The heavy footsteps echoing outside were as regular as the ticking of a death clock.
With each step, the air grew heavier, as if something invisible was pressing on hearts.
The trembling man in the corner stared at the door with panic-filled eyes and said in a halting voice: "It's... Levi... He came for you."
Lin felt a chill run down his spine.
The name the man had described earlier came back to rekindle feelings of fear.
Levi, the being who had completely lost his face, was nothing more than a puppet with no will of his own, moving at the behest of something greater.
Lin gripped his sword tightly and stood in front of the door, ready for the inevitable confrontation.
Suddenly, the door shattered with a thunderous sound as if an immense force had torn it apart.
The darkness slowly retreated to reveal a frightening creature.
Levi was far worse than Lin had expected.
His twisted body and long limbs moved with invisible strings, and the place where his face should have been was completely empty, black and dark like a portal to an endless void.
"Stranger..." Levi's voice came from every corner of the room.
"You killed Osric... But now I have come."
He attacked with unbelievable speed, his long limbs writhing like snakes, each strike carrying a force capable of destroying walls.
Lin narrowly dodged the attacks, but he noticed that Levi's movements were not random.
The strings manipulating him were the key to his movements.
From the corner, the trembling man shouted: "Threads! The strings are the key to his strength! If you can cut them, you'll weaken him!"
Lin focused his gaze on the threads that stretched from Levi's body toward the ceiling.
They moved strangely, as if they were holding the creature from afar.
He decided to use the element of air to tear them apart.
He fired a violent whirlwind at the strings, causing them to shake, but Levi continued his attacks relentlessly.
Each blow Levi landed made his body more and more disjointed, as if the strings were gradually losing control.
Lin gathered his courage and jumped high, summoning his strength to cut a bunch of strings at once.
With each thread he cut, Levi lost his balance until Lin delivered a concentrated blow that severed the threads extending from his head.
Levi's final scream was terrifying, the walls trembled and the darkness that had surrounded the place receded.
When it was all over, Lin dropped to his knees, panting with exhaustion.
The shivering man slowly approached him and said in a trembling voice: "You killed Levi... But now the devil knows you exist.
He won't just send Julia... He will come himself."
After the end of the battle, the man finally revealed his identity: "I'm Eden... Just a man on the run."
The shattered village seemed to watch them with an unnerving silence.
Lin said sternly: "We have to move. "We don't have time to waste."
As they walked through the darkened streets, Lin asked: "Do you know anyone who can help us?"
Aiden swallowed and said, "There's a man named Falcon. He lives in a shelter nearby. He might know something... but he hardly trusts. I don't know if he'll help us."
They finally reached a strange building surrounded by a rusty metal wall.
Aiden gripped the trembling iron door and said, "He's here... "But I don't know if he'll let us in."
Lin pushed the door open with difficulty, a sharp creak breaking the eerie silence.
Inside the room, Falcon was standing amidst a pile of maps and mysterious drawings.
He raised his head with a wary gaze and said, "Aiden? Who is this you brought with you?"
Aiden answered in a shaky voice: "Falcon... This is Lin. He came to find out what happened to the village. We need your help."
Falcon approached the table, where there were drawings and pictures of a giant creature that resembled the morning sun.
"The creature called Solarium was a symbol of hope here. It protected the village from all evil. It became a tool of the demon Nyx. He has turned him into a monster."
Aiden shuddered and said in a broken voice: "Nyx has taken over everything. Solarium is now the guardian of darkness that destroys all who approach."
Falcon added in a serious tone: "The source of Nyx's power is tied to Solarium. If we want to weaken him, we must destroy Solarium. But it's not easy. Nyx creatures surround it, protecting it from any attempt to reach it."
Aiden said in a voice that almost disappeared: "The place where it is... "No one has ever returned from it."
Lin took a deep breath and said steadily: "If this is the only way to stop Nyx, we have no choice... we have to try."