Light plate of dense shadow covered Mitch’s torso and extended down to his hands. Each segment fit as if forged for him alone. Rex covered his neck as well, in a collar of dark armor curving protectively upwards. Its cool weight rested just below his jawline.

  The sleek, black plating did not gleam; It only exuded a quiet menace as it shifted continuously. It was Rex’s aggressive energy encased in the living armor. Mitch’s jaw and lower face were left exposed, yet he felt protected like never before. Each breath he took felt fortified. A steady rhythm that Rex mirrored, squeezing and retracting smoothly against his body.

  This is more than just armor, Rex. You’re awesome.

  It was a partnership. A symbiosis with an Abyssal beast. Mitch felt Rex’s sharp, aggressive mind growling at the incoming titan, which stomped towards them from Butcher’s perch. Mitch flexed his hands around his soul sword. The cold edges of Rex’s light plating settled over him like a second skin.

  Low and deep, the tremors reverberated through the pit floor. Each stomp from the perch above sent shockwaves. Mitch braced himself and gripped his soul sword tighter. Sable stood next to him, while Rex sat snug and alive over his torso.

  The Behemoth’s twisted silhouette loomed from above. Its shadow was vast and carved from nightmares. It dwarfed both the perch and the Pit. Red, rune-like scars flared in the dim light, pulsing with energy that seemed to poison the air around it.

  Chains embedded deep into its flesh dangled and clattered as it moved. Each link was as thick as MItch’s arm, dragging behind it in a chorus of clanging.

  With a single, powerful leap, it crashed into the pit, the ground shuddering beneath its colossal weight. Cracks spidered out from where it landed. Rising to its full height, it stood nearly three times Mitch’s size–a monstrous giant in vaguely human form. Its face was twisted and angular beyond recognition. Its broad, hunched torso heaved with every breath, and its limbs rippled with unnatural sinew.

  Its body was an amalgam of muscle and raw power. Its arms ended in giant, human appendages capable of crushing stone. Thick legs supported its towering, naked bulk. Yet it moved with a disturbingly smooth agility. More beast than man.

  Its face–a mask of barely human features–was elongated and misshapen. A thin jaw opened as it snarled, revealing rows of serrated teeth. Its red eyes fixed on Mitch with a calculating intelligence.

  The Behemoth hunched low. Chains embedded in its flesh rattled as it prepared itself to fight.

  “Big fucker.” Mitch grumbled to Sable.

  Sable's eyes were wide with fear that she couldn’t hide. “Mitch…this thing could break us in half.”

  Mitch nodded, gripped his soul sword, and felt Rex’s eagerness ripple across his chest. The Shadowshroud pushed him to strike.

  Easy, boy.

  Mitch darted to the side as the Behemoth’s head turned, tracking him with unnerving precision. Sable navigated to the back side of the creature.

  The Behemoth turned its massive head, red eyes flickering with something beyond rage. Its voice rolled out, deep and grinding, as if its very bones spoke.

  “You…” the Behemoth’s voice grated like stone against steel. Each word was slow and forced, “I know what you are. Soul Eater. Bearer of an empty vessel.”

  Mitch’s grip on his soul sword tightened.

  A ripple of recognition passed through him, but Rex growled in his mind, steadying his resolve.

  The Behemoth lowered its head. Chains dragged across the ground in a metallic screech. “I do not wish to die… but I will not be bound by the Abyss any longer.”

  With that, the runes on the Behemoth’s chest blazed brighter. Chains embedded in its shoulders and wrists rattled to life, rising into the air like sentient tendrils. They radaited dark energy around the creature.

  The Behemoth’s chains whipped down, and gathered chunks of stone from the pit floor with precision. Each link formed a vicious sling of large jagged rock. Runes across its arms flared once more, and with a sickening force, it flung the stones like cannon fire.

  Mitch barely had time to react. He ducked and sprinted as an onslaught of stones whizzed over his head. They smashed into the pit wall and shattered, spraying fragments everywhere.

  Rex tightened across his torso, his armor flexing in response to incoming blows. The Shadowshroud’s energy pulsed like a second heartbeat. Urging him closer to stand and fight.

  The Behemoth’s chains swung at Mitch with malice, collecting more stones and firing them with terrifying speed. One grazed Mitch’s shoulder, forcing him to grit his teeth as pain flared. Agony’s Embrace responded, and he felt the boost in his muscles.

  Rex roared in his mind. Pushing Mitch to tackle their enemy head on. To absorb the blows and let the agony build his strength.

  You want pain too? Fine.

  Mitch angled himself toward the Behemoth. A jagged rock hit him square in the chest, though it was softened by Rex’s armor. The Shadowshroud howled in his mind, and Mitch felt Agony’s Embrace flare again. Mitch healed them instantly with the flesh he held.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Broken ribs.

  Settlement Amount: 64 Souls, 28 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 139(-2) Flesh

  Sable’s voice broke through the rumble of battle. “I’ll keep those chains down if you can get closer!”

  Mitch glanced her way and darted forward towards the Behemoth. Sable sent her wires flashing out. The wire caught one of the chains mid-swing, yanking it just enough to make the stone miss Mitch’s face by a hair’s breadth.

  He lunged, slashing his soul sword across the Behemoth’s exposed thigh with all his strength. The beast roared. Mitch felt the satisfaction of slicing through skin, but it was barely a scratch on the massive creature.

  Sable fired another wire and a Fracture at the chain. Purple flashed and the chain split before Mitch’s eyes, dropping to the ground.

  Mitch snarled in frustration and unleashed Deathhowl, aimed straight towards the Behemoth’s chest. A piercing wave of beastial energy ripped from Mitch’s throat in a crackling green ball.

  Settlement Amount: 64 Souls, 27(-1) Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 139 Flesh

  It slammed into the Behemoth’s and exploded upon impact, sending chunks of singed muscle everywhere. The beast staggered. And Mitch thought he saw the rune under chest flicker quickly.

  The Behemoth’s red eyes blazed with rage, and it swung its chained hand with renewed energy. It caught Mitch’s side in a brutal hit and sent him flying backwards.

  That rune…

  His body spun in the air and he crashed into the pit wall. Mitch felt his back and shoulder shattered on impact.

  Pain erupted, nearly blinding, as Agony’s Embrace flashed through the pain. He landed face first onto the floor. Through his pain, he healed the wound using his reserves.

  Settlement Amount: 64 Souls, 27 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 128(-11) Flesh

  “Weak. You are weak,” the Behemoth walked towards him as Sable fired multiple Fractures at it. Chunks of its skin burst apart, ichor flowing, yet the Behemoth lumbered forward, unrelenting. “You wield a fool’s strength. You do not know your own power.”

  Mitch rose to his feet, breathing hard. His gaze locked onto the flickering rune beneath his chest.

  Sable was circling the Behemoth. Her wires snuck out to grab hold of the chains. She clenched her hand, and the metal links tangled. The Behemoth spun and roared at her in frustration, swinging wildly.

  A chain whipped towards Sable at terrifying speed. She sent a Fracture on it, and the purple energy met the chain mid-swing. With a sharp snap, the chain shattered, falling in heavy pieces. The Behemoth’s howl shook the ground.

  Seizing his change, Mitch darted forward towards the Behemoth's exposed back. He unleashed another Deathhowl, spitting out of his raw throat in an animalistic roar. Green energy collided with the Behemoth’s flesh. Muscle splintered, the force staggering the giant forward. Mitch launched a second Deathhowl in a spiteful shout. Vanquishing a monster’s soul to take down another.

  Settlement Amount: 64 Souls, 25(-2) Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 128 Flesh.

  The Behemoth spun, its chains gathering stones mid-motion. Mitch braced himself as he neared, Rex encouraging him on as the Behemoth’s fist swung towards him with unrestrained wrath.

  Mitch ducked mid stride, feeling the air slice above him. But the creature was fast–much faster than Mitch expected. Its massive arm came down again, catching Mitch in the head.

  The impact was immediate and overwhelming. His vision darkened for a moment as he forced flesh reserves to heal his cracked skull.

  Settlement Amount: 64 Souls, 25 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 110(-18) Flesh.

  Through the healing haze, he found his resolve. Mitch drove his soul sword into the beast’s exposed side. Thick muscle gave way beneath the empty soul sword. Dark ichor sprayed from the wound.

  It roared. But there was no reprieve. Mitch pulled his blade free and swung again, slicing deep across the creature’s ribs as he dodged another swing. His strikes carved gouges into the Behemoth’s flesh. Still, the Behemoth seemed unfazed. Its fury only intensified in its strikes.

  Dodging a giant fist, Mitch caught sight of the Behemoth flinging stones toward Sable with its free chains. Her Fracture made quick work of the incoming rock, splitting it into fragments mid-air, but she still took a few hits. Mitch flexed their connection, sending a healing tendril her way even as he danced around the Behemoth’s blows.

  Settlement Amount: 64 Souls, 25 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 103(-7) Flesh.

  Hmmm…she is squishy. Need something else.

  Mitch’s mind raced. He reached out with Abyssal Bind, sensing the sparks of insect minds scattered within the ground and walls of the pit. In a single command, he summoned them with a vicious mental clamp, urging them to swarm in front of her. Individually, they’d be no threat to the Behemoth. But he could turn them into a wall between Sable and the stones.

  Minions: Abyssal Mice: 4, Abyssal Bugs: 432 (+432)

  Followers: Sable (The First Follower)

  Hundreds of bugs surged around Sable. They clustered and formed into a pulsating shield. Rocks crashed against the mass of insects, smashing the vanguard he’d created. But Mitch pressed more forward. As stones shattered the bug shield, fragments cut across her exposed skin. Mitch channeled his dwindling reserves, sending another wave of healing to her injuries.

  Settlement Amount: 64 Souls, 25 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 94(-9) Flesh.

  His reserves were thinning fast. The monster's injuries were building, but at too slow a pace. Every strike Mitch landed, the rune beneath its heart flashed.

  Mitch barely dodged as a chain struck the ground beside him. It left a crater in its wake. He seized the opportunity, slashing upward, his soul sword tearing across the Behemoth’s thigh. The Rune flashed, and the creature bellowed in pain and stumbled back.

  Mitch slashed another deep cut along the Behemoth’s torso.

  The monster growled, an oddly contemplative sound amidst the chaos and Mitch dodged another swing at his face. Rex growled in his mind as he flowed against Mitch. “Good. You learn to protect what’s yours. That is important.”

  Mine?

  Out of the corner of his eye as he slashed again, Mitch noticed something horrific. Severed chains lay coiled across the ground, remnants of Sable’s Fractures. Yet they were not still and dead.

  Each chain rose from the ground like iron serpents.

  One boulder, held aloft by a severed chain. The chain snapped forward. The boulder was thrown with deadly speed.

  A chill ran through him.

  “Sable!” Mitch shouted, his voice raw with urgency. She was unaware, her focus on keeping the Behemoth’s rocks at bay as a boulder flew straight for her.