Book 6, chapter 27

The ground shook, the trees releasing plumes of dense spiritual energy as they swayed madly. It wasn't from the wind, but instead, a spine-chilling roar.

Zee went against her instincts for self-preservation, the trees a blur as she shot towards the sound. The moment she reached the clearing where she left Dern, Zee slid to a stop, her eyes widening. Just as she emerged, a streak of light lanced upward, piercing a hole through the Smaug to reveal the utter black of the void above. She hardly noticed, her eyes locked on the creature in front of her. With a brutal swing of its antlers, a majestic stag crushed another beam of light.

Standing at about two and a half meters at the shoulder, its hide was a dark black with veins of blue running through it. Its thick black antlers had ten points on either side, curling backward to protect its back like a majestic crown.

For a moment, Zee was dumbfounded, uncertain if she was seeing things. Surely it wasn't this majestic stag who let out that bellowing roar from earlier?

Zee's jaw nearly hit the floor as its form suddenly turned into liquid. In only seconds it went from a beautiful stag to an enormous black jungle cat with streaks of blue in its fur.

Tail dancing lazily behind it, the cat sauntered casually towards Sersie, its glistening claws digging furrows in the ground. Moving with long graceful strides, it moved with deceptive speed. Radiating an intense golden luster, Sersie rose into the air, releasing a pulse of light.

The pulse rippled out, slamming into the approaching monster. Like it wasn't even there, the monster plowed through the attack, leaping over twenty meters upward to swat Sersie out of mid-air.

It swatted her out of the sky like she was a pesky bug, sending the Ashary crashing into a nearby tree hard enough to topple it. If not for the barrier she enshrouding her, Sersie would have be cut to ribbons. Despite the protection, Sersie looked worse for ware.

With branches and leaves being pushed away, she slowly rose up from the rubble, her barrier cracked and leaking light. Meanwhile, the monster lit with a heavy thump, its form undulating with an unmistakable gold sheen as it turned into a twenty meter serpent. A grating hiss echoed through the forest, as the monster uncoiled, blue and gold veins shimmering between its pitch black scales. For a second, Zee wasn't sure why it took such a defensive posture.

Then, Dern leapt into action, his glaive swinging down towards the coiled snake, all of his formidable weight behind that swing. Zee's eyes widened with alarm as its barbed tail whipped upward, blocking his strike. Dern, who could cleave through most etched armor, and crush people with sheer strength was flung back.

Causing a deafening racket, Dern tumbled head over heels, flailing like a rag doll as his armored form dug a trench into the dirt..

"Are you going to just keep standing there or are you going to help?" Dern asked, sounding a bit worse for wear, as he pushed to his feet.

"It appears you two have it in hand. Cloud for brains is an Ashary. Wouldn't it stain her pride to get help from a human?" Zee asked, keeping her distance.

"The human is right. We don't need her help," Sersie said.

Dern scoffed, the butt of his glaive smacking into the ground with annoyance.

"I swear to all that is holy, I will kick both of your asses if you don't cooperate," Dern said.

Zee huffed. "You say that, but I am not helping until Sersie apologizes. She should probably hurry, it's changing forms again," Zee said. 

"I have nothing to apologize for," Sersie retorted.

Dern growled in her mind. "You are both being unreasonable. That thing is going to kill us if we don't work together," Dern said.

"You are exaggerating Dernath. It's strong, but nothing we can't handle," Sersie replied.

"No, we can't. Look at it, it's getting stronger every time it changes form," Dern said, his tone exasperated.

Zees' brows rose as she took in the monster as it changed into a towering ursine. Dern was right. Its new form was certainly more imposing than the stag, but more importantly, its aura had also grown denser.

The latest transformation wasn't as quick as the first two, but its power was at least fifteen percent more than when it first showed up. That was a considerable amount. While they were bickering, the large bear, over three meters tall at the shoulder, stood on its hind legs, and roared.

Zee's mind blanked out for a moment as she was assaulted by an intense mental attack.

The attack was rebuffed quickly, but by the time she came back to her senses the oversized bear was already on the move.

Its long lumbering gate looked casual, yet it closed the gap to Dern surprisingly quickly for something of that size.

Biting her lower lip thoughtfully, Zee reached out, and the air above her palm shimmered, a long spear forming. Formed using spirit echo, the spear was light and nearly transparent. Its deadly edge gleamed as she cocked back her arm, hurling the weapon at the monster's neck.

Her aim was true, the spear arcing through the air toward her target. Proving it wasnt oblivious to her presence, the bear's head turned, and its maw opened wide. With an almost lazy bite, it snatched up her spear from the air.

Zee was taken aback as her connection to the spear was severed. The damned thing had actually eaten her attack? Her spirit echo usually set things on fire, corroding flesh and bone alike, and yet, this monster ate her spear.

Her thoughts were derailed as the lumbering bear changed course from Dern, its attention now solely on her. Unlike before, it's eyes gleamed with hunger, saliva dripping from its mouth as it eyed her like she was a tasty snack.

Zee's hair stood on end as it lumbered closer. "Holy shit, that's a big bear," Zee muttered, the creature seeming to loom larger with each moment..

Unwilling to let the thing get closer, she activated her sword. A dull ping of metal breaking filled the air, as a dozen blades shot forward.

The monster chuffed in derision, and a wave of spiritual energy rippled out. Zee shouted in surprise as her connection to her sword was nearly ripped away. She quickly dragged the shards back, the death spirit in the blade shrieking in anger and pain.

Zee took a few steps back. What the hell was with this monster? First it had eaten her conjured spear, and now it was messing with the connection to her sword? 

 "Dern, Sersie, a little help please," Zee said, quickly retreating.

"What do you expect me to do?" Dern shouted. " That thing swatted me away like i was a bug,"

"I don't know, do something," Zee replied, activating her movement skill to avoid being killed by a swipe of its massive paw..

Her mind raced, as she thought over the troublesome implications.

This monster brought back a lot of unpleasant memories of that stupid lizard she had met in the caverns back on Iztara.

The damn thing had shrugged off all sorts of attacks from fire to sand, coming at them with a relentless fervor. This monster wasn't entirely the same, but it was close enough to bring back that memory.

Using her movement skill, Zee kept her distance, studying the monster closely as it advanced relentlessly. Was this thing really like that unkillable lizard? Only one way to find out. Since Dern, and that arrogant cloud weren't stepping forward, she would have to kill this thing by herself.

Time to see if this creature could shrug off one of her finisher skills. Gripping her sword tightly, she stabbed at the air, a hole in space forming right next to the bear. Her Gravity Well skill was usually enough to drag in and crush most monsters to the size of a fist. Much to her surprise, the singularity didn't even have time to form before the bear swatted it with its massive paw.

In one swipe, her connection to the skill was severed, and the monster absorbed all the energy she had channeled into the skill..

Much to her growing concern, the bear's fur rippled with spatial energy, crackling ominously as it advanced.

"Did you see that?" Zee shouted over their mental link.

"Ya, you just fed the damned thing spatial energy. Stop attacking it, you are making it stronger," Dern called back.

"Thanks, captain obvious. What do you expect me to do, just run?" Zee asked.

"Exactly, it's not very fast in this form, we need to run before it changes form again," Dern said.

Zee swore under her breath. What kind of unfair power was this? Surely this thing had to have a weakness, but for the moment, any attack would only make it stronger.

No wonder Raina had been so afraid of this thing, it was not something they could deal with alone.

"Dern, take your friend and start running, i will catch up," Zee said.

"On it, don't get eaten," Dern said, turning to flee with Sersie in tow.

"I won't," Zee said, never taking her eyes off the lumbering bear. It might be absurdly strong with an unfair power to absorb energy, but it didn't seem to have any ranged attacks.

With its long stride, and large bulky frame, the monster was fast, but not as fast as Zee was when using her movement skill.

As long as she didn't run out of energy, she could outrun it all day. As if to spite her, the monster, which had been chasing her in circles for a bit paused Its form rippled, turning almost liquid, swirling in the same manner it had before when changing forms.

Her confidence quickly faded as it turned into a long, sleek fox with a big bushy tail. It would have been incredibly cute if not for its crackling fur and razor sharp teeth.

Its long sleek body, and corded muscle spoke of speed and maneuverability.

The damned thing must have gotten annoyed at her running circles around it.

Pushing aside all pretense, Zee didn't linger any longer, running as fast as she could. The trees were a blur as she ran, each step carrying her a dozen meters as she weaved between the trees.

After a minute, she thought she might have gotten away, until the monster leapt in from the side, somehow having caught up already. It leapt from behind a tree, its mouth open wide as it flew through the air. Her stomach lurched as she bent at the waist sliding on her back to avoid its leap. The air whooshed above her as the oversized foxes jaws snapped where her head had been.

It sounded like steel jaws snapping together, making chills run up her spine. Proving just how agile the monster was in its new form, it hardly even slowed as it lit, its fluffy tail swishing as it whirled.

Zee's stomach lurched as its claws dug furrows into the ground, the monster leaping into rip her throat out.

She swore, activating wayward walk, at the last second. Heart pounding in her chest, Zee reappeared a hundred meters away, taking off in a full on sprint.

Her boots thudded on the forest floor as ran with all do haste. All it took was one glance over her shoulder to spot the monster barreling after her.

What a pain in the ass! 

The sound of heavy breathing, and the thud of boots echoed through the forest. Zee couldn't remember for how long she had been running, but she was getting sick and tired of this stupid monster.

Why was it so persistent? Most monsters would have long since given up or tired from the chase but not the shapeshifter still barrelling after her with as much subtlety as an overweight lizard.

She ran, all the while cursing herself for offering to be the decoy. Zee had thought she could simply slip away after she ran it in circles, but nooooo. The damned thing somehow found her even after multiple uses of her movement skill in random directions. With each labored breath, she cursed the soil it walked on. This was all that stupid cloud's fault. 

Even now, Zee could sense Dern somewhere in the distance, no doubt waiting for her to come join him. She would if she could get rid of the monster chasing her. If she did now, then all of them would be in shit and not just her.

Maybe it would be happy with just Sersie as a snack? She shook aside the thought. No.. This monster had it out for her. It was positively salivating as it doggedly pursued. So much for saving the day. It was starting to look dire. This forest seemingly had no end, no place to escape to. At this rate she would be run into exhaustion and eaten. Hopefully Dern and that useless cloud could find a way to escape or kill this thing. 

Zee nearly stumbled, as Dern's voice entered her mind sounding distant. "Zee what are you doing?" Dern said.

"Oh, you know, just for a pleasant stroll... I'm running for my damned life. What's your status,!" Zee snapped, her breathing heavy and labored.

"Sheesh, no need to get so angry. I was just asking," Dern replied. 

Zee let out a sharp breath through grit teeth.

"Have you found a way out yet?" Zee asked.

"Nope, but there is a huge cave entrance into the ground that looks incredibly ominous. I think we found its lair," Dern said excitedly. 

"Don't go in there. There might be more nasty surprises," Zee said.

"Sersie just went inside, i'm going after her," Dern replied.

"Wait! Don't go in there, Tell that harlot to come back," Zee said.

"Too late, im going in," Dern said, his voice growing even more distant. 

Zee said some very unladylike words. As if her pursuer was offended, it slid to a stop, its paws digging furrows in the dirt. It cocked its head, and after a second the monster's eyes glowed brightly. Mouth dripping foam, it gave Zee one last hateful glance, before turning and running off in the direction she could sense Dern.

Oh shit.

"Dern, it's coming! Whatever you just did, stop it and get out of there!" Zee shouted across the mind link.

Much to her dismay there was no reply, as if something were interfering with her link. She muttered a few more curses that shouldn't be repeated in polite company before running off after the seemingly unkillable monster. That stupid cloud was going to get what was coming to her after this was over.

After hours of running for her life, the last thing she wanted to do was do more running, but she didn't have much of a choice. 

Reaching out with her mind to unsummon Dern and bring him to her met fierce resistance. It was a combination of whatever they found in the monster's lair and Dern's own refusal. She could push it and force his return but after some thought, dismissed the idea.

Doing so would give her a chance to flee the area while the monster went after Sersie, but it would also make Dern more than a little angry. 

Knowing Dern's personality, she might have an actual rebellion on her hands if she did that. 

Equally as important, that would break his trust in her. She let out another round of curses. 

That hot head needed to stop thinking with his britches and use his head. In Front of her, the Vespa as she tentatively named it, plowed right through a tree. Somewhere along the way, it had changed back to its bear form, and then back to its stag form. All the while it was making a B Line for its lair.

It smashed through trees and bushes like they weren't there, leaping over fallen logs with ease. The Vespa didn't seem to notice, or maybe it just didn't care she was following it, its sole focus on returning to its den. 

 Despite that, she followed at a safe distance, sweat drenching her robes. It was quite strange to be chasing an unkillable monster, but she had done weirder things before. 

The lair was quite far off after it chased her for hours, so she had a while to watch it closely as she chased after it. And after a while, something wasn't adding up. 

For some strange reason, its fur had returned to its mottled black, with blue streaks, lacking the gold streaks and the spatial ripples it had after absorbing her and Sersies skills. 

Just as interesting, its aura had diminished noticeably, its form shrinking by the minute. She hadn't noticed it while it was trying to catch her, but now it was hard to miss. The monster was slowly losing the power it had absorbed. 

Her hypothesis was proving more sound with each passing minute. By now, its body was shedding golden smoke, and even motes of spiritual energy. It had even started avoiding running into trees after failing to plow through one. 

Very interesting. Zee was curious to see just how weak it would become if given enough time. It was just too bad that she wouldn't get a chance to watch on much longer. She could sense Dern's presence not too far away, and was willing to bet her left sock that this monster had some way to resupply on energy in its lair. 

Why else would it be so protective of its cave? Zee slid to a stop as the so-called Cave mouth came into view. It was in fact, not a cave but a carved stone archway. It looked like a giant with a flare for the artistic had gotten bored, and carved out curved teeth along the edges of the cave's mouth so it looked like they were walking into a monster's open maw.

Bracketing the cave mouth, four images were carved into the rock, with three being broken.

As the monster she was chasing strode into the opening, she glanced at the carvings.

On the bottom right, was a broken spire, surrounded by what looked like a lake, and backed by an oppressive sun.

Above it was the less distinct image of what could have been a human, though it had 

six arms, and three sets of eyes. 

On the top left was even less distinct. It appeared to be a child holding a book, sitting under a tree, and staring off into the darkness. 

On the bottom left, the image of an ancient pyramid was carved deep into the rock. 

Unlike the other three, she could make the pyramid out in fine detail, as if were chiseled only a few years ago.

Strangely, looking at that pyramid made the signal, given to her by that giant fish in the spirit realm grow from a dull drone to a loud hum. It made her sway on her feet, and she clutched at her head.

Zee blinked rapidly, her blurry vision taking a few seconds to clear. When it did, she was left even more confused than before. The images carved into the stone were simply gone, replaced by a simple cave entrance. 

Sure it was enormous, but from what she could tell, it was just a cave. Even the ominous teeth were gone.

Zee pushed down her desire to turn around and took a step forward. Despite the teeth no longer being there, the cave opening appeared like she was walking into the maw of a beast. This was not her brightest idea, but the nagging humm in her mind urged her forward. Something inside there was calling to her, and besides, she had to go save Dern before that unkillable monstrosity devoured him.