As the goblin fell, so did Lan. He knew he needed to drink a potion; while he had the chance, he knew the goblin king would send the next. He was just done. Even with the potion, his body had gone through too much, and potions couldn’t hold together what was too tired to move forward.

Instead of more pain from his next opponent, Lan looked up, taking large breaths and was greeted by the goblin mage.

‘You are not the strongest human I have seen,’ it started, ‘but you cling to life with a ferocity that surpasses even our own… what is your name, human?’

Lan coughed out a laugh, ‘Lan… Landrin but people call me Lan,’ he finished getting a nod from the mage. ‘and you?’

For a moment, the goblin mage looked unsure and thinking he wouldn’t get it, Lan reached for his potions.

‘I have been ordered to kill you if you try and drink another potion.’ The mage said, looking over to the Goblin King. Lan followed it and found the red face king growling at him, with the twisted remains of its armrest still gripped in its hands.

‘Yeah.’ Lan sighed.

‘Owrain Gasck.’

Lan looked up at the goblin.

‘My name is Owrain Gasck.’ It said again slowly so Lan could copy the words.

‘Owrain Gasck. I’ll remember that name.’ Lan said as he worked his way onto his feet.

‘For as long as that will be.’ Owrain said, sounding a little sad at the thought.

‘Longer than you think. I still have to get back and warn the others about your little group.’ Lan grinned, making Owrain’s face twitch before he smiled.

‘Maybe you will, and maybe there is still a chance for us all.’ The goblin mage said before walking away without another word of explanation, and as the goblins began to cheer again, Lan guessed that he was out of time.

Rewrapping his bracer Lan watched as the slender goblin, the rogue, walked out of the horde and grinned at him.

‘Of course, it would be you.’ Lan said, knowing it to be a fact even though he could see other rogues in the crowd. He knew just by the smug grin it was the same one from before. ‘Well, at least I have the chance to wipe the stupid smile off your face.’ Lan said, knowing it would most likely be the last thing he did.

With its fast speed, Lan wondered if he could keep up with it and still do enough damage to kill it. Suddenly Lan blinked. He didn’t consider dying. Even in his state, there was still a fight to finish, and that is all that mattered. With that thought, Lan fell into stance and waited for the goblin rogue, who started to circle him after entering the grounds.

Before the goblin could come at him, Lan's mind went quiet. The act of which made him stumble, drawing laughter from the rogue and the Goblin King. Lan barely noticed them as the sudden quiet in his mind was almost deafening. He looked around for the Wisp, finding it no longer flying but unmoving in the air. From the moment he fought the knight, it had been sending in the feeling non-stop to the point it had blended in with his thoughts.

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Despite the situation, Lan looked over the rogue's shoulder and found.

The stars were gone.

Lan dropped his guard, stood straight to get a better look, and found the rogue turning to see what he was looking at, only to drop its stance and turn. This was enough to get everyone else's attention as Lan watched more stars wink out. Slowly more and more goblins fell silent as the sky grew darker.

It was only when Lan managed to look away, did he realise it wasn’t just the sky. All around him, he could still see the tree line, But when he looked back to his front, he could only see the almost offensive to the eyes dark, like it was pulling the light from them.

As more stars were swallowed by the dark, Lan saw one of them vanish and reappear for a moment before it was gone once again. The darkness was moving like an inky black undulating mass that, as it got closer, seemed to rob even the sound from the air.

When the darkness had almost reached the horde, the closest goblin moved to curiously meet the dark as the Wisp reanimated and sent both the feeling of urgency and the pin drop over and over until it felt like rain falling in Lan’s mind.

As if that was not enough, Owrain started to bark something in the goblin's tongue, waving frantically before the Goblin King shot him down with a single bark before waving for the goblins to get closer.

Owrain shot back, getting a grin from His King before it was too late.

The closest goblin reached the darkness; it stretched out its hand to meet the dark before it was swallowed up by it, then nothing as the dark moved forward. Consciously another goblin moved up to the slowly encroaching darkness and called out to the first goblin.

Instead of an answer, a tendril of black shot out and grabbed the goblin without ceremony, before it was followed by an exploration of inky black arms that lashed and ripped the goblins back into the darkness before the wave of black rose up, covering more of the sky before smashing down on the clearing.

Before it could wash over Lan, the Wisp came to life, expanding its light like a shield on which the darkness broke against, filling the air with the sounds of rushing winds before dying away to panic all around, chittering and the sounds of fighting. No, not that. It was the sound of a one-sided attack as the darkness or whatever was in it tore through the goblins.

‘Damn it, we are too late!’ Owrain said as he tried to make a light to shield himself, but before he could, a wave of ink washed over him, dragging him into the black but not before his eyes met Lan’s with a look of knowing terror on his face.

Now that the Wisp had made itself visible, the Goblin King tried to rush over to it, only for Lan to see hundreds of glowing purple eyes before something cut the King down, and it was lanced by countless sword-shaped shadows.

Lan just stood there for a moment, he had thought he had seen something in the dark shapes that lined up with the pairs of glowing eyes, but before he could see more, the Wisp flew right into his face.

The feeling was like little more than a breeze, but the mental impression that said, “What the hell are you doing?” was enough to get him to start moving.

[Hp 26 > 80]

Drinking a potion Lan ran, the Light from the Wisp acting as a bulwark against the shadows dragging his battered body forward, but that didn’t stop the things within the dark from trying to attack him. A long black blade shot from his right and almost took Lan in the neck, while another passed by his head as he dodged under the first. Tendrils burst from the ground seeking Lan, but he managed to outrun it.

Moments later, Lan found the ground becoming soft, and as he spared a moment to look found the ground covered in goblin bodies, but even as Lan reached the edge of the darkness, he could hear thousands of voices crying out in pain and confusion as the swarm of goblins was slowly devoured.

Breaking the dark, Lan hit the ground as the normal sounds of the forest returned, as if the mayhem taking place in the sphere of uncaring shadow wasn’t even happening.

The Wisp urged him on, and Lan moved just as a tendril lashed out at him; when it came at him again, Lan reacted and slashed at it. Dispelling it far easier than he expected. Lan walked backwards until he had reached the tree line leaving him to stare at the orb as all the pieces fell into place.

It wasn’t the swarm that the forest had been running from. Nor what the Wisp was leading him to. Why the beasts were acting against their nature and the great change that had birthed the now-dead Goblin King. It was this…