THE IMPOSSIBLE DANCE AND THE RETURN OF THE GUARDIAN.

The dark snow of the Void spores ceased, but the world left behind was hell. All Resistance bases throughout the valley were being simultaneously besieged by the creatures that had sprung from the corrupted earth. The rune communication messages were a chaos of screams, static, and calls for help that fell silent. No one could help anyone; each soul fought its own battle for survival under the ominous shadow of the black tree.

Asimil's team was no exception. They fought back to back in the center of their ruined base, a circle of light and fury against an endless tide of darkness. Ikel was a walking furnace, every punch incinerating monsters. Luce was a black and gold blur, her kicks and punches shattering corrupted shells. Noelia was turning the ground into a field of ice thorns, slowing the hordes, while Lyra, her face bathed in sweat, wove healing spells and barriers of light to keep them standing.

Asimil moved among them, his green flames acting like a scalpel, eliminating key threats and protecting the flanks.

They were tired, wounded, but they were gaining ground. A strange euphoria, that of the desperate, began to be born in their hearts.

It was then that the sky cried out.

 A shadow fell from the highest roots of the giant tree. It fell, not like a leaf, but like a meteorite, enveloped in an aura of dark energy. It crashed into the center of the battlefield with a thunderous impact that sent friend and foe into the air, creating a smoking crater.

The silence was instantaneous. All the creatures of the Void stopped, recoiling and hissing in fearful submission.

From the center of the crater, a figure slowly rose, dusting off an impeccably elegant suit. He wore pegged pants, two-tone shoes and a tailored jacket over a silk shirt. He wore a gangster-style felt hat cocked arrogantly to one side and a smiling white mask covering the upper half of his face. He was the Second-in-Command of the Empire of the Void.

— Well, well! — he said, his voice was jovial, almost musical. — Sorry to interrupt the party, but the host asked me to liven up the atmosphere a bit. Do you know why skeletons don't fight each other? Because they don't have the body to dance! —

No one laughed. The incongruity of his appearance and his bad jokes in the midst of the massacre was deeply disturbing.

— Phew, what a tough audience — he sighed, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared directly in front of Asimil. — Well, let's start with you, the supposed "receptacle." —

The battle that followed was not a fight; it was a lesson in humiliation. Ikel and Luce charged first. Ikel threw a fiery right, but just as his fist was about to connect, the Second-in-Command disappeared with a subtle pop. He reappeared ten meters away, adjusting his hat.

— Oops, you almost hit me! — he scoffed.

Luce tried a flurry of kicks, but the result was the same. Every blow that connected with the air where he had been was answered with a reappearance elsewhere, sometimes adopting a stylized pop singer-style pose, with one hand on his hat and one foot on tiptoe.

He was untouchable.

— Stop attacking like crazy! — Noelia shouted. — Lyra, an area spell! Get him! — Lyra, with a great effort, created a circle of holy light on the ground that slowed everything inside. Noelia cast an icy blizzard on him. But the villain simply received the first pulse of the spell, disappeared and reappeared outside the area, unharmed.

— Nice try, cutie! But my magic act is better. —

Frustration gripped the team. They looked like children trying to catch smoke. Asimil, with his speed enhanced by a snort from Lyra, was the only one who could almost keep up. He lunged, his dagger seeking an opening, his green fireballs harassing him. But it was failing to do any real damage to him; his attacks were too weak. Luce couldn't connect his powerful blows. Lyra was depleting her mana at an alarming rate, keeping afloat a team that was bleeding to death by a thousand cuts.

— You know, I'm bored — said the Second in Command, his jovial tone disappearing to be replaced by an icy cold — It's time to bring down the curtain. —

He stopped in the center of the field and began to charge energy. The air darkened, and a sphere of pure annihilation began to form over his head. The team prepared for the end.

It was then that the earth roared.

It was not a tremor. It was an order. Massive stone pillars sprouted from the ground all around the base, creating an instant maze. One of the pillars erupted just below the Second-in-Command, disrupting his spell and launching him into the air.

An imposing figure landed heavily in the middle of the battlefield. He wore heavy armor that Asimil recognized instantly, though it was now covered with scars and engraved with new runes of power. It was Sacres.

— SACRES! — shouted Ikel, his eyes wild with disbelief and joy.

— Sorry I'm late — said Sacres, his deep voice the most comforting sound Asimil had heard in weeks. — I had to... take care of some business. —

The Second-in Command landed gracefully, his smile now a grimace of genuine annoyance. — And who are you supposed to be? —

— I'm the wall you're going to crash into — Sacres replied. He tapped the ground with his foot, and a massive shockwave, an area spell, spread across the field.  —You can't dodge what has no escape. —

The dynamics of the battle changed completely. Sacres was not trying to hit the villain. His job was to limit the scenario. With every Seismic Stomp or Gravity Well he launched, he forced the Second-in-Command to teleport to specific, predictable zones.

— NOW! — Sacres roared.

The team, revitalized by hope, understood the strategy. They no longer attacked blindly. They waited for Sacres to create the opening.

Sacres unleashed a shockwave. The villain, taking damage, teleported away, but reappeared right in the path of a blizzard that Noelia had already launched. Slowed by the ice, he tried to move, but Ikel and Luce were already on him, unleashing a barrage of blows that, for the first time, connected with force.

The Second-in-Command screamed in frustration and pain, teleporting wildly. But Sacres had already predicted his next move.

— LYRA! POWER IT UP! — Lyra focused all her remaining energy on Asimil, enveloping him in a golden aura. Asimil, sensing a power he had never had before, channeled his green flames, which burned with the intensity of an emerald sun. Sacres launched a final Gravity Well, trapping the villain for a crucial second.

— THE DANCE IS OVER! — shouted Asimil.

He unleashed a torrent of concentrated emerald fire. The beam of pure energy struck the Second-in-Command full on. His elegant suit disintegrated, his mask shattered, and with a final gasp of disbelief, he dissolved into corrupted powder.

They fell to their knees, panting, victorious. Where the villain had fallen, an artifact was left floating: a sphere of petrified wood and glowing runes, a "Root Key".

Asimil, as the one who delivered the coup de grace, reached out and touched her.

They looked at each other, the team together again, stronger than ever. — Now... — Sacres said, his voice echoing with a final weight. — Let's get this over with. —