Eli ran down the corridor, taking a left turn to follow towards the front of the manor, but had to slow down when he reached a pile of debris and destruction nearly blocking the way. A smell of death and blood assaulted his nose as he carefully stepped around the broken doorway where a few bodies lay crumpled near the back of the room like dolls tossed away by some spoiled child. What was once a beautiful entryway with tasteful artwork and a mural depicting some ancient battle had turned into crumbling stones and a sizeable hole leading out to the courtyard.

Wolf stood near the hole blasted into the wall with his head peeking around the side into the grounds beyond. He swiftly unbuckled his armor, dropping them in a pile near the wall. His clothes soon followed, and he turned back grimly as Eli entered the room. “It’s Boruta, the demon of Eld Forest.”

Confused by the man stripping in front of him, Eli needed a moment for the words to register. Remembering some of the stories Dara had shared, how the monster had killed one of the local gods centuries ago, this definitely fell into the “shitty news” category. Even if he hadn’t known the stories, the fear and determination in Wolf’s countenance well illustrated the situation. Recognizing the question in the older man’s eyes, Eli nodded back firmly – he was in this too.

A slight smile marred Wolf’s grim look as he took off the last of his clothes and tossed his stockings in a pile near his armor. In only a loincloth, and without warning, he began to change. It started from his chest, as his skin rippled like a stone tossed in a pond while the edges of his body blurred. In a few seconds, he grew taller while his torso expanded and his arms longer. Olive skin sprouted short dark fur all over his body, leaving only his newly clawed hands and feet bare. His head enlarged while his ears shifted slightly higher on his skull and took on pointed tips. His nose flattened and widened into a snout over a mouth full of sharpened teeth with his top canines protruding like a saber-toothed werewolf.

“Holy shit,” Eli whispered, shaking his head in shock.

There was a commotion behind him, and he turned to find the four elites, the sounds of their heavy armor and clomping steps announcing their presence. Behind them, Ethan and Jurg brought up the rear, looking a bit out of place in their lighter leather, yet their steady eyes and serious expressions were a match for the other four.

Eli nodded to the pair before hurrying to join Wolf near the damaged wall, glancing around to get his first view of the area outside. A massive red monster was crazily punching the outer wall, pieces of stone and mortar raining down, laughing all the while. Some guards atop the wall pelted it with arrows, but they bounced off its skin. In a move almost too fast to see, two guards flew back as rocks thrown at incredible speeds tossed them back to land outside the wall on the hillside beyond.

A metal man was walking towards the monster from near the Gifted Hall, carrying a spear and shield that matched his metallic exterior shining brightly in reflected sunlight. The man’s steps thudded loudly, sending up small puffs of debris, yet he walked easily across the grounds. It took Eli a moment to realize that it was somehow Tanca, and the giant of a man had grown even larger to almost the same size as the red monster.

“Fall back! Go and help our people get to safety. Do your duty while I do mine,” Tanca yelled, gesturing to the brave souls still able to resist Boruta’s powerful aura. Most were in Wolf’s guard uniforms, some of the elites mixed in, but some might be shopkeeps as far as Eli could tell.

He looked around for Dara, scared of what he might see, but she was nowhere in sight. Eli could only hope she was elsewhere helping her people evacuate instead of a casualty like those unfortunate guards tossed beyond the wall. Others were already pulling back at Tanca’s order, and he thought he recognized Yi helping a limping Reva. A thick line of guards formed near the ends of the buildings, nearly a hundred meters away, metal spears jutting out like a porcupine. Beyond them, the remaining people fled into the Gifted Hall.

Wolf turned back with an expression Eli remembered from the war when someone had an inkling that they were unlikely to see the next sunrise. Every person faces that moment in different ways, denial, acceptance, panic, anger, determination, or an infinite spectrum of emotions. After all, death is an individual experience. Few may seek it, yet death finds us all in its own time.

“I don’t think we can defeat Boruta,” Wolf said in a lower-pitched voice that carried to the group. “Luckily, we don’t need to beat him so much as buy our people enough time to escape. Galdish will already be aware of our dire straights after Tanca’s evacuation order. I’m sure a squadron of airships will be on their way soon, though it would take them days to get here.” Turning to his guards, “Your place is here, defending this entrance to the tunnels.”

“General Easone, we can help!” One of the elites protested, her strong voice full of passion. The others nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm, though there was no hesitation in Ethen and Jurg’s nods.

“No, your place is here,” Wolf answered with command, his voice full of the surety that they would obey. “You are the shields that protect our families. If we Gifted fall against that monster, you are all that stands between that,” he spat, pointing back towards the hole blasted in the thick stone wall, “and our people.”

The woman that had spoken stiffened, the growing protest in her eyes changing at his words. “With our lives,” she responded instead, her tone filled with promise. Saluting with a hand across her chest, she bowed slightly. The rest of the guards followed suit, echoing her words and gestures.

“I would expect nothing less from such brave warriors,” Wolf replied with his own nod, a bit of warmth and pride leeching into his words.

“What do you want me to do?” Eli asked, the racket from the destruction outside making him almost yell to be heard.

Wolf revealed a bloodthirsty smile only heightened by the two teeth resembling curved daggers jutting from his mouth. “You get to play the bait by grabbing that monster’s attention, and I’ll flank it from the other side.” He held up his spear, the blade already glowing with a soft light.

Eli nodded as he summoned Bash, tightening his hands around the hardened wood. Its weight was reassuring as he slowly walked out into the open air. He reached for that feeling of time-dilation to give himself more time to think and plan how he wanted to attack, yet nothing happened. For the first time, there wasn’t a response – no hug of air stiffening around his body as the world slowed down.

He paused in surprise, his mind racing as he tried to understand what was happening. The time ability had always worked, even if he couldn’t consistently buff up his strength like when he’d tested with the dummy. Reaching for it again, he imagined the air thickening into a viscous fluid, yet he might as well have not bothered trying. Somehow, it wasn’t there anymore.

Lifting his eyes to the monster across the courtyard, he wondered if Boruta could be the cause. Perhaps it had some power to counteract time abilities? That could be a thing, but then again, what if Eli’s time power was related to Guide? Could the time dilation actually be one of the programs he just isolated? Pushing away from the fear that erupted at the thought, he took a firm grip on his metal-capped staff. Squaring his shoulders, he started to walk toward the monster again. Centering himself as he repeated his mantra in his head, he wouldn’t stop. At the end of the day, he could only do the best he could do.

Without his time-dilation ability, he swiftly reviewed his options and didn’t like what he came up with. Outside his Flamethrower, which he hadn’t practiced with much, he didn’t have any offensive or defensive skills. Still, he’d definitely keep it in mind if there was a good opening – after all, no living creature liked a face full of roiling flames. Tracking was nearly useless, as was Identify. He also couldn’t see the value in using his aura or life vision abilities in battle.

To try and see what he was dealing with, he toggled his old favorite as Manasight lit up the world around him but immediately squinted from the glare. The monster was blazing with a deep crimson glow like Boruta had a small red dwarf star the size of a tennis ball under his rib cage. With the brightness, he was forced to toggle off the ability since there was no way he’d fight with that light in his eyes.

As if sensing him, Boruta abruptly turned towards Eli, raising his nose to sniff the air even as his glowing red eyes darkened. “Tasty morsel? Primordial power? Hehehe. Finally!” The beast’s mouth spread obscenely wide, and his lips pulled back to reveal long, sharp teeth obviously designed to rend flesh. He stomped the earth with one giant red foot as he laughed. Without warning, he clapped both hands, sending a pulse of something through the air.

It looked like a compression wave from a bomb, but Eli had little time to think. He tried to reach for the stillness of the time dilation, but the blast knocked him off his feet. An oof of air exploded as he landed awkwardly on his back. Stunned momentarily, he managed to roll over and get his hands and knees under him, scrambling to stand before another attack could land. Stabbing icicles seemed to jab into his spine and ribs once he stood, making him stumble almost drunkenly with the pain, but he fought it off while keeping his balance and focusing on pouring healing energy into his body. He guessed that he’d somehow cracked or broken some ribs, but now wasn’t the time to give in to the pain.

He looked up to find Boruta’s red eyes on him. It was strange, but they were a beautiful shade of red, unlike anything Eli had ever seen. The way they seemed to expand in size was mesmerizing, as they grew until they were all he could see while the rest of the world disappeared into the background. Why was he fighting this being anyway? Wouldn’t it be better to simply lie down and accept his fate?

Eli’s consciousness snapped back, shaking off the weird mental attack, yet he realized his body was imprisoned by some force eerily similar to his dreams. He tried to pull back, to move, but his body was frozen while he stared at the creature smiling at him. With no success in that direction, he attempted to mentally push back and escape, but he didn’t even know where to start when he had no control. He’d faced the same problem in his nightmares, left with nothing as his mind screamed to shake off the paralysis. Desperate, he could only watch as the demon slowly crouched down, his eyes locked on Eli. Planting all four claws into the packed earth, Boruta smiled wide, like he was some animal about to leap on his prey. All the while, a sense of being watched, intensified to send Eli’s terror spiking, yet the feeling also twigged at something in his memories.

Could it be the monster’s aura?

Remembering Dara’s instructions over the past week and Wolf’s words only minutes ago, Eli desperately focused on energizing his auric shield. He imagined his aura full of power, hardening into a barrier that would protect him from the demon’s influence. With the little practice he’d had, it felt like an eternity but was probably no more than a heartbeat before his control snapped back just as Boruta charged toward him.

A pulse of thick air hugging his skin was barely felt for a split second before reality returned. However, it was just enough time for Eli to push off and jump to the side to try and avoid the charging red monster. He was close to escaping the darkened claws extended to rip him apart, but he’d moved a moment too late. Boruta’s glowing eyes somehow tracked Eli’s leaping form, and the monster’s attack changed direction mid-run. But instead of extending cutting claws, the demon suddenly made a fist as he punched Eli like a sledgehammer to the chest, knocking him back with an explosion of injured lungs.

Landing hard on his back, Eli barely had the awareness to roll onto his stomach in a desperate attempt to escape the lunge he predicted would follow. He somehow made it to one knee but held himself up with a trembling arm while the other rested on his stomach, almost surprised to still be alive. The pain bloomed throughout his body, and he focused on pouring healing energy to where he felt the most pain, unwilling to give up the fight. Suddenly realizing he’d been distracted by the agony, he looked up in consternation, but Boruta hadn’t followed up his attack. Instead, he stood staring at Eli with a broad toothy smile.

The demon’s eyes widened while their glow brightened to almost match the red light in the monster’s chest. “Hehehe, a Temporal Gift?” The demon clapped his hands again, but happily and without the explosive force. “How can Boruta be this lucky? My pretty lady must have sent you as a boon to grow my strength, always taking good care of Boruta! Will you taste as sweet as little Danu? Your fate is-.”

“Do not profane her name!” A glowing Tanca in all his metallic glory seemed to almost appear from the air and stab forward with his leaf-headed spear. The demon reacted slowly and barely lifted an arm to take the blade’s tip instead of his neck. Tanca followed up with a shove as he smashed his metal shield into the demon’s face, and a look of surprise replaced Boruta’s broad, ugly smile. Tanca pulled his blade free in an explosion of sizzling black blood. “This is for Dia Danu and the Lost!” he bellowed, stepping forward and throwing his shoulder up and out. His shield shot forward again, shoving the massive monster to take a step back.

“And my Nazani,” a voice growled just as a short blade glowing bright with power abruptly erupted through the front of Boruta’s neck, spraying more sizzling blood into the air.

Wolf’s snarling and determined face was revealed as the monster hunched forward as if to escape. Wolf didn’t let go and stayed glued to the creature's broad red back, pushing and twisting the blade like he was trying to rip the monster’s neck apart. Tanca moved in to stab his spear, his crouched target conveniently right before him as his weapon also took Boruta in the neck. It was a well-coordinated move, almost like the two had practiced this before. Boruta had both hands to his neck, each around one of the weapons stabbing him as spittle flew from his bloody mouth. He turned to the side to escape, but Tanca stepped forward to knock the demon back again.

Feeling a glimmer of hope, Eli started to move to assist when Boruta’s eyes flashed bright like crashing lightning. The demon let out a wordless roar that almost felt like a physical punch to Eli’s ears and was struck deaf as all sounds vanished. A flash of red seemed to block out his mind, and he suddenly blinked, trapped again within a glowing crimson haze. Both Wolf and Tanca were frozen in the air, somehow held up when they should have fallen over – like insects trapped in cherry amber.