18 18. Another Chance
[Unique Evolution Skill Detected]
[A God's Wrath - Level MAX]
The wrath of a god is like the growling of a dragon; he who provokes it to anger forfeits his life. When under the effects of [A God's Wrath] your mana regeneration is increased by 1000%. All [Skill] levels are raised to their max regardless of their current level. You are immune to all mind-control and movement-impairing effects.
All summoned shadows undergo [Evolution] and gain 100% of your total stats.
Power demands sacrifice. 1% of your total mana is lost permanently for every 60 seconds that [A God's Wrath] is active. You do not gain any experience from any sources when under this effect.
0 seconds.
Flashes of memories raced in and out of his mind.
His mother and father laughing. A burned house. Two corpses.
Him kissing his wife for the last time. A black portal. A void.
A beautiful planet. His planet. A sea of monsters. A wolf ripping out the throat of a young warrior.
An army of shadows pitted against an army of beasts. Baal plunging his fist into Evan's chest. Trying to remove Fenrir. Fenrir laughing.
Chains. Pain. An endless existence. A kind smile. Another chance.
10 seconds.
His mind grasped desperately at the words. Another chance.
He looked over at the warrior's corpse and tears slid down his face. He had failed. He had been given another chance and he had failed. They had failed.
No. No. He looked at the Hunters that still remained. He looked at Astrid as her hands burned blue over Jason's broken body. He could still protect them. Save them. The dungeon core. That was the key.
He stumbled to his feet. Every pore in his body was expelling black mana. It covered him and clouded the space around him. The God-King of Shadows.
Evan watched through rage-tinted vision as his shadows rose from the ground. They covered the area around them in a blanket of darkness.
"KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!"
30 seconds.
He crawled forward as his shadows slaughtered the beasts by the thousands. His shadows had been transformed. The pathetic beasts were no match for his new army.
Shadow knights cleared his path as they cleaved through dozens of monsters in a single strike. They stood over twelve feet tall, and wielded jagged, two-handed blades like Tyr's. Wicked curved horns protruded from their helmets. Blue mana seeped from their eyes. He watched as one of the knights sheathed his massive sword in blue fire.
[Shadow Knight - Level MAX]
[Rank: Champion]
40 seconds.
Black arrows massacred any beast that managed to escape the knights' rampage. Evan looked behind him to find a dozen cloaked shadows following him. They carried curved black bows that were as large as their bodies. Light black armor covered their shoulders, chest, arms and legs. Their blue glowing eyes scanned the field back and forth, looking for any signs of danger to their King.
[Shadow Archer - Level MAX]
[Rank: Champion]
50 seconds.
He felt the vibration of violent explosions all around him. Storms of black fire and lightning carved craters in the ground and erased hundreds of beasts in seconds. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw shadow mages floating above the ground, just out of reach of most of the beasts. Their right arms were covered in sleek metal plates, while the rest of their body was cloaked in black robes. Black mana swirled in the air around them like a tornado.
[Shadow Mage - Level MAX]
[Rank: Champion]
60 seconds.
A cold settled deep in his chest. There was a slight pull and Evan gasped — like he had been dunked in a lake of freezing water right as he was trying to take a breath. The pull faded as quickly as it had appeared, but the cold remained. He shivered.
He could see the outline of the green portal now. Fenrir rumbled in his ear as they got closer. He sensed the core's hunger gnawing at his mind, but the rage overshadowed it. Another chance.
70 seconds.
They reached the portal a moment later and Evan commanded all the shadows except Tyr to stay behind and continue their slaughter.
There was a moment of clarity as Evan stepped through the portal and fell through the void. It was working. He could save them. He would save them.
Another chance.
They landed in a purple forest. Massive trees that stretched into the sky surrounded them in every direction. Delicate-looking white webs clung to the trees, forming intricate patterns and shapes. He could see the corpses of dried-up wolves and Hunters hanging from some of the webs.
80 seconds.
A blade of pure black shadow appeared in his hand. "Fenrir, where is the core?"
"North, where the trees and webs are thickest," Fenrir whispered.
90 seconds.
He sprinted towards the massive trees. As he got further they seemed to curve together to form a tunnel. A giant, white web barred the entrance and Evan reached out to touch it. The web felt cold, wet, and as hard as steel. It clung to his skin. He used his sword to slice the web apart and continued forward.
100 seconds.
He could hear the faint clicks of fangs and skittering legs as they moved, but nothing tried to stop them.
110 seconds.
120 seconds.
Another pull. He shivered even more as the freezing cold spread farther out from his chest.
They reached a clearing in the woods and Evan stared at the horror before him with a blank face. Bodies of dead and dying Hunters were littered throughout the clearing, held in place by the webs that sealed them.
In the middle of the clearing stood a massive eight-legged monstrosity. Evan watched as she sank her fangs into the body of a trapped Hunter. In a fraction of a second, the Hunter's strong body became a dried husk as the spider sucked out every last ounce of his blood.
A silky voice filled Evan's ears as the spider slurped down the last of her meal. "Well well, this is a surprise. I did not expect to be able to feast on the blood of a God-King today."
Evan grinned madly. "Hello, Cho'Ga."
130 seconds.
