We both rushed towards each other. I poured mana into my body,my speed increased but the pain did as well. My leg bones were covered in hundreds of micro fractures.
The lance came first.
A straight thrust, shrieking like a steel storm, the point blurring as it drove for my chest. I twisted, just barely.
The tip scraped past my pauldron, ripping it open like paper. Steel curled outward in jagged petals, cutting into my shoulder. A line of fire bloomed across my flesh.
I hissed through my teeth, but didn't stop moving. My own spear lashed up in reply, a snap-strike angled for its exposed elbow joint.
Sparks spat. The hit landed, but the arm did not break. Instead, the lancer's free hand snapped out.
Its palm caught my ribs. I could hear the sound bones breaking. But ringing in my ears mostly made that sound die out.
The force launched me sideways, air crushed from my lungs. I hit the cavern wall hard enough that cracks spidered outward. Dust rained down, choking. My legs buckled.
There was no pause. The lance swept across, horizontal, wide enough to cleave a tree in two. I rolled, shoulder grinding on stone, feeling the edge graze sparks just inches from my helm.
The weapon buried itself into a stalagmite, splitting it clean in half.
I staggered up, gasping. My spear twirled into a guard.
'Don't stop. Move.'
I lunged.
The black blade of my weapon ignited blue, carving an arc low across its knees. The strike hit home,metal shrieked, armor dented. The knight's stance faltered, just slightly.
I pressed. My spear flicked upward in a thrust for the visor. But the monster's head jerked aside with unnatural speed. The tip only grazed the helm, screeching sparks across steel.
Its response was immediate.
The lance smashed downward, point-first.
I spun my weapon crosswise, both hands straining as I caught the strike.
The impact rang through the cavern like a bell, my bones rattling as the shaft vibrated against mine. My knees caved, boots grinding sparks as I was being driven into the stone.
As I was falling the lancer kicked me towards a stone wall.
"Rhhghh—!" Blood sprayed from my lips.
I could barely breath but I forced myself to continue on.
I poured mana into my feet and leapt towards the lancer.
The lancer narrowed it's eyes and and lifted it's weapon. I drove the spear into the ground and flung myself the other direction by using the spear to spin around and create momentum.
I landed on the other side and quickly ran towards the lancer.
I jumped and dashed,all while pouring mana into every ounce of my body and weapon alike. I saw a jagged piece of rock coming out of the cave floor as I ran,I didn't think twice and spun my spear and with a single strike.
Rock split into various pieces.
The stones sped up and landed on the knight. Some of the stones hit it's exposed maw.
"Gahhh!!" It winced in pain.
Taking advantage of that I surged forward, jabbing twice into its torso, once into the joint beneath the arm, once into the dented chestplate.
Sparks and black ichor burst free, sizzling where it struck the cavern floor.
"KERGHH!!"
The knight roared. Not human. A tearing, animal howl that shredded the air, the sound scraping against my skull until my ears rang.
Its helm cracked wider down the center, black blood spraying from the jagged line. The wound moved, stretching into something like a mouth.
I hesitated just for a second.
The monster too advantage of this and slammed its gauntlet into my helm.
The steel rang, denting inward. Stars burst across my vision.
It threw me into a pillar of jagged stone erupting out of the floor.
KRACKK!!
The pillar broke and so did I.
I spat blood into my dented helm, vision swimming, ribs burning like a cage of knives. My hands still clutched the spear; I wasn't letting go.
Move. Move.
The lancer moved first.
Its lance cut the air in a straight thrust, faster than an arrow, point glinting wetly with my own blood. I twisted sideways, heel digging into loose gravel.
The tip crashed again started my pauldron, tearing it open, steel and flesh together. A spurt of red streaked across the cavern wall.
I didn't flinch. My spear came up in a backhand snap, jabbing for its elbow joint.
Sparks spat.
The joint dented but didn't break; the monster's free gauntlet lashed out instead.
Its palm caved into my ribs like a hammer. Bones cracked audibly. Air exploded out of my lungs.
I slammed into the cavern wall.
THUDDD!
Stone fissured. Dust poured down, coating my tongue with grit.
No pause.
The lance swept horizontally, a blade of iron wide enough to cleave a carriage.
SWOOOSH—CRRRAAASH!
I rolled under it, shoulder screaming against the rock. The edge grazed sparks from the wall just above my head and split a stalagmite clean in half.
I came up low, spear in guard, mana burning in my veins like oil fire.
'Don't stop. MOVE.'
I lunged.
Blue light flared along my weapon's edge as I carved low across its knees.
SCREEE! Metal shrieked. Armor dented. The lancer's stance faltered—
I flicked the spear upward for its visor.
The helm jerked aside unnaturally. The point screeched sparks across steel instead of finding the gap.
It answered instantly.
The lance came down point-first like a falling tower.
I caught it crosswise.
The cavern rang like a bell. Shockwaves rippled down the shaft into my arms. My knees bent. Boots dug sparks from stone. My spine groaned.
It kicked.
BOOM!
My body whipped sideways, thrown across the cavern.
"Rhhghhh—!" Blood sprayed from my lips mid-flight.
I slammed into another wall. Spiderweb cracks burst outward. I forced air back into my chest, forced my legs under me.
I leapt.
The lancer narrowed its eyes, red glow shrinking, sharpening like a wolf's pupils, and raised its lance.
I planted my spear in the ground, spun on it, and flung myself the other way, using momentum to sling across its flank.
I landed in a crouch, sprinted. Jagged rock erupted from the cave floor ahead. My eyes flicked, my body already moving.
My spear spun and split the rock to shards mid-run. The pieces rocketed forward, clattering against its armor. Some struck its exposed maw.
"GAAHHH!"
It staggered, black ichor dripping from its teeth.
I was already striking it.
Twice into its torso, one under the arm, one into the dented breastplate.
Sparks and black tar sprayed, hissing where it touched the floor.
"KEEERRRGHHHH!!!"
The knight roared. A tearing, animal sound, nails across my skull.
Its helm split wider, blood spraying from the crack as it stretched into a jagged mouth. Rotten muscle tore with wet pops. The jaw opened wider, longer, until it could swallow me whole.
I hesitated. One heartbeat.
That was enough.
Its gauntlet slammed my helm. Steel dented inward; stars burst across my vision.
It hurled me into a jagged pillar.
Stone shattered. My back bent wrong. My spear clattered away.
I clawed for breath, but the cavern roared with impacts.
The lancer blurred. The lance blurred.
The strikes came. Not one. Not ten. Hundreds.
A storm of iron raining down, stabbing, sweeping, jabbing, thrusting.
Each impact rang out like a hammer on a cathedral bell.
Sparks and black blood and red blood splashed together.
My arms rose and fell, parrying, blocking, deflecting, but every block numbed another nerve, every impact cracked another piece of me.
KRNNNGHHHH!
Another thrust ripped through my guard, slicing a groove across my thigh.
Another skidded along my ribs, ripping mail.
Another caved into my shoulder.
The lance was everywhere. My vision became nothing but steel points. Each blow shoved me back, down, under. My spear trembled in my grip; my arms felt hollow.
The final volley struck like rain on a drum.
KLANG!
KLANG!
KLANG!
KLANG!
KLANG!
KLANG!
So fast the sounds merged into a single iron scream.
I hit the ground on my knees, armor shredded, body leaking blood and smoke.
The lancer loomed over me, jaws yawning, black ichor pattering onto stone like tar rain.
Blood poured from every seam in my armor, dripping in a trail behind me as I struggled to rise. My knees shook. My hands slipped on my spear, slick with red.
The lancer loomed above.
Its helm split further, jagged edges peeling open. Rotted tendons stretched, snapped, oozed black tar that spilled down its chest in ropes. Its jaw unhinged with the shriek of tearing sinew, widening, lengthening until it could have swallowed me whole.
The noise was horrible.
A howl rattled from its throat. The sound scraped the marrow from my bones.
I staggered. My vision bled black at the edges. My skull throbbed with each heartbeat until I swore it was leaking out through my ears.
That was when they came.
The voices.
Lay down. Enough.
Let the dark take you.
You've bled enough. You've broken enough. No one will remember if you die here.
I pressed a gauntlet to my helm, teeth bared in silent defiance. The voices grew louder, shrieking, overlapping, drowning my thoughts.
End it. Fall. Die.
My body lurched forward. My legs didn't want to obey.
My spear nearly slipped from my hand.
And then—one voice, not like the rest. Clear. Cutting.
⟪Hero.....strike true.Create a violent force.⟫
I dragged in a breath through broken ribs, forcing every last drop of mana into my veins. It wasn't enough. I felt the emptiness immediately. Hollow.
'This... isn't enough,I need something...something else,I need to substitute the lack of mana,'
Then an idea struck me,even while my mind bled and was in pain. I remembered the strange whispers within my head.
If two forces are dragged together, bound not by harmony but by brute force, the result isn't unity. It's rejection,a violent reaction born to tear both apart.
So,I split the mana in two. It tore at me, ripping from the inside out. My chest locked. Blood spilled down my chin. Vision faltered. Then, with no care for consequence, I slammed the halves back together.
Agony followed.
The spear answered. Blue fire erupted along the shaft, wild, uncontrolled, devouring metal, searing my gauntlet, burning my flesh. I held on.
The lancer lunged, jaw wide, dripping tar.
"GARHHHH!!"
I roared back at it,this duel ends now.
"ARGHHH!!"
The cavern shook. A spiral of blue fire tore forward, splitting through the air, rattling the cave, The blast struck.
KRRRRRRRSHHHHHHHHH!!!
The knight's head exploded in a storm of ichor and black mist. Its helm crumpled, its flesh and bone dissolving in the fire's fury. When the light died, only a ruined stump remained.
The spear had stuck itself into the surface of the grand door.
I collapsed to one knee, my spear trembling in my grip, the flames faded as my breath came ragged and broken.
I looked at the grand door, for all this time I hadn't even noticed it, quite unusual considering how ludicrously large it was.
I fell on the ground and so did the lancer, it's giant weapon falling with it. I could see very faintly as the weapon crumbled to dust and bluish mystical mist,and the lancer slowly started to fade as well.
I wondered to myself, 'Will the lancer come back again? Will the other undead come back again? Or have they achieved some sort of peace?'
But, the pain only increased the more I racked my brain.
I found it best to simply fall unconscious.
The black blood flowed even though the lancer was fading. My blood flowed as well.
The blood flowed onto the cavern surface and through the grooves on it.
They flowed until reaching the doors foot.
⟪You truly are a great warrior⟫
⟪The door shall open for you⟫
'These voices....just let me sleep,'
⟪Defeat the dragon...if you can⟫
I couldn't hear the words as they weren't echoes inside my head but it seemed as though the door itself spoke.
I was also drifting into unconsciousness.
'Just let me rest....'
I was truly tired.