The Gbahali's claw swept toward Sami in a wide arc.
Lyra caught the blow, clenching her teeth while she forced herself to hold back the strike.
The sound of metal against claw was a screeching noise that made Sami wince.
The impact shuddered through her arms, making it hard for her to keep hold of her sword.
The Gbahali broke the deadlock; raising its foot, it tried to kick Lyra in the chest.
Lyra blocked the attack, getting pushed back slightly, her feet digging into the earth to maintain her balance.
The Gbahali tried to follow up with a tail sweep, but Lyra jumped over it.
Once her feet hit the ground, she lunged forward, attempting to thrust into the creature's chest.
It deflected the attack upwards, countering with its claws poised to slice her open horizontally.
Lyra quickly jumped back, the claws barely missing her.
Sami wanted to run, but his feet seemed rooted to the spot. Captivated by the deadly dance that was happening in front of his face.
The reality of what adventures go through is far more terrifying than any story he had ever read.
'Could I ever get to the level of being able to match a monster like this', Sami thought to himself as he watched on.
The Gbahali pressed its attack, red eyes fixated on Lyra.
Sami saw the strain in her movements, the way her sword arm trembled with each block.
A crack slowly began to form across the middle surface of her blade as it absorbed another blow.
He felt the chill whisper on his neck again, and his vision briefly turned gray. A loud voice echoed throughout Sami's mind, "Come to me, my heir."
"T-that voice, I heard it earlier in the library. W-who are you?" Sami questioned, looking around in shock.
"You... need... power. Right now, you are weak,," a loud baritone voice echoed in his mind.
Maybe fear caused Sami to hear the voice, but the battle continued around him.
Lyra twisted past the kick, her feet touching the ground. She shot forward, placing both hands on the hilt, her sword poised for a diagonal strike.
The Gbahali intercepted the attack with its claws.
The clashing sounds of metal grinding together echoed around the clearing.
"I'll help you unlock the power you'll need to save your friend." The voice echoed once again.
Sami hesitated for a moment before screaming, "Please, help me save her!" His words echoing as he titled his head up to the sky.
"As you wish," the voice replied.
Sami felt his body slow down along with the world around him. Even the frantic sounds of the Gbahali and Lyra fighting turned into a sluggish dance he could track.
A room materialized around Sami, bathed in a soft light. In the room's center, an ordinary ring floated.
"Take it," the voice urged, insistent now. "Take the ring."
Confusion warred with fear in Sami's mind. "Who are you? Where did you bring me?" He glanced around the room but saw nothing but the ring in the center.
The voice replied, a low hum. "Embrace your destiny as the next ring bearer.
"What destiny is that? Why did you choose me?" he screamed.
"So many questions, yet no action," the voice sassed, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Without my power, your friend will die soon."
Sami looked around the room, confused. "How do I know if I can trust you?"
"You have no choice but to trust me," the voice chuckled.
He closed his eyes and chewed on the bottom of his lip. He struggled between wanting to ignore the voice, or taking the ring to help Lyra.
"The longer you take, the closer your friend is getting to dying."
Sami gritted his teeth and looked back at the distorted image of Lyra, her face full of sweat as she tried to fight. He didn't understand why he was chosen.
"She will fall soon!" the voice pressed, a note of urgency entering its tone.
Lyra misjudged the timing of her block.
The Gbahali's attack moved faster than what she expected.
The claws ripped through her armor and cut open her side.
Lyra cried out in pain, stumbling backward.
Sami's eyes widened as he looked at the scene. Taking a deep breath, he extended a shaky hand toward the ring.
When he wrapped his hand around the ring, a bright light enveloped his body. It was warm, giving the feeling of being home.
"One day we will meet again soon," the voice barely whispered.
The room vanished, and a bunch of words appeared across his eyes.
[Oracle Established: Magic Unlocked]
Sami didn't have time to make sense of the words; time resumed with the Gbahali now standing over Lyra.
Its claws poised to cut through a defenseless Lyra.
"NO!" Sami screamed, ignoring the words popping up as he quickly shoved Lyra with all his might. He braced himself for any pain, knowing that he was risking his life for her.
The Gbahali's claw went right through Sami's head! It brought its claws back in confusion. It tried again to attack Sami, but its claws once again went through his body.
"What the fuck, Sami?!" Lyra screamed, her voice filled with disbelief as she struggled to get to her feet. "How the fuck did you do that, bookworm?"
Sami gave a nervous chuckle, rubbing his hands together as tried to think of a way to explain what just happened.
His form began flickering before becoming solid once again.
■ Phantom Veil Ended → 8s Cooldown
Sami still found the words appearing in front of his vision puzzling.
Sami saw the Gbahali take a step back, its two red eyes glaring at him with a mix of anger and confusion.
Lyra was still looking at Sami with a shadowed look on her face.
Excitement overwrote every emotion he was feeling. "FUCK YES I DID MAGIC!" he screamed, fist pumping in the air.
Sami felt a powerful slap on the head, killing his enthusiasm for a brief moment as Lyra's angry face appeared in front of him.
"Bookworm focus, explain why you can do magic!" She demanded, her hands on her hips, her eyes looking like flames were coming out.
The excitement grew in Sami again as he jumped up and down. "Some old guy was like, 'I'll help you get stronger, and suddenly, BAM! A magic ring appeared. I grabbed it,then some words popped up."
"YOU DUMBASS!" Lyra roared, her face full of anger. "You can't just grab random artifacts; some can be cursed! Ugh! Next, let's not be dumb and trust random objects or people."
Sami winced at her outburst but nodded in agreement.
The Gbahali saw their distraction and tried to take advantage of it. It quickly lunged forward, claws outstretched.
Lyra was fast enough to dodge out of the way.
Sami was slower to react.
With the Gbahali closing in on him, Sami hurriedly raised his arms in a defensive position as a new spell came to his mind. "Aegis," he chanted.
The Gbahali went to land its attack, but it bounced off the shield something an inch before Sami's head.
The attacks were strong, causing his feet to slide against the dirt as Sami did his best to hold the shield, a small headache forming from the repeated attacks.
Sami saw the Gbahali's eyes turn red with rage, its attacks coming faster as it did its best to break through the shield.
"Duck now!" Lyra screamed. "Strike with steel, rule! Flow swiftly!"
Sami quickly activated his intangibility as a sword went flying through his head.
The Gbahali tried to raise its hand to block the weapon, but the sword cut the hand clean off, the smell of burning flesh in the air.
Blood dripped to the ground as the monster cried out in pain.
Sami ignored its cries as he ran to Lyra's side. "How..what, um, I'm lost on what just happened," He lamely finished
Lyra chanted once again, "Healing Light, Iron Arise!" As she began to wave her hand across her injuries as a small sword extended from her palm.
Sami stepped back and looked on with awe as he saw a golden glow envelop Lyra's body.
Her skin began to knit slowly, and Lyra's face looked less pale as color returned to her skin. "Done eyeing me yet?" Lyra smirked, raising an eyebrow at Sami.
Sami quickly became embarrassed and stammered, "I wasn't um ugh… I'm not looking at you like that."
"Yeah, yeah, sure you weren't," she teased before getting serious. "So, quick rundown: I can summon swords and enchant them with abilities. This time I summoned one that can heal."
Sami nodded at her explanation, doing his best to understand the information being given.
In the background, the Gbahali was still screaming in pain. It was kneeling on the ground as it tried and failed to reattach its lost limb.