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The dust settles down, revealing the true magnitude of the gruesome scene that lies before my eyes. Blood and guts lie spread on the stone floor, soaking the sand around the slayed gigantic monster. Its head lies split wide, a miserable mix of brains and blood, deadly fangs and shattered bones.

What a spectacle of pure savagery, I gasp, slowly pushing myself up, legs still trembling, my back aching from the crash. Yet here I am, alive and counting my blessings that the ceiling above still stands, and none of the sharp stones collapsed over me. I check myself, bruises and scratches, a few bleeding cuts, barely skin deep, nothing too worrisome.

Judging by the view ahead, things could have gone far worse.

I walk carefully, looking around. The entire stone chamber is filled with broken carcasses and sharp bones, the remains of countless creatures, a giant slaughterhouse. And now, one more corpse has joined the macabre display.

In front, the powerful beast stands proud, a fierce aura radiating off her entire being. Her massive frame is covered in blood and dust, her still muscles twitching, a mixture of tension and adrenaline, yet her breath is slowing down, her mighty chest rising and falling in a controlled rhythm.

I walk by her side, eyes locked down on the giant creature.

"So... how was your first Shen'kan hunt?"

She turns, her burning bright eyes smiling at me.

It was horrible!

And fucking terrifying!

I almost died in more ways than one, I feel like answering her, yet...

I smile back happily, unable to contain my excitement, my heart pounding inside my chest, my entire body still filled with adrenaline! The thrill of victory floods my mind, a deep and glorious primal instinct flowing through my veins.

We did it!

Glorious! Beautiful, amazing victory!

My smile could be bigger, my joy could be greater if not for my damn fluttering stomach reminding me. Fear still lingers inside, it fights against my happiness, and there is a reason for it.

The image of her body flying through an entire stone pillar still lives vividly inside my mind. It happened so fast, but I can still see it, and I know that at least one of those dreadful tail spikes hit her. It got right through her, passing from one side to the other, piercing her chest, the tail crushing her entire torso!

How can she even stand after such a devastating hit?

My savage queen was hit, a brutal, deadly blow, there is no mistake about it. I slowly look up at Rai'Ze, holding my breath, unwilling to discover the dreadful reality of her mangled chest.

And yet her impressive chest looks fine, except for the shredded bindings, an obvious witness of the piercing spike.

How is that possible?

The beast notices me and looks down at her chest, smiling wide.

"It got me, didn't it?" She nods, touching her seemingly undamaged skin. "They always do."

There's no sign of damage, at least, I can't see any. I relax. It's good to see her smiling again. Yet now I have even more questions.

"They?"

She nods, tightening her chest bindings to make up for the shredded hole.

"Shen'kans, they're full Ae'l, u have to wear them down or else they're too strong to cut down."

I see, so that was why she was dancing around the lizard so much and kept hitting it again and again, trying to bleed the damn thing out. Indeed, my bullets did nothing to it, got squashed on impact. Maybe a bigger gun could have pierced it, a giant elephant gun might stand a chance, but to be honest, looking closer at its thick skull, I really doubt anything could go through.

Yet, despite all that thick bone armor, in the end, her axe cut right through it...

"U take Ae'l from it, it gets in you," she tries to clarify it for me, "the more u fight, the stronger you get."

No, I shake my head, there's no way her strategy can work!

The more you fight, the more energy you lose, you're getting tired, and you start making mistakes. Sooner or later, the damn thing will get you, and when it does...

"Push Ae'l out, Ank'th, u know how." She gestures at her chest and then at my bracelet. "When it hits u, u push back, don't die."

She used Ae'l energy to block the hit? I scratch my head. Yes, that may work, it may knock you the other way of the room, but it will save your internal organs from the worst. Still, she did get pierced, I've seen it with my own eyes, right?

"Get it," she points toward the dead creature in front, "it's all yours."

I look at the giant monster, confused.

Get what?

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A slight tingling sensation rises from my left hand, an odd sensation, like the one I felt before, each time she charged my bracelet. I check my Th'al-nik, its core spinning wild, burning with hunger...

It wants to feed, I can sense it, it wants to take the dead creature's Ae'l!

I act by instinct, still nowhere near understanding how this all works. I point the bracelet at the monster and let the magic happen, or so I feel doing it.

A sudden jolt shakes my body!

My hand gets attacked, a wild and ferocious force gets hold of it! It grabs it, pulls it, and drags my entire arm with it, almost ripping it off my shoulder! It hurts... it should, but no, it doesn't, not really. There is pain, but there's joy too. Eagerness, thirst, hunger rage inside me! There's something amazingly horrible happening, and I can't even understand what!

I try to oppose it, but the force is too strong, and I quickly give in, saving myself from getting torn apart.

A touch? No! Oh God!

My hand smashes through the skin with incredible force, it sinks inside warm flesh, reaching deep before it finally stops advancing, leaving me stuck with my arm half buried inside the disgusting carcass.

I gasp, struggling to free myself, feeling like a prey being eaten alive by this mountain of dead meat.

I feel a tug, another one, and then a surge of power runs through me, a strange wave of energy, a current of some sort, and my mind fills with visions, sounds, colors, emotions, feelings, scents, tastes, all at once. A weird sensation starts spreading through my arm, it's a cold yet hot feeling, a mix of pain and pleasure.

What's happening to me!?

Sparks fly around, energy, pure lighting rushing through my body, burning the soft sand, crackling at my feet as it discharges through the floor. A shower of burning fireflies erupts around me, a blast of energy, and then a final surge of light bursts out before everything suddenly stops, and my hand gets released from the grip!

I quickly pull it out, shacking the numbness and all the bloody filth away!

The smell of burning flesh slowly spreads around. I check, it's not mine... then that means...?

The giant Shen'kan boils right in front of my eyes!

Its flesh burns, bursting in flames and smoke, muscles erupt, and its dreaded long spikes are falling off one after another. White bones start showing, as the entire monster is quickly devoured from within by an invisible force, flesh and skin peeling off, turning into a greyish putrid slush.

I step back, watching its skin ripping off the bones, sizzling and melting, boiling the flesh underneath, steam and smoke coming off as the decay quickly progresses to deeper and deeper organs.

It's energy!

I stole it!

"U lost much." The beast shakes her head, sighing.

I did? I wonder. She's probably right. Most of the energy passed right through me and down into the floor. Such a waste.

Still...

I raise the Th'al-nik, wondering... how much this bad boy can get?

My jaw drops! Most of the bottom lines are completely filled up. How many are lit up? Should I even bother counting? Ten, twenty... sixty... it goes all the way to the back, more than a hundred lines!

And its core still spins! A new line just appeared! And look, another one!

The bracelet has not finished... eating?

"There, take back," Rai'Ze's voice brings me back to the real world, my eyes looking up at her. "Ur axe, u take back."

I look ahead, confused, my axe? Oh yes! I lost it and threw it at the damn lizard right before running away. There it is, stuck inside one of the massive white ribs poking through the boiling flesh. Damn! Did it really go that deep inside?

I'm about to go ahead and get it back if not for the mighty queen who stops me, grabbing my shoulder and keeping me in place.

"U take it back, with that," she points at my bracelet.

I know that tone, she's giving me another lesson. She wants me to use the bracelet and pull back my axe. My bracelet has plenty of charges, and I've seen her doing this before, how hard can it be?

Sure thing! I can do this! Let me get ready...

I look at the Th'al-nik while reaching for the top symbol. I'll count the bottom lines to measure the right amount of Ae'l. They will fade as their stored energy gets released through the core and inside the Mark of Force. How many charges? Twenty? No, I'll charge it with thirty and a bit more just to be sure there will be enough force for the pull.

There, it's all done, and this time, I only used my own Ae'l for it!

Take aim... steady...

"Ank'en'th!" I command, right toward my weapon.

The air behind blows rushes in, forcing me to steady my feet! On the other side, my axe pulls itself out from the giant bone and flows back... a few steps before falling to the ground somewhere inside the bloody mess.

Damn, that was too weak, I shake my head, reaching for the bracelet again.

Fifty, no, sixty charges... that should do it!

"Ank'en'th!!" I rush to order again.

A gust of wind blows around me in full force, almost knocking me over. I expect it, tensing my legs and filling my lungs with plenty of fresh air before releasing the force.

This time, the axe gets fully dislodged, blood and guts flying straight toward me, no, at me!

"ANK'TH!!" I yell, by instinct, forcing whatever Ae'l remained inside the core to rush out and block the incoming spinning missile!

The axe slows down its deadly speed, arching toward the ground and falling, hitting the stone floor right in front of me.

That was close... I sigh, relieved, wiping the sweat away. I try reaching for it, but the beast's hand stops me once more. She wants me to use the force once again. She really doesn't give up, does it?

I look at the rested steel weapon ahead, how much force will it take? It's not that heavy and not that far... I charge it again, not much, just enough. Fifteen charges for the pull, ten charges for the slow down.

I steady myself and raise my right hand.

"Ank'en'th... Ank'th," I calmly command, words almost whispered.

The axe jumps toward me, slowing down just in time before its handle hits my open palm, a bit crooked, but enough for a grab.

I did it! I brandish it around, excited.

"U do that, in battle." Rai'Ze slaps my back, instantly reminding me of the healer woman. I should talk to her, ask her to take a look at my ribs.... before they crack loose for good.

I gasp for air and nod back. Lesson learned!

She raises her massive arm, palm open toward the destroyed corpse of the dead Shen'kan, its head almost intact, everything else turned into white bones and charred meat.

A muted signal! I feel it!

Her massive axe springs out of the stone floor, rushing wild right back into her hand!

Her Ae'l force! I sense it, barely, a narrow force flowing clean toward the target, with perfect precision and accuracy, enough to get it freed from the stone, yet not too much to blow through the roof! It speeds completely under her control from start to finish, with just a small push back right before it touches her hand.

My jaw drops!

A flawless execution.

So, this is how it is done!...

My face lights up, and a wide smile forms on my lips, excitement rushing through my veins. With enough practice, I can be like her, I dream with my eyes open, my new found enthusiasm growing into an irresistible urge to practice more.

Push, hit, pull...push, hit, pull... I repeat to myself, mind dizzy with computations, charges, and forces, each combination, every possible effect, there's so much to experiment, to try and test!

But first... what the hell is she doing right now?!

The mighty beast kneels before the giant head, pushing half of the heavy skull aside, slowly reaching with her arm inside the other. Her hand seems to chase down something hidden deep inside the dark mass of dead lizard brain, but whatever it is, I doubt it's worth the disgusting stench coming from the gaping hole.

She smiles as she rips out a small piece of something, still dripping in fresh blood.

"The Zha'th'rin," she raises her hand proudly, showing her small and dreadfully bright red treasure, "we got the key, now we can open the Gate!"

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