The wind screamed. The sky trembles. The land collapses.
Floating ruins rattled like dying bones above a void that stretched endlessly. The collapsed sky island's core glimmered faintly with red energy—multiple distortion in the clouds that pulsed like a heartbeat. This was no ordinary rift. It was volatile, unstable, and alive.
Isaac stepped to the edge of a crumbling platform. His fingers tingled, sensing the currents.
"Everyone… stay close," he said, voice low. "This isn't just a rift—it's feeding something. Something big."
Kael adjusted the hilt of his massive broadsword, fire already flickering across his knuckles.
"I like big things," he muttered, "they give me more stuff to swing at!"
Helena placed a hand on Isaac's arm.
"Be careful," she said, eyes scanning the shifting shadows beneath them. "We've never faced anything this unstable before."
Isaac swallowed, gripping his knife.
Wind stirred around his feet.
He could feel it bending, his Wind Step ready.
The Sky Guardians scrambles accross the islands, awaiting whatever comes next.
Zephyr emerges from behind the trio. "Let's see the fruits of your training. Stregthen the heart, this will test your resolve."
Fading away from them he shouts "Survive!!!" And went away to face another riff with his fellow guardians.
⸻⸻⸻
THE FIRST ATTACK
A sudden roar split the sky—a massive silhouette tore through the drifting clouds.
A Sky Wyrm, scales crackling with lightning, wings beating so hard they shredded clouds, descended with a screech that rattled the floating ruins. Its eyes glowed with malevolent hunger.
Kael immediately leapt forward, igniting a fireball.
Kael: "Take this, YOU GIANT—"
He released it—but the fire sputtered mid-air, too weak to reach the Wyrm. The creature swatted the flame like an insect, hissing.
Isaac's pulse spiked. He inhaled, feeling Irithel's instincts whisper through his veins.
"Do not run. Strike. Bend the wind."
He dashed forward—vanishing with Wind Step. The Wyrm's claws barely missed him. A swirl of wind followed his form, slicing tiny streams of cloud into mist. He reappeared behind the beast and slashed instinctively with his knife.
The blade met scaled flesh—but barely cut. The Wyrm roared in anger, swinging its massive tail.
⸻⸻⸻
A COORDINATED ASSAULT
Kael growled.
"Wind! Help me this time!"
Isaac extended his hands. Wind gathered, circling Kael's fireball. The flames stabilized, forming a perfect sphere. Isaac pushed forward with Wind Grasp.
The fireball exploded in a controlled blaze against the Wyrm's side. Smoke roiled. Sparks flew. The beast shrieked, wounded.
Helena dashed forward, hands glowing golden. A warm light spread over Isaac's arms and legs, knitting minor cuts and bruises even as the battle raged.
Kael grinned through soot and singed hair.
"Feels… amazing…!"
The Wyrm recoiled, wings snapping cloud into pieces, then lunged at Kael. Isaac vanished again—Wind Step—reappearing between the Wyrm and Kael, knife flashing.
Slice. The beast roared in pain.
Kael took the opening, swinging his broadsword horizontally while the wind pushed extra force behind it. Sparks erupted from the impact. The Wyrm stumbled back.
⸻⸻⸻
INSTABILITY AND DANGER
But the sky island itself trembled.
Red energy pulsed from cracks in the floating stone. Platforms split, chunks of ruins plummeted into the void. Gusts of wind became violent—howling enough to throw them off balance.
Isaac felt the rift's influence.
The air vibrated, almost sentient, as if it tested him. He focused, taking a deep breath.
"Irithel… guide me."
Wind enveloped his body. His dashes became faster, almost ghostlike. He slashed through debris mid-air, evading falling ruins, and landing with precision even as Kael and Helena followed.
Kael's fire ignited again, streaking in arcs perfectly shaped by Isaac's wind currents. Together, fire and wind became a living weapon—a storm of flame and blade slicing the Wyrm repeatedly.
Helena moved between them, her healing aura glowing brighter with every surge of adrenaline, keeping them alive amidst falling debris.
⸻
THE FINAL STRIKE
The Wyrm roared again and lunged for the trio, massive maw open.
Isaac vanished—Wind Step—reappearing directly above its head.
Kael thrust upward, Wind Grasp amplifying his fire through the Wyrm's scales.
The combined strike erupted, burning and slicing through the creature's exposed neck joint.
The Wyrm howled, wings flailing, then crashed into the floating ruins. Smoke, dust, and energy rift pulses covered the sky.
The three stumbled to their knees, exhausted, battered, but alive.
Kael coughed fire.
"Holy—holy crap. Did we… just…?"
Helena put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes. We survived. But that rift… it's unstable. We need to move—fast."
Isaac wiped sweat from his brow, breathing heavily. He looked at the glowing fissure at the center of the island.
Lucy's trace.
It was close. Too close.
The wind around him shifted, almost whispering.
"Control it. Bend it. Master it."
Isaac clenched his knife tighter.
"Yes… I will."
Light hearted with their results, Isaac, Kael and Helena thought it was over. Little that they knew, another rift emerges in front of them.
Testing their limits.
Testing their strength.
Testing their resolve.