Galthor sat in the center of a pile of dissolved shadow creatures, breathing hard. The attacks had stopped for now. The entity was regrouping and possibly preparing something new. He could feel it in the oppressive silence that had fallen over the grey realm.

He used the time to think.

His physical strength wasn't enough. His relic powers didn't work here. The entity had complete control over its domain, and Galthor was a prisoner within it.

But he wasn't just a barbarian warrior with a divine spark. He was a god. A lesser spirit, yes, weaker than most divine beings, but still a god.

And gods had abilities that transcended the physical. There has to be something he could do!

Galthor closed his eyes and turned inward.

His divine core burned at the center of his being, a flame of silver and red. Around it, like planets orbiting a sun, were the worship chains connecting him to his followers. Thin and stretched from the distance, but still present.

And beyond that, in the vast depths of his subconsciousness, lay the locked memories of the perished barbarian god. An ocean of accumulated divinity, sealed away until he was strong enough to access it. The dark sea that lay calm and ever present and his red, blinking stars.

He couldn't unlock those memories yet. But perhaps he could draw on some of their residual power.

Galthor focused on his anger.

Not rage, not mindless fury. But the deep, slow-burning warth that had sustained him through his first life. The anger at injustice, at his helplessness of being near death throughout his first life.

At a universe that seemed designed to crush the weak beneath the heel of the strong.

The anger of the chained.

Something answered...

.....something stirred in his core.

His divine aura began to expand, but differently than before. Instead of radiating outward in all directions, it coalesced, thickened, formed a bubble around him ten feet in diameter.

And within that bubble, the rules changed.

It was as if he had brought a portion of the mind crushing power in his subconsciousness outside.

The grey stone beneath him warped, becoming darker, tinged with red. The oppressive weight of the entity's domain lessened. The whispers of grief that had been constant background noise faded to silence.

He had created his own space within the enemy's territory. A domain within a domain. What are the chances? He was only a lesser spirit!

"What are you doing?" The entity's voice was sharp with alarm.

Galthor opened his eyes and smiled. Within his domain, he could feel his strength returning. His divine aura wasn't being suppressed anymore. His connection to his followers also felt stronger and he could feel their frustration and anxiety.

"I'm staking a claim."

"This is my realm. You have no authority here."

"I'm a god." Galthor rose to his feet. "Wherever I stand, I have authority."

The entity sent another wave of shadow creatures, but when they tried to enter his domain, they dissolved. The concentrated anger burned away the grief that formed them, leaving nothing but wisps of darkness.

"You are anger," the entity said slowly. "But anger is just grief wearing armor. Strip away the rage, and you'll find sorrow underneath, anger only forms because of grief and sorrow!"

"Maybe." Galthor began to walk, his domain moving with him like bubble water. "But you'll never get the chance to strip anything away."

"You cannot maintain that indefinitely. Eventually, your power will falter. Your domain will collapse. And I will be waiting."

Galthor didn't respond. The entity was right. He couldn't maintain this forever. But he didn't need forever.

He just needed long enough to find a way out.

Or a way to win.

☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆

Karathra had never fought anything like this before. Well, maybe in a while.

The Bone Sentinels were individually weak, but their numbers were beyond counting. For every one she destroyed, three more assembled themselves from the endless supply of skeletal remains. The forest floor was an army waiting to rise.

Her arms screamed with exhaustion. Her axe had grown heavy, each swing requiring more effort than the last. Around her, the other masters were in similar states.

Zargoth was limping. Rukar was bleeding heavily from a wound on his shoulder. Even Hrothgar was flattering.

Their blood searching Armour wasn't having that much effect on the skeletons because they couldn't even use blood manipulation on them.

"We can't keep this up!" Brakthar shouted. He'd been forced to join the fighting line, leaving no one to hold reserve or treat the wounded. Karathra knew he was right. They were going to be overwhelmed. It was only a matter of time.

'...Is this how it ends? Not fighting some great enemy, but ground down by endless weak ones?...'

She thought of the Chief. Falling into the canyon. Ordering them to complete the mission. Believing in them.

No. She would not fail him. If the chief was there, he would have found a way to do something. Something.

But....she didn't know what to do....

And so, she mentally prayed to her god, Unchanging Warth.

He answered.

Golden sparks suddenly enveloped her and the others, the glow then shot forward into the surrounding forest.

A miracle happened.

Then things began to move in the forest.

Not just Sentinels. Other things. Larger things. Creatures that had been lurking in the deeper parts of the Bone Forest, drawn by the scent of blood from the battle. And a compelling force.

"Brace yourselves!" Karathra ordered.

The first creature burst through the tree line, a horror of fused bone and corrupted flesh that had once been something massive. A bear, maybe, or a great cat. Now it was neither, just a killing machine drawn by a god's power.

It slammed into the Sentinel horde from the side, tearing through them like paper. Bones flew in every direction. The creature wasn't interested in the masters. At least for the moment.

More creatures arrived. A pack of bone wolves. Something with too many legs and a skull that split down the middle. A serpentine shape that coiled through the trees, crushing Sentinels in its path.

The predators of the Bone Forest had arrived, and they were hungry.

"Move!" Karathra shouted. "While they're distracted!"

The masters broke formation and ran. Behind them, the sounds of carnage filled the air as the summoned creatures tore into the Sentinels and each other.

They ran until their lungs burned, until the sounds of battle faded to distant echoes.

Their god had saved them.

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