The cage is closing in. The dark energy walls are getting closer, the space getting smaller. Tara is trapped. The storage counter: 6.5M units.

  He can't stay here. He can't let Tejran capture him again. He's been bound once, drained of his energy. He won't let it happen again.

  But how? The cage is strong.

  Tara tries to dash, but the cage is surrounding him, trapping him. He can't escape.

  The cage closes in completely, the walls pressing against him, holding him tight.

  Behind him, he can sense Tejran approaching, the dark magic binding him, the spells holding him in place.

  Tejran steps forward, his eyes gleaming with triumph, his fingers twitching slightly, his lips curling into a vicious smile. "Got you," Tejran says, his voice cold. "Finally. You're mine again."

  But then, Tejran's smile fades as he notices an abnormality. He turns to his right, but it's too late.

  A massive wave of pure energy erupts from the trees, aimed directly at Tejran. He senses it at the last moment, his eyes widening, his hands moving, dark magic swirling, trying to form a barrier. But it is too late. The barrier is only half-formed, incomplete, weak.

  The blast collides with the incomplete barrier. The barrier shatters, and the energy hits him squarely, throwing him back, burning through his robes, searing his flesh. He cries out, stumbling backward, his form wavering. Dark energy crackles around him as he struggles to maintain his composure. His grip on the cage weakens, his concentration flickering, broken by the pain.

  Clone 2 emerges from the trees, hidden no longer. Tara had split into clones earlier, before the fight even began. Clone 1 fights Tejran, Clone 2 stays hidden, ready to help. And now, with Tejran's guard down, with his attention focused on the trapped Clone 1, Clone 2 has struck.

  Clone 1 feels the cage weaken, feels Tejran's grip falter. This is its chance. It dashes against the dark energy walls, and they give way, breaking apart as Tejran's concentration breaks. Clone 1 is free.

  He staggers, struggling to regain his balance. His robes are torn, dark energy still crackling around the wounds. His eyes narrow, burning with fury and pain. "You split yourself," he says, his voice strained. "You had the clone waiting. I was careless, unprepared. Or the likes of you wouldn't be able to touch my shadow!"

  But internally, he is shocked at the talent of this artifact. "This is an artifact that can learn new skills. Dash, Energy Blast, and now Fission, probably gained by defeating Xyl'tharoth. What an incredible existence. I need to take this seriously or I could actually die here." Tejran thinks.

  "This was my plan B," Tara thinks. "With this 10M blast, I was hoping to take twitchy out. It wasn't nearly enough. Looks like we will have to fight harder. It's also quite hard to coordinate the clones simultaneously."

  **CLONE 1:**

  - **m:** 16

  - **v:** 24

  - **Energy Generated:** 4,608 units per second

  - **Energy Stored:** 6.5M units

  **CLONE 2:**

  - **m:** 16

  - **v:** 24

  - **Energy Generated:** 4,608 units per second

  - **Energy Stored:** 7M units

  His hands move, but the earlier attack seems to have taken a toll on him, and he is slower now. Dark magic swirls, spells forming. Dark bolts shoot forward, aimed at both clones simultaneously.

  Clone 1 dashes, vanishing from its position, appearing 15 meters to the left. Clone 2 dashes, appearing 15 meters to the right. Both clones have Dash at Level 2, upgraded during the earlier fight.

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  His bolts hit empty air. Before he can react, Clone 1 fires a 1M-energy-blast from the left. Clone 2 fires another 2M-energy-blast from the right. Two attacks, from different angles.

  He raises barriers frantically, dark energy swirling, trying to defend from both sides. The attacks hit, overwhelming his defenses. The barriers crack, strain, barely holding.

  He spins, more barriers forming, dark magic swirling. He's fighting two opponents at once. Every attack he makes, they try to anticipate. Every defense he raises, they try to find a weakness.

  "They always dash the same distance, and they move opposite to each other," Tejran thinks. "If Clone 1 dashes behind me, Clone 2 will dash to the front. I can predict this. I'll attack at the predicted landing point."

  Clone 1 dashes again, appearing 15 meters behind Tejran.

  Clone 2 dashes, but instead of appearing 15 meters to the front, it collides with a tree. *Thump.*

  "Ow," Tara thinks, as Clone 2 stumbles backward, shaking its head. "I miscalculated the path again."

  Tejran's dark bolt shoots toward the predicted landing point—15 meters to the front—but hits empty air.

  He is surprised, but there is no time for that as Clone 1 fires a 1M-energy-blast from behind. He spins, raising a barrier, but Clone 2 recovers just in time to fire its own 2M-energy-blast.

  He staggers back as Clone 2's attack hits the weaker side of his barrier, his expression a mix of frustration and disbelief. "I have been outsmarted," he mutters. "I never expected you to predict my prediction."

  He looks at the two clones, his expression darkening.

  "If this continues, it will be bad for me. Moreover, the other clone seems to have more energy. It's hard to get an appraisal when they are moving so much and I have to focus on both of them. Still, I can't be defeated by a pyramid. Never!"

  "You're stronger than I anticipated," he says, his voice low. "You've forced my hand."

  He creates a barrier and then reaches into his robes, pulling out a small vial filled with a dark, viscous liquid that seems to pulse with malevolent energy. He holds it up, his eyes cold.

  Without hesitation, he uncorks it and drinks it down in one gulp.

  Something changes. The air around him shifts, dark energy swirling more intensely, his presence growing stronger, more dangerous.

  His form begins to shift, dark energy coursing through him, his body contorting. But he isn't done. He reaches into his robes again, pulling out a scroll—ancient, tattered, covered in dark runes that pulse with malevolent energy.

  "Uh oh," Tara thinks, "I am running out of energy and this guy looks like he is getting ready for round 2."

  Tara attacks him from both sides, but the barrier saves him this time.

  He unrolls the scroll, dark magic flowing from it, forming into a massive summoning circle on the ground. The air crackles with dark energy, the forest around them growing darker, colder, more oppressive.

  From the circle, something begins to emerge. A creature of nightmare—a massive, twisted form with multiple limbs, each ending in razor-sharp claws. Its body is covered in dark, chitinous plates that seem to shift and move. Multiple eyes, glowing with dark fire, stare out from a head that is more nightmare than reality. Its mouth is a gaping maw filled with rows of needle-like teeth, and from its back sprout tattered, bat-like wings that seem to absorb light itself.

  But he isn't summoning it to fight alongside him. He is merging with it.

  He steps into the circle, his form beginning to merge with the creature. Dark energy wraps around both, binding them together, fusing them into something new, something terrifying. His human form twists, stretches, merges with the demonic creature. His robes become part of the creature's chitinous hide. His staff fuses with one of its limbs, becoming a weapon of dark magic.

  The result is a horrifying fusion—a creature that stands twice the height of a man, with Tejran's face visible on its chest, his eyes burning with dark magic. The creature's multiple limbs move independently, each capable of casting spells or tearing apart enemies. Dark energy crackles around it, and the very air seems to warp in its presence.

  "Now," the merged creature says, its voice a mix of Tejran's voice and something else, something ancient and malevolent. "Embrace your doom, you lowly object!"