After being dragged for what felt like the better part of an hour, they were deposited in a clearing deep within the forest. The roots released their captives in the center of a configuration of sickly green pylons before pulling away and forming a thick wall of roots surrounding the duo.
Calvin quickly scanned the clearing, his eyes darting from the glowing green pylons to the dense wall of roots surrounding them. The eerie light cast by the pylons bathed the area in an unsettling emerald hue. He rushed over to Crash, who lay on the ground, bruised and battered from their violent journey through the forest.
"Crash, are you alright?" Calvin asked, kneeling beside his companion and checking for serious injuries.
Crash groaned, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. "I've been better, but I'll live. What the hell just happened?"
"Those roots, they must be connected to Kyrak," Calvin said, his brow furrowed in thought. "And these pylons, they're just like the ones Void used in the tutorial. I knew it, this whole thing with Kyrak is linked to the corruptors."
Crash nodded, wincing as he got to his feet. "So, what's the plan, boss?"
Calvin pointed to the pylons. "We need to destroy those things as quickly as possible. Use your explosives skills, anything you've got. We can't let them stay operational."
"You got it," Crash said, reaching for his belt and pulling out a handful of grenades. "Stand back, this might get messy."
As Crash began setting up his explosives around the base of the nearest pylon, Calvin kept a watchful eye on their surroundings. The wall of roots seemed to pulse with a malevolent energy, as if it were alive and aware of their presence. He knew they had to work fast, before whatever force controlled the roots decided to intervene.
Crash finished rigging the first pylon with explosives and moved on to the next, his hands working swiftly and efficiently. Calvin joined him, using his own skills to help speed up the process. Together, they methodically placed charges around each pylon, creating a network of destruction that would hopefully bring the structures crashing down.
As they worked, Calvin's mind raced with questions. What was Kyrak's endgame? How were the corruptors involved? And most importantly, how could they stop them before it was too late? He knew they needed answers, and fast.
With the final pylon rigged, Crash and Calvin retreated to the center of the clearing. Crash held up a detonator, his finger hovering over the trigger. "Ready when you are, boss."
Calvin nodded, his jaw set with determination. "Do it."
Crash pressed the button, and a series of explosions rocked the clearing. The pylons shattered, sending shards of glowing green crystal flying in all directions. The wall of roots shuddered and writhed, as if in pain, before slowly beginning to recede.
As the smoke cleared, Calvin and Crash cautiously approached the remains of the pylons. The structures lay in ruins, their once-menacing presence reduced to nothing more than shattered remnants.
"Good work, Crash," Calvin said.
Calvin turned his gaze to the now-open path where the wall of roots had once stood. "Let's move. We've got a lot of work ahead of us."
Before they could take even a dozen steps, beams of dark energy fired out from the surrounding bushes. The first few narrowly missed Calvin as he dove out of the way. Crash however, wasn't so lucky.
Calvin's eyes widened in horror as he watched the dark beam of energy punch through Crash's torso. Time seemed to slow down as Crash coughed up dark blood, the viscous liquid splattering on the ground as he fell to his knees. Before Calvin could even process what had happened, more dark beams fired out from the brush in every direction, cutting through the air with a sinister hum.
Reacting on instinct, Calvin summoned his Storm Legion, the ethereal warriors materializing around him in a flurry of crackling energy. The legionnaires moved to block the incoming beams, their translucent shields absorbing the dark energy with a series of resonating thuds. Calvin urgently rushed towards Crash's position, his heart pounding in his chest as he dodged and weaved through the onslaught of energy beams.
As he reached Crash's side, Calvin's stomach churned at the sight before him. Crash lay on the ground, his body convulsing as he coughed up more blood. The wounds on his torso bubbled with a sickening black energy that spread like a malignant cancer, corroding the armor and flesh around it. The acrid smell of burning metal and seared flesh filled Calvin's nostrils, making him gag.
"Crash, stay with me!" Calvin shouted, his voice barely audible over the chaos of the energy beams and the crackling of his Storm Legion. He knelt beside his fallen comrade, his hands hovering over the wounds, unsure of what to do. The black energy seemed to pulse and writhe as if it had a life of its own.
Crash's eyes fluttered open, his gaze unfocused and glazed with pain. "Boss," he croaked, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't think I'm gonna make it."
"Don't say that," Calvin snapped, his voice cracking with emotion. "You're going to be fine. We'll get you out of here and back to Olympus. Marshall will fix you up, just like always."
Crash shook his head weakly, a sad smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Not this time, boss. This isn't something even Marshall can fix."
Calvin felt a lump form in his throat as he watched the black energy continue to spread across Crash's body. He knew deep down that Crash was right, but he refused to accept it. He had lost too many people already, and he wasn't about to lose another.
"I'm not leaving you behind," Calvin said, his voice filled with determination. "We're getting out of here together, no matter what."
Crash reached up and grabbed Calvin's arm, his grip surprisingly strong despite his weakened state. "Listen to me, boss. You have to go. You have to stop Kyrak and the corruptors. That's the only thing that matters now."
Crash smiled, a genuine smile that seemed to light up his face despite the pain and the darkness consuming him. "You don't need me, boss. You've got Freya and the others."
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Calvin felt a tear slide down his cheek as he gripped Crash's hand tightly.
Crash nodded, his eyes drifting closed as the black energy consumed the last of his body. "Give 'em hell, boss. Give 'em hell for me."
With those final words, Crash's body went still, the black energy dissipating into the air like a cloud of noxious smoke. Calvin knelt there for a moment, his head bowed in grief and rage.
More beams of dark energy shot out from the surrounding foliage, hurtling towards Calvin with malicious intent. In that moment, something inside him snapped. The grief, the rage, the sheer helplessness of watching yet another fall victim to the corruptors' machinations - it all boiled over into a seething, uncontrollable maelstrom of emotion.
Calvin's control over his powers slipped, and the storm essence within him surged forth like a tidal wave. Lightning crackled and arced from his body, lashing out indiscriminately at the surrounding trees and bushes. The air around him hummed with barely contained energy, his battleplate glowing with an intense, blinding light.
The beams of dark energy that had been aimed at Calvin were swallowed up by the storm, dissipating into nothingness as they were engulfed by the raw, primal power of the tempest. The foliage around him burst into flames, the dry leaves and branches igniting like kindling under the onslaught of lightning.
Calvin barely noticed the destruction he was causing. His mind was consumed by a single, overwhelming thought: Kyrak. The one that had orchestrated all of this suffering, all of this death. The one responsible for Crash's fate, and the fate of countless others.
"KYRAK!" Calvin screamed, his voice raw with anguish and fury. "COME OUT AND FACE ME, YOU COWARD!"
His words were swallowed up by the roar of the flames and the crackling of the lightning, but he didn't care. He continued to rage, pouring all of his pain and anger into the storm that swirled around him.
The forest burned, the flames spreading rapidly as the lightning continued to arc out from Calvin's body. The heat was intense, the smoke thick and choking, but Calvin paid it no heed. His focus was solely on the enemy, on the one who had caused all of this suffering.
He could feel the storm essence within him reaching a fever pitch, threatening to consume him entirely. But he embraced it, letting it fuel his rage and his determination. He would make Kyrak pay for what he had done, no matter the cost.
As the flames climbed higher and the smoke grew thicker, Calvin stood at the center of the maelstrom, his eyes blazing with barely contained power.
As the raging inferno consumed the surrounding forest, twisted abominations emerged from the flames, their grotesque forms silhouetted against the flickering light. They surged towards Calvin, their movements erratic and unnatural, driven by a malevolent force that knew no fear or reason.
But Calvin, lost in the throes of his own grief and anger, barely registered their approach. The storm essence within him continued to build, reaching a crescendo of raw, untamed power. Lightning crackled and arced from his body, lashing out at the approaching abominations with a fury that matched his own.
The creatures were swallowed up by the storm, their twisted forms convulsing as the lightning tore through them. Their flesh sizzled and burned, the acrid smell of charred meat mingling with the smoke that choked the air. One by one, they fell, their bodies reduced to blackened husks by the relentless onslaught of the storm.
As the last of the abominations crumpled to the ground, Calvin felt himself rising off the ground, his feet leaving the earth as he levitated in the center of the clearing. The storm swirled around him, a vortex of crackling energy that seemed to draw its power from his very soul.
But then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the storm dissipated. A massive pulse of energy, similar to the one that had struck Alderwood, erupted from the ground beneath Calvin's feet, shattering his concentration and sending him tumbling back to the earth.
He landed hard, his body slamming into the ground with a sickening thud. Pain lanced through his limbs, and he tasted blood in his mouth. But even as he struggled to push himself back to his feet, he felt the ground begin to tremble beneath him.
Something was coming. Something large and powerful, its footsteps shaking the very earth as it approached. Trees cracked and fell in the distance, their trunks snapping like twigs under the weight of the approaching behemoth.
And then, they emerged from the treeline. Two towering colossi, their forms twisted and misshapen, flanked a being that seemed to straddle the line between human and something else entirely. Its skin was pale and translucent, shot through with pulsing veins of dark energy. Its eyes glowed with a malevolent intelligence, fixing Calvin with a gaze that seemed to pierce his very soul.
"Kyrak," Calvin growled, his voice hoarse and ragged from the smoke and the screaming.
The being regarded him with a smirk, its lips curling into a sneer of contempt. "So, you are the one who has been causing so much trouble," it said, its voice a sibilant hiss that sent shivers down Calvin's spine. "The leader of the pathetic resistance that seeks to stand against the inevitable."
Calvin struggled to his feet, his body aching and exhausted from the storm that had raged within him. He glared at the avatar of Kyrak, his eyes blazing with defiance. "We will stop you," he said, his voice filled with conviction. "No matter what it takes, we will not let you win."
Kyrak laughed, a sound that was at once both human and utterly alien. "Foolish mortal," it said, shaking its head in amusement. "You have no idea of the forces you are dealing with. The power that I wield is beyond your comprehension."
The avatar gestured to the destruction that surrounded them, the burning forest and the blackened corpses of the abominations. "Look around you," it said, its voice dripping with disdain. "This is but a taste of what I am capable of. And yet, you still think you can stand against me?"
Calvin's hands clenched into fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white with the force of his grip. "We will never stop fighting," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Not until you and your kind are wiped from the face of this world."
Kyrak's avatar regarded him for a long moment, its eyes narrowing in calculation. "Perhaps you are not as foolish as I thought," it said, its voice taking on a note of grudging respect. "Your power is impressive, for a mortal. It would be a shame to see it wasted in a futile struggle against the inevitable."
The avatar took a step forward, its form shimmering and wavering like a mirage in the heat of the flames. "Join me," it said, its voice a seductive purr. "Pledge your allegiance to me, and I will grant you power beyond your wildest dreams. Together, we could rule this world and all others."
Calvin's lips curled into a snarl of disgust. "I would rather die than join you," he spat, his voice dripping with venom.
The avatar shrugged, its form flickering and wavering like a candle in the wind. "So be it," it said, its voice cold and dismissive. "But know this, mortal. Your defiance will only bring you pain and suffering. In the end, you will beg for the release of death."
Calvin's eyes blazed with a fierce determination, and he raised his hand, channeling the last of his storm essence into a bolt of lightning that crackled and arced towards the avatar. But to his shock and horror, the bolt passed right through the being, dissipating into nothingness as it struck the ground behind it.
The avatar laughed, a sound that was at once both mocking and pitying. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" it asked, shaking its head in amusement. "This is merely a projection, a shadow of my true form. I am elsewhere, mortal, working on matters far more important than dealing with a pest such as you."
Calvin's heart sank as the realization of his own helplessness washed over him.
But even as despair threatened to overwhelm him, Calvin felt a flicker of something else deep within his soul. A spark of defiance, of determination, that refused to be extinguished no matter how dire the circumstances.
He straightened his shoulders, his eyes locking with those of the avatar. "You may be powerful," he said, his voice steady and unwavering. "But you are not invincible. We will find a way to stop you, no matter how long it takes or how many of us fall in the process."
The avatar regarded him for a long moment, its expression unreadable. "We shall see, mortal," it said, its voice a whisper that seemed to echo in the stillness of the clearing. "We shall see."
And with that, the projection flickered and vanished, leaving Calvin alone with two massive, grotesque behemoths in the midst of the destruction, his heart heavy with the weight of the task that lay ahead.