A massive red line spread across the top of my vision, the name plate naming this boss The Stormbringer. It was an elite level boss, and I was rather sure it was going to destroy us both.
The floor cracked and heaved, stone tiles buckling as the Stormbringer’s colossal form began to break through. The tremors grew more violent and dust cascaded from the high ceiling as a glittering behemoth of fulgurite crackling with electric magic tore itself from the earth. Its form was a grotesque tapestry of the temple's motifs, its limbs carved with the very stories and pictures that had lined the temple’s path to this chamber. The monster’s eyes glowed with the same luminescence as the orb it protected.
“Well that’s not good,” I muttered, just before a supernatural aura of fear flowed through me. I resisted it, standing my ground despite the instinct to flee gnawing at the edges of my being. This guardian, fully freed from its earthen base, was a colossus. Its roars echoed like thunder as it stomp both legs in the style of a sumo wrestler about to start his match. Each thump to the ground caused miniature quakes to rock the floor beneath us.
Fixing its radiant gaze upon us, it charged, massive arms swinging with cyclonic force.
Kevinar acted first, his blades a blur as he launched himself at the behemoth. His attacks were precise, aimed at the joints and seams of fulgurite that poked out of the Stormbringer’s body. I followed, the Stormforged Titan-Ax-icearigama in my hands crackling with pent-up fury. Striking out in a sweep, I smashed a line of crystals from its right leg, and noted that between Kevinar and myself, we’d dropped its life force by 2%.
The Stormbringer smashed back, slamming me with a disorienting jab and following with a powerful straight that blasted me off the floor and across the temple lobby into the wall. I looked up, dazed, seeing the cracks radiating out of my cartoonishly demon-shaped crater as I peeled myself out to rejoin combat. I was 30% down, so I kicked in my E-ranked healing and drank a healing potion as I went, watching Kevinar jump, dive, and somersault out of harm’s way.
Hard-pressed and on the defensive, he ducked and slid, unable to find time to attack. But his distraction of the monster was enough, and I charged, swinging my Stormforged Titan-Ax-icearigama in a long and measured arc over my head as I did so. That attack would be a matter of timing, I knew, but as I sprinted forward, it seemed clear that I had judged the strike correctly.
The glittering ax head came down into the monster’s stony chest, cracking it open and exposing its inner electric turmoil to the surface for all to see.
Another 5% down, the Stormbringer bellowed, stomping at the place where I stood. Sparkling ichor splashed out of its open wound as it sought to crush me into the temple's ancient floors, sending electrified droplets smoking into the stone all around us. Dodging at the last breath, the monster’s missed stomp cratered into the floor, sending a shower of stone splinters into the air.
Kevinar, having had time to regroup, darted out from the shadows, both blades flashing purple as he leapt and slashed at patch of sparkling fulgurite on the monster’s back. It reached back, catching him and throwing him in the same fashion its punch had thrown me.
It looked bad for Kevinar, but it was the perfect opportunity. Summoning every ounce of my strength, I struck a critical blow to the Stormbringer's leg. Ice from my ax crackled across its body, locking it into place while simultaneous crumbling chunks of it off into dry, lifeless earth.
The guardian staggered, off-kilter and paralyzed, falling like a sequoia in California. I seized the opening, kicking off a Whirlwind attack and striking the boss in multiple places as I renewed the attack again and again. My exertion points dwindled, but the Stormbringer’s HP were down below the 50% line by the time I was done, and I saw in my peripheral that I’d managed to unlock a Critical Combo set as I attacked, greatly multiplying the speed and damage of my strikes.
The Stormbringer began to vibrate, my Freeze debuff clearly fading, and I struck once more as I backed off, lashing against his opposite leg.
To my absolute surprise, it sheared cleanly off.
Its anguished roar was a sound of pain and fury intertwined, and as it swept its massive arms to ensnare us, Kevinar melted into the shadows, reappearing only to strike with lethal precision.
Materializing like a specter of vengeance, Kevinar was a blur upon the Stormbringer's back, his swords diving deep into the seams of pulsating magic. The creature's roar turned to a pained screech, its movements growing sluggish and erratic.
Watching the action unfold, I apparated two exertion potions, chugging them both down and revitalizing my energy reserves. Sprinting forward, I narrowly missed the flying figure of Kevinar as he was again tossed into the opposite side of the room, before engaging another whirlwind attack.
Spinning in circles, this time a loud crackle of thunder reverberated through the chamber, fat long sparks of storm murder splashing about the chamber. Out of the side of my eye I noticed Kevinar somersault over several of them before turning an evil eye in my direction.
He’ll get over it, Jeldorain said, an undertone of malevolent humor flavoring his words.
Get over it he did, leaping and bounding madly over the flashes and sparks as I finished my attacks. The Stormbringer was running low on health now, and I stepped back out of his way to let him deliver the finishing blows.
Kevinar leapt with otherworldly grace, rising up against the monster’s chest, twin swords aglow with purple-auraed enchantments. Simultaneously, the Stormbringer ducked down, its arms reaching back as it heaved a cone of electric breath into my body. While Kevinar landed upon the monster’s back, I staggered backwards, a variety of elemental resistances sparkling as they debuffed the attack.
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Atop the Stormbringer, near the base of its neck, Kevinar plunged both of his blades into the creature’s core, ending that bit that kept the monster alive. The red line of hit points were empty, and its reaction was immediate. Its roar, once a sound of thunderous fury, morphed into a screech of agony.
It stumbled, groaned, and began to fall to pieces before our very eyes. Kevinar leapt off, coming to stand by my side as we watched. The outer pieces slapped to the ground, revealing a great deal of giant black orbs within.
Kevinar and I shared a look. This didn’t look good. As we watched, the orbs shivered, emitting a yellow glow before rising into the air and forming a smaller, more circular guardian.
I growled, shaking my head. “I hate bosses that don’t die when they’re supposed to.”
Kevinar regarded me with a strange look, but simply nodded, raising his blades and presenting himself sideways towards the Stormbringer’s second form. “I’ll kill this one as many times as it needs to take.”
I charged, the new shape seemingly disoriented. Slashing at the new rounded arms of the monster, my ax carved into the stone at the elbow, severing the rest and sending it tumbling to the ground with a ground-shaking thud.
Kevinar charged as well, leaping up before being slapped down into the dirt. He let out a long moan. Mustering the last vestiges of my exertion power, I executed my Swing ability. The icearigama’s chain wound around the Stormbringer's neck, and with a titan's pull, the new head of the guardian separated from its body as well.
But as I watched, as I saw that this boss was just as easy to assemble as it was to disassemble. Rolling along the temple floor, the balls bounding back up and into place in the spot where I had before taken the Guardian’s arm. And above me, there still wasn’t another boss hp bar.
Smashing at it again, I took off its shoulder while its head came back to its body. A rounded fist struck me in my shoulder, spinning me in place. Striking at the center of its body, I scored a gash into the orb, a fissure of energy blazing forth to light the darkness. Emboldened, I drove the Titan-Ax-icearigama into the fissure, watching electricity blast forth and course over the monster again.
The Stormbringer staggered, its movements slowing as the electrical energy coursed through it. Kevinar seized the moment, his blades finding their mark time and again. The Guardian's roars became groans, the sound of stone grinding against stone.
It lashed out, catching Kevinar with a glancing blow that sent him sprawling.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw it—the altar. A plan, desperate and dangerous, formed in my mind. If the orb was the source of the Guardian's power, then perhaps it was also its weakness.
Dodging a wild swing of black orbed stone, I sprinted toward the altar. The Guardian roared and reached out to stop me. But it was too late. I touched the orb, and the world exploded in light.
The light was blinding, a pure radiance that seemed to pierce the very fabric of reality. It enveloped me, warmth flooding through my veins as if the sun itself had taken residence within my chest. The Orb Guardian halted, its form shimmering uncertainly as the temple was bathed in the celestial glow.
In that moment of divine clarity, I understood the orb's purpose. It was not just a source of light; it was a keystone, the heart of the temple, and the anchor of the Guardian's soul. As my fingers brushed its surface, I felt a connection, a whisper of ancient rites and forgotten languages coursing through my mind.
The Guardian's roar turned to a pained howl, its form beginning to fracture and crumble. I watched, heart pounding, as the once-mighty sentinel of the temple disintegrated before my eyes, its essence returning to the stone from which it had been born. The orb's light dimmed, its task complete, and the temple fell silent but for the settling of dust and debris.
Kevinar rose unsteadily to his feet, his gaze locked on the now inert orb. “You did it,” he breathed, a note of awe in his voice. “Well done.”
We approached the altar together, examining the orb. It was smaller now, its surface cool and dark. The light had retreated into its core, a faint glow that pulsed like a heartbeat. I reached out, hesitant, and as my fingers made contact, the light flared once more, a soft luminescence that filled the room with a gentle radiance.
“It's attuning to you,” Kevinar said. “You've claimed the orb, and with it, the power of this place.”
The energies of this place, I can remember their taste. Born of blood, cleansed and made pure, they are now ours to claim, Jeldorain stated, his voice humble.
I could feel it, a new wellspring of energy within me, a reservoir of light that I could draw upon. It was also something new. An option was waiting here, burning a hole in my insides. I reached into the energy.
A RELIC HAS BEEN ATTAINED.
DRAIN THE EYE OF THE STORMBRINGER Y/N?
I hesitated, entirely unsure what this might mean. Never had anything like this appeared in Lords of Chaos. Deep within my soul, I could feel Jeldorain quaking with anticipation. The sudden bare hunger that radiated from his body pushed me back from the message and I felt the urge to reject the orb, and to push the energy back into the Eye.
Smashing through my mental barriers, howling with rage, Jeldorain knocked me aside and took over our body. I watched in horror as he accepted the energies of the relic, then felt tremendous pain as they flowed through our body’s every cell, binding with us.
LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! WELCOME TO LEVEL 10! +1 TO ALL ABILITY SCORES. D Rank Spellcraft! Ball Lightning – 20 mana, 6-36 damage on impact, 5-30 shock damage to all within 5 feet of target, subsequent 4-24 damage to all with 10 feet of target.
Once per day – SIZE OF A TEMPEST: Grow to a height of 100 feet with proportional body changes.
Once per day – CYCLONIC JOURNEY: Using a powerful field of cyclonic wind, travel up to a distance of 5 miles with the space of as many minutes.
Gain +10 to all physical abilities. Damage multiplier X10.
Visions of the Stormbinders' glory filled my mind, voices whispering greedily, proclaiming the reemergence of demonic mastery over the world. I tried to fight back, pushing to knock Jeldorain out of his control over my body, but the whispers grew to shouts, and the wall between us grew thicker. Too thick to breach.
Kevinar watched, his eyes wide with awe, as the transformation took hold. The runes on the walls blazed to life, their light reflecting in his gaze. “What have you done?” he asked, his purple prose on retirement in the face of the chaos before him. “What is happening?”
The chamber shook with the force of Jeldorain’s awakening.
“Ryan?” Kevinar asked, doubt creeping into his voice.
The chamber's tremors subsided. I watched through Jeldorain’s eyes as he stared down at the dark elf. Arcs of lightning danced between his fingers.
“Ryan?!” Kevinar asked again, raising his arms and backing away slowly.
A new shudder ran through the Labyrinth, and a chunk of heavy stone slapped down hard from the ceiling, cratering the floor beside us.
“Ryan’s gone, Kevinar,” Jeldorain growled. “And I know what you are up to. For your conspiracy, I sentence you to death. For the help you have given us, I leave you to the Labyrinth and stay my hand.”