Nyk was overcome with a huge wave of euphoria as he kneeled at the base of the crag and finally stepped on the floor, trembling with exhaustion and adrenaline.

A strong wind blew against him, signaling the end of his arduous journey to confront Garoth.

The descent hadn't been easy. The salty freshness of the sea had been replaced mid-descent with a putrid stench of decay, making it difficult to breathe.

Additionally, the relentless wind strained and pushed his body, making the descent even more challenging.

More than once, his short legs had struggled on the treacherous ridge. In the end, although the wind maintained its direction, it gradually strengthened. It blew against him as if actively trying to stop him from reaching the ground.

Determined, Nyk persisted, "I've come this far, and I won't let Garoth harm anyone else. I owe it to Syn and her dad to end this once and for all," he repeated to himself. Finally, exhausted but driven by this thought, he had managed to reach the beach.

Taking a moment to recover, Nyk paused. Then, he surveyed the desolate landscape before him. The devastation of the crag was astonishing from the cliff's top, but up close, the destruction was even more palpable.

The previously thriving coral reef had become an uninhabited coast littered with stones and pebbles.

Spotting the shadowy cage meant for Garoth, he gripped his trident and cautiously approached, sneezing grenade in hand.

There was no trace of Garoth's chopped-off body around the cage; a dark pool filled with a viscous substance surrounded by agonizing or already dead vultures was the only thing that stood out in the desolate area.

Nyk looked toward the cave, but it was pitch dark inside. Resolved to finish the beast, he walked around the rocks, stopping abruptly when he saw a group of stones scrambled on the floor. The cage had been breached.

His heart raced, but he reassured himself, "Don't panic. Stay focused. Garoth escaped, but I anticipated this possibility. I'll make sure the beast is stopped tonight."

Forced open from the inside, the cage left a trail of darkened stones leading to the nearby dark puddle.

Pressing his back against the cage, Nyk tightened his grip on the weapon, eyes darting back and forth. The pale moonlight offered him enough visibility to oversee the treacherous terrain.

After a minute of careful observation, he decided to follow the trail leading inside the cage.

As he found more dark goo escaping through cracks, Nyk's eyes suddenly opened in realization, "It's blood! This must be what Garoth's blood looks like."

Veering behind the cage, the trail led to the vulture-infested pool before extending into the distance. "It's fleeing," he thought, arming himself with courage. Carefully circling the cave, he spotted another dark pool in the distance—tracking Garoth would be easy.

He trailed the beast's tracks, noticing increasingly larger and more frequent pools as he neared the Dragon's Talon, a sea stack that had stood above all others and was now one of the few survivors of the destruction. Only two sea pillars on its sides remained intact.

After what felt like an eternity of stealthy movement, scared turns, and tracking strange noises, he stopped before the last dark pool, directly in front of the sea stack.

He had never seen the rocky pillar this close. It was an outstanding formation worthy of its designation as the landmark of this area. Nyk studied it, and the two towering rock pillars flanked the formation, their imposing presence creating a natural yet grand entrance to the crag.

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After this last pool, the last stretch of the dark trail of rocks thinned toward the Dragon's Talon, suddenly stopping at the base of a small cliff before him. The tracks partially disappeared, but he could see dark stains here and there on the sides of the cliff.

Nyk quickly reviewed his findings. Garoth's half-body was missing, and it had broken free from the cage. Despite its injuries, the beast had crawled here, leaving a trail of blood, with larger pools indicating longer stops in the latter half of the journey.

Nyk's body trembled with apprehension. "How much blood does it have left?"

Garoth's ability to make it this far despite its injuries indicated the creature's surprising strength. But the growing frequency and size of the pools also meant that it was showing clear signs of exhaustion, it should be on the verge of death.

Nyk paused briefly, mustering his courage. Gripping the grenade, he prepared to face the weakened beast, aware that the situation was direr than anticipated."

He pushed away thoughts of what lay ahead, focusing on the task at hand. He inspected his equipment, ensuring everything was ready. Like a ritual, he meticulously checked each item: armor, trident, sword, whip, sneezing grenades, throwing weapons, and a potion-filled bag.

Considering his gear, Nyk opted to keep the trident for the upcoming confrontation and left the bag behind to avoid being weighed down.

It was time. He paused for a second, took a deep breath, and moved forward to climb the rocky surface, the grip on his trident tightening until his knuckles turned white.

Nyk climbed and reached a ledge. The platform, invisible from the ground, led to a cave. "This must be its den," he realized, noticing a trail of dark-tinted rocks leading to the entrance.

Surprisingly, the cave dimly glowed, light emanating from it.

He knew Garoth was likely waiting inside. "This is the moment of truth. I better go all in", he thought, filled with dread and adrenaline.

Nyk cautiously approached the entrance, his heart racing. Armed with his trident and grenade, he was ready for the confrontation.

Each step increased the tension. As he neared his target, he reached for his belt... and started to hurl grenades inside.

Nyk listened carefully as the varied bottles broke and clanked against the walls spreading their mist. He tightened the grip on his trident, readying his Razer-azer-angs to fight any incoming enemy.

But no sound could be heard; only silence followed the broken bottles.

With only two grenades left, Nyk tied a cloth over his mouth to avoid breathing in the sneezing mixture. Slotted the Razer-azer-ang back and advanced with his trident held with both hands.

Approaching the side of the cave, he peeked inside. The remains of animals and beasts long ago consumed littered the floor and walls of the cave, but not as much as to offer any obstacle for locating a beast as big as Garoth should be. Besides the suspicious light coming out of cracks in the walls, the cave was empty.

"Nothing? Where is Garoth?" thought Nyk confused.

His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and he immediately noticed the darkened trail of stones winding around the cave's interior.

He focused his attention on the trail and noticed a fresher line of darkened stones crossing from wall to wall and an even fresher one leading outside. His heart sank as the path crossed directly over where he stood.

As he turned to see where the trail led, he heard a noise and felt something land on his shoulder.

Drip. FFSSSHH

His instincts screamed at him with such strength he found himself already leaping forward, only noticing he had moved as he heavily landed on the ground.

A thunderous boom sounded behind him, and rocks and pebbles hit against him as he scrambled to his feet.

He sprinted deeper into the cave, heading towards the faint and flickering light at the cave's far end while dodging scattered bones and gasping for breath. As he drew nearer, an overwhelming sense of danger washed over him, prompting him to instinctively leap towards the shadowy wall on his right.

Another blast of rocks came from where he had been standing just a moment ago. His body hit the wall, and flying stone pieces impacted his left side.

Panicking, Nyk's hands felt a small crevice in the cave's side, seemingly large enough for him to enter. With his heart racing and no other options, he scrambled against the walls, urged by his survival instinct. Wincing, he scraped his sides and shoulders to fit in, moving in as deep as he could before turning to face the entrance.

Gripped by fear, Nyk looked down at his hands, realizing with a sinking feeling that he had lost his trident. He pulled a Razer-azer-ang on each hand, and as he considered how to defend himself from whatever came through the entrance, six red eyes appeared before.

Nyk's breath caught in his throat as the red orbs stared at him, and he could feel his heart pounding against his chest as he caught a glimpse of the creature's massive, rocky body and razor-sharp claws. A wave of sheer terror washed over him.

With his trident lost and no room to maneuver, Nyk realized he was cornered. Desperation settled in as he weighed his limited options in the face of this menacing creature.