Theras vanished the moment the words left his mouth, his wings driving him forward with violent precision. The fire along his blade stretched behind him in a long trail of burning light as he closed the distance between himself and the shadow in less than a breath.
He appeared at its side and swung.
The flaming sword cut horizontally toward the shadow’s torso, the heat from the blade scorching the stone beneath them even before contact was made. The shadow reacted instantly, its own flaming weapon rising to intercept his strike. The two blades collided, and the fire from both erupted outward, twisting together as though each sought to devour the other.
Theras felt the resistance. It was not weak. It pushed back against him with equal intent.
His smile widened slightly.
He stepped forward instead of retreating, forcing his strength into the blade. The flames along his sword intensified, growing brighter and denser as Essence surged through his arm. He twisted his wrist and slid his blade along the shadow’s weapon, redirecting the resistance before pulling back and striking again from a lower angle.
This time the shadow adjusted faster, its sword descending to block the new attack.
Theras vanished again.
He reappeared above it, his wings folding inward as he dropped downward, his blade already descending in a vertical strike. The fire gathered along the edge, burning hotter than before, and when it met the shadow’s defense, the impact cracked the step beneath their feet.
The shadow endured it.
Its blade did not break.
Instead, it shifted its weight and drove its weapon forward.
The flaming edge pierced into Theras’s side.
Blood spilled down his body.
Theras grimaced but his eyes flared crimson, and a concentrated beam erupted forward from his gaze, striking the shadow directly in the head. The force drove it backward across the stone, its feet carving deep marks into the mountain path.
He moved instantly.
His wings carried him behind it before it could recover, and his sword ignited again, this time layered with lightning over fire. Electricity snapped violently along the blade as he thrust forward.
The sword pierced through the shadow’s back and exited its chest.
Fire exploded outward from the wound, followed by lightning that tore through its form from within. The shadow trembled as its structure failed, its outline breaking apart before dissolving into ash that scattered into the air.
"As I said, just a cheap copy." Theras pulled his blade free and continued climbing.
The second shadow emerged several steps higher.
This one held a sword coated entirely in lightning. Thin arcs of electricity crawled along its weapon and spread into the air around it. It moved the moment Theras approached, vanishing from its position and reappearing behind him.
Theras turned and raised his blade just in time. Their swords collided in a burst of lightning.
The lightning surged through his arm, but he pushed through it, stepping forward and forcing his blade against the shadow’s weapon. He twisted his wrist and redirected the strike before swinging upward in a rising arc.
Lightning erupted outward from his sword, tearing through the shadow’s torso.
The shadow staggered. Theras did not give it time to recover.
His wings carried him upward, and from above he drove his blade downward with both fire and lightning roaring along its edge.
The strike split the shadow from shoulder to waist.
Its body collapsed and disappeared.
He continued climbing without hesitation.
The third shadow appeared.
Then the fourth.
Then the fifth.
Then the sixth.
Each one stronger.
Each one faster.
Each one forcing him to push deeper into himself.
Their blades cut into him as he destroyed them. Fire erupted across the path as he swung. Lightning shattered their forms as he thrust forward. He bent space to reach them faster and used his wings to move faster than their attacks.
Their strikes left wounds across his body. Blood covered his arms. His wings tore in places.
Still, he climbed. Finally, he reached the final stretch below the summit.
The air had grown heavier. The sword above remained silent, watching.
The seventh shadow emerged.
It formed slowly, its body rising from the mountain stone as though it had always been part of it. Its sword appeared in its hand, calm and steady.
Theras stepped forward.
The shadow vanished.
He felt the shift behind him and turned instantly, raising his blade.
Their swords collided with violent force.
The impact drove him backward several steps, his feet scraping across the stone. This shadow carried far greater strength than the others. Its blade moved again immediately, cutting downward toward his shoulder.
Theras intercepted the strike, but the force traveled through his arm and into his body, forcing his muscles to strain.
The shadow struck again. Its blade appeared at his side. He twisted to avoid the full impact, but the edge still cut into his ribs.
Blood spilled.
Theras’s expression hardened.
His wings spread wide and pushed him backward, creating distance between them. His sword ignited with fire and lightning together, the two elements twisting around the blade.
He stepped forward and swung. The attack tore through the air in a spiraling beam and struck the shadow directly.
The shadow endured it.
It stepped forward through the fire.
Its blade pierced into his shoulder.
Pain spread through his body, but he did not retreat.
Instead, he forced space to collapse around himself, pulling his body forward faster than the shadow could react. His sword pierced into its chest.
But the shadow distorted time. Its body shifted backward slightly, reducing the depth of the strike.
Theras adjusted instantly. He forced time around himself to slow. The shadow’s movement stretched. Within that moment, he drove his sword deeper.
Fire erupted.
Lightning followed.
Space collapsed inward around the wound.
The shadow resisted. Its blade cut deeper into his shoulder.
Blood poured down his arm. Theras’s eyes burned crimson. A beam erupted from them at point-blank range, striking the shadow’s head and forcing it back.
He stepped forward again.
His sword ignited brighter than before. He swung with everything he had left. Space folded inward along the blade’s path. Time stabilized around the strike. Fire and lightning surged together. The sword pierced completely through the shadow.
Its body shattered. The darkness collapsed into nothing.
Theras remained standing. His breathing was heavy now. Blood covered his body. His wings hung torn behind him.
But he had not fallen.
Theras stood there for several moments, his chest rising and falling as he drew breath into lungs that burned from the climb. Blood continued to drip from the wounds across his body, tracing thin paths down his arms and falling onto the stone beneath his feet. His wings hung behind him, torn and stained, their strength spent in the battle that had forced him to give everything he possessed. Yet he remained upright, his grip on the silver sword steady, his will unbroken.
He lifted his head.
The sword waited. It had not reacted to the destruction that had unfolded along the mountain path below. It remained exactly where it had always been, embedded in the summit stone as though it had existed there long before the mountain itself had taken form.
Theras began walking.
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Bonus release: 1 Chapter for every 100 GTs