Liam's shadows trembled with anger, wrapped around his knees as a black replica of skin. Noctis' voice interrupted in his mind as the enormity of a beast bore down on him, the claws poised to tear him asunder.
"Liam, don't blink. This isn't like them. This isn't power—this is desperation.".
Liam's breath came in rough gasping strings, the load of the creature's presence oppressive on his shoulders like a vice. He could sense its emptiness, the ravenous hunger gnawing at the fringe of his mind. Every step, every move was a fight to maintain his mind, to prevent his intent from being overpowered by the void that the creature represented.
The claws of the monster cut across the air, each swipe a blow against reality itself. The ring of its roar in Liam's head, with a ringing, choking sensation.
He swiveled out of its path just in time, but its claws ripped deep across his chest, digging through the leather armor and causing shallow scratches which burned like fire. Liam gasped for breath, catching his breath in surprise at the pain and left momentarily breathless. The beast was inhuman, its massive body moving at a speed which was far from comparable to its size.
"This beast is quicker than it looks," Liam growled, wincing as he stood up. "But so am I."
Noctis murmured gently within him, "You possess the power, but you must outwit it, not overwhelm it."
Liam's fists tightened. His shadows obeyed, dark tendrils encircling his arms, his legs, his center, fueling him with even more energy, a greater feeling of belonging to his own power. He felt his power increasing with every punch he sidestepped, every blow he deflected.
"Let's make this count," he told them, his voice steady amidst the chaos that surrounded him.
He was not going to be a victim.
Liam clenched his fists, and darkness burst around him, distorting and convoluting into sharp tips of energy. He sent them flying at the beast, striking at the core of its bestial mind. The beast let out a retaliatory growl, but the shadows pierced its fluid body, leaving fissures in its surface.
And still, it refused to fall. It did not even falter.
Liam clenched his jaws. "Not enough!"
The monster recoiled and attacked again, jaws agape, rows of razor-sharp teeth, venom dripping. Liam dodged the attack by mere inches as the monster snapped at him, its teeth catching on the hem of his cloak. He couldn't keep dodging much longer. He had to stop it.
Riven, never far behind, flew her daggers forth with precision selected, each one biting deep into the mass of the beast. The beast bellowed in fury, but Riven was far from finished. She slammed against stone, and night around her erupted forth at her behest. Stone was broken beneath her, and earth yawned to shards of stone as the beast was engulfed in a cage of piercing rock.
Liam jumped back, breathing hard. He could see the beast thrashing against the cage, but not enough to keep it back. The beast shattered the stone, its rage mounting.
"This's not working!" Liam yelled. "We need something stronger!"
Noctis' tone was silky, even. "You've been doing your fighting in your shadows. Why don't you fight out of mine?"
Liam blinked and then nodded. He closed his eyes, concentrated on the darkness within him. The darkness of the Abyss, which had been a part of him for so long, was starting to awaken.
The darkness that enveloped him changed and expanded, dark liquid forming at his feet, fogging the air. Noctis was in him, the shadow soul pushing him past his limits, past what he thought he was.
Liam's hand came up, and the darkness closed in, folding in upon itself into a point of black energy. Greater than the darkness of the world he stood in was this darkness from within that had scythed a path before him, the energy of Noctis himself.
The air chilled. The ground trembled beneath his feet.
With a decent motion, Liam flung his arm ahead of him, and the gigantic, churning cloud of darkness swooped out at the monster, slicing through it like a scimitar of uncut night.
The monster shrieked.
The darkness enveloped it, wrapping it inside out, its strings of black energy slashing through its flesh as through tissue paper. The roar of the monster ceased, its form quivering, then falling.
It crashed with a revolting thud to the ground, its mangled body jerking once and then going still.
Liam panted, his shadows receding back into him, leaving him strangely hollow. The fight was done, but the win was not as nice as he'd imagined.
He glanced over at the masked person.
The man's voice sounded through the air, calm and near-sad.
"Brilliant, Liam. You're even more powerful than I thought."
Liam's gaze flicked to the masked figure. "That's all?"
His voice was icy, furious. "You bring me here, force me to fight this monster. and now you're just going to stand by and watch?"
The figure laughed, but it wasn't smiling. "You've won the battle, but the war is scarcely begun."
Liam's silver eyes narrowed. "Then tell me what is happening. What do you want from me?"
The figure raised a hand. The shadows around them moved, and the footsteps behind them became less distinct as more approached. "You will learn soon enough."
The cathedral doors thundered open and several other figures flowed inside, wearing the same black robes as the masked figure, their eyes shining like predators.
Liam could sense his shadows coalesce around him of their own accord, prepared to fight again. Riven stepped forward, her daggers out. "I don't think they were here to negotiate."
The figure smiled—a cruel, smirking smile. "No. They were here to give the message."
"The Abyss is just beginning with you, Liam Vaelthorne."