In the final hours before dusk, the group of tamers who had taken part in the ritual split up to investigate the disturbances in the more remote corners of the academy. Ethan, accompanied by his closest companions – Lira, Kael, and Neyra – led his group through the dimly lit corridors of the eastern wing, where the signs of distorted energy were most intense.
Each step echoed against the cold stone walls, and the silence was broken only by the whispers of the wind and the faint beating of hearts. Yet in that atmosphere heavy with omens, the tension was palpable. The Forest Ancestral Deer walked beside Ethan with a vigilant posture, its eyes glowing in sync with the energy that seemed to stir in the air.
The Trimming of Shadows
As the group advanced, a strange aura began to form around the edges of the corridors. Lira, whose Nebula Serpent moved beside her with nearly choreographed gestures, narrowed her eyes as she noticed the shadows stretching unnaturally.
"Do you feel that?" she asked in a low but urgent voice.
Kael, who was flying overhead with the Spectral Crow, responded with a trembling voice, "Yes. It's like something is moving between the corners, hiding in the dim light, waiting for the right moment to strike."
The atmosphere grew heavier as a powerful pulse of energy emanated from a side corridor. Neyra, ever meticulous, adjusted the position of her Living Stone Golem, and soon they all saw a rift open in the wall, casting sparks of a faint and disturbing violet light.
The Manifestation of the Void's Allies
From within the rift, a shape began to emerge. Slowly, as if materializing from the darkness itself, a creature took form, its essence seemingly sculpted by the Void. Its body was nebulous, outlined by ever-shifting shadows. It had four glowing eyes, each one emanating a crimson light that contrasted with its ethereal shape, and sharp horns projecting at impossible angles.
The figure hovered for a moment, observing every movement from the tamers, as if analyzing the tension forming there.
"They're not just predators," Ethan murmured, trying to make sense of the vision. "They're emissaries of darkness itself."
The creature advanced toward the group. Its presence warped the energy around them; magical instruments hummed louder, and each tamer felt the weight of the impending threat. The Spectral Crow dove in a swift attack, while the Living Stone Golem let out a deep rumble, preparing for the inevitable clash.
The Confrontation
The moment the creature reached the group, the environment dissolved into a whirlwind of tension and raw energy.
Lira commanded, "Nebula Serpent, Frozen Shadow!"
Her lunar ice fox lunged forward with precision, releasing waves of cold that rippled through the air. Meanwhile, Kael directed the Spectral Crow to launch swift attacks, diving in sharp arcs that cut through the space between the creature and the tamers.
Ethan, at the center of the confrontation, felt the bond with the Forest Ancestral Deer intensify. He had learned — through trial and error — how to synchronize with his beast. With a controlled, focused gesture, he ordered:
"Deer, Roots of Light!"
At that moment, the Deer drove its antlers into the ground, causing thin, glowing roots to rise from the damp earth, forming a living barrier meant to contain the advance of the shadowy creature.
The entity, however, seemed to feed on the negative energy around it, its crimson eyes flickering with dark intensity. Each attack from the group was countered with fluid, almost spectral movements, proving that this being did not fight like an ordinary beast, but rather embodied the very essence of the Void — with instincts of adaptation and denial.
Neyra stepped closer to her Living Stone Golem, using her keen perception to adjust the stone's resistance. In a rare moment of synergy, the Golem unleashed Earth's Roar, a technique that made the ground quake and forced the creature to retreat momentarily.
Kael, flying nimbly, used the Spectral Crow to intercept attacks with precise maneuvers, sending it as a messenger of light against the darkness. As the battle unfolded, each tamer displayed not only their abilities, but the complexity of their strategies, proving that the group was not made of one superior individual, but a force united by experience, failures, and constant growth.
United Resistance
The clash dragged on in a tense, deliberate rhythm — each move calculated, every gesture a collective effort not just to defend, but to understand the true nature of the attack.
Ethan, with the confidence born of training and hard-earned lessons, paused briefly and brought the group together:
"Remember: our strength comes from the bond we share. We don't fight with individual power alone — we fight with the union of our spirits."
His words echoed in that moment like a mantra. The Forest Ancestral Deer and the others, in almost telepathic sync, intensified their efforts. In a final, combined move, Lira, Kael, Neyra, and Ethan, alongside their beasts, formed a circle of energy, concentrating the fragments of light accumulated since the ritual in the Garden of Echoes.
The aura radiating from the circle was so intense that the shadowy creature hesitated, as if the tamers' unified force could repel the Void's influence. With one last powerful chant, the group channeled their energies to a single point at the center of the barrier made of light roots. The entity faltered, its glowing eyes dimming — and in the blink of an eye, it retreated into the rift, sucked back into the same darkness from which it had emerged.
After the Confrontation
As silence returned to the corridors, the group remained breathless, yet filled with a renewed sense of determination. They knew this attack wasn't the end — and that the Void's allies would return, stronger or in new forms.
Ethan approached the others, his eyes reflecting both the residual light and the invisible scars of the battle.
"Today, we learned that our unity is our greatest weapon," he said with humility and resolve, not placing himself above the others, but acknowledging their collective effort.
Lira nodded softly, while Kael and Neyra exchanged glances of silent understanding. The Spectral Crow flew low, and the Forest Ancestral Deer stood tall — a silent guardian of the hope they now carried.
An Echo of Warning
In some dark corner of the academy's underground, magical instruments recorded the final moments of the conflict. A cryptic message still vibrated in the air:
> "Unity fights the shadows, but the Void always finds a breach."
These words resonated like a warning — and a promise that, though light had prevailed that day, the true battle was only just beginning.