Hope exhaled slowly, the pain in his shoulder still burning from the crab-fiend's strike.
His vision sharpened, locking onto the bleeding wound he had inflicted on the creature.
Then a grin spread across his lips.
Now it's my turn.
The cave was dark.
Barely any light filtered through the jagged openings above, leaving the cavern shrouded in deep, inky shadows.
And Hopeless?
He belonged to the darkness.
A cold sensation spread through his veins, not like the sting of pain but something else—something deeper, something primal.
Hope let go.
Dissolving into the Abyss
The moment he embraced the dark, his body blurred, then—
He vanished.
Not just in the way one dodges an attack.
Not just in the way one moves out of sight.
But as if he had been swallowed whole by the abyss itself.
The crab-fiend's many eyes widened, its grotesque head snapping left, then right, trying to locate its prey.
Just a second ago, the human was standing right there—bleeding, vulnerable.
And now?
Nothing.
Not a trace.
The creature's massive pincers snapped open and shut, its instincts screaming at it to prepare for an attack.
But from where?
From which direction?
Hope saw it all.
He could see the fiend, but it couldn't see him.
A low chuckle rumbled from his throat, though it never reached the surface—swallowed by the void that now cloaked him.
He was a ghost in the darkness.
And this thing?
It was his prey.
Hope moved.
Fast.
Silent.
His form re-emerged only for a fraction of a second, just enough for his dagger to sink deep into the soft, wounded flesh beneath the fiend's jointed leg.
Schlck!
The blade tore through sinew and cartilage, twisting as Hope wrenched it out with a flick of his wrist.
Blackened blood sprayed, painting the cavern floor.
The fiend screeched, its monstrous body recoiling violently as it lashed out blindly, its pincer carving deep trenches into the stone.
But Hope was already gone.
Relentless Assault
He dissolved into the darkness again, slipping just beyond the fiend's desperate counterattack.
The creature's breathing became ragged, its eyes wild and unfocused.
It was panicking.
Good.
Hope struck again.
And again.
Each time, he materialized just long enough to land a precise, crippling blow before vanishing into the shadows once more.
His daggers carved through tendons, armor gaps, joints—every weak point he could find.
The crab-fiend shrieked in agony, its movements becoming erratic, its once dominant, towering form now stumbling under its own weight.
Hope could see it.
It was falling apart.
Bleeding.
Weakening.
Hope emerged one last time, appearing directly in front of the staggering beast.
Its eyes locked onto him in raw desperation, its massive pincer lunging forward in a last, reckless attempt to crush him.
Hope didn't move away this time.
Instead, he stepped forward.
And dropped low—
The pincer whooshed over his head, missing him by inches as he closed the distance in a blur.
Before the fiend could react, Hope's daggers plunged deep into its underside—the one place even its hardened exoskeleton couldn't protect.
A horrid, wet squelch echoed through the cave.
The fiend's screech died in its throat.
Hope twisted his daggers one last time—
Then ripped them free.
Victory
The crab-fiend trembled, its inhuman body spasming as dark, putrid blood gushed from the fatal wound.
Then—
It collapsed.
Its massive form crashed into the cavern floor, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
Hope exhaled.
His arms dropped to his sides, his daggers dripping with black ichor.
The once unstoppable monster now lay at his feet, twitching weakly as life drained from its body.
A slow, victorious grin spread across Hope's face.
"Heh… now you know what it means to fight in the dark."