Episode 16: "The Sword of the Second Gate"

Mira stepped through the second gate, and the world around her shifted in an instant.

A suffocating weight crashed down on her, pressing against her chest like a crushing tide. It wasn't just an overwhelming force it was something alive. Ancient. Watching.

Her breath hitched as her muscles seized.

Temperature paralysis.

A deep, unnatural cold seeped into her bones, locking her in place. Her arms refused to move. Her legs felt like they were bound by unseen chains. The very air was thick with power, making each breath feel like she was inhaling ice. Her vision blurred for a moment before clearing again, and that was when she saw him.

A shadow stood at the center of the chamber.

He wasn't like the others she had fought before-he wasn't an empty, shifting form of darkness. No, this one had weight, a terrifying solidity that made her stomach drop. He was tall, broad shouldered, and cloaked in an aura of pure menace. His presence alone drowned out the world around him, as if reality itself bent to his will.

At his side, a long, curved sword rested in its sheath. Its blackened steel almost seemed to drink in the dim light around it, humming with a silent promise of death.

Mira tried to step back, to force her body to move, but her limbs remained frozen. The weight of his presence alone kept her rooted in place, trapped in his invisible grasp.

Then, suddenly, it lifted.

The crushing force evaporated as quickly as it had come, and Mira stumbled forward, gasping as sensation rushed back into her body. Cold sweat dripped down her spine.

This gate was nothing like the first.

Steeling herself, she reached for her book, ready to summon its power-but the moment her fingers brushed against the cover, she felt... nothing.

The book was silent.

No warmth. No glow. No flickering of pages to guide her.

A slow, sickening realization settled over her.

The book's power was sealed.

She was on her own.

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she clenched her fists. Fine. If the book wouldn't help her, she would fight with her own strength. She had trained for six months -endured hell under the dark figure's guidance-she wasn't about to back down now.

She exhaled sharply and charged forward.

The ground cracked beneath her feet as she launched

herself at the shadow, muscles burning with adrenaline. She moved fast-faster than she had ever moved before. Her fist drew back, aiming for his center mass. A direct hit she just needed one clean strike-

But then-

A flash of movement.

Impact.

Pain.

A fist slammed into her gut with impossible force.

The breath was ripped from her lungs before she could even process what had happened. Her ribs shattered instantly, and her body was launched into the air.

The world blurred.

Wind roared in her ears as she was sent flying fifty meters like a ragdoll.

Then-impact.

The ground rose up to meet her, and a sickening crack echoed as her left leg twisted unnaturally upon landing. White-hot pain exploded through her body. Her left arm took the brunt of the second impact, bending at an

unnatural angle before another crack split the air.

And then, her head slammed against the cold stone.

A sharp, searing pain erupted in her skull.

Blood.

It was everywhere. Seeping from her chest, her arm, her leg. Dripping from a deep gash on her forehead.

How...?

How was he this strong?

She barely had time to think before a dark shadow loomed over her.

Her vision swam, her mind struggling to keep up.

He had sent her flying fifty meters yet he was already standing two feet away from her.

A bolt of fear struck her chest. He wasn't just strong-he was impossibly fast.

Mira's body screamed in protest as she forced herself up, spitting blood from her lips. Pain lanced through every inch of her, but she would not stay down.

Not now.

Not after coming this far.

She clenched her remaining good fist and threw herself forward, roaring with every ounce of strength left in her battered body.

One more hit.

Just one-

But before she could even get close

He moved.

His hand grasped the hilt of his sword.

The air itself seemed to grow still.

Mira's eyes widened.

The black blade began to slide free of its sheath,

And then-