, too slow to reach them in time.

  The demon lord’s limb, mouths gaping hungrily, pierced through the protective flames, plunging directly into Brinn and Ramm’s chests. Blood sprayed violently. Both men collapsed, life ebbing from their eyes as Sai stumbled helplessly, horror etching deeply across his face.

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  “No!” Jarek's voice broke, weapon clattering to the ground, his gaze fixed on his fallen friends.

  Sai dropped to his knees, breathing ragged. He had nothing left. No energy to turn back the clock again. Shadows flickered weakly around him, powerless.

  Suddenly, the air shifted. Arden stepped from the shadows, ancient runes glowing fiercely along his exposed arms. With eyes closed in solemn concentration, he thrust his palms forward, and golden light erupted outward, creating a shimmering barrier between the demon lord and its dying victims.

  The demon lord screeched, battering furiously against the luminous shield. Arden staggered visibly, teeth gritted in profound exertion.

  Sai, dazed, glanced upward. Arden’s runes pulsed faintly, as if fading with each passing heartbeat.

  “Strike now!” Arden gasped painfully. “This barrier won't hold long!”

  With a final desperate burst of strength, Sai launched himself forward. His void-glass daggers flashed in arcs of darkness, burying deep into the demon lord’s skull. Shadows spilled forth like ink, drowning out the creature’s final, ear-shattering howl. Its form convulsed violently, dissipating into smoke and echoes until nothing remained but silence.

  Sai collapsed, panting, daggers falling limply from his trembling hands. Arden’s barrier vanished, leaving the battlefield eerily quiet.

  Jarek raced forward, kneeling beside Brinn and Ramm, fear etched deeply into his features.

  Arden limped painfully, collapsing beside them. With trembling fingers, he pressed his glowing palms to their wounds, muttering incantations through bloodied lips. Slowly, their wounds closed, color returning faintly to their skin. Brinn coughed weakly, eyes flickering open. Ramm gasped sharply, sitting up in disoriented panic.

  “I thought you were gone,” Jarek whispered, voice thick with relief.

  “Can't kill me that easily,” Ramm croaked weakly, managing a shaky grin.

  Brinn sat slowly, rubbing his healed chest in disbelief. “What happened?”

  Arden rose shakily, gazing solemnly at the scarred horizon. “That demon lord you just defeated—his name was Urgohl, the Maw Eternal.”

  Sai lifted his head wearily. “How do you know this?”

  Arden hesitated, pain flickering across his aged face. “Long ago, before Relic became as it is now, an ancient race sealed away six of these terrifying beings—demon lords whose very existence threatened reality. I was but an apprentice then, studying under the masters who created those seals. My powers were bound to theirs, linked forever to the barriers they erected.”

  He sighed heavily, sorrow etched deeply in his features. “When the seals shattered, so too did the majority of my powers. Only fragments remained, embedded within these marks.” He gestured toward the glowing runes etched into his flesh, now dimming rapidly. “I’ve used what little remained to save your lives. I can never do so again.”

  Ramm looked up in sudden realization. “Wait, those giant guardians we found underground—”

  Arden nodded grimly. “They were my masters. Their bodies became the seals themselves. Statues eternally guarding their prisoners. You must've seen them just before everything unraveled.”

  Jarek stared at Arden, realization and dread mixing in his voice. “If those statues broke…”

  “The seals failed,” Arden finished softly. “All six are loose now. Urgohl was weakest from long imprisonment. But the others—Xazorr, Qhal’Azirra, Bael-Karuun, Nyzath-Thuun, Elzathra—they'll regain strength quickly. Each alone could devour worlds.”

  A heavy silence settled over the battered team, reality weighing heavily upon them.

  “What now?” Sai finally murmured, shadows rippling gently around him.

  Arden met Sai’s gaze, voice steady despite exhaustion. “We gather strength. We prepare. And we fight—because if we fail, everything we know will cease to exist.”

  He paused, breathing heavily, then added with solemn determination, “The ancient ones—my masters—left behind certain artifacts. Scrolls containing their knowledge, scattered across different worlds in the galaxy. Secrets of power, methods to fight back against these beings. Finding them will be our only hope to stand against the demon lords.”

  Ramm groaned softly. “Great. Now we're treasure hunters on top of everything else.”

  Jarek gave him a sideways glance. “Better treasure hunters than dead heroes.”

  Brinn, still rubbing his healed chest, stood shakily, nodding slowly. “Then we find these scrolls and we fight. Together.”

  Pepe floated down quietly, scanning the group carefully. His electronic voice buzzed with mild annoyance, directed squarely at Arden. “Couldn’t you have helped sooner? Like, maybe before half the city was demolished and we were nearly skewered?”

  Arden raised a weary eyebrow, managing a faint, tired smile. “Sorry, next time I’ll schedule my dramatic rescue a bit earlier.”

  Pepe beeped in approval. “Good. Just checking.”

  Above them, dawn broke slowly, casting a weary, gray light across the devastated battlefield, illuminating both the magnitude of their struggle and the fierce resolve that would carry them onward.