Luca and the figure danced around each other in the darkness, slashes swift and wicked. His sword bit deep into its arms, legs, and even clean through the chest once. Even so, it did not matter. The creature's body shattered like glass and rearranged itself like smoke.
All the wounds healed. All the parts regenerated.
It did not bleed. It did not scream.
But it never actually touched him either.
Luca dodged one blow, deflected another, and then stepped forward and sliced its side. The dark meat parted. A second later, it sealed itself up as if nothing had occurred.
He leaped back, panting slightly.
It was a battle he couldn't possibly win this way.
Yes, he was quicker. Brighter. The figure hadn't thrown a single strike. But it didn't tire. It didn't slow. And it never ceased.
Luca could sense it now beneath his serenity, the reality was dawning.
If this continues, I'll be the one to fall first.
Then, he made a decision.
He reached for the light within him.
Luminis.
The sword in his hand pulsed with a faint light. The dull metal glowed as if it recalled something, as it had been waiting for this.
The second blow landed on the figure's chest.
And for the first time, it let out a scream.
The cry was raw and high, like something ripping apart. The air trembled. A jagged white scar seared across the thing's body, glowing like a new brand.
Luca didn't hesitate. He went in, another slash slicing across its side. Another flash of light. Another scream.
The illusion they stood in trembled.
So, that's the trick. Luca wondered. Luminis wounded it, finally.
It could be hurt.
But there was a problem.
Luca couldn't create more Luminis. Not here. The tower lacked it.
He could only fight with what remained in him, with what he'd brought in.
Which meant every blow had to matter.
The figure attacked again, but slower this time. Its motion was off, as if the scars were still searing.
Luca confronted it. One swift stroke across the neck, blindingly hot. The figure stumbled.
He closed in for the kill.
And it vanished.
The figure disappeared. Like if it had never existed.
And with it, the world around him shattered and dissipated.
No darkness. No laughter.
Just stone.
Gray, cold, and expansive.
Luca was standing in the center of a wide hall within the tower. The ceiling went high above him. In front of him, stairs went curving up into the darkness.
He did not drop his sword.
With a pause, when nothing stirred, he finally let out a breath.
Then slowly, cautiously, he began climbing up the stairs.
Each step rang out.
He had no idea what was up there.
Luca ascended slowly.
The air thinned the higher he climbed. He didn't sheathe his sword. Not even for a moment. That thing might return. It might attack anywhere.
His gaze shifted constantly, monitoring all his surroundings.
The spiral staircase curled on up for what seemed like an eternity. Along the way, Luca started to see etchings on the stone walls. Old writing, runes, perhaps. He didn't know them. Some were accompanied by faint, faded pictures, battles, towers, something resembling stars, but the specifics had been lost to the ages.
Nevertheless, what hit him most was the silence.
No traps. No puzzles. Nothing.
Just the climb.
He finally made it to the top.
The stairway gave out to a broad, level area. A high, windy chamber on all sides. The roof was gone long before, broken off. It was the top of the tower, where once they'd looked upon the stars.
A broad stone gate in the center stood open.
Luca took one step forward.
And then he sensed it.
A presence at his back.
He whirled.
His sword moved on instinct, leaving behind a pulse of Luminis. The light sliced through the air.
The form had come back, striking at his back. The strike landed clean. Another burning scar blazed across its gnarled body.
It lurched only briefly.
Even with new harm, it surged again, baring teeth in silence.
Luca met it head-on. The two clashed, blade and claw, light and shadow. He cut it into pieces, again and again. Still, it continued.
This time, it was not holding back. It was desperate.
Luca was barely keeping pace. His body was slowing. Every movement drained him. He knew he could not do this for much longer.
So he did not.
He collected what he'd left.
The sword in his hand flared once more, its light brighter than ever before.
Then the explosion.
A tide of pure Luminis blasted out from him, driving the creature back.
The figure rolled across the stone floor, smoke streaming from the fresh scars ripped into its body.
Luca didn't pause.
He turned and sprinted through the gateway.
Behind him, the figure howled.
A dread, shattered noise that vibrated the air. The ground beneath his feet shuddered. The very walls of the tower creaked as if they would collapse.
Luca spun at the end of the hall.
The creature stood in the doorway, its form contorted and destroyed yet still standing upright.
It didn't come after him.
It remained there, clawed hands curled in the air, as if aching to reach him, yet unable to take a single step. Then it screamed once more.
Louder, deeper, and full of fury.
Luca froze for a moment, sword lowered, eyes fixed on it.
Then he turned and moved forward, further down the hallway.