The corrupted energy was emanating from four distinct directions around the village, forcing the group to split up to confront the threats. Towan took the southern path, Elliot headed north, Kade went west, and Rhys moved swiftly to the east.

Towan’s excitement propelled him forward, his steps quick and purposeful. Despite his eagerness, he remained cautious. He knew this wasn’t just a chance to test his skills—it was a dangerous mission, and he was fully expecting to encounter a powerful corrupted figure.

After a long run, he arrived at the entrance to a cave. He paused for a moment, taking in the foreboding sight. The jagged rocks framing the entrance and the suffocating darkness beyond gave him a sense of unease.

“Why is it always caves and ruins?” Towan muttered under his breath, his tone laced with both frustration and humor. Shaking off the thought, he steeled himself and stepped inside.

The air was heavy, thick with a malevolent energy that pressed down on his chest. Shadows seemed to cling to the walls, and the faint sound of dripping water echoed eerily in the distance. The atmosphere was oppressive, a suffocating mixture of darkness and corrupted essence. It wasn’t something an ordinary person could endure for long—it clawed at his resolve, testing his mental and physical strength.

As he moved deeper into the cave, the faint glow of corrupted essence began to illuminate the path ahead. Then, he saw them—two figures standing ominously in the darkness.

They weren’t like the monstrous corrupted beings he had fought before. These were unmistakably human, their twisted essence radiating an unsettling aura. Their stances were rigid, their eyes gleaming with a malevolent light as they watched his every move.

Towan’s heart skipped a beat. Corrupted essence users? The realization unsettled him. He had expected mindless creatures, not opponents with the intelligence and precision of trained fighters. These weren’t just enemies—they were a new kind of threat, one that required all of his skill and focus to overcome

Towan squared his stance, his body tense and ready for action. Whatever lay beyond these two corrupted essence users was undoubtedly the source of the oppressive pressure that seemed to grow stronger with every passing second. There was no time to waste; he had to act quickly.

Without hesitation, Towan launched himself forward, targeting the figure on the right. In one fluid motion, he spun in the air, delivering a powerful kick to the enemy’s face. The impact sent the corrupted user flying, their body crashing violently into the cave wall with a resounding thud.

Before Towan could assess the damage, the second enemy lunged at him, unleashing a flurry of punches. Each strike came with precision and force, but Towan’s training and instincts took over. He twisted and shifted, deftly evading the attacks, his movements fluid and calculated.

With a sudden burst of speed, Towan countered, driving a forceful uppercut into the second enemy’s jaw. The impact was immense, sending the opponent hurtling upward until their body smashed into the jagged ceiling. A cascade of loose stones fell as both enemies collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Towan stood still for a moment, watching their motionless forms. He furrowed his brow, a wave of confusion washing over him. “That’s it?” he muttered, his voice low. “I thought they’d be… stronger.”

But Towan didn’t let his guard down. Something felt off. The corrupted energy still hung thick in the air, an ominous presence that refused to dissipate. He was right to remain cautious.

The fallen enemies began to stir, their movements unnaturally slow and rigid. As they rose to their feet, a sinister crimson aura enveloped their bodies, pulsing and twisting like a living thing. Towan’s eyes narrowed, his muscles tensing once more.

“Here we go…” he muttered, the pressure in the cave now nearly suffocating. Whatever power was fueling these corrupted users had just escalated the fight to an entirely different level.

Something about this encounter felt profoundly wrong. Towan’s senses screamed that this wasn’t like any battle he had faced before. The corrupted energy surrounding these two was unlike the lifeless, hollow essence he’d encountered in the past.

“Their essence feels... alive,” Towan thought, his sharp gaze darting between the two enemies. The air around them seemed to pulse in sync with their movements, a disturbing rhythm that made the pressure in the cave feel even heavier.

Before he could dwell on it further, the second round of the fight began.

“Go to the right, Katsu,” ordered the figure on the left, his voice calm but sharp.

“Got it, Waky,” replied the other, their movements quick and precise as they launched into action.

Their coordination was immediate and unsettling, catching Towan slightly off guard. The two attacked with perfect synergy, weaving around each other as if they had trained together for years.

Katsu feinted low, sweeping toward Towan’s legs, while Waky lunged high with a spinning punch aimed at his head. Towan reacted instantly, leaping backward to avoid the sweep and twisting midair to deflect Waky’s punch with his forearm. He landed lightly on his feet, his eyes narrowing.

“This is new,” Towan muttered under his breath. He wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of a two-on-one fight. Normally, he had Elliot at his side, their teamwork a well-oiled machine. But now, he was the one outnumbered.

Waky and Katsu didn’t give him a moment to breathe. Katsu surged forward with a rapid series of jabs, forcing Towan to sidestep and parry each strike. At the same time, Waky darted to the side, aiming to flank him. Towan ducked under a wild kick from Katsu, then spun to intercept Waky’s incoming elbow strike with a perfectly timed block.

“Not bad,” Towan thought, smirking despite himself. But while their coordination was impressive, it wasn’t enough to match his skill.

He shifted his stance, pivoting on his heel to deliver a powerful back kick that caught Katsu square in the chest, sending him stumbling backward. Waky seized the opening and charged, aiming a precise punch at Towan’s midsection. But Towan twisted his torso just in time, grabbing Waky’s wrist and using his momentum to flip him over his shoulder, slamming him into the cave floor with a heavy thud.

Towan stepped back, breathing evenly, his eyes flicking between the two opponents as they recovered. “Impressive teamwork,” he said aloud, almost mockingly. “But you’ll need more than that to take me down.”

Though the odds were technically against him, Towan’s superior fighting skills and quick reflexes kept him firmly in control. However, the lingering unease about their “alive” essence gnawed at the back of his mind. Whatever was fueling these two, it wasn’t normal, and he could feel the real challenge was yet to come.

Towan’s instincts flared like a warning bell in his mind, a nagging sense of unease that he couldn’t shake. Every fiber of his being urged him to end this fight quickly, yet something held him back. The way these two moved, the strange, almost sentient quality of their essence—it all felt wrong.

His body was moving on autopilot, evading and blocking their attacks with practiced precision, but his mind was racing. That’s when a fragment of memory surfaced, something his teacher had said to him years ago during one of those theory lessons Towan had often ignored.

The memory came unbidden, clear as day:

“If you run out of essence, do not try to use more. You’ll end up tapping into your vital essence—your very life force. It may give you energy in the short term, but the cost is steep. You’ll consume your life, and your body will suffer irreparable damage.

“There are those who use this energy, but only because they steal it from others. Even then, they pay the price with their own bodies. Be wary of such people.”

Towan could almost hear his younger self scoffing at the warning, too impatient to grasp its gravity. In that same memory, Elliot’s voice cut in, asking a flurry of thoughtful questions—questions Towan couldn’t quite recall now. Back then, it had seemed like pointless theory. Now, it felt like a vital piece of the puzzle.

His eyes narrowed as he parried another rapid jab from Katsu and sidestepped Waky’s spinning kick. “So that’s it,” he muttered under his breath, the pieces clicking together. “They’re not fighting at full power yet. I can feel it.”

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The realization sent a chill down his spine. The odd, pulsing quality of their essence wasn’t just an anomaly—it was a sign of something far more dangerous. Towan’s unease solidified into certainty: these two were tapping into stolen life force.

Katsu and Waky pressed their attack, their movements relentless and unnervingly coordinated. Towan shifted into a defensive stance, his focus razor-sharp. He deflected Katsu’s flurry of punches with quick, precise blocks, pivoting just in time to avoid a sweeping kick from Waky. The air was thick with tension, their corrupted essence almost tangible, like a living thing trying to envelop him.

“Whatever’s fueling them, it’s not normal,” Towan thought, his jaw tightening. “If I don’t end this soon, it’s only going to get worse.”

His muscles coiled as he prepared to strike, his instincts screaming for him to finish the fight. But he knew he had to be careful—one misstep, and these two could overwhelm him. Their teamwork was unsettlingly effective, and their corrupted essence added an unpredictable edge to their attacks.

Taking a steadying breath, Towan steeled himself. He wasn’t just fighting two opponents—he was battling against the unknown. But one thing was certain: he had no intention of losing.

Waky lunged at Towan with a quick jab, but this time, Towan didn’t bother deflecting or evading. His instincts took over. Seizing Waky’s arm mid-strike, Towan shifted his weight and spun, using the momentum to hurl Waky across the battlefield like a ragdoll. The corrupted fighter crashed into a jagged outcrop with a grunt, momentarily stunned.

With Waky out of the way, Towan pivoted sharply to focus on Katsu. Now, it was a true one-on-one. The shift in the fight’s tempo was immediate, and Towan wasted no time exploiting it. Katsu’s eyes widened in surprise, barely able to raise his guard before Towan closed the gap. With blinding speed, Towan delivered a powerful punch to Katsu’s side, the force of it connecting squarely with his ribs. The impact sent a deep, resonating shockwave through Katsu’s body, leaving him gasping for air as he collapsed to the ground, clutching his torso.

Before Towan could even take a breath, he sensed movement behind him. Waky was already back in the fight, launching himself into the air with a flying kick. The attack was swift, but Towan was faster. He spun just in time, his fist surging upward in a devastating uppercut that met Waky mid-flight. The strike connected with bone-crunching force, snapping Waky’s head back and sending him crashing to the ground in a heap. This time, he didn’t move, his body sprawled lifelessly as Towan exhaled, his stance relaxing.

“Finally,” Towan muttered, glancing at both fallen opponents. But just as the tension began to drain from his shoulders, a familiar, gut-wrenching sensation coursed through the air.

It hit him like a wave—erratic, chaotic, and deeply unsettling. The corrupted essence, which had already been unnatural, now flared wildly, but it was more than that. Towan’s eyes widened in shock as he realized what he was feeling: their vital essence, unleashed and out of control.

“No,” he whispered, his heart pounding as both Waky and Katsu began to stir. Their bodies twitched unnaturally, like puppets on strings. The crimson aura around them darkened, pulsating with a sinister rhythm. Slowly, they rose to their feet, their eyes glowing faintly as if they were no longer in control of themselves.

“What the hell is this…?” Towan muttered, taking a step back, his mind racing. The corrupted energy that once felt alive now raged like a storm, tearing through their bodies. Whatever had been fueling them before was now consuming them entirely.

Towan steadied his breathing, clenching his fists as he readied himself for another round. This fight was far from over, and his opponents were no longer just enemies—they were becoming something far more dangerous.

They both rushed Towan with relentless aggression, their punches coming in heavy and fast. For the first time in the fight, Towan found himself overwhelmed, struggling to keep up. Every movement they made seemed fueled by raw desperation and unrestrained power.

The crimson aura around their bodies intensified, swirling chaotically as their vital essence rampaged out of control. Towan could see it—feel it—how unpracticed and unstable their energy flow was. It wasn’t just power; it was hunger, a dangerous thirst for strength that disregarded the cost.

That cost was becoming apparent. Waky and Katsu’s bodies began to betray them under the strain of their unnatural energy. Their skin flushed red, veins bulging as blood trickled from their eyes, noses, mouths, and ears. Even their nails started to crack and splinter, leaving jagged remnants. Despite the horrific toll, they pressed on with feral determination, as though pain no longer mattered to them.

A sudden, coordinated strike caught Towan off guard. Waky’s low, brutal kick swept into Towan’s leg, throwing him off balance. In that brief opening, Katsu closed the gap, landing a sharp, powerful blow straight to Towan’s face. The impact rocked him, forcing him to stagger back as his vision momentarily blurred.

“Not good,” Towan thought, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. His jaw ached from the strike, and the sting of blood on his tongue only made the reality of the situation clearer. I can’t let that happen again. One more clean hit like that, and I’m done for.

He barely had time to regroup before they were on him again. Katsu’s relentless punches bore down on him, each one heavier than the last, while Waky darted in from the side, his strikes fast and punishing. Towan struggled to keep up, deflecting Katsu’s fists while narrowly blocking Waky’s rapid jabs.

The fight had shifted into something Towan wasn’t prepared for. Their teamwork was eerily precise, almost as if they shared a single mind. Every opening Towan left was exploited, every attempt to counter was met with a perfectly timed interruption. It was unsettling—reminiscent of how he and Elliot fought together.

Their relentless assault pushed Towan to his limits. For every blow he managed to land, he received two in return. His arms ached from blocking, and his breaths came shorter with every exchange. His fear wasn’t unwarranted—these opponents were now on par with him, and the longer the fight dragged on, the more the gap between them seemed to close.

Blood trickled down Towan’s temple, a sharp reminder of how precarious his situation had become. He winced as another punch glanced off his ribs, his footing faltering ever so slightly. I’m not winning this, he admitted to himself, frustration and desperation gripping him in equal measure.

“I have to retreat,” he thought, narrowly sidestepping another attack. His pride stung at the thought, but survival was paramount. Towan wasn’t ready to die here—not against opponents who had already sacrificed their humanity for fleeting power.

His instincts screamed at him to move, to find a way out. Yet every step backward felt like admitting defeat, a bitter pill he wasn’t sure he could swallow. But his choices were running out, and the next few moments would determine whether he walked away or fell to their relentless onslaught.

Towan held his defensive stance, inching backward toward the cave entrance with each step. He was battered, his body screaming in protest after enduring the relentless attacks. The crimson aura around Wanky and Katsu intensified further, surging with chaotic energy. Their vital essence burned like a wildfire, tearing through their bodies in their desperate attempt to overpower him.

Both surged forward, landing a crushing blow in unison—a strike so forceful that Towan staggered, barely managing to stay on his feet. His vision blurred, and his knees threatened to give way. It felt like the world was closing in around him.

Just when he thought he couldn't hold on any longer, both Wanky and Katsu suddenly collapsed, their bodies hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Towan’s heart pounded in his chest as he stared at them, their forms utterly drained. The reckless use of their vital essence had finally taken its toll. Blood seeped from their eyes, noses, and mouths, evidence of the catastrophic damage they had inflicted upon themselves.

Breathing heavily, Towan allowed himself a moment to recover, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Huh… how lucky I am," he muttered under his breath, his relief palpable. But as he gazed at the fallen adversaries, his expression softened.

"What a pity they resorted to such methods to achieve greater strength," he murmured, shaking his head. "Even I can tell they had so much potential together. They could’ve been incredible warriors."

Regaining some of his composure, Towan ventured deeper into the cave. The oppressive atmosphere grew thicker with each step, but his determination kept him moving. Eventually, he entered a vast, circular chamber. At its center stood a pedestal, and atop it rested a dark, jagged shard. Pulsating lines of corrupted energy snaked outward from the shard, coursing through grooves in the floor like veins feeding the cave's sinister presence.

"This… it looks similar to the one Master found before," Towan thought, stepping closer to the shard. His fingers brushed the pedestal, and for a moment, his mind wandered. Now that I think about him… he's been gone for a while. He sighed softly, feeling a twinge of loneliness. His teacher, a constant presence throughout his life, had always been a source of guidance and strength.

Resolving to end whatever malevolent force lingered here, Towan gripped the shard firmly. The moment he pulled it from the pedestal, the corrupted energy lines snapped, their glow fading instantly. The ground trembled beneath his feet as the cave began to collapse.

"Not again," Towan muttered, sprinting toward the entrance as debris rained down around him. He moved as fast as his battered body would allow, narrowly dodging falling rocks and cracks forming in the ground. Yet, as he reached the point where Wanky and Katsu had fallen, their bodies were nowhere to be seen.

Towan paused briefly, scanning the area. "Strange…" he thought but quickly dismissed it. There wasn’t time to dwell on the mystery—he had to get out.

Bursting into the daylight, Towan leaned against a nearby boulder, catching his breath. He glanced back at the now-sealed cave, his mind racing. Something about the shard, the fight, and the missing bodies gnawed at him, but for now, he pushed it aside. There would be time to reflect later.

As Towan leaned against a sturdy tree, the rough bark pressing against his back, he allowed himself a moment of stillness. His chest rose and fell with each labored breath, the adrenaline from the fight slowly ebbing away. His gaze drifted upward, catching the vast expanse of sky painted with soft hues of twilight.

"I hope the others had it easier," he thought, the words heavy with both exhaustion and concern.

The distant sky seemed to mirror his feelings, calm yet vast and unknowable. His mind wandered to the others—Elliot, Kade, and Rhys—each facing their own challenges in ruins spread far across the land. Were they safe? Were their battles as grueling as his own?

The weight of uncertainty hung over him, but he pushed it aside, gripping the shard tightly in his hand. This mission wasn’t over yet, and neither were the questions swirling in his mind. As he stared into the horizon, he silently hoped for their strength and safety, knowing full well they’d all need it for what lay ahead.