I didn't believe my eyes. In a single instant, the tables had turned completely. In one moment, we were overcoming our enemies. It was a slow work in progress, but we were definitely gaining ground.

The next… was different. Very different.

All the enemies stopped attacking. They even stopped defending. Their arms fell down their side, for a few seconds, before their whole body just plopped down onto the ground. The Enhancer was able to keep standing for a few moments, but it was for naught. They just died on the spot.

Nobody knew why, and confusion spread amongst us. Had we won? If yes, who had killed them? Who could have done this? It looked like they had aged a hundred years in just a few seconds.

That's when I felt it. Or, well, it would be fair to say that, everybody felt it.

The pressure. It felt, as if, there were ten extra kilos instantly put on our backs. Wanting to see if it was magic, I turned on Mana-Sight. That was a mistake. When I looked upon the hill they came from, I saw a blinding light. Or, not really a light. It looked like a black hole, slowly draining the air around it of light. It was beautiful, yet also disturbing, at the same time.

Who was this person? Was he one of them? The answer to that, I got almost instantly.

Monty, having seen the newly introduced person as an enemy, attacked the man on the hill. It didn't go well.

In an instant, Monty was upon him, swinging his fits down at the man. The attacks were fast, blurring in your vision, while still hitting hard. Yet, that didn't matter at all. A thin barrier was surrounding the man, protecting him from all the attacks.

One punch was all it took for Monty to go down. A single hit took down the old man who could survive a point-blank headshot from a tank.

We were doomed.

A vibration emerges from my pocket, breaking me out of the negative stairwell, of giving up.

“Yes?”, I asked into the crystal.

“Its time”, Erik said, his voice as serious as ever.

I sighed.

I was hoping it would come to this, but it seems Lady Luck isn't on my side.

“Which one?”, I asked.

“Fera”

“So, what's left?”, Erik asked, in a tired voice. We had been going over every detail of the plan for hours now. With the help of my eidetic memory, I could remember every detail, as clear as day. Erik didn't have that advantage, though. We had to go through each detail of the plan, multiple times, so we were sure that Erik knew everything about it.

Luckily, we were almost done with it. It was getting late, and I had been thinking about just continuing with it tomorrow. But, we were almost done. Only one detail to remember was left.

I look down at the paper.

“It's… the emergency plan number… 26: Codenamed… Fera”, I said, reading up directly from the paper. I could just go through the list in my head, but that would have taken mental capacity that I didn't want to use.

After reading it up, Erik´s eyes sharpened a little.

“Yes… I do remember that one. Clearly. But, let's just go over it, nonetheless”, he said, waving away with his left hand.

That's kinda, but who am I to judge?

“Sure. The most important factor is-”

One of the mages teleports right in front of me, making me jump back a little in shock.

“Come with me. I'm your lift over to Erik”, the mage said, while reaching out his right hand, for me to grasp.

I quickly grasp it, and off we go. It was kinda disorienting being one place in one instant, and some other place in the next one.

Erik was standing in front of me, calmly waiting for me to get my bearings. Behind him was a little over twenty mages, waiting for Erik command.

I stand straight up and look into his eyes.

“Ready?”, he asked.

“Yes”, I quickly answer.

“Good”, he says, while sitting down in a chair.

He looks towards the man standing on the hill, unmoving, and then back at me.

“Go, when you're ready”

Erik, having said that, prepares himself.

Let's go.

´If this doesn't work, tell my daughter I love her´

Trust me, I won't have to tell her. Not today, nor tomorrow.

The psychic link is established, and I begin doing my job. While it would sound simple in nature, it was the most crucial and only detail in our plan that couldn't be forgotten.

When we had heard about the enhancing crystals being stolen, we know that there was a chance they had him. It was an almost non-zero chance, but it was definitely there. We knew that we still had a chance of winning, if they had it, but the casualties would be immense.

But, this… we didn't plan for. I had no clue as to how that person got so powerful. When I saw that power, I knew we couldn't beat that thing. Not alone

An old enemy, of mine. One I dreaded even thinking about. It was our only hope, but I still hated doing this. Eros hated it even more. His old friends had been killed by it. Those glowing wouldn't be forgotten in a long time.

I begin streaming every single detail of the misty beast over to Erik. When he received the first memory, his own job began. The runes he had spent countless hours practicing, began forming in his mind.

With each rune formed, a massive amount of mana was taken from his reserves. But, he still continued. He trusted his men.

And his men trusted him. The first mage to go walk over to Erik. He puts his hand on Erik´s shoulder while beginning to drink a red liquid from a bottle. The mage then began sending every bit of mana he could over to Erik. It was painful for them both, but they ignored it. This was more important than mere pain. The first mage quickly falls down into the ground, most likely to never stand up again. The other mages try to pay it no heed, and simply takes a step forward, letting the next mage take the place of the first.

On and on it went. My Psionic pool was diminishing at a rapid rate, again, but I wasn't surprised by it. I simply drank another of those potion´s, each of them costing ten gold. It was expensive but worth it.

I look inside Erik´s mind and see him still forming the runes, doing his best not to get distracted by the constant stream of memories.

Looking over to the man on the hill, I realize he had moved. He was punching the barrier the Ritaliul mages had set up. Each of his punches made more cracks appear in it. It wouldn't be long before we were screwed.

Almost done, I thought to myself, forcing the emotions down the well. Fear isn't needed right now.

The beast feels a pressure all over its body. It couldn't explain what it was. It felt no hostility from it and instead felt that wanted to help it move faster.

It looked around trying to discern any hidden enemies. Seeing none, it began thinking to accept. The pressure was urging more and more, and if it continued for another hour it might become an annoyance.

Accepting the invitation, its body was teleported away. To an outsider's perspective, it would like it, in an instant, burned up in a bright light.

´Done´, I hear Erik say through the mental link.

Just after he said that it looked like all hell broke out.

It looked like a massive eye. I looked into the eyes, but it was like nothing was there to behold. An endless depth of ink that made you feel sorrow, and pain. I could not see the whites of the eye nor the vessels that flowed through it. Yet, I knew it was an eye.

Which made me very confused, as to how the giant bear-like creature could get out of it.

It has changed a lot from the last time I saw it. Before, it's body were like a swirling mist. Always changing, always moving. Now, though, it was different. Way different. What had before been mist, was now solid. Near-white fur covered its body. Beautiful to say the least. Its eyes had also changed. Before they were only slightly glowing. Now, they were brightly shining, for all to see.

The Bear-looking creature looked up at me, ready to charge at me if I even slightly moved. It wanted me, but It wasn't gonna get anything.

The powerful man, seeing another opponent unprotected from the shield, decided to strike. He punched the bear in the side, making it crash into the trees at its side.

It didn't go out like that, though. It began growling. The dude was fucked.

What was this?!

One moment, I had been destroying that bloody barrier, and the next, a giant polar bear decided to jump me.

I gave it a good punch, making it crash into the trees. That didn't work at all though. It just stood up and began growling at me. It was powerful. Almost as powerful as me.

It launches at me, its paws ready to rip me to shreds. I won't let that happen, though.

Time to see how powerful I really am.

I prepare for it to get close, going into a comfortable stance.

It nears me fast. Fifty… thirty… ten… NOW!

I swing my fist, as hard as I can, hitting the bear right in the stomach.

It doesn't go as I expected. What I thought was a clean hit, was anything but. At the last moment, the bear turned into mist, making anything physical go right through.

In another word, I had a problem.

The bear reformed, as I looked behind me. It looked at me, for a moment, before charging again. This time it elongated the claws on its paws. They turned a meter long, making me shiver. Not wanting to be anywhere near that thing, I jumped to the side.

That didn't go as planned, though. The claws simply elongated them again mid-swing, making them scrape my chest.

That should have been the end of that. A small wound, in a long battle. It was when my chest began burning on the inside that I knew something was wrong.

I looked at the bear and saw it just standing there, and staring at me. It didn't even try to attack.

I begin feeling weak, dropping to my knees. I look down and see my chest beginning to wither, with the rest of my body rapidly following it.

So, this is the end ,huh?

That was my last thought, before dropping down onto the ground. Dead.

It had been him. I didn't know how, but it somehow won.

Now, there was just one problem left.

“So”, Erik said, his voice tired. “How do we kill it?”

I look at him, a smile on my face.

“We don't kill it. I have some backup for that”, I said.

Time to give him my side of the deal.

I take out the small round stone. Its sides were filled with slightly pulsing runes everywhere on its surface. I began thinking about him, wanting to summon him.

It worked even faster than I had anticipated.

A crack of lightning came from the sky, making me jump. I look up and see what appears to be a giant black circle up in the sky. Out of it comes a man rapidly falling towards my position. In under twenty seconds, he lands in front of me, without making a single sound.

“I hear you have your part of the deal?”, Hel says, showing off his trademark smile.

“I do, in fact, have it. If you would look to your right, you should be able to see it”, I said, pointing to my left.

Hel looked to his right. When his eyes spotted the bear, his smile widened.

“I have never seen one such as it. While I would scold you for not having it contained, I'll overlook it this time. Now, I am quite busy, so I will be going now”, Hel says, somehow lifting the bear from afar, and flying back up into the giant black circle.

The last thing I see before the black circle disappeared, is the bear roaring in anger.

Looking around, I try to spot anything that could threaten us. Seeing none, I readily collapse. Erik, seeing where I'm going, collapses with me.

It had been a tough day, and I need some well deserved some sleep.