Panic

Emma tossed Roman above the final wall before she climbed over it herself. Picking herself off the ground, she looked back at the approaching horde.

More than a hundred corrupted creatures razed the bushes and obliterated the trees. Many of them were the familiar three Emma had been hunting, but many of them were also new.

A four-legged, buck-toothed enlarged squirrel joined the mix in addition to a blackened monkey who's arms grew to the size of watermelons and its stature towering over Roman.

Timi approached the two from behind, he placed his palm on Emma's shoulder.

"We'll be fine—" He said, "they're all lower level life forms."

"Those lower level life forms could destroy me." Roman pointed out.

"But they won't make it to you—" Timi replied, "I promise."

Timi stepped forward onto the edge of the stone wall. Like before, he stretched his arms out into an embrace.

Plucking his fingers, the strings of green energy were pulled from existence and molded to his will. He weaved the strings around him, forming a complete circle in the air.

He dismissed the current of energy, leaving only the floating circle behind. Then, with his radiant fingertip, he wrote 'brittle' in the circle.

The formula collapsed in on itself, imploding with a flash of light, but instead of a streak of energy cutting across the slope, thousands of small green particles traveled forward.

Pushed around by the wind, the green specks covered the mountain and sunk into the ground. A few moments later, the monsters leading the charge rushed across the area the particles dissolved into.

The earth cracked, tremors spread throughout the mountain, and the dirt began to rapidly plummet below. It only took a few moments, but a massive crater appeared on the side of the mountain.

Waves of monsters were buried by the debri, crushed by the tumbling rocks and caught in the onslaught of vines and branches. Half of the approaching force eliminated in an instant, entombed forever beneath the earth.

"Whoa." Roman commented.

"That should keep them at bay for a while." Timi stepped away from the edge and began heading towards the cabin.

Watching his back, Emma was locked in a daze. Half of the mountain crumbled away, devoured by a miraculous sinkhole Timi seemed to conjure.

She opened her mouth to say something, but an iridescent bright light suddenly exploded from behind the cabin. A pure beam of energy collided with the tip of the cliff, vaporizing any dirt and stone in an instant.

The beam of energy consumed the mountain, razing it to the ground until it obliterated the cabin. The energy blast faded away and the darkness rushed in, filling the empty space and returning the world to its previous state.

"A Scarab…" Timi mumbled to himself, but Roman and Emma heard him.

Timi spun around, panic attacked his eyes and fear consumed his face.

"Get to the ship!" He screamed over the howling winds and crashing rain, "Just run! Don't look back!"

Roman and Emma exchanged glances, unsure of what the hell was going on, but for tranquil Timi to scream like that, it had to be serious.

Another flash of light consumed the storm and the illusion of daylight returned. The beam of energy smashed into the mountain once more, tearing through its center and erupting out of the sinkhole.

The beam died, and the mountain peak wobbled.

"It's all coming down! F****** run!" Timi's voice tore as it echoed around the island.

The mountain peak rumbled and began tipping over. The once flat ground suddenly curved towards the sky.

Emma pumped her body's muscles with essence. She swooped Roman up onto her shoulder and then sprinted towards the sky; she had to get over the crashing mountain peak in order to get to the boat.

Emma jumped off the cliff's edge and crashed onto the ground. Her and Roman rolled down the mountain, smashing into one another like tumbleweeds as they descended.

Emma ripped her spear from her soul and plunged it into the ground. Her body snapped back from the whiplash, but she managed to stop rolling.

She looked back at the mountain peak, but it was gone. Instead a flat, open field replaced what was once an intense climb up the mountain.

Emma recalled Timi in her mind, she couldn't find him, but he said to get to the boat. They had to trust him.

Emma quickly found Roman still rolling down the mountain. He dropped into the remaining sinkhole, plummeting down the pit.

Emma sprinted down and dove into the abyss. She manipulated her velocity to catch up to Roman and caught him out of the air.

The only problem was Emma could increase velocity, not decrease it. Emma spun around in the air, aiming her back at the ground and protecting Roman. She tucked her head into her chest and braced for impact.

Emma slammed into the earth, still soft from the prior sinkhole. Her body sunk into the ground, encased in mud.

Roman pulled himself out of the mud and after catching his own bearings pulled Emma out too. Emma immediately surveyed their surroundings.

They crashed in the center of the crater, towering walls surrounded them and countless trapped beasts remained. Not to mention that the storm was ongoing and liters of water poured into the crater.

The walls turned to sludge and a swamp quickly formed within the crater. Reduced mobility, howling winds, and an army of beasts to compete with.

Emma brandished her spear. The encased monsters were finally breaking free.

"Stay next to me!" Emma ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" Roman replied.