The canyon widened into a chasm of broken stone, the shadows stretching like claws.Eliakim stood at the center, back to a fallen obelisk. His heartbeat was steady — not because the danger was small, but because panic would kill him faster than steel.
From the eastern wall, a chain snapped taut — Veyth (Chainblades) sent its bladed tip hissing past Eliakim's cheek, anchoring into the ground.Above, an arrow whistled — Selvas (Glass-thread Arrows) — its string-like shaft shimmering, then splitting midair into three, bending like hunting hawks.On the right flank, a wall of armored muscle — Dravik (Maul-Shield) — advanced with shield-rim teeth bared.The air behind Eliakim shifted — Korras (Gravebind Gauntlets) — his heavy grips glinting, hands open like the jaws of a trap.And from the left, so quiet it was almost felt instead of heard — Raviel (Spindrift Edge) — a curved blade gleaming like a shard of moonlight.
Five predators, one prey.
---
They didn't move like strangers.Veyth's chains lashed low, sweeping Eliakim's legs into Selvas's arrow paths.Selvas's arrows herded him sideways into Dravik's shield charge.Korras waited for overcommitment — every feint, every roll, a chance to grab.And Raviel… Raviel moved to where Eliakim would be, not where he was, ready to cut before the thought of dodging even formed.
It was a rhythm — a hunting rhythm. Each Talon's strike fed the next, an endless loop with no opening.
Eliakim ducked a chain-blade and rolled under Dravik's shield rim, only for an arrow to whip around a stone pillar and skim his shoulder. Selvas had bent its path mid-flight without even looking.
If I fight their game, I'm done in a minute, Eliakim thought. So… I'll change the game.
---
He feinted toward Raviel, drawing the swordsman's attention, then shattered a rock with his heel, spraying fragments.Selvas's arrow bent midair to follow him — but the shards distracted its guidance for a split-second. That was enough for Eliakim to twist past Dravik's shield and pivot into Veyth's chain-line.
Instead of dodging, he grabbed it with both hands.Veyth grinned. "Got yourself caught."Eliakim yanked — but not toward himself. He spun the chain in a loop, catching Dravik's shield arm and dragging both Talons off balance. Korras lunged in that moment, going for Eliakim's ribs — but his Gravebinds clamped down on empty air.
Eliakim had already slipped free.
It bought him seconds — not safety.
---
"Keep him in center," Selvas said coldly from above.They tightened the ring.Arrows from above, chains from one side, shield charges from the other, Raviel darting in when the Maul lifted, Korras ready to lock down the moment skin or cloth met gauntlet.
Even with all his training, Eliakim felt his footwork fraying. A chain sliced his thigh. An arrow grazed his ribs. The chasm floor narrowed — no room to maneuver.
The Talons were laughing now, the sound echoing against stone.
---
He glanced down at the blackened bracelet on his wrist.The last time he'd used it, he hadn't been ready for the hunger in it. But against five? There was no choice.
His voice was low, deliberate."Beelzebub… Decay."
The Bracelet of Umbravice split open like an iron flower, and chains of black rot whipped into the air — tipped with hooks that dripped an oily venom. The air grew acrid, metal hissed just from proximity.
The nearest of Veyth's chain-blades pitted and curled as the rot touched it. Dravik's shield teeth smoked. Even Korras's Gravebinds hissed like boiling water.
Veyth recoiled instantly. "Don't let them touch you!"Selvas shifted his aim — but an Umbravice chain lashed upward, striking one of his arrows mid-flight. The arrow dissolved into drifting ash.
Eliakim didn't try to kill them here — not yet.He aimed at their weapons, their cover, their patterns.One lash severed Veyth's mid-chain anchor, breaking his movement loop.Another lashed the ground beneath Korras, leaving pits that collapsed his footing.Dravik swung to crush a chain, but Eliakim looped it around the shield edge — and the rot spread. The once-gleaming steel turned black, flakes falling away.
---
Raviel darted in from the side — faster than sight — but Eliakim had been waiting for him.A chain lashed in a wide arc — not to hit Raviel, but to make him swerve. Raviel's blade passed cleanly between two chain-links — but in that motion, Eliakim stepped in, twisting the chain so it brushed Raviel's sleeve.
The fabric smoked instantly. Raviel pulled back without a word, eyes narrowing.
Selvas tried to lock Eliakim down with a volley — but every arrow that neared him turned brittle and fell apart midair. The Umbravice's aura ate not just metal, but mana shaping too.
---
The Talons hesitated for the first time. Their rhythm broke.Eliakim used that heartbeat of uncertainty to whip three chains into the cliffside, tearing chunks of stone free. The collapse filled the center of the chasm with a cloud of dust and rock, blinding sight lines.
When the debris cleared, he was gone.
Veyth swore. "He'll be back."Dravik slammed his shield against the ground, the rotten metal flaking further. "Then next time, I'll be ready."Raviel simply sheathed his blade. "…We'll need a new rhythm."
---
From the shadows of an upper ledge, Eliakim watched them regroup.They're not just fighters. They're a system.He flexed the bracelet — the chains coiled back into black metal, quiet once more.Next time, I break the system first.