The tunnel sloped downward as they moved, the stone beneath their feet growing slick and uneven. Heat surrounding them, not enough to suffocate, but enough to make every breath feel heavier than it should have been. The walls narrowed, then widened again in uneven pulses, like the rift itself was breathing around them.
Aryn slowed, his shield raised slightly as instinct warned him forward movement alone wasn't enough anymore. His muscles still answered him, but not eagerly. The warmth along his tattooed arm felt faint now, like embers buried under ash.
Gregk paused ahead of them, one hand lifting. "Quiet," he murmured.
The cavern beyond opened wide, the ceiling arching high enough that shadows swallowed most of it whole. Bones lined the walls. Not scattered, arranged. Some were carved with crude markings, others bound together with tattered cloth remains and old leather. Aryn swallowed.
'This isn't a nest,' he realized. 'It looks like some kinda territory.'
He reached inward, not for strength, but for awareness. Pulse Resonance answered softly. Pressure rolled through his chest, slow and deliberate, like standing at the edge of something that could crush him if he stepped wrong. Color followed the sensation, deep and heavy. Dark green, layered with streaks of black and red. It wasn't violent, it was absolute.
His breath caught. 'This thing… it's above us.'
Not unreachable, but definitely beyond anything they'd faced so far.
Gregk spoke again, quieter now. "This one commands them all."
The ground trembled.
From the far end of the chamber, something shifted. Stone cracked under weight as the Greater Gnoll stepped forward into the firelight. It stood taller than the others they'd fought, its frame thick with tight muscle and a tempered hide. Bone plates were strapped across its shoulders and chest, etched with symbols Aryn didn't recognize but somehow understood weren't decoration. Authority radiated from it, steady and controlled.
Its eyes locked onto them. Not in hunger, but a calculated look. It's eyes shifting between rag tag group. It let showed a grin as it tilted it's head up, its eyes looking down on them.
Aryn lifted his shield just as the Gnoll moved.
The impact was extreme and punishing. The creature had closed the distance in a flash, its massive weapon slamming into Aryn's guard. The force sent him skidding backward, sneakers scraping against stone as pain rattled up his arms and into his skull. He could feel the soles of his feet get hot from the friction. His shield dented inward, the shock numbing his fingers and forarm.
Kaia cried out and thrust her hands forward. Light wove itself instinctively into a semi solid barrier between them and the next blow. The Gnoll struck it once and the barrier cracked.
Kaia staggered back, nose bleeding as she gasped. "O-oh damn!" she forced out, as her knees shook.
Jaxon roared and hurled a kinetic blast infused rock straight into the Gnoll's chest. The explosion echoed through the chamber, dust raining from above as the creature slid backward several feet. It's bone plating shattered in pieces and some just broken off.
Then it planted its feet.
The Gnoll snarled, shaking off the impact as if it had been a shove, not a strike meant to kill. It advanced again, menace exuding from an unseen aura.
'We ain't got enough power,' Aryn realized, pulse flaring as fear threatened to take over. 'If I hesitate, we die. If I rush… we die. Ugh'
Gregk's voice cut through the chaos. "Its joint seams, on the left side. It favors that leg."
Aryn nodded once, forcing himself to breathe. He didn't push his Pulse harder. He steadied it. "Jax! Get it's attention. Kaia, hold and only help if we need it. Don't risk yourself!"
He moved as he spoke, shield raised, stepping into the Gnoll's attention. The creature swung again, its weapon crashing down toward him. Aryn caught it with his shield, Pulse flaring just enough to hold. Pain exploded through his shoulder, but he stayed upright. The dented shield looking as if it would give out any second.
Jaxon circled, hands glowing as he released a controlled blast into the Gnoll's side. The creature snarled, turning toward him just as Gregk loosed an arrow into the exposed joint. The shaft buried itself deep and black blood was spilled.
The Gnoll howled and backhanded Jaxon across the cavern. Kaia screamed his name and threw up a barrier just in time to keep him from slamming into the wall at full force. The shield shattered but dampened the damage Jaxon would have taken.
Kaia dropped to one knee, hands trembling as a faint thread of light connected her to Aryn instead. Warmth spread through his ribs where the Gnoll's earlier strike had nearly crushed him. Not healed, but stabilized.
Gregk staggered, clutching his side as blood darkened his cloak. He leaned against stone, drawing another arrow with shaking fingers. "Finish it," he growled. "Together, again!"
The Greater Gnoll charged again, faster now, angrier. Aryn met it head on, fear screaming in his mind. 'If I fail here, it's on me.'
He didn't run from the thought. He accepted it.
Pulse surged, his Spiritual Energy grew with it, not hotter, but steadier. The pressure eased just enough for clarity to cut through panic. "Now!" he shouted.
Kaia braced, forming a shield beneath the Gnoll's strike. Jaxon lightly detonated debris from behind, driving the creature forward enough for their rushed joint attack. Gregk fired into the already wounded joint.
Aryn stepped in and drove his shield into the opening, Pulse roaring as he forced it deeper. The Gnoll faltered. Aryn followed through, every ounce of strength pouring into the final blow.
The Greater Gnoll fell to one knee, howling and clutching its wound. Aryn felt the moment stretch into fear, doubt, all of it pressing in. Then he gathered his courage and stepped forward. With no more hesitation, he ended it, hammering his shield into the creature's skull multiple times, until it lay still.
Silence fell heavy over the cavern, broken only by their ragged breathing. Gregk limped forward, blade drawn, smirking. He knelt beside the corpse, cutting into its chest with practiced precision. When he withdrew his hand, a dark crystal pulsed faintly in his palm.
He held it out to Aryn. "The Rift remembers those who lead. We survived!"
The cavern began to hum, so they didn't linger. They stopped for nothing for fear of more of the creatures and ran straight back to the portal entrance.
The portal spat them back into Atlanta's night, collapsing behind them in a wash of light and dust. Aryn fell to his knees, chest heaving as the city's distant sirens echoed.
He stared at the crystal in his hands.
'Damn… we thought we were ready.'
The rift portal didn't feel like a place to play around with chance anymore. Aryn looked at the blood on his shield and knew one thing for certain.
He couldn't afford to hesitate anymore. Noticing the portal didn't close on the Earth sides entrance.