Alpha Instinct

Night had fallen around the cave, but the heat from the hot spring created an illusion of comfort. The group, now dressed in their battle gear, was scattered around the campfire, the steam rising in lazy spirals toward the darkness.

Some chatted quietly, others ate their rations, but an uneasy silence hung in the air, like an invisible mist.

Leonard, sitting slightly apart from the others, felt a familiar wave of melancholy wash over him. A sense of loss, an emptiness that had haunted him since... well, since forever. He tried, in vain, to push these thoughts away.

"Is this the first time you've been here, in the Skull Volcanoes?" He asked, his voice breaking the silence, trying to distract his own mind.

Most answered yes, with expressions ranging from curiosity to apprehension. Only Mikaela answered differently.

"I've been here before," she said, her voice low and tinged with the shadow of a memory. "On a mission... We had to eliminate an elite imp that was getting... ambitious. It was transforming into a Named leirion, gaining power by attacking villages outside the volcanic area."

Leonard frowned, feeling an inexplicable chill. "I have a bad feeling," he admitted, his voice barely a whisper. Explore hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Ragnar, who was nearby, let out a nervous laugh. "Bad luck to talk like that! That's a harbinger of misfortune, that is!" He said, trying to sound playful, but the tension in his voice was evident.

Mikaela, her brow furrowed, interrupted. "I feel like I'm forgetting something... something important..." She raised her hand to her head, as if trying to dispel a mental fog, but the feeling persisted.

One by one, the members of the group began to get up, retiring to their makeshift tents, set up inside the cave. The heat of the fire was still pleasant, but the night called for rest.

Ragnar was the last to move away from the fire, adjusting his weapons and armor. He felt uncomfortable with his skin still damp, and he would participate in the first watch with Mikaela.

High on the slope, far above the cave entrance, a seemingly ordinary boulder, part of the rocky landscape, shifted. Slowly. Almost imperceptibly.

Two enormous red eyes opened, not with intense brilliance, but with a dull luminescence, like embers covered in ash. An irregular texture, previously mistaken for rock, unfolded, revealing outlines that resembled claws and wings.

Ragnar, distracted, was finishing adjusting his armor when a gigantic shadow fell over him. A guttural cry, half snarl, half roar, echoed down the slope.

Before anyone could react, a colossal creature, a gargoyle with volcanic stone-colored skin and translucent red eyes, plunged from the sky in a lightning-fast attack.

Its claws, sharp as razors, gripped Ragnar's arms with brutal force. The warrior, caught completely off guard, let out a cry of pain and terror that was abruptly cut short.

The gargoyle, with a powerful beat of its wings, ripped him from the ground, carrying him upwards.

A terrible sound, a mixture of cracking bones and tearing flesh, echoed through the night as the gargoyle, still ascending, forcefully pulled on Ragnar's arms.

With a final, sickening snap, the limbs were torn from his body.

Ragnar's lifeless torso, freed from its weight, plummeted back to earth, hitting his head on the ground. The impact, a dull and terrible thud, silenced any lingering trace of life.

The gargoyle, high above, was still holding Ragnar's bloody arms.

The gargoyle's cry and the horrific sound of Ragnar's death jolted everyone from their tents.

Mikaela, the first to react, shouted, "Ember Goliaths! Protect yourselves! They're gargoyles! Be very careful!"

Evelyn, with her keen eyesight, looked up. She counted three of them, circling on the dark ceiling of the immense cave, disgustingly playing with Ragnar's severed arms, before devouring them with a repugnant voracity.

Silverin, emerging from her tent in a state of shock, let out a cry of grief and sorrow at the sight of Ragnar's mutilated body. "NO!! Ragnar, my dear friend..." Ignoring the imminent danger, she ran to him, kneeling beside the body, not caring about the blood or the deplorable state it was in.

Taking him in her arms, she began to recite a prayer, the words interspersed with sobs and tears:

"O Goddess of Light, receive the soul of your faithful servant… May he find peace in your eternal arms… free from… from… the pain and suff—suffering of this world!! May your light shine upon him!! guiding him to the… to the… rest he deserves."

Xavier, overcome with a contained fury, drew his crossbow and shouted, "You bastards!" He fired towards one of the gargoyles, which had landed upside down on the cave ceiling, a typical behavior of the species.

The bolt struck the Ember Goliath's foot, but ricocheted, demonstrating the impressive hardness of its rocky skin. The Leirion looked directly at Xavier as if playing with his disturbing gaze.

"It's very tough! Be careful!" Xavier shouted, alerting the others.

"I knew I was forgetting something! Those damn Ember Goliaths!" Mikaela said, frustrated with herself. Raising her hand, she shouted, "Kalendor!" A brilliant ray of light landed upon her, delivering the sword artifact.

Xavier, not wasting any time, tried another shot, this time using his Sharpshot ability. The bolt whizzed through the dimness of the cave, creating small ripples in the air as it cut through the distance. A sonic BANG echoed as the projectile exploded on the Ember Goliath's leg, causing some damage, but still far from a disabling blow.

The damage caused the Leirion to detach from the stone and continue its circular flight around the group.

"Watch your backs!" Leonard shouted. "Form a circle in the center! Protect each other's backs!"

Kaleb, still inside his tent, crawled on all fours, like a frightened dog, toward his staff, which had fallen near the entrance. "I have to get to them," he thought, taking a deep breath.

Leonard, noticing Kaleb's vulnerability, shouted, "Careful, Kaleb! Don't rush! There's no way to defend against them while they're flying!"

It was then that Kaleb had a flash of insight. An idea, a sublime insight. "If we can't fight them in the air…" he thought, a smile forming on his face, "then we have to bring them to the ground!"