Gareth: "Woah."  

Looking up at the largest dark pillar, Gareth was amazed. Compared to the others, which were quickly disappearing, this last pillar was still going strong. Though it had definitely shrunk since its first appearance, the trademark jet black colour and intimidating aura were still there. Even now it gave him the chills. Especially after getting within a couple meters of it. 

Nicholas: "Yeah." 

Standing to Gareth's side, Nicholas also marvelled at the dozen meter wide pillar of darkness. Even though he was more experienced with Domain than Gareth, being a veteran of 5 missions, the current situation was way beyond his knowledge. Though that wasn't surprising with his position as an unranked. Standing to his side was Sasha. Like usual the little girl remained silent. Though looking at her face, you could see she wasn't unaffected by the spectacular scene.  

Nicholas: "This has got to be Rob, right?"  

Having gone around all of the other pillars and seen the people that were inside them, Nicholas had come to this conclusion. Being that Rob was getting the biggest power up, it also followed that he'd have the biggest pillar.  

Gareth: "I'd guess so, shall we go and take a look?"  

Gesturing to another side of the pillar, Gareth pointed that everyone else had gathered there. Only the three of them were away from the rest of the group. Noticing that was the case, Nicholas nodded towards Gareth.  

Nicholas: "Sure."  

Walking over together, the three of them joined up with everyone. 

Nicholas: "Hey guys." 

Calling out to them, Nicholas was surprised by their lack of response. It wasn't that he was being ignored, but that they were too busy staring wide-eyed at the pillar to even notice him. Confused by their actions, Nicholas followed their line of sight. As soon as his eyes caught what they were looking at, he understood their reactions.  

Gareth: "W, what is that?"  

To Nicholas's side, Gareth also looked into the dark pillar. Seeing the clearly visible creature floating there, Gareth muttered out a few words. Floating a few inches from the pillar's edge was a massive pale figure.  

Standing over 3 meters tall, with long monstrously thick limbs. Though it still had a generally humanoid shape, two sets of arms stretched out from either side of its body. Its legs were as thick as tree stumps and its torso was easily three times the size of even Tony's. On it's back spread out a pair of leathery wings. As well as its physical deformities, the creature had several other unique traits. Pale grey skin and dark sunken yellow eyes gave it a terrifying atmosphere. Just looking at the devilish thing for a few seconds would be enough to drive the average man insane. At current, the creature seemed to be asleep. But as everyone watched on, it began to stir. At first, it jittered slightly. But as time went on and its movements became more and more violent. It seemed to be regaining its lucidity as the grogginess of its sleep faded away. Watching the terrifying thing struggle back and forth left everyone speechless.  

Pluvia: "Is that, Rob?"  

Slightly perturbed, Pluvia looked over at everyone else.   

Solomon: "It has to be, but what happened to him?"  

Having already been convinced this was Rob, Solomon began calculating several possibilities in his head. Though at first, he tried to figure out what race Rob had received, he didn't have a clue. With a little hesitance, he resigned that question to the back of his mind. Considering how Rob would react to his sudden transformation became Solomon's next priority. If Rob's race had messed with his mind, it was possible that All that would be left is a mindless monster. But even if that wasn't the case, and he'd retained his sanity, how would he react to this transformation. Though he was more mentally tough than the average person, Solomon doubted he'd be unaffected by such a change. Before Solomon could dive into his speculations further, Alice's words brought him back to the present.  

Alice: "I don't know, but whatever it is can't be good."  

Glancing back towards the grotesque creature, Alice felt a chill run down her spine. Just looking at the horrid thing made her want to run away screaming.   

Tony: "Looks like our time's running out."  

Confused by Tony's words, everyone looked towards him. Noticing himself become the Cente, Tony pointed towards the other pillars. looking over, everyone understood his earlier words. 

Nicholas: "They've finished already?"  

Without realising it, everyone had spent a long time marvelling at Rob. During that time, the other characters had completed their transformations. As the last wisps of darkness sunk into their bodies, the dark pillars disappeared. Gently stepping onto the ground, the characters were freed.  

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

Marlena: "Agh, I'm free!"  

Realising that, Marlena threw her hands up in the air. Having been suspended in the air for so long, she thought she'd never escape.  

Lily: "Jason? Is that you?"  

Emerging from her own pillar, Lily called out for her boyfriend. Around her body, the dark black ghost was still coating her. Because of that, her vision was hindered. She'd only realised she'd escaped the pillar after hearing Marlena's scream. After rejoicing in her freedom, the first person she thought of was her lover. 

Jason: "Ah, I'm here!"  

Seeing his girlfriend encased in a weird black shell, Jason became worried. Running towards her, he was extremely worried. But as he got within 10 feet of his girlfriend, the situation took a sudden turn. The Black Ghost that was surrounding her reacted to Jason. Seeing him as a threat, it pounced towards him. Working on instinct, it went for his throat with its sharp claws. Realising a tragedy was about to occur, Solomon tried to sprint forwards. But the distance was too far. He Wouldn't reach Jason in time to save him. With a speed beyond any human, the black ghost Arrived in front of Jason. Without the slightest hint of hesitation, it lashed out. As it's sharp fingertips grew ever closer to ending his life, Jason could only watch on helplessly. Resigning himself to death, he closed his eyes.   

Lily: "NOOOOO!!!"  

Seeing what was about to happen, Lily let out an ear-splitting scream.  

Jason: "Huh."  

After a few seconds, Jason was surprised to not feel any pain. Thinking it might be the adrenaline suppressing it, he forced his tightly closed eyes open. But what he saw wasn't the view from his head spiralling through the air. Instead, he was greeted by the black ghosts Spiral shaped head. Looking down, he saw the ghost's hand hovering Next to his neck. The deadly figures pitch black claws were less than a millimetre from his neck, yet they hadn't reaped his life.  

Ghost: "Guuurrr."  

Looking back at lily, the spiral headed figure let out a low growl. Then almost instantly afterwards, it fell apart. The black mist that made up its body crumbled into dust. Then as if guided by a sudden gust of wind, that dust flowed back towards Lily. Sinking into her body, it quickly disappeared from sight.  

Jason: "Haah!"  

Feeling like he'd survived a catastrophe, Jason collapsed to the floor. Feeling the cold sweat running down his back, Jason had a rush of catharsis. As the whole ordeal settled into his body, a wave of fatigue hit Jason. Unable to support his own body, he collapsed to the floor. 

Jason: "I'm Alive!"  

After screaming out those simple words, he laid down on the rocky cave floor. Running over to him, Tears streaked down Lily's face. Being careful not to injure him she jumped into his bosom. 

Lily: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."  

Repeating herself over and over again, Lily apologised to Jason. Confused as to why she was apologising, he wanted to tell her it was alright. But after his close shave with death, he didn't even have the energy to say a single word. Laying placidly on the floor, Jason watched the light skinned girl cry into his chest. 

Alice: "Haah, looks like we just avoided a disaster." 

looking at the two of them laid out on the floor, Alice let out a relieved sigh. Having tried to rush forwards a minute ago, she realised much like Solomon that there wasn't enough time. Even if she was twice as fast, the ghost was already extremely close to Jason. It was ludicrous for her who didn't specialise in speed, to even try and make it in time. Yet she couldn't just sit still and do nothing. But luckily the situation had taken a turn for the better and resolved itself before something unthinkable happened. 

Solomon: "Yeah, that was too close." 

Bear man: "AAAAARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!" 

Before he could revel in the newfound peace, Solomon heard an ear-shattering roar. On instinct, he turned to face the noise. Worried that something dangerous was happening again, he readied himself for any possibility. But When he saw what was happening, his momentary panic disappeared. A few meters away from himself, the bear man was freaking out. Holding its front paws out, the bear man's expression spoke for itself. It kept looking at its own fur covered body as if questioning its own existence. After a few second, it almost completely lost it. Spotting Solomon and everyone else standing close by, the bear man tried to walk towards them. As if resisting its true nature, it tried to walk on its back legs. But after taking a few unsteady steps, it was obviously struggling. nevertheless, the bear man pressed on. Just as it was about to reach everyone, it suddenly lost its footing. In a rather dramatical fashion, the bear man tripped over its own feet and fell flat on its face. As if losing its will to fight what it had become, the bear man just lay limply on the ground. it was at this point that it's for took a sudden change. 

Bear man: "Arrgh. What, I, is happ, happening?" 

All of a sudden, the bear man's body began shrinking. Within seconds it's thick coat of luscious brown fur had receded into its skin. Then it's human features started to grow more prominent. As this process went on, everyone stood around marvelling. Suprised by the sudden change, they were all speechless. But even more surprisingly, the bear man had started speaking. Though the voice was still extremely rough, and at times unrecognisable, it had regained a lot of its human qualities.  

Bear man: "My, my body." 

After ten seconds or so the bear man's change was complete. The Thick coat of fur had been completely disappeared, revealing the skin underneath. The bone structure had also returned to that of a normal humans, leaving, for all intents and purposes, a normal person laying on the ground. Realising he'd become human once again, the bear man didn't hesitate to spring to his feet. Jumping up and down on the spot he was almost bursting with joy at his return to human-hood. 

Bear man: "I'm Human! I'm normal again! I'm ME!!!" 

Looking at the man bouncing around with no regards for his surroundings made everyone's cheeks go red. Unnoticed by the man in question was the distinct lack of clothes. it seemed that when he'd transformed into a bear initially, all of his clothes had been ripped off of his body. But in his elation, he hadn't noticed his lacking attire. So in his jumping around, he'd exposed almost every part of his body to those gathered nearby. 

Solomon: "Ugh, Hud. Hey, Hud! You're not wearing any clothes. 

Having recognised this man a while ago, Solomon took it upon himself to enlighten the man about his current situation. Calling out to get his attention, Solomon used one sentence to explain everything to him. Looking down at his exposed body, Hud started to shake. Slowly lifting his head up to look at the people around him, the mature man turned into a small child. 

Hud: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH!!!!!"