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"They\'re coming," Pyris muttered, his eyes snapping open as the first beast lunged from the shadows. It was a massive creature with gleaming black fur and glowing red eyes—its form sleek and muscular, a predator made of pure darkness.

Alera gasped, recognizing the creature immediately. "A Shadow Wolf!" she whispered. The beast was known for its deadly ability to manipulate darkness, turning it into weapons or traps, an apex predator in the Grove.

As the Shadow Wolf circled them, its form seemed to melt into the surrounding shadows, making it nearly impossible to track. Pyris stood, his sword in hand, ready for the inevitable clash.

"Stay close," Pyris ordered, his voice low and steady. "These beasts are intelligent. It\'ll wait for the perfect moment to strike, but we need to draw it out."

Alera nodded, her shadows already swirling around her protectively. She could feel the coldness of the Void tugging at her, urging her to tap deeper into its power, but she hesitated. There was a danger in losing control here—especially with the unpredictable nature of the Shadow Wolf.

The beast howled, its voice like the shattering of glass, as the surrounding shadows grew thicker, enveloping them in near-complete darkness. Alera struggled to see, her vision clouded by the shifting tendrils of shadow.

And then, it struck.

The Shadow Wolf leaped from the darkness, claws outstretched. Pyris reacted instantly, his superspeed kicking in as he raised his sword to block the attack. Metal clashed against claw, sending sparks into the air as Pyris deflected the beast\'s strike. Read the latest on empire

But the wolf was relentless, disappearing into the darkness again before launching another attack.

"We\'re sitting ducks!" Pyris shouted as he summoned wind, sending a burst of air outward to clear the shadows. It worked for a moment, revealing the wolf\'s position, but only for an instant before it disappeared again.

Alera felt her heart race. This wasn\'t like the earlier fights—this was a battle for survival. Her shadows swirled around her, instinctively seeking to protect, but it wasn\'t enough.

The wolf was too fast, too unpredictable.

And then more came.

Three more beasts emerged from the shadows—corrupted creatures twisted by the Grove\'s dark magic. A massive lizard with jagged black scales and glowing red veins slithered toward them, its mouth dripping with venom. An armored bear, its fur matted and blackened, let out a low growl as it advanced on them, its eyes gleaming with bloodlust.

"We\'re outnumbered," Pyris gritted, his voice tense. "I\'ll take the lizard and the bear. You focus on the wolf."

Alera\'s eyes widened. "Alone? You can\'t fight them all—"

"I don\'t have a choice," Pyris interrupted, already dashing toward the lizard. His sword hummed with lightning as he slashed at the creature\'s side, sending a shock of electricity through its body. The lizard hissed in pain, but it was still standing.

The bear charged at Pyris next, its massive claws swinging down at him. Pyris ducked, barely avoiding the blow, and retaliated with a burst of fire. The flames licked at the bear\'s fur, but the creature shrugged it off, its body too corrupted to feel the pain.

Meanwhile, Alera found herself face-to-face with the Shadow Wolf. The beast prowled around her, its red eyes gleaming with a predatory hunger. She could feel it drawing on the same shadows she wielded, warping them to its will. The beast lunged at her, and Alera threw up her arms, summoning her shadows to form a protective barrier.

The wolf\'s claws scraped against the shadows, but the barrier held.

For now...

Alera\'s mind raced. She needed something more—something stronger. The shadows she summoned weren\'t enough. And that\'s when she felt it. A deep, cold pull from within her, a power she had never fully tapped into before. The Void.

Without thinking, Alera let the Void\'s power seep into her shadows. They darkened, becoming thicker, more alive. The wolf seemed to sense the shift, hesitating for a moment as Alera\'s shadows rippled with newfound strength.

And then, something unexpected happened.

The wolf lunged again, but this time, Alera didn\'t defend. Instead, she reached out with her shadows, not to attack, but to grasp the wolf\'s own darkness. For a moment, the two magics clashed—her shadows against the wolf\'s. But then, Alera\'s power surged, and the wolf\'s body began to slow, its movements becoming sluggish.

Alera\'s eyes widened in shock. She wasn\'t just manipulating shadows—she was controlling the beast.

"I can… control them?" she whispered, astonished.

The wolf let out a low growl, but it was no longer a threat. Alera\'s shadows wrapped around it, and suddenly, she understood. Her shadows weren\'t just a tool for defense or attack—they were a conduit for something far greater. They could tap into death itself.

The Shadow Wolf wasn\'t truly alive anymore—it was hers, bound by the Void.

Alera gasped, the realization hitting her. She had just unlocked a necromancer\'s power.

"Let\'s see what you can do," she whispered, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and exhilaration.

The wolf, now under her control, leaped at the bear, sinking its teeth into the creature\'s neck. The bear roared in fury, but the wolf\'s attack was relentless. Alera\'s heart pounded in her chest as she watched the two beasts clash, her own creation fighting on her behalf.

But it wasn\'t enough. The lizard was still fighting, and Pyris was struggling. His body was drenched in sweat, and he could barely keep up with the relentless onslaught of attacks.

Desperate, Pyris summoned every ounce of elemental power he had left. Fire, wind, and earth swirled around him, but the beasts were too powerful, too corrupted. He needed something more—something beyond his usual abilities.

And then, something deep within him snapped.

A blinding surge of energy erupted from Pyris\'s core, and suddenly, he was surrounded by golden lightning. The power was unlike anything he had ever felt before—pure, raw, and overwhelming. His eyes glowed with golden light as the sky above them seemed to crackle with energy.

The lizard hissed, sensing the shift, but it was too late. Pyris raised his sword high, the golden lightning coiling around the blade like a living thing. With a roar, Pyris brought the sword down, and the lightning exploded outward, striking the lizard with such force that the ground shook.

The skies above lit up with brilliant gold, the sheer force of Pyris\'s attack illuminating the entire Grove. The lizard didn\'t stand a chance. Its body convulsed as the golden lightning tore through it, and with one final screech, the creature disintegrated into nothing but ash.

But the blast didn\'t stop there. The golden lightning arced upward, splitting the sky in two before striking the largest beast—another Shadow Wolf, this one even more twisted and monstrous than the first.

The lightning hit the wolf with a deafening crack, and the beast collapsed, its body twitching as the electricity coursed through it.

Alera, still reeling from the discovery of her new necromantic abilities, watched in awe as Pyris unleashed the full extent of his power. She had never seen him like this—so… godlike.

As the last of the beasts fell, Alera hesitated, then summoned her shadows once more. The dead creatures lay around her, their bodies still smoldering from Pyris\'s attack. But they weren\'t truly dead—not yet.

Alera closed her eyes, reaching out with her shadows, letting them seep into the corpses. Slowly, the beasts began to rise, their eyes glowing with an eerie, dark light. They weren\'t alive, but they were under her control—enslaved to the Void\'s power.

One by one, the creatures—now her shadow warriors—moved toward her, their forms melting into the shadows beneath her feet, disappearing into the darkness but still present, always ready to be summoned again.

Alera stared at her hands, trembling slightly. "I can… I can control them. They\'re mine."

Pyris, still panting from his golden lightning strike, turned to her, his eyes wide. "You… you raised them?"

Alera nodded, a mix of fear and excitement flickering in her gaze. "It\'s the Void. It\'s connected to the dead… to the shadows. I can… I can make them fight for me."

Pyris stared at her for a moment, then let out a long breath. "We just became a lot more dangerous."

*****

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