Eska fights to keep her mind grounded and her body calm as the canopy transforms into a battlefield.
Despite the chaos, the guild moves with unison, their formations holding strong against the relentless wave. Firebrands unleash torrents of flame, carving swathes through the oncoming horde, while knights form impenetrable shields to protect the spellcasters' rear.
Magic arcs through the air—flashes of fiery red, earth bullets and sharp, slicing winds—bolstering allies and striking down foes with devastating power.
The heat of fire magic burns through the swarm, gusts of wind carve paths through the chaos and earth-shattering strikes send shockwaves rippling through the battlefield.
The ground shakes beneath the stampede of clawed limbs, and the air is thick with the hum of the Thaxil's eerie communication.
Through the chaos, Vanessa keeps Eska and Valen close, her glowing fists a blur as she ducks and weaves between the creatures, striking with devastating efficiency.
"Don't break formation!" she shouts over the din. A Thaxil lunges at her from the side, its blade-like arm arcing toward her. Vanessa counters with a swift punch to its thorax, the impact reverberating through the air as the creature stumbles back, its carapace cracking under the force.
Eska darts to the side, narrowly dodging another Thaxil as it swipes at her with lightning speed.
Her claws ignite in response, glowing faintly with traces of her bloodcraft and reinforcement magic. She slashes at the creature's legs, forcing it to stagger, but its antennae hum frantically, signaling reinforcements.
Valen steps in, a gust of wind magic blasting the creature back just as another Thaxil closes in on him. He raises his weapon, his strikes quick but the creatures' numbers keep growing.
"We've got three more closing in!" Vanessa growls, turning just in time to block an incoming strike with her forearm, her gauntlets absorbing the impact.
She shifts, driving her knee into the creature's chest before slamming her fist down onto its head.
Valen channels another burst of wind magic, sending a sharp blade of air toward a charging Thaxil.
"Eska, keep circling them! Don't give them a chance to corner you!" he shouts, sweat dripping down his brow. Eska nods, weaving between the creatures, her strikes tinged with desperation.
The trio fights in sync, their movements flowing despite the overwhelming odds, as the chaos of the battlefield rages around them.
The ground trembles violently beneath their feet, the vibrations intensifying with each passing second. Vanessa's fists glow brightly as she strikes down another Thaxil, but her triumphant smirk fades when the ground below them suddenly collapses.
"Move!" she shouts, but it's too late.
The earth gives way with a deafening roar, and Eska's stomach lurches as she, Valen, Vanessa, and several other guild members tumble helplessly into the darkness, accompanied by a swarm of Thaxil, clattering and screeching as they plummet alongside them.
As they fall, the world around Eska becomes a chaotic blur. The faint glow of the battle above grows distant, replaced by the sight of hundreds of Thaxil swarming upward along the walls of the sinkhole.
Their jagged limbs scrape and clatter against the rocky walls, their antennae humming an eerie, discordant rhythm. The sheer number of them is staggering, an endless tide climbing to meet the hunters above.
Eska twists in midair, her eyes wide with terror as she catches glimpses of the Thaxil, their grotesque forms illuminated by the faint glow of firelight filtering down from above. "Valen!" she calls out, her voice barely audible over the echoing sounds of their descent.
"I'm here!" Valen shouts, extending his arm towards Eska, his voice strained as he struggles to control his fall.
The walls of the sinkhole curve abruptly, funneling them downward like water spiraling into a drain. The narrowing space bounces them against the rough stone, bruising and disorienting them as they're hurled deeper into the hive.
Suddenly, the passage widens into a massive, open chamber, and the group is hurled into the cavern with bone-jarring force.
Eska crashes to the ground with a heavy thud, pain jolting through her body. She barely has time to groan before the world tilts, her vision swimming. Around her, Valen and the others slam into the resin-coated floor with sickening force.
Then—everything goes black.
Eska stirs, her eyelids fluttering open to complete darkness. For a moment, she panics, unable to see anything, the oppressive silence pressing down on her.
Her breathing quickens as she calls out, her voice low and trembling.
"Valen?" she whispers, the nervous edge in her tone betraying her unease.
"Relax," Marina's calm voice echoes in her mind. "He's alright. You've been out for a while."
Eska swallows hard, her thoughts racing as she struggles to piece together what happened.
"Where—" she starts but stops herself as flashes of memory return: the chaos then the fall. "What happened?" she asks instead, her voice steadying slightly.
"You and the others fell through the sinkhole the Thaxil dug," Marina explains. "It led straight into the Queen's Chamber."
Eska takes a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She closes her eyes and concentrates, commanding her bloodcraft to dilate her pupils.
Slowly, her vision adjusts, the darkness giving way to faint shapes and shadows. She finds herself in a small, jagged cave with an uneven opening leading further into the unknown.
On the floor around her lie four others, unmoving. Her heart skips when her gaze lands on one familiar figure.
"Valen!" she shouts, crawling toward him, her voice tinged with relief and fear.
"He's just unconscious," Marina reassures her. "He used his wind magic to soften the impact of the fall, but he still took a beating."
Eska brushes her hand gently against Valen's arm, confirming his steady breathing before glancing at the others.
"How did we end up here?" she asks, her voice quieter now.
"Vanessa," Marina answers. "She was the only one conscious when everyone landed. She dragged you all into this cave, likely trying to hide you. Unfortunately, after she pulled the ones you see here inside, the Queen noticed and executed everyone else."
Eska freezes, her stomach twisting at the words. "She—Everyone?" she stammers, her voice trembling.
"She didn't notice you were here," Marina replies. "Vanessa managed to get you out of sight before the Queen noticed her. She's gone."
Eska's hands ball into fists, her voice rising in frustration. "Couldn't you have done something? Couldn't you have saved them?" she exclaims, desperation and anger clear in her voice as her mind reels from the loss.
"I'm not here to fight your battles, Eska. I'm here to guide you, to teach you. If you want to stop this kind of loss, you can't keep relying on someone else's power. You need to make your own strong enough to matter."
Eska pulls her knees to her chest, sitting silently in the suffocating darkness, her arms wrapping around herself tightly.
"I hope this experience gives you some clarity," Marina continues. "This is just the beginning. Your future will be filled with monsters like these and worse. Grow stronger, Eska. Learn from this."
After a long pause, her tone sharpens, cutting through the stillness like a blade. "Loss is a brutal teacher. If you plan to stay weak, you'd better prepare to learn many of its lessons."
Eska's gaze shifts to Valen and in that moment, the weight of Marina's words sinks in, their meaning hitting her with undeniable clarity.
"You want me to fight it." Eska mutters under her breath, her voice barely audible in the oppressive silence.
A strange surge courses through her—foreign, yet familiar. It's not her excitement but Marina's, thrumming like a second heartbeat.
"I want you to walk through that opening." Marina's voice echoes in her mind, calm but tinged with challenge. "And I want you to show me that you're more than just another hunter. There is no room for mediocrity in my teachings. Prove to me there's a difference between you and the others."
Eska swallows hard, her grip tightening against her thighs as she steadies herself.
Rising to her feet, she turns toward the jagged opening. The narrow passage looms before her, almost suffocating in its tight confines, but she pushes forward, one cautious step at a time.
The air grows heavier as she approaches the end of the tunnel, the faint hum of Thaxil antennae vibrating just on the other side.
She hesitates, her heart pounding in her chest as she presses her back against the cold rock wall. Slowly, she peeks through the jagged exit.
Her breath catches in her throat.
Just a few feet beyond the opening, six Thaxil soldiers stand motionless, their bladed limbs glinting faintly in the eerie light of the fungus around the hive.
Their antennae twitch in unison, humming a quiet, rhythmic pulse that sets her teeth on edge.
Eska ducks back, her hands trembling slightly as she clenches them into fists. "There's no way, I can't fight six of them." she whispers but Marina's voice interrupts her thoughts.
"No, Eska. These are just witnesses. Nothing more. Step out there and prove to me—prove to yourself—that you are something greater."
Eska closes her eyes, inhaling deeply to drown out the creeping panic.
Then, with her claws extending and her glowing eyes narrowing, she steps out of the opening, her presence met instantly by the twitching of the soldiers' antennae. The hum intensifies and the six Thaxil shift, locking their dark eyes onto her.
Eska steps fully into the dimly lit space, her claws flexed and ready.
Eska's heart pounds in her chest as a strange sound reaches her ears—an unsettling clicking noise, almost like laughter, echoing from deep within their thoraxes.
It's mocking, taunting, as though they know something she doesn't.
The soldiers, still calm and collected, take a single synchronized step back, giving her an unobstructed view of the brutal scene they've staged.
Her gaze follows the path they've revealed and her stomach drops. At the end of the line lies Vanessa's crumpled form, motionless and drenched in blood.
Her gear is shredded. A jagged wound runs across her chest and her pale complexion makes it painfully clear that she's no longer breathing.
The clicking laughter grows louder and Eska's claws spark faintly with bloodcraft energy as she glares at them, her voice low and trembling with rage.
"You think this is funny?" she snarls, her entire body coiling like a spring ready to snap.
Bile rises inside Eska as Vanessa's corpse is dragged away into the darker depths of the chamber by something unseen.
A chill chases down her spine. A whistle is heard through the chamber.
The Thaxil soldiers begin their eerie, rhythmic clicking, the sound echoing around the chamber like mocking laughter. They slowly retreat, one step at a time, into the enveloping darkness.
Eska tightens her fists, her claws glowing faintly as she struggles to steady her breathing.
The mocking clicks fade into the shadows, but the sound is quickly replaced by something deeper and far more menacing. A low, guttural cackle echoes through the chamber, each note carrying a weight that seems to press down on her chest.
From the pitch-black depths a massive creature shows itself.
Standing before Eska is a monstrous form, towering at least fifteen feet tall.
Its thin, sinewy frame might have seemed fragile, deceptive even, if not for the palpable menace radiating from it.
Eska's hands lower slightly, her breathing shallow, as she takes in the figure before her.
Its elongated arms end in razor-sharp, mantis-like claws. Its neck arches forward unnaturally, allowing its grotesquely humanoid head to hunch over and lock its dark green eyes on Eska.
The two pupils seem almost alive, tracking her every movement with unnerving intensity. From its head, antennae stretch downward, nearly brushing the chamber floor, curling and twitching as if tasting the air.
Suddenly, its smooth, alien mouth parts, splitting into a grotesque grin lined with massive, serrated fangs, each one the size of a human hand.
A rattling noise emanates from somewhere deep within its chest, resonating through the room and filling the air with an oppressive sense of dread.
The Thaxil Queen.