I barely had time to react. A surge of something—wrong, twisted—flickered in my senses, and I threw myself to the side just as a force slashed through the air where I'd been standing. I couldn't see it, not completely—only glimpses of something shifting, its presence like a flickering ember in the darkness of my mind.
Another surge. Closer this time. My body moved before I could think, instincts screaming as I ducked. A gust of air rushed past my ear, sharp and cutting. I pivoted, my breath steady, my muscles tensed. I could only catch flashes of his Vitalis—a fractured aura, pulsing, unstable. It twisted and flickered, there one second, gone the next.
Then—pressure. A shift. I spun just in time. My fist shot forward, and I felt it connect—solid but wrong. His body bent unnaturally from the hit, but I couldn't see how he reacted. Just the flicker of Vitalis, twisting, reforming.
I stepped back. He was still standing.
The relic's energy pulsed again, sending another wave of unease crawling up my spine.
A pulse. A shift.
I twisted my body just as something slashed through the air beside me, sharp enough that I felt the pressure cut across my cheek. I still couldn't see him—just the flickers, the faint distortions of Vitalis shifting like dying embers in the dark.
Another flicker—closer. I dropped low. The wind above me split as something tore through where my head had been, missing by inches. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, but I didn't hesitate. The moment my feet touched the ground, I pushed off, launching a fist toward the pulsing aura in front of me.
Contact.
My knuckles smashed into something solid, but the impact was wrong. His body—if it even was a body anymore—felt unstable, like I'd punched into something both rigid and fluid at the same time. A shudder ran up my arm as he recoiled, his Vitalis twisting erratically before vanishing again.
I didn't have time to think. The next wave of pressure crashed toward me, wild and erratic. I barely managed to shift my weight, twisting to avoid the strike I could only sense. Even then, something grazed my ribs, sending a sharp ache through my side.
I gritted my teeth. If I couldn't see his attacks, I'd have to feel them. I slowed my breath, letting my senses take over. The pulses of energy, the shifts in the air, the subtle ripples of movement—I focused on all of it.
He lunged again. I spun with the movement, using his own force against him as I slammed my knee up. A burst of energy rippled through the impact point, but his body—whatever it had become—only shuddered before twisting unnaturally.
He is fast. Unpredictable.
I exhaled, fists tightening.
"Alright," I muttered. "Let's see who lasts longer."
Chaos. I could barely process anything else.
The village that had been full of cautious murmurs just minutes ago had erupted into sheer panic. Screams rang through the air, cutting through the distant howl of the wind. Shadows darted between the flames of overturned lanterns, villagers scrambling over each other in a desperate attempt to escape. Some were frozen in place, paralyzed by terror. Others tripped over broken crates and baskets, spilling food and supplies across the dirt road.
And me?
I was in the middle of it, fighting something I couldn't even see.
I sucked in a breath, forcing myself to focus. The possessed Banisher—if I could even call him that anymore—moved like a phantom. I couldn't make out his form, only the flickering remnants of his Vitalis. It pulsed erratically, vanishing and reappearing in bursts like a dying flame.
Something shifted. Fast.
I turned on instinct, barely managing to step back before something slashed through the space where my throat had been. The force of the attack sent a gust of wind crashing against my face, sharp like a blade.
I clenched my jaw. Damn it. I can't react fast enough if I can't see him.
A villager's scream cut through my thoughts. I barely caught a glimpse of a woman scrambling away, her face streaked with dirt and tears, clutching a child who wouldn't stop wailing. Behind her, an old man struggled to drag another villager to safety, both of them staggering with exhaustion.
"What's happening?! Someone stop this!"
"We're all gonna die—!"
I forced my mind back to the fight. The Banisher—or whatever was left of him—wasn't going to stop. He wasn't human anymore. Not with the way his Vitalis moved, shifting like something unnatural, like something hungry.
Another shift in the air.
I ducked—too late. A force slammed into my ribs, knocking the breath from my lungs. I stumbled back, gasping as I barely kept my footing.
Damn it. This isn't working.
I was fighting something I couldn't see, in a village that was already falling apart. And judging by the trembling in the ground, the relic wasn't done yet. If this went on any longer, there wouldn't be a village left to save.
I exhaled sharply. Fine. If I can't see the spirit, I'll fight another way.
I closed my eyes for half a second, forcing everything else to fade. No distractions. No panicked screams. Just the air, the movement, the Vitalis flickering around me.
Another shift. This time, I moved first.
I twisted my body, feeling the presence of his attack before it landed. My fist snapped forward, colliding with something solid—something that cracked beneath the impact. A distorted shriek rang out as the Banisher staggered back, his Vitalis flickering wildly.
I took the chance.
Pushing forward, I threw another punch—then another. Each time, I felt the resistance, the strange, unstable form of his body twisting under the force of my blows. But it wasn't enough. He wasn't stopping.
He moved again, faster this time. A burst of pressure slammed into me, sending me skidding across the dirt. I barely caught myself before I hit the wreckage of a collapsed stall.
I coughed, tasting dust in my mouth.
"This is getting annoying," I muttered, forcing myself to my feet.
The Banisher's Vitalis pulsed, crackling with unstable energy. He wasn't slowing down. If anything, he was getting worse.
I exhaled, rolling my shoulders. "Alright. If that's how you wanna do this..." I cracked my knuckles, feeling the heat of my chi stir inside me.
"Let's finish it."
The Banisher's body twisted unnaturally, his limbs jerking like a puppet held by unstable strings. His eyes—once wide with human fear—were gone, replaced by an eerie emptiness, hollow and lifeless. But it wasn't his face that made my stomach tighten.
It was the thing inside him.
The spirit's Vitalis flared—flickering like a storm of embers, erratic, unstable. It wasn't fully visible, not yet, but it was strong enough that I could make out a rough shape curling around his body, limbs twitching, energy crackling in the air like static. Damn it... This thing's not weak.
And then it moved.
I barely had time to react before he—no, it—was on me.
I twisted, dodging the first swipe aimed at my chest. A split second later, something slammed into my side—a force so strong it sent me flying. My back crashed against a wooden stall, splinters exploding around me as I tumbled through the wreckage.
I forced myself up, ignoring the sting in my ribs. Fast. Strong. If I hesitate, I'm dead.
The spirit's Vitalis pulsed again, and the possessed Banisher lunged forward, claws—or were they fingers?—stretched toward me. I shifted my weight, ducking low, feeling the whoosh of air as it barely missed my head.
I struck.
My fist snapped forward, slamming into his ribs. There was resistance—his body jolted, but the force barely pushed him back. The moment my hit landed, his neck twitched, snapping toward me at an unnatural angle.
Then he smiled.
My breath hitched. That's not human.
He moved too fast. Before I could react, his arm blurred—an unnatural, twitching motion—and slammed into my shoulder. A sickening crack echoed in my ears before my body was sent flying again.
I tumbled, rolling across the dirt before skidding to a stop. My vision blurred for a second, the shouts of villagers barely registering.
Pain flared through my arm. Not broken, but close. Shit. I can't keep taking hits like this.
I gritted my teeth, pushing myself up.
The possessed Banisher was already moving again, Vitalis flaring violently, the spirit's form flickering more clearly now. It was bigger than before—less of a vague mass, more of an actual presence wrapped around the Banisher's body like armor.
It's getting stronger. Or I'm just seeing it more clearly. Either way, not good.
I exhaled sharply, rolling my shoulders. Alright. No more holding back.
The spirit lunged again. I was ready this time.
I sidestepped, barely avoiding its strike, then countered—my fist driving forward. My knuckles crashed against his face, the impact sending a ripple through his body. This time, I didn't let up.
I followed up with a spinning kick, landing squarely against his ribs. The force sent him staggering back.
I rushed in. Fast, precise. A punch to the gut. A knee to the jaw. Every hit connected, but the Banisher didn't go down. He jerked forward mid-stagger, arms snapping out in unnatural, twitching movements.
I barely ducked in time. His claws raked through the air above me, the wind pressure alone sending a shiver down my spine.
He's adapting.
No hesitation. I grabbed his arm before he could retreat and twisted, slamming my knee into his elbow. A sickening pop echoed through the battlefield, but he didn't scream.
He just laughed.
I recoiled, and that was all he needed.
His head twitched toward me. The Vitalis around him flared.
A second later, he was gone.
My instincts screamed. Behind—!
I turned—too slow. Something crashed into my stomach with inhuman force. The world blurred as I felt my feet leave the ground. The impact sent me soaring through the air, my body smashing through another market stall before slamming into the dirt.
I gasped, coughing hard. Blood dripped from my lip.
The villagers were still screaming, their voices distant.
Damn it... Stop screamin.
The possessed Banisher stood at the centre of the battlefield, his Vitalis pulsing, flickering more solid than before.
I wiped my mouth and stood up, ignoring the pain screaming through my body.
"You still standing?!" a voice shouted. One of the surviving villagers, his face a mix of terror and awe.
I exhaled, rolling my shoulders. "Damn right I am."
My eyes locked onto the Banisher. His possessed form twitched, the spirit's Vitalis now a towering presence behind him. Its shape was clearer than before—hulking, monstrous, shifting like liquid shadow.
I clenched my fists, my chi flaring to life around me.
"You think you're the only monster here?" I muttered.
And then I charged, "THERE YOU ARE YOU SON OF A GUN!"
The chaos in the air was unbearable, and I could barely keep up with the storm of spirits surrounding me. The Banisher, now fully consumed by the spirit within, stood there, its form becoming increasingly erratic. The Vitalis—that strange essence I could only faintly see—flared with a sickening, dark energy.
I could feel the pressure building, suffocating, and every instinct screamed that I had to move. But how could I fight what I couldn't even fully see?
Wait.
A flicker of something caught my attention—an intense heat radiating from behind the Banisher. It was sudden, blinding, too quick for me to track with my usual focus. Then—
BOOM!
A blast of fire erupted from nowhere, crashing into the Banisher's head. The force of the explosion sent shockwaves through the air. The Banisher's body lurched violently, its skull nearly disintegrating in the fiery impact. But the worst part? It didn't drop.
It still stood, swaying, blood and ash spilling from the wreckage that had once been a head.
Then came the scream.
It was a wail that could make your skin crawl, an unholy sound, as the spirit clinging to the Banisher's body struggled to maintain control. I could feel it, thrashing, trying to break free of its vessel. The Vitalis surged violently, then—
It left.
The spirit shot out like a bolt of lightning, the darkness separating from the Banisher's form. It flared, a mass of energy pulling away from the destroyed body, and shot straight toward the relic at the center of the chaos.
A faint light flickered from the relic—a small vase, once insignificant, now glowing with an unnatural light.
In a split second, the spirit, now barely visible, merged with the vase, vanishing into the small object. The glow of the vase dimmed, but the oppressive aura of power remained, as if something was contained inside it.
I stood there, breath heavy, my fists still clenched. The spirits around us had started to fade, but the feeling of something lingering in the air felt... wrong.
I couldn't see who did it, couldn't even tell if they were still there, but the heat, the overwhelming force of that fire—it wasn't something I could have done. I turned slowly, scanning the horizon, but there was nothing. No one.
I could feel my heart racing, and for the first time since the battle started, the silence was unnerving. I wasn't alone anymore, but the presence... it didn't make any sense.
Who was that?