Shrugging, he sent a spike of Void energy out through his palm, and into the crystal. There was an immense amount of Dark elemental energy in the crystal, enough to stymie any attempts by another element to destroy its vessel. The Void was different though. Rather than contest the elemental crystal, instead it broke through the layer of armor around it, releasing it into the world.

The darkness grew past the point of a lack of visible light, becoming more a hole in the world. The tide of elemental energy rippled outwards, and then dissipated, the world slowly coming into view around them. Then Jonathan frowned. Where the crystal had stood, a strange figure now rested, curled up into a fetal position. It was pitch black, looking like a shadow more than anything else.

Jonathan felt an intense sense of danger coming from it, and he instinctively leaped backwards. The creature twitched, and began to rise, power sparking around it. It tilted its head to the sky, and roared, letting out a piercing cry of rage and exultation. The noise buffeted Jonathan and Hushar, actually causing a tiny amount of damage.

“Why does this always seem to happen, no matter where we go?” Jonathan said to nobody in particular.

Hushar merely grunted in response.

With a strange twitching motion, the monster rose to its feet, which Jonathan could now see were turned backwards, like a bird’s. The monster tilted its head, and seemed to be curious about the identity of those who had freed it. Jonathan returned the favor, and scanned the creature.

Elemental Aberration(Boss)

Level 290

Health: 145000/145000

Status: Curious

Jonathan cursed as he read the notification. Whatever this thing was, it was stronger than both him and Hushar.

“I think this a situation for discretion,” Jonathan whispered as he began to back away.

“It seems like it doesn’t-” Hushar leaped backwards as the monster suddenly twitched, the motion carrying it a dozen feet forward in the blink of an eye. The air around it seemed to zip open and then seal shut, allowing for it to teleport.

Jonathan grimaced, and did something he was quite ashamed of. He ran for his life. Stamina pumped into his legs, and he was off like a bullet. As he ran, he sent back a raging sphere of Void energy, distracting the monster for long enough for Hushar to escape as well. Jonathan was forced to slow down for the other man. Their best chance was to stick together.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He spared a glance backwards, and watched as the monster summoned a tiny portal before the incoming black hole, watching it with idle curiosity. The portal flared open further, and the black hole passed through it. Or at least, it tried to. Rather than enter the portal, the concentrated orb of Void energy detonated, tearing apart the portal and the air around it. The monster was flayed apart, strips of darkness peeling from its body and into the orb. Rather than dying though, it merely seemed enraged.

With a howl of fury, it raked one hand across the heavens. Rifts of darkness spread across the sky, and things began to fall from them. Monstrosities of fused flesh and bone, constructed from the imagination of someone insane. The Elemental Aberration cackled, and then teleported towards them, eating up the distance rapidly. As soon as it did so, Jonathan recognized a discomforting truth. The creature was faster than they were.

He turned to fight, not wanting to waste his stamina on an endeavor that would simply end in death. The monster zipped forward, ignoring the deluge of nightmares that it had summoned.

“Freedom, at last,” it whispered. Then it appeared before Jonathan and Hushar, with blades of darkness extending from its fingers.

Jonathan crossed his arms and then sent out an explosion of Void energy, blasting the monster away. It tumbled backwards, but teleported to its feet, a scowl cutting across its otherwise blank face. Hushar swung with his blade, but the monster simply ignored it, letting the weapon pass through it without harm.

Joanthan surged in, cocking back his fist. The monster fell for the feint, and teleported to the left, straight into a Void coated uppercut. The creature fell backwards, seemingly unversed in the art of combat. As the deluge of nightmares continued, some of them began to edge towards the battle.

The Aberration hissed at Jonathan, and sent its claws through the air in a flurry of motion, seemingly striking nothing. Then Jonathan gasped as wounds opened up all across his body, and blood began to pour down his armor.

He grunted in pain, and used Smite, recognizing this fight for it was; a true challenge. As golden Divinity coursed through his veins, he exploded into motion. However, as he attacked, the monster seemed to grow more powerful, learning from its mistake. Add to that its ability to break through armor, Jonathan seemed to be fighting a losing battle.

The monster slowly sped up, ignoring Hushar’s desperate attacks. The man simply did not possess any ethereal elemental energy, only able to create constructs out of stone. Even lava had no effect on the Aberration, which was completely made out of energy.

Jonathan snarled, and reached deep inside himself for an extra level of martial control. As he felt the ingrained knowledge of his fighting style and his Blunt Weapon Mastery skill come to the forefront of his mind, he sank into the comforting bliss of Battle Trance. The three skills orbited one another in his mind, and soon they filled his entire being with concentrated expertise. Having reached the rank of High Journeyman with his skills, he was quite proficient at them, especially with his inflated stats. Although his enemy was quite strong, it was not a skilled fighter, relying instead on elemental cheats and speed to win.