The sky crackled with flames.Each gust carried incandescent ashes.The ground vibrated, almost weeping, under the weight of ancient magic.
Lior stood still in the midst of his stone kingdom.His walls, his trenches, his stakes… every detail had been handcrafted, conceived in silence.He heard everything.The footsteps.The wind.The breath.The slightest rustle.
And at the cliff's edge, the Ogre Shaman had still not moved.
Zurr'Gha.
His red eyes burned with a supernatural fire.But it was not hate.Not rage.It was a cold sadness, as old as the rocks.
— Are you deaf, human? I told you that you were going to die.
Lior did not respond.He listened.His fingers touched the earth.Telluric Condition Level 3 — every vibration, every movement, formed a picture in his mind.And he felt something.Under the ground.An echo.
A second heart.
No, several.
— …You're not alone, he murmured.It's a ritual, isn't it?You're sacrificing souls.You want to awaken something greater.
Zurr'Gha smiled.A broken grimace, stretched by pain.
— I am the last of the Fiery Shamans.Our people lived before the portals.Before the Gods.Before even the fire of the stars.And you… you killed my disciples.My children.Do you think they were monsters?Do you think they were pawns?You understand nothing, human.
He slowly raised his staff.
— I will offer them your flesh.And with your corpse… I will resurrect the Oath.
The ground trembled.Not because of Zurr'Gha.
But because of the pillars of fire that erupted around the plain.Four in total.Placed with surgical precision.Within them: ogre corpses, mutilated… yet still alive.They were screaming.Then… nothing.The silence.Their cries had been swallowed by the flames.
> [Ritual Detected: The Celestial Pact of the Fiery Winds — Phase 1/3]
Objective: Fusion of Zurr'Gha's soul with the spirits of his disciples.
Consequence: Exponential power increase.Unknown result.
— …What the hell is this? muttered Lior.
Moji, behind him, was trembling.But not from fear.From instinct.From awareness.His small mineral body began to pulse as if a new heart was beating within him.
And then, in a flash of brown light, a wave of mana exploded around the golem.
> [Stone Golem — Level 2 Transition]
New capabilities: Enhanced regeneration.Partial damage absorption directed towards its master (up to 15%).Elemental sealing ability to unlock.
Moji let out a small cry.Lior reached out and felt him against his palm.Warm.Loyal.
— You're not going to let me down, right? At least you…
Lior gritted his teeth.He only had his current skills.Elemental Mastery Level 5,Telluric Condition 3, Healer 3, and Moji.No cheats.No activated divine powers.Just the earth, his ideas… and his hatred.
— Well, old rock, let's dance.
He placed both hands on the ground.A wave of mana seeped into the stone.Telluric Condition.He drew an underground circle, a spiral of blades, cables, spikes, pockets of air.Then, he raised the walls.Not to defend himself.
To trap the wind.
Zurr'Gha began his incantation.His voice was no longer his own.It was multiple.As if he spoke with a thousand mouths, as if every dead disciple spoke through him.The staff became incandescent.
— Râ'Vel Krûn Dharr-Ash!!
A storm erupted from the sky.But it was not normal wind.It was blades.Gusts that cut.Spirals of fire blended with air, capable of turning a human to ash in an instant.
Lior screamed.
— NOW, MOJI!
Moji leapt.His small body positioned itself in front of Lior… and opened.A mineral sphere formed, absorbing part of the first wave.Just enough for Lior to survive.
> [Moji absorbed 14% of the damage]
[Barrier partially destroyed — Fortifications at 36%]
Lior rolled on the ground.His left arm hung down. Burned. His back was bleeding. But he was still smiling.
— Do you know what I hate the most, Shaman?
Zurr'Gha slowly descended from the cliff, carried by the winds.
— The guys who think the past gives them the right to destroy everything.
He struck the ground.
And then, the underground spiral he had built activated.
Hundreds of spikes shot out in all directions. But not to kill. To create a labyrinth. A trap of shadows and silence. A prison that did not move, but forced the wind to circulate where Lior wanted.
Zurr'Gha howled. The winds ricocheted, clashed. His own magic was becoming chaotic.
— You're using MY magic against me!?
— No, said Lior, spitting blood. I'm using YOUR stupidity.
Then he raised Moji. The little golem lit up. It shone with a golden brown, almost sacred.
And Lior threw it.
Moji flew straight towards the staff.
— TEMPORARY SEALING! shouted Lior.
A shiver passed through the world.
Then…
An explosion.
The flames fell like a rain of comets, distorting the landscape, burning every trace of life. But behind its walls, Lior remained impassive. His blind face turned toward the burning sky.
A strange aura rose from him. Something… sovereign.
> [Mana Regeneration: 3% per second.]
["Partial Awakening" detected. Body in stabilization phase.]
— "Awakening"…? Not yet. Not now, Lior murmured, gritting his teeth.
Suddenly, the ground vibrated differently.
> [Alert: Localized magic earthquake. Signature: Ogre Shaman.]
Moji trembled behind the walls. A second later, Zurr'Gha's voice resonated across the plain, clear as broken crystal.
— You think you understand suffering, human. You think that losing your sight, or battling monsters, makes you a broken soul.
You know nothing.
One step. Then another. The ogre slowly descended the slope, his feet leaving steaming marks in the earth.
— I have seen my people exterminated for refusing to obey silent gods.
I have seen shamans slaughtered for healing the weak.
I burned my children with my own hands to prevent their spirits from being tainted by humans.
The staff sank into the ground. A circle of fire appeared, slowly spreading around him.
— And now, I will make you taste oblivion.
> [Ability activated: "Breath of the Burning Eclipse" — Supreme rank ritual spell.]
[Cast time: 2 minutes.]
[Effect: Absolute burn within a radius of 500m.]
— Two minutes, huh… Lior said as he stood up. He snapped his fingers.
The ground collapsed beneath his feet, sliding him to safety, into a tunnel of his creation.
He shot up one hundred meters away, his hands already charged with mana.
— You want to be dramatic? We can play two.
Stone statues rose behind him. Six, then ten, then thirty. All ready to rush at Zurr'Gha.
But the Shaman was not just a thick brute.
He raised his hand… and the air obeyed him.
A black, tainted wind ripped through the atmosphere. The statues exploded before they could reach their target.
— I have danced with the elements long before you crawled in your misery, blind one.
> ["Elemental Mastery – Fiery Wind" Level 8 detected.]
[Counter elemental spells recommended.]
Lior bit his lip. The ground, once his natural ally, burned beneath his feet. He had to think differently. Play differently.
That's when he felt a pulse. Moji.
The little golem pulsed with energy, a gentle and clear mental signal: I am ready.
Lior smiled. A cunning smile.
— This is where we cheat.
He touched the ground, sending an inverted seismic wave.
> [Partial Fusion Activated – Golem and Summoner synchronized for 30 seconds.]
[Stats increased by 30%. All elemental skills enhanced.]
Moji… grew.
Its form mutated, becoming sharper, rougher. It reached one meter fifty, its arms covered with quartz spikes, its body traced with green mana lines.
It started running, charging straight at Zurr'Gha.
— Interesting, the ogre murmured.
The shaman tapped his staff three times on the ground. A wall of fire sprang up. Moji passed through it.
Without a scream.
Without a hesitation.
And punched the Shaman's leg. A crack. Tiny. But real.
Zurr'Gha stepped back, surprised.
— You infused your bond into this creature… You make your mind a weapon.
Lior followed up.
He lifted the ground, crushed it over itself, sculpting a forest of spinning stone spears. Each spear guided by "Seismic Condition," like fingers playing the piano.
Zurr'Gha swatted the air with his arm. A tornado exploded in all directions.
But Lior had already plunged underground, like a worm, avoiding the pressure.
Time passed. Thirty seconds. Twenty. Fifteen…
> [Fiery Vortex – Phase 3.]
[Central temperature: 3,200°C.]
Suddenly, the sky… opened.Red cracks appeared above them. The fire of the sky concentrated. The spell was about to strike.
— He is ready, Lior thought. So am I.
He raised his arms.
And the entire ground flipped over.
A massive dome of rock emerged, enclosing Lior, Moji, and Zurr'Gha in a natural cage.
— You want to burn the world? Then burn with me inside, bastard.
> [Elemental mastery skill level 5 – "Telluric Sarcophagus" – creates a closed space of increased pressure. Restricted combat field.]
Zurr'Gha roared.
The walls began to melt. The fire tried to break through.
But the stone resisted.
And in this furnace, this burning tomb, two beings faced each other.
One, an ancient shaman from a cursed people. The other, a blind teenager carrying the madness of fate on their shoulders.
— Show me your rage, ogre, Lior said with a smile. — And I will show you my rebirth.