The crater boiled.

  One hundred slimes. One king. No backup.

  Rell’s toes dug into the mud. Fists low. Breaths even.

  They surged.

  First wave — thirty.

  He met them mid-leap. Elbow shattered the first. Fire palm to the second. He ducked a third, pivoted, then exploded upward with a knee that burst one clean through.

  Then he used their bodies.

  Landed. Slid. Threw up a wall of hardened earth — then ran up it.

  Mid-sprint, he twisted — fire burst from his heel as he dove backward into the center of the swarm.

  He hit hard.

  Ground cracked.

  Flame and frost exploded in every direction.

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  Gelatin screeches.

  He moved like instinct — one that had been waiting.

  A punch. A backfist. A spin.

  Flesh met slime. Slime lost every time.

  ?

  Then they got him.

  He slipped. Acid touched skin. His arm sizzled.

  He howled — but didn’t fall.

  No.

  He grew louder.

  The vines around the pit rattled.

  His body moved sharper. Faster.

  He caught one slime by the core, slammed it into the next. Slammed that into another.

  Bones creaked.

  But they weren’t his.

  ?

  The King moved.

  A mountain of sludge — glowing from within. It didn’t slither. It stomped.

  The forest shrank under its pressure.

  Rell didn’t blink.

  He ran.

  It opened its maw — a void of acid and ether.

  He leapt.

  Caught the rim.

  Shoved his entire arm inside.

  [SPEAKS]

  “…Burn for her.”

  He flared his power — fire, adamant, raw force.

  The King convulsed.

  Then detonated.

  The crater went red.

  Chunks flew for miles.

  When it cleared — only Rell stood.

  Bloody. Burned. Still standing.

  He turned without a word.

  ?

  The cave came slow.

  Selena’s breath — still shallow.

  He dropped beside her.

  No vial. No funnel.

  He leaned in.

  Guilt twisted behind his teeth.

  [SPEAKS]

  “…Forgive me.”

  He passed the blood from mouth to mouth.

  Her body seized.

  Glowed.

  Then eased.

  ?

  Inside her mind…

  The noble stood tall.

  Arrogant. Reaching for her.

  But behind him, another face stepped forward.

  Rell.

  His hand out.

  No words. Just a look.

  She took it.

  And the noble vanished.

  ?

  She didn’t wake.

  But her breathing steadied.

  And when Rell sat back, eyes hollow — a light stirred in the cave.

  The spirit again.

  Eyes not angry.

  Just expectant.

  It pointed.

  Rell wiped his mouth. His hands. The blood still steaming.

  Then stood.

  And walked into the dark.