Rift

The heavy fog obscured the terror that was further down the road. They followed the light given off by their leader, Gotang, who gleamed with confidence and bravado that influenced everyone. This was their final test and he was gonna lead them to it.

In the distance, steel monoliths littered the floor covered with intricate black spiral patterns. It acted as barricades, a warning for all to never traverse near it. Gotang's footsteps never wavered as if he didn't feel the pressure of the monoliths.

"This is where we will need to rely on both of you, Ligi and Resi."

Gotang spoke without turning back as he kept his eye on the horizon at all times. Ligi wore a serious look as he summoned his shield early in preparation. Resi jumped a little as the blood rushed through his veins and adrenaline filled his mind.

"You know what to do right?"

———————

Before they saw the monoliths, Gotang gathered them in one place.

"This will be our last stand."

They nodded to themselves as they steeled their hearts from the creeping fear instilled in the fog. They gathered in a circle and spread their arms around their shoulders, acting as one entity, as a fortress.

"We may have lost our brothers today, but their sacrifices will not be in vain."

They closed their eyes and nodded aggressively as they remembered their fallen comrades.

"Their hopes and dreams are now carried on by us. I know their spirits are with us, watching us, and guarding us as we fulfill our dreams together."

They exhaled, feeling their heartbeat, and internalizing the inspiring words of their leader.

"No longer will we be ignored. No longer will we be disregarded, overlooked, and rejected. We will finally be able to stand tall as a fully-fledged group and no one can stand in our way!!"

"YAAAHHHHH"

They shouted in unison, voicing out their frustrations and their determination, fusing them together as they felt their blood boil.

"Resi, Ligi, I'm gonna need you two." - Gotang

"Me? Can I do it?" - Ligi

"Heh, you can count on me!" - Resi

Gotang called out Resi and Ligi for their plan.

"It's easy. Once we see the monoliths, you'll stay together while we separate."

The two of them nodded and listened carefully.

"There will be a black laser coming from the top of the monoliths at random. Ligi, it's your job to deflect the beams and destroy the monoliths. Resi, you have the fastest reaction time; you will tell Ligi where and when the laser will strike."

"Easy enough, you sure you can follow me, Ligi?"

"I just worry you'll be too slow."

"Good. With the two of you working together, the casualty will be greatly lessened."

—————————

"Ready?" - Resi

"Yeah." - Ligi

The two of them rushed together side by side until they reached the first monolith. Resi widened his vision with the cost of having his eyesight become blurry and watched for any beams.

Resi didn't wait for another second and took a step as if he was testing the waters. Ligi followed in tandem with Resi as if he knew that Resi would immediately take a step. They were in sync, like a well-oiled machine.

By the fifth step, they reached the second row of monoliths. Resi felt a chill in his spine as he felt a disturbance in the wind. His instincts wanted him to dodge and run, but he suppressed it. He looked towards the second monolith to his left. He watched as it instantly lit up and a beam shot out from the top.

Moments before the black beam hit Resi's arm, a wooden shield emerged and reflected the beam to the monolith. Smoke came out of the monolith as it disintegrated from the point of impact and spread all over the monolith until it dispersed in the wind. Black ashes were the only remnant of the monolith. They succeeded.

Their endless fight allowed them to guess each other's movements and act accordingly. Ligi saw Resi's head movement and instantly knew where the monolith would hit.

Lobo and the other members of the Defending Tip split up and tackled different monoliths. Bang stuck with Gotang since he couldn't defend himself and followed his steps perfectly.

The moves they practiced worked well in the monoliths. Ligi and Resi already destroyed 5 monoliths and there were no casualties yet in the group. There were only scratches from dodging in the ground. Sweat dropped in the ground as they all stopped what they were doing and looked around.

The ground shifted as cracks on the ground propagated from the broken monoliths. They stopped and looked at Gotang.

"It's okay. Watch out for the ground. They'll shift and disorient you."

The doubtful eyes of the Defending Tip became a look of seriousness as they heard their leader speak. As long as they had their leader, nothing could stand in their way. They stood with their backs straight as if Gotang was with standing behind them.

"Are you okay, Ligi?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Gotang shouted at Ligi, making sure that the integral part of their plan is safe; if Ligi becomes incapacitated, they would have to deal with a lot more monoliths for a long time.

Resi heard this and an imperceptible frown made his eyebrows low. His shoulders slumped. His eyes squinted with envy and a little bit of anger as he lost concentration for a little bit.

Before he could focus, the ground shook and a rift came between Ligi and Resi. The ground they were standing on became two, shifting Ligi's ground upwards and Resi's ground downwards.

Ligi had a solid footing this whole time and he recovered his balance fast. Resi's moment of distraction prevented him from recovering and he fell on the ground.

"Are you okay?" - Ligi

Before Resi could answer, he felt a tingle in his spine. A beam was coming. Be was about to move his head in a direction but somehow, he suppressed that instinct. He knew where it would come from and where it would hit but for some reason, he didn't want to warn him. Deep in his heart, he wanted Ligi to be hurt.

That moment of weakness came in a split second. He knew it was wrong but he still wanted to do it. His sliver of common sense was telling him to warn Ligi. It fought against his evil thoughts and won but that split second was the most critical.

He screamed but nothing came out of his mouth. The world became slow motion as Resi saw Ligi's concerned face, free of evil thoughts and genuine unlike the guilt-ridden frown on his face.

A beam of black light came from a monolith to their left. Resi dreaded this moment. This was what he wanted deep in his heart. This is his fault. The beam came like lightning and hit the back of Ligi's right hand, the arm holding his shield.

Ligi didn't know what happened. He saw a black beam hit his hand but he didn't feel any pain. He didn't feel anything. The black beam hit his forearm and it started disintegrating from the point of impact. It didn't stop. He watched as he saw his skin start to rot and show the bone in his arm. After a few moments, the bone became black and became ashes.

The shock in Ligi's head prevented him from feeling the pain. He couldn't even comprehend what was happening to him until he saw the reactions of everyone around him. They looked at him with disgust, fear, and disbelief as he felt his right arm become weightless.

He looked down and saw a shield attached to a black stick that shed ashes. Huh? That looks like his shield.

Before he could process the information, Gotang immediately appeared next to him and a light flashed on his right hand. Gotang had his sword out with blood dripping down its edge.

'Warning! I urge the owner to make Ligi unconscious.'

Bang looked on at the situation with his jaw down on the ground. All of this happened in a flash; he didn't know what to do. The first thought that came to him was fear, fear of losing his bodyguard, his safety net. The safety of Ligi himself came to him a moment later. The system gave him a command and he subconsciously followed it.

"Gotang, knock him out!!!"

Gotang heard this and without any questions, used the back of his sword and hit the back of Ligi's neck. Ligi fell down on the ground with his shield right next to him, lying on a pool of his own blood.