A/N This is Chapter 2/3 for today! Enjoy!

Jackson pointed to a patch of tangled greenery close to where James and Ser Loran sat astride Starfall. James’s muscles went taut, adrenaline flaring in his veins. A mental image of the brambleskinned horrors came unbidden: elongated limbs, thorny exoskeletons, twisted snarls for faces, leaking purplish sap.

“All right. We’re pinned,” Ser Loran growled. He swiveled in the saddle, scanning for some better vantage but found none. Massive roots and thick vines had grown into a labyrinth around them, leaving no easy escape route. The twisting corridor they had galloped through just minutes ago now looked congested and foreboding, and the quake had altered the terrain enough that they couldn’t easily backtrack.

He tossed Elia a commanding look. “Elia, come between Marcus and me. Joey, hop up on Elia’s mare. Don’t engage if you can help it—just hang on.”

Elia gestured for Joey to mount behind her. The teen mage’s face was pale but resolved; she tightened a small belt harness around her aethermare's flank so Joey could hold on. “Got it,” she said curtly.

“Marcus, drop the extra supplies on Betsy,” Ser Loran continued, “then push forward. We need to keep moving. We cannot hold out in a wave rift if the beasts keep ramping up in level. Jackson, scout ahead. If you need to use {Darkness Stalker}, do it. I’ll cover the cost, no matter how steep.”

Jackson inclined his head. “Right.” Without another word, he kicked his ride into an immediate gallop, vanishing again into the murky depths. James could only hear the faint flutter of a cloak as Jackson melted into darkness.

Ser Loran’s focus snapped back to the clearing. “Stay tight. We need to handle these four quickly and get out to somewhere we can hold a defense while Jackson scouts.”

Marcus, kneeling by the supplies, strapped a final coil of rope to Betsy’s flank and then vaulted onto the mare’s back with practiced skill. She sidestepped once, testing his weight, but didn’t panic. A quick rub of her ear calmed her, and Marcus half-turned, sword at the ready.

Joey was clinging to Elia, who forced a shaky smile. “Hold on, kid,” she muttered over her shoulder. “It’s about to get wild.”

James’s breathing came in shallow bursts as he readied his trident. His mind flickered to engage {Strategic Tranquility}, and the new {Aura Control} that Elia had helped him acquire. He had to stay calm. No matter how terrified he felt, no matter how raw the memory of losing Nyx, no matter how uncertain he was about his own future—if he lost his head now, he’d get himself or someone else killed.

Hooves shifted beneath him. Ser Loran guided Starfall in a half-circle, scanning the gloom with narrowed eyes. “All right, boy,” he said under his breath to James. “We’ve got three to your side, one more to the left. Expect them to come fast.”

And come they did. A ragged hiss tore through the air as the four briarsnatches burst out from the underbrush, eyes glowing red like embers. They moved with jerky, savage speed, their limbs snapping into unnatural angles as they bounded forward. The closest trio rushed directly at James and Loran, a single one veering toward Marcus. Elia and Joey were slightly behind, so for the moment they remained unengaged.

Ser Loran showed no hesitation. He spurred Starfall forward to meet the wave. His blade flashed downward in a lethal arc. The lead briarsnatch, an especially gnarled beast that reeked of sour sap, let out a shriek as it was cut in half. The second one tried to dart wide, but Starfall kicked sideways, ironshod hooves striking with bone-crunching force. James watched in awe. The synergy between knight and mount was breathtaking—like two souls in perfect harmony.

Then the third briarsnatch adjusted mid-lunge, a slithering jerk of limbs that angled it directly at James. Ser Loran, half-distracted by yanking his sword free from the sticky remnants of the first kill, realized too late the creature’s new trajectory.

Time seemed to slow. James felt a spike of alarm, and {Strategic Tranquility} fully engaged. James recognized that skill’s unique hush in his mind, a wave of coolness that let him parse the action with razor clarity. He saw the brambleskinned horror’s limbs coil like steel springs, saw the dripping sap along its barbed claws. He had only a split second to align his trident, the prongs pointed outward in a defensive stance.

The briarsnatch slammed into the trident’s tip with a wet crunch, impaling itself on the weapon. But its momentum didn’t stop. James felt the force tear him from the saddle. His hands stayed locked around the trident’s shaft as the creature carried him backward through the air. For a disorienting instant, he was weightless, the world a blur of twisting vines and shrieking wind.

“James!” Ser Loran roared, trying to wheel Starfall around to catch them, but there was no time two more came out of the foliage and went for him.

James and the briarsnatch crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs. A brief flash of golden light flared from James’s ring— the Minor Ring of Shielding that tried to mitigate the impact. But the creature’s barbed body slammed into him at an awkward angle, and pain shot across James’s shoulder but he didn't feel anything pierce him. His breath vanished in a strangled grunt.

He heard a distantly muffled cry—maybe from Joey, maybe from Elia. The briarsnatch twisted on the trident, a guttural hiss escaping its twisted maw. James felt rancid breath on his face. His mind spun with adrenaline-laced horror. And yet… {Strategic Tranquility} refused to let him panic.

Be calm. Survive. Fight.

He tensed, using all his meager strength to push the creature back. The briarsnatch wriggled, sap dripping from the prongs that pierced its torso. Yet it still lived, thrashing violently, claws gouging shallow trenches in the dirt around James’s head unable to get close enough to him.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Get—off!” James grit out. His body ached, but he forced himself to press the trident deeper. The briarsnatch’s shrieks rose in a crescendo of agony. The stench of corrupted wood and rotting leaves assaulted James’s nostrils, making his eyes water.

Everything narrowed to a single choice: endure or die. James remembered the vow that had churned within him ever since Nyx was killed, Joey's arm ripped off, and Tellemoria burned—he wasn’t going to remain a powerless bystander. But he also remembered Ser Loran’s caution that vengeance alone could hollow a person from the inside out. So let it be determination, not blind wrath, fueling him.

A fierce heat flared in his core in response to his determination. James recognized the sensation from the previous near-death battle with the Shadow Guardian. The uncontrollable wellspring of essence inside him. Under normal circumstances, he wanted to keep that flood in check, using {Aura Control} to prevent simmering flares that might alert others to him. But now the desperate truth crashed over him:

If I don’t kill this thing right now, I’m dead.

He relinquished his tight grip on that wellspring, encouraging the essence to flood his channels into the skill {Essence Trident Thrust}. A soundless roar filled his mind, as if the locked gates of a reservoir had burst open. That unstoppable tide of energy coursed into the trident, crackling along its length. James felt it vibrate in his hands, as though the weapon itself were coming to life.

For an instant, every nerve in James’s body caught fire. He saw stars dancing at the edges of his vision. The briarsnatch, pinned to the trident, let out a ragged screech. Sap boiled around the prongs, spitting black flecks. Then, a brilliant beam of radiance—dazzling gold tinged with specks of hot white—erupted from the trident’s tips.

The beam lanced through the briarsnatch, punching a burning hole through its chest in a sizzling geyser of sap and gore. The creature’s shriek cut off abruptly. The force slammed the beast backward, off James’s body, leaving him momentarily free. But the radiant beam didn’t stop; it continued slicing through the air in a linear path, plowing deep into the forest. James caught a fleeting glimpse of it shredding vines, punching through massive tree trunks, and lighting up the gloom like a spear of sunrise. A wave of heated, pressurized air blasted outward, flattening nearby foliage.

Then, as quickly as it manifested, the beam snuffed out, leaving behind an acrid smell of charred plant matter and ozone. James lay panting on his back, the trident’s shaft slightly cracked now still clenched in his trembling hands. The briarsnatch was reduced to a smoking husk, its bark-like hide cratered with molten edges. The body slumped, dripping foul essence onto the ground. The entire clearing had gone momentarily silent, as though the forest rift itself was stunned by James’s display of raw power.

He exhaled, chest heaving. Every muscle felt weak, trembling from the sudden outpour of essence. In the ensuing hush, he became aware of eyes on him—Ser Loran, Marcus, Elia, Joey, even Jackson (who had reappeared on the fringes) gaping in shock. The knight, still astride Starfall, had halted finished off the ones on him, he lowered his sword in disbelief.

“That’s… new,” James croaked, voice shaky. He struggled to sit up.

Marcus let out a low whistle, while Joey cheered in relief, “James, you’re alive!” Then, catching sight of the charred briarsnatch, the younger boy’s face shifted to one of awe. “Holy—did you see that beam?”

Elia exhaled a shaky breath, tension flooding out of her shoulders. “Yeah… we all did,” she muttered, still stunned. “That was… beyond normal for someone your age...”

James wanted to respond, to say he’d never done that before. But words eluded him. The aftereffects of channeling so much essence so quickly left him dizzy and bone-deep tired. His arms felt like lead weights, barely able to lift the trident.

Ser Loran was the first to recover from shock. He dismounted in a graceful leap and hurried to James’s side, nudging the smoking briarsnatch husk away with his boot. He knelt, pressing two fingers to James’s wrist, as if checking for a pulse.

“You—are you all right?” the knight demanded, scanning James for injuries. “That was a massive surge of power. What was it?”

James coughed, tasting burnt wood on his tongue. “I’m… fine a bit sore. Just… tired.” He forced a nod. “It was my {Essence Trident Thrust} I'm pretty sure. I had to do it the beast was going to kill me.”

Loran grimaced, but offered a tight nod. “You did what you had to.” Slowly, he stood and extended a gloved hand to help James up. “But that kind of radiant outburst could have killed you if your body wasn’t prepared. Focus on controlling your breathing more before you pass out.”

James accepted the hand and hauled himself upright, trying to quell the trembling in his legs and the rush to his head. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling through his nose, exhaling through parted lips. {Strategic Tranquility} hummed in the back of his mind, smoothing the edges of panic and exhaustion worth the paltry amount of mana he had left. Across the clearing, Marcus pivoted, hacking the final briarsnatch—apparently the one that had attacked him—into chunks of vine pulp. He let out a victorious snarl.

“Stay down,” Marcus growled at the half-shredded remains. His sword dripped glowing sap. “Filthy thing… that’s the last one. Core was hard to find.”

Joey, still perched behind Elia, stared at James with undisguised amazement. “Dude, that was insane. Nothing like when we were fighting the Shadow Guardian!”

James forced a shaky grin. “Surprised me too.” James laughed with a pounding headache.

“No time for gawking!” Jackson’s voice cut in sharply. He was near Ser Loran’s aethermare, his mount balancing on a knotted root with practiced grace. Flickers of darkness clung to him like living shadows. “That blast was enough to alert everything in a ten Kilometer range. Maybe more. I've descovered a exit, it's a fifteen minute ride. We need to leave. now.”

Ser Loran’s face hardened. “Agreed.” He turned to James. “You can ride with me again or double up with Marcus if you need. But we must move.”

James tested his legs; they were unsteady, but he felt capable of holding onto Starfall. He opened his mouth to answer, but Joey and Elia were already inching their mare closer to him.

“Need a hand?” Joey asked, extending his metal arm.

James hesitated but then shook his head with a grateful smile. “I’m okay. Just… give me a second.” He grimaced and started to see things swirling in his vision.

Elia called out "Here" She tossed him a small vial—its swirling contents shone with a faint turquoise glow. James popped the cork with shaky fingers and downed the liquid in one gulp. It tasted sharply of mint and something metallic. Immediately, warmth spread through his core, taking the edge off his drained essence channels. He exhaled in relief but feeling more woozy than before.

In the hush, a soft glimmer drew James’s attention. A swirl of coalesced essence—like drifting fireflies—was gathering above the blackened husk of the briarsnatch he’d annihilated. The phenomenon looked familiar, reminiscent of the loot drops James had encountered in the other rift only the motes were a dark green this time.

“What in the—?” Marcus muttered, noticing it too. The others followed his gaze, eyes widening.

“Is that… a loot drop?” Joey asked softly, voice wavering between hope and confusion.

“That can’t be right,” Elia said, furrowing her brow. “Wave rifts don’t drop items from beasts mid-run. It’s always after the final wave or at an exit safe room.”