A wave of fur, claws and teeth tore through the silence. Muna was now barely able to keep up, and the wolves were flooding out in numbers.
Her lion echo slammed into three wolves at once, making use of its feral strength.
Her surviving wolf echoes were of the same rank as the demon wolves and had sustained serious injuries.
Meanwhile, there was bloodlust all around Muna. She had really tried.
She must be losing mana fast, since that was what she used to sustain the strength of her echoes.
"Mobix!" she screamed my name. "Please, help!"
Muna, who never solicits help, did.
And since she asked, there was only one way I could help.
I darted forward, towards the battle forefront.
Their clash had been chaotic – fangs, claws, and Muna's magic bursting in violent rhythm against the demon wolves. Yet, there was much strength in more numbers.
"Muna, take your echoes and take cover behind me," I said, feeling like a protector.
As I instructed, Muna immediately connected her sword to the chest of the wolf she was attending to, and ran to my behind. Then, with the wave of her hand, her echoes disappeared.
With calm eyes fixed on the heart of the exploding demons, my core began to stir with energy.
I hoped whatever remained of my mana would be useful.
Lifting my hands, palm open, ribbons of blue energy began to coil around my fingers.
"Water Echo: Tranquil Veins."
The words rippled through the air like a low chant, and the chaotic surroundings seemed to still.
I felt Muna gulp after seeing I had a similar ability to hers. I imagined what she could be wondering at the moment.
Taking my senses off the distraction, I steadied my lifted hands.
A faint hum spread through the air, the ribbons of blue energy produced smoky trends that diffused, and the nearest wolves faltered. Their growls soon softened into uneasy whimpers as their pupils glazed from red to a dull, blue sheen.
The magic was seeping into them.
It was providing a suitable accommodation in their hypothalamus.
I waited and felt the expression of Muna as she glanced with awe at the once-feral demons. She couldn't believe it. The wolves were no longer attacking, but remained calm as if waiting for instruction.
Now, it was time for the next spell incantation.
"Sleep beneath the tide. Drown your fury."
My voice deepened, echoing like the current beneath a frozen river. The color of the blue ribbons and their smoky trends intensified.
Silence followed.
Then, the heart of the battle array of the wolves was still, a consequence of submission.
Then, increasing my voice, I flipped around and strengthened my lifted hands.
"Turn reflection into rage. Let the ripples of the sea envelop their thoughts. The voice of oneness be damned…"
Then, with a calm voice, I muttered. "Let there be thirst for power ascension."
The moment I completed those words, the blue aura of the Water Echo darkened into a deep, violent indigo. The calm waves of the travelling energies twisted into whirlpools of distortion, and ripples of psychic energy stirred in the hypothalamus of the wolves.
Their eyes shone once more, not with submission – rather, with confusion and fury.
They began to see each other as enemies, and before you knew it, their movements turned into attacks.
I stood motionless amidst the chaos, maintaining the spell's current until I was sure all wolves had been affected. Then, I returned to Muna.
"Good to go?"
"What have you become, big brother?" Muna asked, with shock and awe mixed in disbelief.
I wanted to open my mouth and speak, but the intrusive attack from that massive log earlier sent me sprawling in the air.
My heartbeat synchronized with the clash, as I went deeper into the dense darkness from where the wolves had stared from the beginning. The air around turned colder, almost choking.
Then, landing with a thud, I struggled in pain and flicked my eyes open.
A faint glow appeared ahead.
I stood on the ground and ventured further. With each step, the glow spread wider.
I summoned the sword and thrust it to my side.
For a moment, the shift from darkness to the abrupt brilliance of brightness blinded me. But as my vision adjusted, I realized I had entered a new dimension of the Spatial Tear. This dimension was vast, glowing expansively with floating fragments of crystalline light.
The silence was surreal. No growls. No echoes. Just the distant hum of power that made my skin crawl with both awe and dread.
But a flicker of hope seeped into my mind.
This was not another dimension of the spatial tear but… the exit.
'Woo-Hay!'
I turned my back to call to Muna, but we were blocked by the curtain of darkness I had passed through. Rolling my eyes back to the exit, a shadow seemed to move.
The fragment of crystalline light that had covered the whole place with mist disappeared.
And that was when I fully agreed… I was really in another dimension.
My vision cleared, and I noticed I had wonderful companions.
Not just any companions, 5-Star demon wolves, five in number, circled a stone slab.
They were much larger than even a horse, almost the size of an elephant. As a result of the evolution, they bore a single horn in the middle of their foreheads.
Then, a thump. Followed by a brief vibration.
And, something clicked… my view changed.
"Huh?"
What I was seeing previously was an elusive form of the reality that had just appeared before me. It seemed as if I was stirred in a twisted world before the environment became stable again.
The demon wolves were still in place… now real.
But slightly above them, the transparent filaments of the iridescent wings of a dragon began to slowly uncoil, revealing something that looked like a statue.
No, not a statue.
An elegant, petite girl sat cross-legged upon the stone slab, which was guarded by the five wolves. In her raised right hand was a metallic circle, with five glowing orbs of different colors, affixed at delicate positions.
I even became more surprised when I noticed that the wolves were standing on a transparent surface. They were standing on water, and beneath the water were two more figures of sleek beauty.
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