Spirit Game

Helliana, Thorgar, Thraigar, and Santi were the first to move, rushing toward the portal with all the speed they could muster.

Elora, Rylan, and Kaelen followed closely, their faces etched with relief.

With a final, desperate surge, Rain and the others dove through the portal, abandoning the smoldering battlefield behind them.

One by one, the remaining troops scrambled for their lives, launching themselves into the shimmering gateway, just as Balaur's fiery wrath closed in.

Those who could muster the strength made the leap, disappearing to the other side as the world behind them was consumed by flames.

The group tumbled onto the ground, their breaths ragged and their bodies battered. They looked back at the closed portal, the weight of their narrow escape sinking in.

Rain glanced around at the weary, dirt-streaked faces surrounding him. Hundreds had made it through the portal, but he could only hope those still on the other side — General Varlox, his troops, and the others — had managed to escape Balaur's wrath as well.

"I really hope they made it out," he muttered to himself.

A shaken voice broke the silence. "W-What is this?" Helliana's eyes were wide as she scanned their surroundings.

"Why are we still here?" Elora demanded, pointing toward the distant sight of Clockwork City.

"Oi, Golly! You didn't transport us far enough!" Rylan snapped, frustration lacing his words.

"I didn't have time to power it up properly," Golly retorted, his face flushed. "With the size of the portal and the limited time, I could only get us this far."

"Then make another portal!" Rylan barked, grabbing Golly by the collar. "That dragon's still rampaging, and it won't take long before it catches up to us—"

Rylan's words died in his throat as a beam of light sliced through the air, missing Golly's head by mere inches.

The group froze in shock as the sound of a distant, earth-shaking roar echoed across the horizon.

The ground trembled violently as something massive landed with a deafening crash, sending shockwaves through the earth. Everyone stumbled, their eyes widening in disbelief as they looked toward the source.

A towering figure stood before them, humanoid yet monstrous, his form encased in gleaming adamantine armor that shimmered like molten steel. Two enormous horns curved from his head, his skin blackened and cracked, as if he had emerged from the heart of a volcano. His blood-red eyes, slitted like a reptile's, glowed with a sinister light as they swept across the group.

"You shall not escape," the creature growled, his voice deep and malevolent, vibrating with primal hunger.

Rain's heart sank, his breath catching in his throat. "B-Balaur?" he whispered, unable to comprehend what stood before them. The dragon had taken on a new form — something even more terrifying.

Before anyone could react, Balaur moved. He was impossibly fast — a blur of speed that defied his enormous size. In an instant, he was upon Kaelen. The geomancer barely had time to raise his hands before Balaur struck him down. One brutal blow was all it took. Kaelen collapsed, blood spraying from his chest as he fell lifeless to the ground.

"Kaelen!" Santi's voice cracked, filled with shock and disbelief as she stared at her fallen comrade.

"Wait!" Rain stepped forward, hands clenched. "Why are you doing this? There's no reason for you to fight us!"

Balaur's laughter rang out across the wasteland, deep and mocking. The sound reverberated through the air like thunder, shaking the ground beneath them. "Reason?" he sneered, his lips curling into a twisted grin. "I need no reason. Now that I am awakened, my bloodlust demands to be sated. And you .

. . you shall entertain me." Discover stories with empire

Rain blinked in confusion, struggling to make sense of the twisted logic. "What . . . ?"

At the side, Golly stepped forward, his voice low and grave. "Balaur is no ordinary beast, Rain. He's the god of war. Conflict and bloodshed fuel his very existence. He craves the thrill of battle, the rush of combat. Most powerful beings in this realm .

. . they seek nothing more than the surge of adrenaline that comes from a worthy fight."

Rain's heart sank as the horrifying truth settled in. There would be no reasoning with Balaur. This wasn't about survival — it was about feeding the insatiable bloodlust of a god.

"My lord," Ri called out, his expression grim. "You must escape. I'll hold him off."

"R-Ri . . ." Rain stammered, unable to finish his words. He could see the beads of sweat running down Ri's cheek, the unspoken understanding between them — Ri knew he stood no chance, not against Balaur, not in his dragon form, and certainly not in this terrifying humanoid form.

~Chi!~

'Go, my lord!' Chi's voice echoed in Rain's mind, sharp and urgent.

But before Rain could respond, Balaur's eyes flared with savage glee. "No one shall escape!" he roared, his voice like the rumble of a collapsing mountain. His presence alone made the air grow thick with dread, a suffocating pressure that bore down on everyone like an invisible weight.

Ri's stance hardened, his resolve set. "You heard him," he muttered, his fists clenching as winds began to swirl at his feet. "I'll buy you time. Now go!"

"No one shall leave!" Balaur repeated, his voice shook the ground, a roar of pure malice.

Thraigar and Thorgar, without hesitation, bolted forward to intercept, their combined strength aiming to halt the dragon's advance. But Balaur's power was overwhelming — he barely moved, flicking them aside like insects. The force of his attack sent them both crashing into the rocky terrain, debris flying from the impact.

Ri was undeterred, and called upon the elements, winds whipping into violent cyclones, pillars of jagged stone shooting up from the ground, and torrents of water swirling in a chaotic storm around Balaur.

But the god of war merely let out a thunderous roar, shattering the elemental attacks as if they were nothing but dust in the wind. Before Ri could react, Balaur closed the distance in a blink, driving a brutal punch into Ri's gut. The impact was devastating — Ri's eyes widened in shock as the air was knocked out of him, his body sent crashing to the ground.