The storm had not ended—it had only changed its shape.
Andy stood at the cliff's jagged edge, Stormbreaker Fang humming in his grasp, lightning dancing along the blade as though eager to leap into the sea below. His breath misted with every exhale, though not from cold but from the pressure pressing down on the island. Every nerve screamed be ready.
The waves parted.
From the depths rose a shadow that dwarfed mountains. The sea hissed and boiled as a colossal back broke the surface, glistening black scales slick with brine. Each plate looked like it had been forged from obsidian, lined with veins of stormlight that pulsed in rhythm with the sky's thunder. A ridge of spines curved like jagged peaks, and when the beast lifted its head, its eyes burned red, twin furnaces in the rain.
The Leviathan had come.
A roar shattered the air, so loud the island itself quaked. Birds burst from the cliffs, men dropped to their knees, hands over bleeding ears. The ship in the bay rocked like a child's toy, crew clutching ropes and praying.
Andy braced his stance, the gale wrapping him in coils of power. For the first time since he set foot on the island, he felt utterly small. But smallness didn't mean weakness.
[System Notice]
Leviathan – Abyssal Beast (Mythic Rank)
Danger Level: Catastrophic
Environmental Hazard: Tsunami Imminent
Bond Synchronization – Stabilizing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 89%
The first strike came not from claws or teeth but from the sea itself. A wall of water surged toward the island, higher than the tallest mast, cresting with white fury. The storm fed it, lightning crowning the wave's peak.
Andy whispered, "Activate—Storm Step."
The world shifted. Air bent beneath his feet. He launched forward, the gale catching him like an old friend, placing invisible stones in the sky for him to stand on. He soared above the wave as it crashed against the cliff, foam exploding below.
From behind, Ember Edge flared crimson at his hip, flames licking the rain as if challenging the storm. Tide-Singer thrummed cold blue, resonating with the sea's fury. And in his hands, Stormbreaker Fang sang a higher note, one that wove between the other two like the voice of wind itself.
He landed in midair, not falling, not flying—walking the storm. The Leviathan's head reared, jaws yawning wide enough to swallow a ship whole. Rows of jagged teeth gleamed with electric venom.
"Come then," Andy muttered, raising the blade.
The monster struck.
Its maw crashed down, the air imploding under the force. Andy darted aside, Storm Step carrying him just beyond reach. The teeth snapped shut where he had stood, the impact throwing spray skyward like shattered glass.
From the cliffs, Nia slammed her staff into the rock, glyphs igniting around her. A dome of light flared, shielding the sailors from debris. "Andy!" her voice rang like a bell, her mana tether reaching out, trying to steady him across the maelstrom.
Aurelia was beside her, daggers in hand though she knew they'd be useless against something this vast. Instead, she planted herself near Nia, her golden hair plastered to her face by rain. Her amber eyes never left Andy. "Don't falter!" she shouted, her voice fierce enough to rival thunder. "The storm chose you—show it why!"
Nia glanced at her, a sharp edge to her sapphire gaze. "You speak as if he's yours to command."
Aurelia smirked despite the chaos, rain dripping from her lips. "Not command. But I understand him. Do you?"
Nia's staff flared brighter, her knuckles white. She didn't answer.
The Leviathan roared again, twisting its body. The sea itself followed its movement, a whirlpool spiraling open, dragging the ship toward its maw. Sailors screamed, wood creaking as ropes snapped.
[System Warning]
Environmental Hazard – Whirlpool Pull
Stability: -14%
Overload Risk Rising
Andy gritted his teeth, planting his will in the gale. "Not today."
He thrust Stormbreaker Fang downward. Lightning shot into the sea, striking the whirlpool's core. The water exploded outward, buying the ship a moment of reprieve.
But the Leviathan was not finished. Its spines lit with electric fire, arcs of lightning whipping outward in every direction. One struck the cliff where Nia and Aurelia stood. The ground split, stone raining into the sea.
Nia raised her staff, a barrier flashing up in time, but the impact flung her to one knee. "Damn it—"
Aurelia grabbed her arm, steadying her, rain-soaked fingers strong. "Stand, mage. He needs us."
Nia jerked her arm free, lips trembling. "I know."
Out over the water, Andy was already moving. His form flickered, scales shimmering across his arms, aura blazing red-blue-gold. He whispered the words:
"Activate—Dragon Warrior Form, Tier II."
[System Notice]
Form Activation: Dragon Warrior – Tier II
Core Integration: 93%
Soul Stability: Balanced
Power erupted from him. Ghostly wings of flame and tide spread wide, threaded with sparks of stormlight. His eyes gleamed like molten silver. When he swung Stormbreaker Fang, the very air parted, a crescent of lightning slicing across the storm.
The Leviathan met it with a surge of its tail. The clash detonated, a shockwave that flung waves a hundred meters high.
Andy staggered midair, blood seeping from his hand where the hilt cut skin. He clenched tighter, refusing to release.
The Phoenix Ember inside him flared, golden feathers of light spiraling from his chest. The Dragon Core roared, scales rippling faintly across his skin. Fire, water, storm—three voices now, singing through one vessel.
He shouted, driving himself forward. Storm Step carried him up the Leviathan's spine, each strike carving sparks across scales harder than steel. Ember Edge lashed flame, Tide-Singer carved torrents, Stormbreaker Fang sang with thunder. The beast shrieked, twisting in fury.
From the cliff, Nia's voice broke the storm. "Andy! Don't let it consume you—come back to me!"
Aurelia's voice overlapped, lower, steadier. "Andy, show it your will. Don't let anyone else define it."
The bond pulsed.
[System Notice]
Bond Synchronization: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 90%
Dual Anchor Effect – Active
Support Stability: +17%
Andy's heart pounded, the storm's voice whispering inside his skull: Yield, and be mine.
He snarled, raising all three blades at once, flame, tide, and gale burning as one. "No. I'm not yours. I'm ours."
He drove them down.
The Leviathan screamed, blood spraying black into the sea, sizzling where it struck water. Its massive body convulsed, the storm crowning its skull flaring like a dying sun.
But the beast did not fall. It rose higher, tearing free from the sea until its full form towered over the island, shadow blotting out the world.
The cliff shuddered, sailors collapsing in terror. Nia raised her staff again, Aurelia drawing close beside her, both anchoring themselves in his storm.
[System Notice]
Stormbreaker Fang Synchronization: 94%
Secondary Trial – Awakened
Next Phase: Leviathan Ascendant
The monster opened its jaws, red eyes burning brighter. The sea itself seemed to kneel.
Andy, gasping, bloodied, still stood—Stormbreaker Fang in his grip, wings of flame and tide burning, stormlight coiling around him.
The island trembled.
And the real battle had only just begun.
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