For the first time since the Demon Progenitor’s defeat, I faced a genuine threat to my life. I had no doubt that this was orchestrated by the Human Progenitor or whoever was behind the monster horde, but the timing was so precise that I almost found myself grateful to the unknown mastermind.

One Harrowing Brute would have been a piece of cake for our trio of fighters. But there wasn’t just one. Instead, dozens—no, hundreds—of them poured out of the nearby desert.

The sheer number was surprising, given the desert’s sparse resources and harsh environment, which usually only supported massive Wyrms. When my fist smashed into the skull of the first brute, blowing out a tree-sized hole from the back of its head, I barely had a moment to react before five more replaced it. I frowned.

That’s odd, I thought, dodging a rampaging, bull-like creature with massive twin horns aimed straight at me. The beast barely missed, tearing the edge of my shirt as I evaded its bulk by mere inches. Despite its massive size, whatever that creature was, it moved Ashwash fast.

Grunting, I released an enormous surge of energy from my core, coalescing it around me in a protective armor. If I’d known I’d be facing a horde like this, I would’ve brought a weapon.

I shook my head, dispelling the useless thoughts, and refocused on the danger at hand. Just in time. A Harrowing Brute was mere yards in front of me, maw wide open, gathering an alarming amount of energy and mana onto its tongue. The pull of its gravity almost made the attack feel tangible.

“Gravitum blast,” Nasq shouted. “Get down!”

For a split second, I considered facing the beam head-on. But something told me now wasn’t the time to doubt my paragon of magic's assessment. I threw myself to the ground, and a heartbeat later, the monster’s attack roared overhead with the heat of an erupting volcano. I knew instantly that my energy armor would have been annihilated.

Sand whirled around, stinging my face as I shielded myself. The heat from the attack dissipated just as quickly as it had come, leaving behind a small spark before fading altogether.

I blinked, staring up at the collapsed Harrowing Brute who'd just unleashed the most terrifying attack I'd seen in Graedon, before slowly twisting my head to stare at the destruction behind me. The sand, for miles, had been completely eviscerated by the Gravitum Blast.

“What the flying fuck was that?” Nida screamed, pain lacing her voice like unwanted venom. “It burned half my back off!”

I didn’t have time to check if she was exaggerating. Ten more of the creatures were already preparing the same mana-energy bomb-like attack as the first one. The Brutes trampled over their fallen comrade without care, its body crunching under their collective weight. Blood seeped through the downed creature's every orfice with each uncaring movement the others made.

“What’s that attack?” I asked, gathering energy of my own. “And how are they combining mana and energy like that?”

“It’s self-detonation,” Nasq answered, his hands moving in a blur to draw a spell sigil I didn’t recognize. “Brutes don’t usually start with it, though. Hell, I’ve never seen them gather in groups like this before.”

Unfortunately, there wasn't time to dwell on the anomaly.

I dashed away from the destroyed fog wall with energy-empowered speed, circling the Brutes to approach them from the side. I skirted the village's edge, avoiding the stone ground whenever I could and keeping to the sand. If I could hit them from the side and surprise them…

My thoughts were cut short when a massive shadow slammed into me from the side in the exact way I'd intended to engage the Harrowing Brutes. I crashed through the wall of a dilapidated shop, the air knocked out of my lungs. Dazed, I staggered to my feet, searching for the attacker. All I saw were shifting shadows.

“Shit,” I grunted, remembering the Gravitum Blasts the Harrowing Brutes had been preparing. I scrambled up, tossing off a long pole of rotting wood that had fallen on me, and stumbled to the doorway. Nasq and Nida were too far in the distance now for me to see whether they were okay.

Luckily, the following few seconds made it so I didn't need to.

The Harrowing Brutes unleashed their attack. A massive, black swirling mass of corrupted mana and energy coalesced in the sky. It absorbed light and mana from its surroundings, quickly building into a devastating force as the ten power sources combined into a single destructive force.

And somehow, Nasq held it back.

No, I realized, a surge of pride welling up inside me. He’s pushing them back.

Nasq’s magic manifested as a bright white shield, colliding with the darkness of the Brute’s beam over what used to be the town square. Now just a giant hole in the sand, all the gravel and stone swept away by the strength of the two colliding forces.

He was, somehow, managing to put up a defense against ten beams that I was confident would have decimated my energy armor.

Just how fast are they growing? I wondered.

“Sooooo,” hissed a cold voice that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. “You are the infamous Soul Weaver they talk about so often?”

“They who?” I asked, turning slowly to face the darkness of the store front I'd just been shoved inside and subsequently exited. I extended my senses to locate the creature within the darkness, but something powerful shrouded it. Something other than the creature within.

“Theee masters, of course,” it continued, the sound of its words the note of menacing music, causing the hair on the back of my neck to shoot up as a sudden pressure caressed my cheek.

At that instant, I unleashed the ball of energy I’d been storing. It exploded outwards from my core, a shockwave demolishing what was left of the shop. Wood, stone, and debris flew in every direction, joined by the unbidden creature’s shriek.

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I waited for the thud of its landing, then tore toward the sound. The creature was humanoid, but I didn’t have time to see more before I pounced, my fist slamming into the back of its head with the full force of a silver core, emitting a sickening crunch. Its body skidded across the cobblestone street, finally crashing into a well. Half a dozen bricks cracked, some pieces tumbling to pelt the back of the creature's head.

“Tell me what you are,” I demanded, stalking toward it with the primal hunger of a predator nearing in on its prey. White and black light danced around me in wisps of energy, crackling with the thrill of adrenaline and victory.

“I am whatever I choose to be,” it said, its previously reptilian voice replaced by the familiar lilt of a human accent.

Lilliana’s accent.

The creature rose like a puppet on strings, its neck twisting unnaturally as it straightened. A young girl of about sixteen stood before me, with brilliant red eyes, shoulder-length brown hair, a sharp chin, and a jaw set in stubborn determination.

“Right now, I’m you.”

“How fascinating,” I murmured, slowly moving closer, the danger of the situation nudged to the back of my mind by the interesting encounter. “You must be a rather powerful mimic to withstand a hit with that much heart energy behind it. Not a slime mimic, then. Something else?” I began circling it, analyzing every inch. “You’ve mirrored each of Lilliana’s attributes to near perfection, from facial expressions to muscle tone. I’ve never seen such an accurate imitation after so little time spent observing.”

The mimic stomped forward, baring its teeth in a bizarre imitation of my own gestures. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I am no mere mimic,” it growled, Lilliana’s mirrored image slowly morphing back into the shadowed figure from earlier. Its body faded into something like smoke, becoming increasingly translucent with each moment that passed. “I am a Skinwalker.”

“A Skinwalker, huh…” I mused. “Sounds like you’re just a glorified mimic.”

The entirety of its shrouded form trembled, voice reverberating with contempt as the darkness of its abyss seemed to sputter in different shades of black. “How dare you compare me to those insignificant, pathetic beas—”

Its words were cut by my fist once again driving itself into its face. This time, however, my fist all but phased through the ghostly image. I tried desperately to catch my balance after the strike knocked me completely off balance. But before I could, the creature reformed into Lilliana and hit me with a powerful kick that sent me tumbling backward.

I gritted my teeth through the pain. Without pause, I was back on the attack, executing a perfect sequence of strikes, blocks, and evasions. Every motion I’d been trained in during my time as a Princess Candidate flowed effortlessly.

The Lilliana across from me had her brow deeply furrowed with concentration, though she seemed none the worse as she matched each of my motions with equal fluidity and preciseness.

“This is crazy,” I said, unable to stop a grin from spreading. “I can understand matching each of my physical traits, but how are you able to use them to the same extent that I am despite just gaining them? I didn’t feel any mental corruption, so you didn’t access any memories. This is quite a curiosity.” We separated with mirrored leaps backward, still staring at each other with heaving chests and brilliant red eyes. “I want you, Skinwalker.”

It scoffed, mimicking my habit of twirling strands of hair around a finger. “You know nothing of Walkers, do you, Soul Weaver?”

I shrugged, itching to find out just how far the Skinwalker’s abilities extended. Could it copy individual skills? Attributes? Where did its mimicry end?

I can use this creature. The thought sent a thrill down my spine. The things I could do with a powerful mimic monster under my control. The Alistar Duchy wouldn’t even realize I was tearing it to shreds and rebuilding it as I saw fit right under their noses.

“Sssstop looking at me like that,” it snarled, but took a step back instead of forward.

“It’s been fun playing with you,” I said, deciding I needed to get back to Nida and Nasq. Even if they did more than just hold the line and managed to deal some damage, they wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long. I was already surprised Nasq had managed to withstand such powerful blasts of mana and energy. With that in mind, I shifted my tactics from close combat to long-distance attacks, relying on my mastery of energy manipulation. I raised a finger and pointed it at the Skinwalker. “Hope you have a high defense.”

Unlike the crude beams of energy conjured by the Harrowing Brutes or even Nasq’s attacks, my power was a precise, deadly art. My Core was an ocean of energy, while most people could barely muster a lake. And I wielded that energy with pinpoint control.

A single ray of pure lunar energy erupted from my raised finger, no thicker than a strand of hair, and shot toward the mimic’s chest with the speed and crackling fury of a lightning bolt. The air shimmered and frayed around it from the heat of the beam.

The mimic’s eyes widened in shock as it barely dodged to the side. The beam grazed its left leg, leaving behind a deep, red line that smoked and stank of burnt flesh. Black ooze bubbled up before slowly dribbling down its limb.

I didn’t relent. Lunar beam after lunar beam fired at the creature, each streaking through the air with a speed that left the Skinwalker struggling to keep up.

“Fight me!” it shrieked, its voice more panicked than commanding as another beam tore through its shoulder, splattering more black blood across the cobblestone street.

I ignored its cries. I had no intention of killing it. Not yet, at least. Capturing it was my goal, and for that, I needed to time my move perfectly. If the creature even suspected what I was about to do, I had no doubt it would try to escape.

When the Lilliana clone finally took a third beam to its leg, causing it to stagger and drop to one knee, I darted forward. My storage ring glowed faintly as I summoned my old energy-nullifying handcuffs. According to Nasq, they should also dampen, if not completely nullify, magic.

The mimic’s mouth opened in a shriek that echoed through the street as it spotted the handcuffs. It tried to run, dragging its mangled legs behind it, but it barely managed a few feet.

It didn’t matter. I had it in the cuffs within seconds.

The mimic let out another deafening scream before going limp, as if all its will to fight had drained away. It crumpled to the ground like a discarded rag. I took only a moment to drag the unconscious creature into the ruins of a nearby store. There wasn’t much of anything around that I could use to detain the creature, other than debris. Most of any material was burnt, or covered in ashes of something else that burned, or was just ripped apart from the concussive blasts of Nasq and the Brutes’ magic.

I would have preferred to find some rope, but in its absence, I settled for piling a few hundred pounds of rubble on top of the mimic. If it died under that weight, then it wasn’t worth my time anyway.

Another series of earth-shaking explosions echoed from the direction I’d come from, and a swell of pride welled up inside me. Nida and Nasq had come such a long way.

I grabbed a broken pipe half-buried beneath a fallen wall, left the ruined building behind, and sprinted forward to continue circling the Brutes. My plan proved to be, for the second time that day, overly naive. As I broke free from the maze of ruined homes and stores, I found myself in the sand-covered outskirts. I climbed to the top of a dune and froze.

It wasn’t terror that rooted me to the spot—though the sight was certainly terrifying.

I stared in pure amazement and confusion at the approaching horde of creatures, hurricanes of sand trailing behind them as thousands of them raced across the ocean of dunes toward the little village of Brightstone.

Okay. Maybe the Progenitor wasn’t actually out to help me. Or maybe it was overestimating me.

I checked inward on my heart ring hopeful of some improvement to help in the imminent battle. But when I examined the ring, I frowned. It had barely progressed in its development. In hindsight that was to be expected since the fight with the Skinwalker hadn’t been all that challenging, not after I’d shifted to long-distance attacks.

Grinding my teeth, I turned and sprinted back toward Nida, Nasq, and Brianna. I needed to get them to the flying carriage and out of here. Alone, I could survive. Together, they’d almost certainly die—even if I somehow managed to come out victorious.