The forest trembled with a palpable tension, the air thick with an unsettling silence. Gorm stood before Elian, his eyes aflame with a fury ready to explode. He was the Guardian of the Forest, and his strength seemed limitless. Yet Elian remained unshaken. He stood there, meeting Gorm's gaze with such serene calm that it sent a chill down the giant's spine.
Elian felt the stirrings of his dark power, as though the very shadows were drawing him forward, eager for the moment to unfold. He did not rush. His eyes now resembled windows to the future, as if they could peer beyond the present and predict the next second's events. The Eye of Fate — the ability he had mastered — allowed him to see not only the enemy's movements but every possible outcome, every action, as though it had already been written.
Gorm raised his massive club, but Elian already knew what would happen. He activated the Lightning Strike. A surge of crackling energy enveloped him, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished, leaving behind only a blurred afterimage. His speed was so overwhelming that even Gorm, with his superhuman strength, could scarcely react.
As Elian appeared behind him, Gorm barely had time to feel the electric surge strike through his back. It wasn't just a physical blow — it was an explosion of energy that seemed to shatter the very air. Gorm froze, his breath caught in his chest, yet he did not fall. Instead, he snarled, tapping into his magic to heal.
"You are too certain of your victory," Gorm growled, his voice weakening. "The darkness will consume you, boy."
Elian stood before him, like the very void itself. His eyes revealed no fear, no doubt — only an unwavering calm and resolve. Once again, he activated the Eye of Fate, and all of Gorm's possible movements were laid out before him. Everything was in his grasp.
"You speak of darkness," Elian said, his voice not haughty, but wearied — as one who has seen too much. "But you don't understand. I am that darkness. Your death was sealed before you ever spoke."
Gorm roared and lifted his club again, but his movements were sluggish, his strength failing him. Elian was already beside him, moving with a speed beyond comprehension. He soared into the air, as though borne by the wind, and rose to the heavens. In that moment, he felt dark matter surge through his veins. A sword of shadow formed in his hands, its blade reflecting the darkened sky above.
Gorm looked up, confusion flickering in his eyes, trying to make sense of what was happening, but it was far too late. Elian descended like a storm, and with a single, furious strike, drove the blade deep into the beast's chest. Blood and dark energy mingled as the sword cleaved through Gorm's heart.
The giant collapsed to his knees, his body slowly fading into the shadows.
"You don't defeat me… You set me free…" he whispered, his voice dwindling to nothingness.
Elian stood over him, his face still as impassive as stone, though now something darker flickered in his eyes — satisfaction at how effortlessly victory had come.
He was no victor in the conventional sense. He was invincible. And he relished it.
He let the sword fall. His eyes, for a fleeting moment, grew even colder and emptier. Inside, he felt the growing hunger for more, the chaos becoming an inseparable part of him.
Mira stood off to the side, watching him. Fear and awe gripped her heart. She no longer understood what had become of this man, but one thing was certain — he had become something far more dangerous. With each battle, with every step, he was losing more of the person he had once been.
Elian turned to her, his gaze hollow, like the depths of an endless abyss.
"What now?" he asked, his voice even, as if all of this were merely another step along the path.
Mira hesitated, a moment of doubt gripping her. She could feel the darkness around him deepening, and she was no longer sure she could control what he was becoming.
"You're no longer human, Elian. You… you're not human," she whispered, her voice trembling.
Elian gave a silent, almost cruel smirk, his gaze sweeping across the remains of the battlefield.
"I've always been a shadow. Now… I've simply become myself."