creature's roar shattered the frozen air.
The ground buckled under its weight — a nightmare stitched from hundreds of bodies, broken swords jutting from its flesh, shadow-worms squirming in its open wounds.
It was no beast of the living world.
It was a message:
"You are alone. You will die alone."
Max inhaled slowly.
His frostfire flared around him, blue and white flames dancing with the fury of the storm.
The three Phantoms — Fire, Stone, and Wind — flickered into existence at his back, forming a loose circle of protection.
But Max didn't call them to attack yet.
He stepped forward alone.
One step.
Two.
His heart was calm.
The old fear — the helplessness — had burned away long ago.
Now there was only purpose.
---
The Corrupted Beast charged, its clawed limbs shredding the earth.
The sky turned black around it — choking on the raw corruption it carried.
Max reacted without thinking.
"Phantom Step: Wraithwind!"
He vanished in a gust of wind — reappearing ten paces to the left.
The creature skidded, confused.
Max attacked.
He raised his hand, gathering frostfire between his fingers until the very air cracked from the cold.
"Glacier Lance!"
A spear of icefire formed instantly, hurled with monstrous force.
It pierced the creature's side, exploding in a bloom of white and blue flame.
The monster shrieked — not in pain, but in rage.
It turned again, faster now.
And it adapted.
---
So it's learning.
Max narrowed his eyes.
The battle would not be won easily.
The Corrupted Beast lunged — faster than before — swinging a limb made of fused ribcages.
Max crossed his arms just in time.
"Titan's Shield!"
A wall of shimmering stone erupted from the ground, absorbing the impact — barely.
The force drove him back, sliding across the rubble.
Max tasted blood in his mouth.
He wiped it away, smiling coldly.
Good.
If you can hurt me, I can hurt you.
---
The Phantoms attacked next —
Fire Phantom swirling around the monster's legs, igniting its rotten flesh.
Stone Phantom hammering the earth, sending shockwaves through its bones.
Wind Phantom slicing with blades of air, cutting deep into shadowy sinew.
Max moved with them — a ghost among titans.
Every strike was perfect.
Every dodge was calculated.
But still... the monster endured.
Still... it grew stronger with each wound.
---
Max gritted his teeth.
I need more.
The Fourth and Fifth Doors remained sealed — too unstable.
But the Sixth Door —
the one rimmed with vines and glowing softly at the far end of the temple ruins —
was beginning to pulse.
Kaela's Door.
Max sprinted toward it, the monster howling behind him.
He didn't have time for hesitation.
He reached out —
The Sixth Door flared open, and a tidal wave of green light engulfed him.
---
Pain again.
But this pain was different — it was growth.
Roots erupted from the ground around him.
Vines coiled around his arms and legs, not binding him — strengthening him.
Life itself answered his call.
Kaela's voice — soft, fierce — echoed in his mind:
"Life and death are one. Bend them to your will."
The green light burned into his veins.
When it faded, he stood taller.
Stronger.
More alive — and more terrifying.
---
New Ability Acquired:
Phantom of Forest: Kaela's Spirit
(Summon Forest Phantom for regeneration and nature-based attacks.)
Verdant Rebirth
(Rapid healing factor. Limited control over living plants.)
---
Max turned back toward the monster.
He raised one hand.
The ground trembled.
From the cracks in the earth, giant thorns erupted — piercing the creature's legs, anchoring it in place.
The beast roared, slashing wildly — but it was trapped.
Max approached slowly, frostfire and vines swirling around him.
No mercy.
Not anymore.
He gathered all four elements he now commanded —
Fire. Ice. Stone. Wind. Forest.
— into a single spear in his hand.
It shimmered with impossible power.
He spoke only one word:
"Judgement."
He hurled the spear with all his strength.
It struck the beast in the chest —
and for one glorious moment, the corrupted sky split apart, sunlight piercing the darkness.
The creature disintegrated into ash and silence.
---
Max stood alone in the ruins once again.
Panting.
Bleeding.
Victorious.
But he could feel it — deep inside —
this was only the beginning.
The Seventh Door pulsed faintly in the distance.
The final lock before everything changed.
He would open them all.
He would call back the fallen.
And he would lead Azarath to its reckoning.
Even if it cost him everything.
---
[End Of Chapter 4]