A Journey Unwanted

[Realm: Uhorus]

[Location: Galadriel]

[Western Outskirts]

The large, formless mass of black did not simply remain what it had been—it began to change as though something had decided it was time for it to become more.

Lucinda's eyes narrowed in observation as the mass expanded—rising, stretching, and widening into something that imposed itself upon the landscape. What had once been an indistinct, writhing shape now climbed upward into a towering figure, its silhouette gaining definition in increments.

It twisted—its substance folding and pulling into structure—until something resembling a humanoid form emerged. Lanky and disproportionate, wrong in ways that the eye could not comfortably process. Its limbs elongated far beyond what was natural, arms hanging low with fingers that tapered into blade-like points, each one thin and sharp as if forged for nothing but tearing. Its upper body thickened unnaturally, broad and heavy compared to the thin, almost fragile lower half that supported it.

It was pitch black, as though light itself struggled to remain on its surface.

And then there were the markings.

Those same strange, violet symbols pulsed across its body—small at first, then brighter, alive with a pulse that felt disturbingly close to a heartbeat. A swirling pattern spread across its round, featureless head, where no jaw existed, no mouth, and no eyes—just a continuous surface that flowed seamlessly into its neck, with the pattern spiraling inward.

Lines of violet ran along its arms and legs, tracing their unnatural length, each line ending in circular nodes that pulsed in intervals. Every pulse sent a ripple through the surrounding Abyssal Energy, which thickened in response, pressing down on the space around them like a suffocating pressure.

The air felt heavier.

The Abyssal Energy surrounding the creature intensified, expanding outward in a suffocating wave that seemed to swallow sound, dull movement, and weigh against Lucinda's senses. It engulfed the area with hostility.

And yet, despite all of that, it did not move.

It stood there, completely still, its towering form unmoving as though it were waiting.

"For something like that to just stand there," Victoria's voice came lightly from the side, almost conversational despite the presence before them, "it's either incredibly confident or incredibly obedient."

Lucinda did not respond immediately.

Her gaze remained fixed on the creature, her posture shifting as she adjusted her footing, grounding herself without taking a step back.

Behind her, Victoria gave a small, almost casual wave of her hand. "Well, I shall get out of your hair and study from a distance," she added, her tone carrying that same idle curiosity. "Have fun."

There was no hesitation in her movement as she turned on her heel and began to walk away, as though the towering entity before them was nothing more than a particularly interesting experiment.

Lucinda did not watch her leave.

Her focus never wavered.

("It's just standing there…") she noted internally, her eyes narrowing further as she studied every minute shift in the creature's form, every pulse of violet, and every ripple of energy that radiated outward.

Her stance adjusted again, her weight shifting, shoulders settling, and her body aligning itself for movement.

("I suppose since no one besides Victoria is here…") she reasoned, her breathing steady, ("I can afford to take my time with this, drag it out if I need to.")

There was a pause as her gaze hardened just slightly.

("See what a strong Abyssal Creature is actually capable of.") Her left hand moved, fingers brushing against the gauntlet that encased it as she adjusted it, the motion almost habitual. ("And it's been a while since I've used this.")

She flexed her hand, and a burst of red light answered instantly.

It did not explode outward wildly—instead, it surged, gathering along her arm before condensing into form. The glow sharpened, and within a heartbeat, it solidified into a weapon—an eastern blade, slightly curved, its edge refined and clean, the black hilt and guard crafted with elegance.

The light faded just enough to reveal its true shape, though a red sheen still lingered along its edge, like heat that refused to fully dissipate.

Lucinda brought her right hand up, gripping the blade with both hands, her stance lowering just slightly as she aligned the weapon before her.

The Abyssal Creature's head snapped forward.

It was abrupt and violent, as though something invisible had seized its skull and forced its attention into alignment with Lucinda's presence. The violet patterns etched across its featureless head pulsed once, sharply at that.

Then its legs bent.

Not naturally or with the weight distribution of something that understood its own body. The joints compressed too far with angles too severe, the ground beneath its elongated limbs fracturing with a dry, splintering crack as pressure built in a single, terrible instant.

And then it moved with the earth detonating beneath it. A violent shockwave burst outward as the creature surged forward with absurd, unnatural force, tearing through the grassy plain and sending broken stone and dirt spiraling into the air. The distance between them collapsed in less than a breath, the creature's body warping slightly from the speed of its advance, Abyssal energy trailing behind it like a blackened wake.

Lucinda did not flinch.

She did not step back or tense in panic. Her red eyes remained fixed, her grip on the blade firm. If anything, there was a small shift in her stance—a minute adjustment of her footing, the angle of her shoulders aligning as though she had already seen this motion play out before it even began.

Then she moved as well.

Where the creature's speed was violent and explosive, hers was smooth.

There was no visible exertion, no tearing of the ground beneath her, and no shockwave announcing her movement. One moment she stood still, the next she was already in motion, her form cutting forward with such refined speed that the air barely had time to react.

They crossed paths in silence.

For a single, fleeting instant, they existed within the same point in space—two opposing forces intersecting in perfect timing.

Lucinda's blade moved for a single swing.

There was just a decisive slash that passed through the creature's torso as though it were cutting through mist. The edge of the blade did not hesitate or meet resistance; it simply cleaved through it.

And then she was past it.

Her momentum carried her several meters beyond, sabatons grinding softly against the cracked ground as she slowed, her body turning in one fluid motion as she reoriented herself toward the creature.

Behind her, the Abyssal Creature split.

Its upper and lower halves separated with a delayed and unnatural pause, as though the world had taken a moment to register what had just occurred. The violet patterns flickered erratically across its severed form, the black mass that made up its body unraveling at the edges.

For a heartbeat, it seemed finished.

Lucinda did not lower her guard.

"…Of course," she murmured quietly, more to herself than anything else. "It wouldn't end that easily. Not something born from that."

The halves moved. The severed sections dragged toward one another, black matter stretching and reconnecting in grotesque strands that pulled tight until the creature's form reassembled itself completely. The cut vanished as though it had never existed, the violet symbols stabilizing once more.

Lucinda exhaled softly through her nose.

"I thought as much," she continued, her tone contemplative. "Regeneration, and not even delayed. That's inconvenient, but not unexpected."

Her gaze sharpened.

With a simple thought, mana stirred.

Above her, a large circular red glyph ignited into existence, layered, with its patterns rotating slowly with a low sound that resonated through the air. The temperature shifted almost immediately, heat gathering in waves as the glyph drew in mana.

Lucinda did not look up at it.

She simply raised her blade slightly, her stance shifting once more as her focus remained entirely on the creature.

"Then let's see," she said quietly, her voice lowering a fraction, "how much it takes before you stop putting yourself back together."

The glyph flared.

And in the next instance, fire descended. An enormous torrent of blazing red flame erupted from the glyph, surging downward with devastating speed. It was a flood, dense and overwhelming, swallowing the space between them in an instant as it crashed into the Abyssal Creature.

The impact was immediate as flames consumed it whole, the force of the attack driving it into the ground as the surrounding area erupted. The explosion followed a fraction of a second later—a violent detonation that tore through the plain, sending a shockwave rippling outward as fire and debris surged into the sky.

The ground cratered with grass, soil, and stone—everything within the blast radius was reduced, scorched, and shattered under the intensity of the attack. The air seemed to scream under the heat, the lingering flames licking outward before slowly beginning to recede.

Lucinda watched.

Then something shifted, her eyes narrowed. A small distortion beneath her feet, it was a minute ripple through the ground—barely perceptible, but enough.

Without hesitation, she moved.

Her body leapt backward in a sharp motion, clearing the space she had occupied mere moments before.

The ground erupted.

From beneath where she had stood, the Abyssal Creature burst upward, its elongated limbs tearing through the earth as black matter surged outward in violent tendrils. The flames that had engulfed it moments before clung to its form only briefly before being extinguished, its body already reconstructing and already adapting.

Lucinda landed lightly several meters away, her blade lowering slightly as her eyes locked onto it once more.

"…So you chose to wait for the moment I committed to the attack," she observed.

The creature stilled again.

Standing there, its towering form looming, it was watching her.

Lucinda's grip tightened just slightly around the hilt of her blade.

"I see," she continued. "Seems it's not mindless. Or at least, something is guiding it to behave that way." She adjusted her stance again, feet grounding more firmly against the cracked earth. "If it's meant to counter threats, then all I have to do is become something it can't properly answer."

Her eyes lifted slightly, locking onto the creature with clarity.

"Let's see how far you can adapt first."