Empriks eyes widened, and before he could do anything to stop it, the forces of Entropy and Nihility collided within him. The reaction was instantaneousand catastrophic.
BOOM!
A deafening shockwave rippled through the void. The eyes of the Champion of the Root went wide as a hole the size of a fist tore through his chest. This time, the wound did not mend. For the first time in what fe like eternity, Emprik the Grafter was truly wounded.
Cains cold smile sharpened into something fierce and primal. Without hesitation, he dashed forward, releasing a storm of kicks aimed directly at Empriks skull. His first kick struck the templecharged with the consuming darkness of Nihility. The second crashed into the opposite side, carrying the white flames of Entropy. The third kick landed squarely beneath the jaw, merging both forces into a violent collision.
A blinding burst followed.
Empriks monstrous body trembled, his head cracking open as moen blood streamed from his eyes. The explosion of the opposing forces tore away the top of his skull in a spray of corrupted light and rotting matter.
Cain didnt relent. His expression was one of grim satisfaction. For the first time, the Champion of the Root bled before him.
CRACK!
Everything was working for the Scarlet King when a dreadful sound echoed from within the Heart of the Root itself, like the shattering of a cocoon.
Cains eyes narrowed just as a cannon of sickly orange flame erupted toward him. He reacted instantly, pulling back in a blur of motion, but even his speed couldnt fully protect him. Some of the flame grazed his arm, and where it touched, his flesh began to me.
The pain was unlike anything he had ever known. The flames did not burnthey dissolved. Everything they touched disintegrated into nothingness, as though existence itself rejected them. He could even feel their essence trying to infect his energy.
Cain growled, forcing the powers of Nihility and Entropy to his defense. His arm flared with white and black light, consuming the corrupting fire, but not before it left deep, festering scars across his flesh.
When the smoke cleared, Cain finally saw the origin of the attack.
A towering infernal entity loomed above the Heart of the Root. An abomination forged from tangled roots, their wooden tendrils twisting to form a grotesque humanoid shape.
Its bark-like skin was charred and cracked, glowing with moen fissures that pulsed like veins of magma. From its back jutted massive bone-like pipes, venting smoke and orange fire as though breathing through an ancient furnace.
Its hands burned with consuming flame, and its facean amalgam of ember and woodwas crowned with jagged, obsidian spines that radiated searing heat. Twin eyes of moen gold glowed in that infernal visage, not as organs of sight, but as gateways to annihilation. They locked onto Emprik first, burning with contempt.
What is the meaning of this? the creature thundered, its voice echoing through the void like the roar of a collapsing star. How dare you call yourself a Champion of the Root and end up in such a disgraceful state? No wonder you are the weakest of us.
Cains gaze hardened, and the solemn only grew with what happened next. He watched as Empriks body twitched violently, fungal threads sprouting from his wounds to stitch flesh and bone back together. Even his shattered skull reformed, pulsing with unholy vitality.
Cain clenched his fists. I blew apart his head, and yet he still lives…
The newcomer paid no mind to Empriks suffering. Instead, it turned its blazing eyes upon Cain, the oppressive aura of an ancient predator descending like a mountain upon him.
I am Kukulkatz, the Dark OmenChampion of the Root, it declared. Surrender to the fate that consumes all existence. Surrender to eternal bliss. Surrender to immortality.
Its eyes glowed brighter, the words dripping with divine zealotry. Surrender to the Root.
The pressure that followed was suffocating, the very fabric of space trembling under his will. Yet Cains resolve did not faer. If anything, his determination only deepened. The golden-scarlet flames surrounding him roared to life, and both his arms blazed with twin lightsthe starlight of Nihility and the white inferno of Entropy.
Kukulkatz sneered at the defiance in Cains eyes, his expression mirroring the disdain that had once twisted Empriks face. With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed his wrath.
From the Heart of the Root, a tidal wave of spawns burst forth, screeching as they dove toward Cain.
Cain exhaled sharply. His body became a blur as he waved his hand, releasing an ocean of invisible blades that carved through the monsters before they could reach him. Each slice was precise, lethalturning the swarm into clouds of ash.
But then, something changed.
As the abominations were torn apart, their bodies glowed with a fiery orange light. Before they could disintegrate completely, they exploded, erupting into a storm of moen orange fire that engulfed Cains position.
He emerged from the inferno seconds later, his face twisted in pain, his armor cracked and sizzling. The orange flames clung to him, dissolving his flesh.
Cain forced his will into motion. The powers of Entropy and Nihility surged outward, purging the corrupt fire just as Emprik reappeared in front of him.
The Grafters blade arm swung down with murderous force, aimed directly at Cains head.
Cain had no time to evade. He raised his right arm instinctively, releasing a burst of invisible sundering energy that met the strike head-on. The collision detonated with a thunderous blast, propelling him backward through the void.
Before he could regain control, a new swarm of Root spawn erupted toward him, each glowing with the same orange radiance.
Cain slashed through them with invisible force, but several still managed to slip past his defenses, exploding in a blinding storm of fire. He escaped the ocean of flames within seconds, but not unscathed. Woundsdeep, smoldering, and unnaturalspread across his chest and arms.
Pain surged through him, matched only by the weight of exhaustion.
Facing one Champion of the Root had pushed him beyond his limits. Facing two was a battle that bordered on the impossible.
And yet, retreat was not an option.
As Cain steadied himself, the Matrix of the Universe began to glow. The golden lattice flared brighter than ever before, and a massive surge of energy flooded through creation.