The three orks and two humans all stood together. As though a miniature earthquake had struck, the ground rumbled and the five felt a quivering in their legs.

Coming from the stone mound, a being emerged. It was not of flesh and blood, but of stone. The great stone golem arose from what they had believed to be a landslide. Its height broke that of twenty feet, while its width was nearly the same.

A small head stood atop the golem’s great body, the arms, legs, and torso far greater in proportion. The legs were short, though their width still gave them a great appearance. The arms were wide but held great length to them. The great torso of the golem was a boulder with flattened sides. It would take immense strength just to lift such a thing.

Ren felt unsure fighting such a massive foe without magic. How can you possibly kill such a thing with simple weapons?

To Ren’s great disbelief, the warriors charged into battle with nothing but their spears. Spears against a stone behemoth?

Cella too felt his disbelief at the orks charging into battle with only spears.

The orks rushed the golem. It was uneven on its feet as it was rising from the earth and stones. Bits and pieces of earth and stone began to climb onto the golem with a near sentience. The body of the golem was not yet formed. That information sparked both Ren and Cella into battle before the being fully completed itself.

The orkish warriors began their attack. Ukkar headed the strike, his spear seemed to glisten with power as it thrust into the golem’s joint between its left leg and torso.

The stone-tipped spear did far more damage than Ren imagined. Small pieces of stone and earth flung free as the blade was torn from the wound. The two other orkish warriors thrust their spears into the golem. One stabbed into the right leg’s joint, and the other stabbed into the right arm’s joint.

Ren and Cella ran into the battle as the golem countered.

The three orks were tossed away as the golem slammed down onto the ground. It appeared to have no sense of self-preservation, as one of the ork’s spears remained inside of its arm joint. When it had slammed down, the spear stabbed entirely through the arm joint. The arm hung nearly useless at its side.

Ren ran into the battle, he kicked the golem’s left arm. His leg collided with it, he felt a sharp pain. The stone, unsurprisingly, was hard. Ren’s leg, compared to the stone golem’s arm, was as soft as feathers.

Ren retreated a moment as his vital energy flooded his leg, healing the damage done. He watched as Cella used her life affinity infused fist to punch the golem. The attack seemed far more effective than Ren’s. He saw the energy flowing within her as it repaired any minor damages she incurred.

He began to understand the difference between orks and men. The difference grew between himself and Cella. Ren allowed his eldritch affinity to flow through him. The blackness that flowed from his onyx gem came alive. The energy flowed like black tendrils throughout his body, reinforcing it, and strengthening it. He felt his energies begin being consumed as the eldritch affinity tore through his very being.

With a great sweeping kick, Ren slammed into the head of the golem. A small series of cracks appeared across its head.

Ren felt the timer ticking as his affinity ate away at him. The eldritch affinity was something separate from the energy he used. It did in fact eat away at the eldritch energy, but as a resource to pull from, rather than one to devour and ruin.

The golem slammed down and caught Cella’s leg. The orks were still unharmed, but she had been slowing down. The toll of her mana-infused life affinity had severely weakened her. She still was far stronger against the golem with the power, but it was rapidly weakening her.

Ukkar grabbed Cella, nearly tossing her to Ren. Pumped full of corruption, he felt himself more powerful than ever. He took Cella and jumped into a tree. The power he felt was immense, with a wicked look, he winked at her.

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Diving from the tree, black veins began spreading across him. The corruption began to physically show across him as his power hit a crescendo. He only had moments, but in those moments, he knew what he must do.

Crashing down from the tree, he hit down on the golem like a spear. Both feet collided with the back of the golem as it was hammered into the earth. Chunks of stone and earth flung into the air as it was driven down. The orks retreated before pressing the attack again, now vulnerable they speared at the golem’s limbs. The spearless ork tried to wrestle the disabled arm, either to take the spear back or to worsen the injury of the golem.

Ren felt the backlash of his eldritch power, it ran through him as a burning and tingling numbness. He felt weakness slowly creeping into him, and so he attacked while his power still held.

He hammered fists into the back of the golem. Small hairline fractures appeared at the impacts. Ren pulled free his knife, as the golem was trying to fully recover from his hammering blow that drove it into the ground.

With his blade in hand, Ren allowed some of the corruption within him to enter the knife. The blade would break if he wasn’t fast enough. Without using mana, he instead forced the energy into the blade. It was done with an imparment of will, as well as his fourth energy, the eldritch sort.

The golem stopped for a moment as the knife entered the fractures within its back. The eldritch energy ate away at the golem internally, but a powerful force within it made the energy far less effective. The power energy seeped out from the wound on its back.

With his lightless eyes, Ren watched as a strange affinity came forth from the golem. The attack of eldritch corruption had brought it upon them. Great mounds of earth and stone began to climb the golem as it began being repaired. The orkish warriors backed off, as they recuperated. The spearless ork grabbed a great branch, the branch seeming to change in his hands.

Ren felt the strain on him lessen as the eldritch corruption left him. It was a strange sensation, to be strengthened by what had for so long been a punishment for using his powers. With the onyx gem now allowing that energy to course through his body, he hit a predicament. To continue what he was doing was against the ork’s way. It was also against his way. It wasn't right for him to continue the march down this path, regardless of the quick and easy power it had given him.

Ren released the last portion of the eldritch corruption that had been empowering him. A rapid stab at the growing golem poured out the remaining corruption.

Ren stepped back, as a lightheadedness waved across him. He had to be better, he needed to change. Perhaps this power had saved his life many times over by now, but today it was time to rely on his own power.

Cella leaped down from the trees, a great branch in her arms glowed with power as it was infused with her life affinity. By the standards of the orks, Ren wondered if she was breaking their code. Was what she was doing not magic? Was what they were doing not magic either? The life affinity was so far apart from him that he could not understand what they were doing, not entirely. He only understood that all of them had infused their weapons with power, similar to what he had been doing, but far less destructive.

Ren tried to pull the same life affinity into him, but he was blind and deaf to its most obvious signs. Cella and the orks fought with a life-fueled ferocity. Cella’s branch and the weapons of the orks cracked into and stabbed the golem. Regardless of their attacks, the golem continued to grow as the odd energy flowed free from it.

Ren felt helpless as he watched the brawl. The power of the orks was lost to him. He felt the call of the void, the long deafening call to take up its power. The fading echo of a whisper in the void called to him. He pulled himself away from the power that lurched to come to his hands, instead he uselessly threw stones and sticks, trying anything to help in the battle.

Ukkar managed to land a brutal flurry of strikes into the golem’s right leg. An unsteadiness began to take over the golem’s demeanor. The ork felt the power of the golem seeping out, the vital life essence of the golem that fought tirelessly to keep it mobile.

Cella beside him swung heavily with her branch. With her leg healed, she was now able to fully go on the offensive. The branch crashed into the golem’s unsteady leg, the branch snapped on the stone leg, which was nearly knocked free of the joint.

Rebn saw the moment of vulnerability and tried attacking. His body was weak, far weaker than the orks’. He felt his ribs cracking as he threw himself into the leg. His torso knocked free the stone limb from the rest of the golem’s body. Its arm came down on him, crushing him and furthering the damage done by the impact of his attack. Ren felt himself take an involuntary gasp as his body was broken. Darkness passed over him as he felt a crushing force, his consciousness faded into the void.