The sound didn't come from one direction. It was everywhere. The ground compressed, the dark moss sinking under the sheer weight of a moving mountain.
Corvin didn't move. His silver skin tightened, metal grinding against metal as he braced for the impact. He wasn't waiting for a signal; he was feeling the massive weight of the monster as it drew closer through the dark.
Behind him, Maren clutched her daughter with white-knuckled desperation. "Corvin… say something. Do we run?!" There was no answer. Corvin's body had already made the choice to fight, his gaze fixed on the shadows.
The trees didn't just bend; they snapped. Two massive trunks broke sideways as the creature pushed through without slowing down. It was a twisted nightmare, its limbs far too long and its joints bending in ways that defied everything natural.
Its body looked like layers of thick, hardened leather stitched over massive bones that shifted and clicked audibly under the skin. It had no eyes, only a hollow, swirling cavity where a face should be—a living spiral of dark flesh.
Without a roar or a warning, the thing vanished from sight. The ground exploded beneath Corvin as the creature slammed into him with crushing force, driving him deep into the shattered earth.
For the first time, a fracture spread across his silver arm—clean, sharp, undeniable. He wasn't just hit; he was damaged, and the shock of it vibrated through his entire frame.
"CORVIN!" Maren's voice was full of terror, but she didn't just freeze. She stepped forward, raising her shaking pistol, torn between running to save her child and firing to save her protector.
Corvin forced himself up, his arm trembling before it locked back into place. The monster watched him from the edge of the crater, tilting its head as if it were studying its prey.
Corvin lunged, his body cutting through the air like a heavy blade. He struck the creature's chest, tearing away a chunk of black, rotten flesh that scattered across the moss. But the monster didn't fall.
The wound shifted and pulled itself back together instantly, the flesh stitching itself closed. It was not going to die easily. Its limbs grew even longer, bones snapping into new, lethal shapes as it prepared to strike again.
It moved again, faster than a blink. A jagged claw punched through Corvin's shoulder, tearing away a piece of his silver skin.
"Move away," Corvin ordered, his voice flat and cold as the air around them.
"NOW," Kael snapped, grabbing Maren's coat and dragging her back into the shadows of the massive roots before she could pull the trigger.
The creature charged again, but this time, Corvin didn't defend. He stood open, letting the claw drive straight into his chest. As the limb entered his body, Corvin's silver skin shifted and locked around it, trapping the monster's arm inside his own frame.
The creature tried to pull away, but nothing moved. Corvin grabbed the trapped limb with his other hand, applying a relentless, crushing pressure until a wet, tearing sound echoed through the clearing. The monster jerked in pain, its first sign of hesitation.
Corvin didn't stop. He shoved his other hand deep into the swirling hollow of the monster's head. He released a blast of raw, unfiltered force directly into the creature's center.
A massive shockwave detonated. Trees snapped and the ground sank as the air itself seemed to tear apart. The creature didn't just fall; it vanished into the air as if it had been erased from existence.
Silence returned, heavy and suffocating. Corvin stood there, his body covered in glowing cracks. His chest was still partially open, the metal struggling to mend the deep wound left by the beast.
"Is it… over?" Maren whispered, keeping her gun raised as she stepped out from the shadows.
Corvin didn't answer. He looked at the ground, feeling a strange movement beneath his feet—not a single body, but a growing pattern.
The thing hadn't died; it had scattered and multiplied. More shadows began to move between the trees, and the sound of heavy, hungry breathing filled the forest from all sides.
Corvin straightened his damaged frame with a sharp, metallic click. He didn't look back as he stared into the dark.
"They are coming," he said. "This one… was only a fragment."