The Eldritch Guardian

Dell's heart ached with fear. The poorly lit room only showed the silhouette of the monster, and yet that was all Dell needed to see to become enveloped in its ghastly appearance. Its four legs began to wiggle and gradually move closer to Dell - grasping his fist, he slammed it into the door with all his strength, and yet it didn't budge at all. 

' Damn it all! Do I actually have to fight this thing!? ' 

The head of the monster rose to the highest point of the room, extending its long skeletal neck. It had a clear view of Dell, uncontrollably shivering. Its girthy arms began to spread themselves, almost reaching the walls of the hall, charcoal talons extending themself ready to strike. Then, once again, it let out a horrifying roar, causing the hall to tremble. It was ready to strike. 

Dell bit down on his lip, followed by a droplet of blood flowing out from it - the pain distracting his fear for a moment, to recompose himself. But his trembling remained. Looking at the demonic sight, he assessed how he should fight this:

' Purple, right in it's chest. I should probably aim for that, though it could bring its arms in and crush me, probably. Maybe I should injure the arms? '

His grip applied intense pressure to the sturdy oar. 

' I should assess how it fights first, before trying to do anything. Focus up Dell... '

His glance darted from the head, down its stalk, at its ribcage then its arms. Tension polluted his mind and body, but no matter how fearful he grew, he knew that he must win. He most definitely needed to win. 

' I will... defeat this... I will get past this! ' 

And after this thought rushed through his mind, the battle began.

Dell leaped as it swung its lengthy arm across the room at unbelievable speeds, barely missing Dell. Getting back on his feet, he was met with a lethal talon trying to pierce his skull. Rolling to the side, he felt the sharp talon rip through his arm slightly, unleashing a stinging sensation. 

' F-fast! ' 

Leaping off the floor, the maw of the skull came rushing at him, but Dell was ready. Swinging the oar like a bat, he crashed it into the skull, launching it far to the side, feeling the room shake as it slammed against the obsidian walls. As the mist broke up, he looked to see the damage dealt... his eyes widened as he saw a minor scratch on its cheek. Gritting his teeth, he turned to see an array of claws diving at him - rolling along the ground towards the ribcage. But suddenly, the arms dragged themselves back in, clashing against Dell as he rose. Unable to compete against the colossal stygian arms with his measly oar, he was swept off his feet and thrown in front of the rib cage. 

Turning to face the light within the bone cage, he heard feint whispers and wails, plaguing his mind. 

' Arrghh! What is this!? ' 

Suddenly, the leg of the horror rose slowly, before crashing down upon Dell's leg. Just before it shattered him, he pounced up into the air, sweating furiously after hearing the whispers. Unaware to him, a fierce horn rushed at him as he flew through the air, puncturing his left shoulder. 

" Gargh! M-my shoulder! " Grasping the oar, he thrust it into the socket of the skull, causing it to go flying and release a distressed roar, flailing its head about.

Landing on the ground, Dell clutched his punctured shoulder, panting heavily. Staring up at the head unleashing its wail, he was enraged. But his ears were not met with the usual outcry of the horror. Instead, it was the pathetic shriek of the ant. 

His head, filled with the ant's cry, was now also filled with seething rage, before letting out a frustrated scream of his own. 

" SHUT UP, SHUT UP!! " 

His palm met with his right eye, as he tightly gripped his head. 

" GET OUT OF MY HEAD, BASTARD! GET... OUT! "

Suddenly, his vision flashed purple for a moment... and his hearing was flooded with the roar of the beast - the shriek of the ant had vanished. Removing his hand from his head, he glanced at it, before flailing it to the side. 

" M-my hand! It's..! "

His hand was set ablaze with an indigo flame. Dell's panicked breaths grew faster and faster - but his hand did not feel warm. Instead... it felt strangely enhanced. And instead of the sound of a crackling fire, the flame produced a ghostly, spectral shriek. The same shriek... as the ant.

' Is this... the ant? It's out of my head? ' 

Was this the soul of the ant? The entire situation enforced deep pressure and confusion on Dell. Before he had time to think, the arms of the horror were upon him once again. Flailing across the floor, the talons tried to strike Dell. Panicking, he grasped his fist tight and leaped into the air. But it was strange - his leap was suddenly much more incredible than it had ever been. He almost reached the ceiling of the room. 

Surprised by his leap, he erratically waved about in the air, before falling on the ground... feeling perfectly fine. Opening his palm, he noticed that the spectral flame was gone... but his body felt powerful. Way more than before. To the point where his punctured shoulder felt like normal. As he held the oar, he stared at his arms and legs, tensing his body. He smirked, as a thought came into his mind. 

' My body is stronger... and that ant bastard is gone. Ah... what a stroke of luck! Haha! ' 

Facing the oar down, he gripped it with both hands and entered a battle stance. An arm launched towards him, fist clenched and threatening to crush him. But Dell didn't move. Instead, he braced himself, and held up the oar, clashing against the charcoal arm. His muscles tensed, and his shoulder pained... but he did not falter. Instead, he slowly began to overcome the force of the arm, and with a groan, he tossed the monster's arm aside. 

Grinning widely, and a raging ember in his eyes, he rushed forward, readying the ore to strike directly at the ribcage. The monster shook and scrambled to protect the ribcage with its arm. But Dell didn't stop his sprint. Holding the oar by his side, he jumped into a swing, creating a thundering sound throughout the hall. And suddenly, the obsidian arm of the horror began to develop cracks, evolving into a torrent of shatter down its arm, before it abruptly completely shattered. 

A painful roar erupted from the head, floating above Dell as it stared at half of it's arm completely erased. But then, its eye socket focused on Dell, rushing at him with primal rage accompanied by a primal roar. But Dell smirked, embracing the assault. Squatting down, he leaped off the floor and moved like a blur as he met with the skull in the middle of the air. 

Spinning around, Dell built up momentum before dodging the sharp teeth of the horror. As he was slightly above him, Dell swung his oar, releasing the inertia of the spin, instantly launching the skull into the dark floor, shattering the skull into pieces. Its neck left without an owner fell lifeless as it coiled on the ground. 

Dell was smiling like a madman, chucking a few times as he fell to the floor. But the pain in his shoulder grew - a sign of his time limit. 

' The power is wearing off... I better finish this quickly.. '

Dashing forward again, the horror felt reluctant to send his last arm against Dell, but the clueless beast gave in sending it forth at him. But that wasn't his objective, to shatter another arm. Dodging the talons of the arm, Dell neared the ribcage once again - however unlike the last time he did, he was full of ego confidence. 

Its legs tried to scuttle back, but they were unbelievably slow compared to Dell. Leaping off the ground, Dell came into range of the ribcage and swung his oar. Surprisingly, the cage stood, encasing the purple glow. But Dell, full of fury and confidence, didn't care for anything else but to crack open the cage. It tried to bring its arm back to pierce Dell with its dark claws, but it was simply too slow. 

Like a painter, Dell abstractly swung the oar, perfecting his creation the more he painted. Until finally, the fortified ribcage was painted with an array of fissures, revealing the pure purple orb left in the center. Glaring at the floating vessel, he cleaved into it with his dark oar, destroying it. 

The legs and arms of the horror fell motionless onto the floor, and the brilliant light that emerged from the body disappeared. The hall was silent, apart from Dell's heavy panting. He looked at his hands, with relief embedded in his eyes. 

' I did it... I surpassed that undead horror... '

His shoulder now began to ache more than before, as his power and adrenaline wore off. The pain swelled throughout his body, but he somehow managed to feel okay, happy with the outcome of his battle.

' This silence is great. I need a breather. ' 

But his wishes were betrayed - deep in the back of his mind, the same howl of the horror echoed. This time though, Dell smiled, before speaking aloud as if talking to the voice in his mind. 

" Die twice, undead bastard. "

-

After sitting down for about thirty minutes, Dell decided that he had to continue. This area of the temple was only the entrance, though that made him sick to his stomach - the thought that the horror he had just slain was just the guardian to an even worse threat plagued his mind. 

' With this newfound power though, it might not be so bleak. '

Opening the doors that the undead beast had come out of, he found a long corridor stretching into darkness. Stepping forth, he walked for a while before finding a flight of stairs, leading down. Mist flooded down the stairs followed by eery sounds of movement down below. 

' Better get going then. '