The hilt of his sword, still embedded in the serpentine creature’s eye, slipped his grasp as it dragged him underwater. The ice-cold water numbed his fingers as he found himself in the deep darkness of an underground lake.

His eyes open wide, he looked around frantically to see the creature – where had it gone? It was so fast in the water, much more so than it was on land, or in the air.

Streaks of darkness swirled in the distance. Shadows he only spotted with the corner of his eye sneaked around. His lungs began to burn as they begged for air.

Lifting his gaze up above, he could see the pool he fell through while hanging onto the creature. It seemed so small, and so very far away. Summoning what little strength he had left, he swam up. Light shone through the pool – it was his guiding light.

It drew closer and closer as he swam up. What was probably less than half a dozen meters felt like a vast distance that took hours to traverse. His mind grew hazy, and his vision slightly blurry as the burning sensation in his chest grew even stronger. He needed air so desperately.

His fingers broke the surface of the water, warm air felt like a hot flame that melted his frozen body. His hand clenched around the edge of the pool as he pulled himself up. As soon as his head broke the surface of the water, he gasped, coughing up the water he had swallowed.

His blurry vision began to grow clearer as he drew deep breaths. His heart raced, the serpentine creature could come back at any moment, and he was defenceless as he was now. With a grunt, he kicked the water, and pulled himself back up into the temple.

Water dripped from his clothes and hair. He pushed himself up on one knee and wiped the water from his face. Ripples formed on the surface of the pool. A faint sound reached his ears – the sound of a wrathful shriek.

His chest tightened as his hands instinctively went to the sheathe of his sword. His fingers clenched around nothing. His sword was – hopefully – still embedded in the serpentine creature’s eye. With a tight jaw, he turned his gaze to the pool. Despair gripped his heart. How was he supposed to even put up a fight against such a creature while unarmed?

He reached for his earring, summoning a gold embossed wooden stake from the storage space within. His fingers clenched around it. This was the only leverage he had – and the very last one he owned. He would have preferred not to use it, but the circumstances left him little choice.

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A shadow swam deep beneath the surface of the pool. It slithered through the water, rushing upwards, leaving a dark trail of something behind.

With gritted teeth and shaking legs, Midhir forced himself to stand up. His left hand held on tightly to the stake, while he clenched his other fist.

He had a single chance – a single opportunity to land a killing blow before he was forced to use the stake.

“Come on then,” he whispered nervously. His heart raced, the world around him became more vibrant. The dull pain in his left eye grew sharper, but he ignored it.

The serpentine creature broke the surface of the pool, accompanied by a loud, ear-piercing shriek.

He rushed towards it; his gaze focused on the object lodged between the scales on its neck. He kicked the ground, leaping up as it flew upwards. His fingers barely caught the metal object before the serpent soared up.

He didn’t have the strength to hold onto it for much longer. But he didn’t need a lot of time – just a few short moments.

He tugged at the thread of spiritual power within him, letting it flow through his arms, to his hands, and eventually into the metal he was holding onto. There had to be an augment in that weapon – all he needed was to reach it.

His power flowed into the metal. He felt the augment – a large crystal, a powerful one. One capable of more than just simple flames or blowing winds. He couldn’t sense its element, nor could he figure out its purpose. It was unlike anything else he had seen before, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that it existed.

He let the entirety of his power flow. Like a raging river, he drained his power and what little strength he had left. Then, he directed it all into the foreign gem.

The air grew cold for a moment as he felt a tinge of resistance, almost as if the gem was refusing to work with him – refusing to accept his power, and his will. A sharp pain struck his left eye, something warm flowed down his cheek.

A silver-white light shone, through the serpentine creature’s scales and flesh. All sound disappeared for a split second, and amidst that silence, he heard something tear apart. Reality bended, then an explosion sent him across the room.

He hit his back against the broken statues and fell down onto the white stone slabs. His ears were ringing, and everything was white for a few moments before his vision and hearing began to return to normal.

His body ached, and he felt fully drained. He hadn’t the strength to even stand up anymore. He lifted his gaze, to see the creature.

White flames burned what remained of the serpentine body. It looked like it had been torn apart from the inside. A pool of burning blood had covered some of the chamber’s floor. A metal spear and his sword lay on the other side of the pool, where the creature’s head was slowly burning.

While the oddly calming sound of flames filled the room, he let his head fall to the ground in exhaustion. He needed to get his sword, and probably that spear too. He had also dropped the stake, and he needed to check the flower…

His eyelids grew heavy. Just a few seconds longer, he told himself. Then he was going to get up and get to work. Just a few more seconds.