The ground still trembled from the last impact.
Each clash of our weapons echoed like the heartbeat of a giant— a drum that made the entire mountain shake. Breath ragged, I took a step back, my fingers tightening around the staff. Lyseria pulsed with every breath I took, its surface almost alive— breathing, shifting, ready to answer my will.
In front of me, Garrum stood, twisted by his own power. His skin rippled and hardened with every surge of anger, shifting from metal to stone, then to crystal before turning back into flesh. There was nothing human left in him— nothing of the "comrade" I once knew. Only a creature mimicking life, refusing to die.
I turned instinctively, scanning for the others.
