The heavy clouds pressed low over the battlefield, gray and unyielding as Kael's squad formed their lines near the edge of the Hollow Verge. A sharp wind cut through the trees, carrying the scent of scorched earth and Essence corruption.
"Shield unit front and center," Kael ordered, voice steady. "Mages and casters, fall back and support from rear. Flank teams cover left and right — watch each other's blind spots."
His ten-member squad responded without hesitation, moving into tight formations honed by countless drills. Each adventurer bore the marks of experience — worn armor, carefully sharpened blades, Essence runes etched onto their gear. None were archers; ranged attacks were spells or Essence blasts alone.
Kael's hands sparked with Pyre Essence—his core blazing hotter than ever. His speed was his greatest asset now, a blur of motion as he darted across the front lines, landing fiery strikes on the smaller Varnok that swarmed their perimeter.
"Don't let them overwhelm the shields!" he barked, fists igniting into bursts of flame and kinetic force. Two Varnok lunged at the front line; Kael's fists collided with them, scorching and shattering bones with each blow. His reflexes flared — Pyre speed in full force — but even that wasn't enough to clear the field entirely.
A deafening roar shattered the air.
The ground trembled violently beneath their feet.
From the twisted forest edge emerged the nightmare Kael dreaded: the Eclipse-tier Varnok.
Towering, monstrous, its grotesque frame wrapped in corrupted Essence tendrils and bone armor, the beast moved with a terrible intelligence. Every step cracked the earth like thunder.
Kael's heart skipped. He knew this was beyond anything his team could handle alone.
"Hold the line!" Kael shouted, planting himself in front of the squad. "No one breaks!"
The shield unit surged forward, Essence barriers flickering to life as the Eclipse Varnok slammed its massive limbs into them. Stone shattered. Trees splintered. The force pushed the adventurers backward, testing their endurance and cohesion.
Kael darted to the edges, blasting bursts of flame and kinetic energy into lesser Varnok swarming from the sides. His movements were a storm — faster than most could follow, striking with Pyre-honed precision.
But against the giant, his blows barely left a mark.
The Eclipse Varnok swung a massive arm. Kael dove aside, narrowly escaping a devastating blow that crushed the ground where he'd stood moments before.
"Leiya!" he called out, eyes scanning the chaos.
She was farther back, wounded but fighting fiercely. Her blades wove arcs of icy light, slowing enemies and holding a narrow pass.
"Keep her safe!" Kael urged himself silently.
The Varnok smashed again, breaking through part of the shield line. Panic threatened to spread, but Kael held firm.
"Form up! Focus on coordinated strikes. Use Essence synergy!" he commanded, voice ringing out over the clash.
The team tightened ranks, pushing back in waves. Mages layered elemental barriers, melee fighters pressed forward with coordinated flurries. Kael moved like lightning between them, a blur of Pyre-level speed and burning fury, aiding teammates under fire.
Still, the Eclipse Varnok was relentless — each swing a devastation, each roar a challenge.
Kael's chest burned; his body screamed for rest. But the team depended on him.
"No backing down," he vowed.
With a roar, he channeled his Essence deeper, flames flickering higher, speed sharpening further.
A small smile touched his lips.
"I may not beat it alone… but together, we're unstoppable."
Kael slammed his fists into the ground, sending a shockwave across the battlefield to hold the line for a moment longer.
"Everyone—buy me ten seconds!" he shouted, eyes burning with fierce, determined light. "I don't care how—just hold it!"
They didn't ask why.
They moved.
Leiya, still limping but alive, surged forward with renewed fury, blades spinning into radiant arcs. Flames, frost, and light collided with Varnok flesh.
Two Warbrand adventurers locked shields in front of Kael, bracing as the Eclipse-tier monstrosity reared back and let loose a guttural bellow that shattered trees and sent shrapnel across the battlefield.
It charged.
The shield line shattered.
The frontliners screamed.
One by one, teammates were battered aside, tossed like ragdolls, bleeding and barely breathing—but none retreated.
Kael didn't move.
Eyes closed, fists clenched, he inhaled sharply.
Essence flooded inward — all of it.
Storm surged into his lungs. Lightning pulsed through his veins. Flame danced along his skin. Kinetic tension built beneath his feet, tearing fissures through the earth.
A ring of spiraling energy formed around him.
Ten seconds had never felt so long.
Nine… One defender crumpled beneath the beast's swipe, ribs crushed.
Eight… A mage collapsed from over channeling a barrier that shattered seconds later.
Seven… Leiya screamed, her ice lance plunging into the Eclipse Varnok's arm — it barely flinched.
Six… The beast's eyes locked on Kael.
Five… Kael exhaled, slow. The world dulled. Sound vanished. His heartbeat echoed like war drums.
Four… The spirals tightened. The energy compacted.
Three… The Varnok leapt, arm raised to crush him.
Two… A soldier channeled his earth essence forcing the Varnok to retreat a step
One. The Varnok attempted to regain his step to crush Kael, it was too late...
Kael's eyes opened.
"GET AWAY!" he roared.
The team heard him—barely—and scattered, dragging wounded, screaming warnings as they sprinted.
Then came the silence.
Even the Varnok paused mid-swing, sensing something was wrong.
Kael stomped once — the ground cracked and lifted beneath him.
Then his upward strike — white-hot, a spear of condensed annihilation.
Essence Collapse: Worldfire Tempest.
Four spirals ignited around him:
A storm dome surged outward, winds shredding trees like paper.
A spiraling column of molten flame erupted skyward, hotter than magma, consuming the Varnok.
Lightning lanced in all directions — chaotic, violent, intelligent — spearing anything that moved with unrelenting voltage.
Then came the Kinetic wave — silent, invisible, then BOOM — a dome of concussive force flattened the entire battlefield.
The Eclipse Varnok didn't scream — it was gone mid-roar, vaporized at the center.
The earth cratered.
Buildings collapsed in the outer blast zone.
Everything within a hundred meters of Kael was gone—scorched, shattered, erased.
And at the epicenter… Kael stood.
Barely.
His skin steamed. His limbs shook. Blood trickled from his ears. His eyes rolled back—
He collapsed.
The silence afterward was unreal. Only the crackling air and the soft hiss of scorched grass remained.
Leiya reached him first, stumbling through smoke and ruin, falling to her knees beside his motionless form.
"Kael—no… no, no," she whispered, brushing scorched hair from his brow.
His chest rose—barely.
He was alive. But every Essence channel in his body screamed in silent agony.
The squad began to return, limping, some carrying others. Eyes wide. None spoke.
They had survived.
But they had seen a weapon unleashed — a man who had become more storm than soldier.
And none would forget what Kael had become in those ten seconds.