Meanwhile, Draeven and his companions emerged from the ruin. Stone dust clung to their shoulders, and none of them looked particularly pleased.
"Well," T'zarek grumbled, brushing off a chunk of debris from his chest. "That was a waste of time."
"No relics. Not even scraps," Vek'tal muttered, glancing over his shoulder one last time.
Draeven didn't reply. His gaze was fixed far off into the distance. A faint pulse of unnatural lightning lit the sky in flickers of violet. His brow furrowed.
"That light…" he muttered. "You feel that mana signature?"
The other two turned, nodding slowly as the pulse echoed through the air like a heartbeat.
"Looks like the Magus is still busy," Draeven said, weighing his options.
He glanced around, then stopped—his eyes locking onto the crater where he'd fought Earth before.
It wasn't obvious at first. But when he focused, he saw it—the ground looked like it was… shifting.
"You guys see that?" he asked. "It's moving."
T'zarek and Vek'tal turned their gazes toward the crater. At first, there was nothing. Then—yes. The earth was shaking, subtly but unmistakably.
Without a word, they advanced. As they got closer, T'zarek's expression shifted. Something was calling to him.
He turned toward the source—then, without hesitation, plunged his hand deep into the ground.
"What the hell are you doing?" Vek'tal barked.
But before either of them could stop him, T'zarek's molten eyes widened in shock. His veins bulged, dark and swollen, as something foreign surged through his body.
"ARRRGH!!!" he screamed, voice raw with agony.
The ground around him erupted into jagged spikes, forcing Draeven and Vek'tal to leap back.
"T'zarek!" Draeven called out. "What's wrong!?"
But T'zarek couldn't answer—he was too far gone. The energy pouring into him was wild, unrelenting, flooding every nerve like a tsunami. It twisted through him, wrapped around his core, merged with it.
The earthen spires crumbled into dust, revealing a changed T'zarek. His obsidian skin had taken on a brownish hue. His frame looked heavier, denser—stronger.
"You alright, T'zarek?" Vek'tal asked, voice cautious.
"I… I'm fine," T'zarek replied, disbelief in his tone as he stared at his hands. But he wasn't focused on the change in color—he felt it. A new strength coursing through him.
Then, with nothing but a thought, dust gathered around his hands, pulling together and shaping itself into twin daggers of sculpted earth.
"Is that your living weapon?" Draeven asked, eyes narrowing. "Only Ashborn can make those."
"No, that's different," Vek'tal said after a beat, studying the weapons. "There's no flame.. If anything… it feels like it's bound to the earth itself. Draeven—doesn't this feel like the power that beast had?"
"Yes," Draeven said sharply, his mind snapping into place. "No wonder that one was stronger. It must've absorbed a relic from the ruin."
His eyes turned wary as he looked back at T'zarek. "Can you hide your skin color? If the Magus sees that, he probably going to come after you."
It was obvious now—the relic had bound itself to T'zarek. And if the Magus caught wind of it, there's huge possiblity. He'd kill T'zarek and rip it from his corpse.
That confrontation needed to wait. Draeven wanted the Magus and the Traveler to clash first.
T'zarek flexed his hand, testing the connection. He could feel it—feel the earth around him like it was part of him.
He touched the ground. With a whisper of thought, a jagged spike burst upward, launching into the sky.
T'zarek stared at the fading spike, watching as it crumbled mid-air into a shower of pebbles and dust.
He exhaled slowly, still feeling the tremor in his fingertips. His body buzzed with unfamiliar power, the ground itself pulsing beneath his feet like a second heartbeat.
He crouched low, pressed his palm against the earth again.
This time, he didn't rush it. He focused. The soil responded instantly—stones shifted, soil compressed.
A ripple spread out like a wave under a still lake. With a flick of his fingers, a wall of compacted rock surged upward in front of him, solid and sharp-edged.
T'zarek blinked. "It's like the ground listens."
He raised his hand—and the wall split apart, separating into floating stone blades that hovered around him like sentinels.
Vek'tal let out a low whistle. "Seem you become master of Earth Element."
Draeven watched silently, eyes narrowed, arms folded.
T'zarek nodded slowly, sweat beading on his brow. He turned, stretching out both arms—and the stones shifted again.
Twin pillars erupted beside him, followed by a spiral of sharp teeth curling up from the ground like a serpent made of rock.
He clenched his fists—and the serpent shattered into a hail of shards that danced around his body before crashing down into the dirt.
But even as the power settled, T'zarek staggered slightly, one knee dipping as he caught himself.
"You alright?" Draeven asked.
"Yeah… I'm still adapating." he muttered, panting.
"Not surprising," Draeven said. "You weren't born with it. You need time to adapt, so how is it? Can you hide it?"
T'zarek straightened, clenching his jaw. "No! But with this strength maybe I could defeat The Magus"
Vek'tal smirked. "You sure?."
T'zarek grinned back. "Maybe. But I really feel I am far stronger now."
He raised one arm, and the ground behind them rose into a wave, shifting like a tide of stone.
Draeven gave a short nod. "Good. You seem able to use it better than those beasts. But direct confrontation's still off the table.
That leaves us two choices—you split from us, or we head straight to the Traveler."
"If we're at the Traveler's base," he continued, eyes narrowing, "then the Magus will have to reprioritize. He won't risk missing his target."
"Do you know where their base is?" Vek'tal asked, voice tight. He didn't . Splitting up was not an option—not here. Not now.
This place was crawling with unknowns.
What if T'zarek ran into another hellworm? Maybe he could take one. Maybe. But two? Or worse—something stronger.
T'zarek glanced between them. "I'm not leaving. If the Magus wants the relic that bad, he'll come for me. I'd rather we stick together and make him work for it."
"Agreed," Vek'tal said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "We look together. The Traveler's base can't be far. There's gotta be something."
Draeven nodded again. "Then we move."