Ether: Pulse of the Forgotten

The forest had fallen silent, save for the steady pounding of hearts and the soft rustling of leaves. The mission had been going smoothly, until now.

The ground rumbled beneath them, a low growl reverberating through the earth. Then, with a snap of branches, the Thunderbeast emerged from the shadows.

The creature's hulking form was almost mythic, like a nightmare pulled straight from the heart of the forest. Standing nearly eight feet tall, it loomed over the clearing with a terrifying presence, every inch of its massive frame layered in thick, jagged armor that looked more like fractured stone than flesh. Cracks split across its body, faint pulses of light flickering beneath the surface as if something dangerous was barely being held inside. Its eyes burned with an unnatural glow—wild, electric, and alive with something that didn't belong in this world. The air around it buzzed, heavy with static, each breath it exhaled crackling like a storm ready to break loose. Electricity laced its broad shoulders and ran down its limbs in thin, flickering lines, lighting up the creature like veins of lightning trapped under skin. And when it moved, the ground felt it—deep, rumbling tremors with every step, as if the earth itself struggled to hold the weight of something so powerful.

The group froze, caught in a moment of stunned silence, their bodies still tense from the last fight, muscles aching and breath uneven. They hadn't even had time to shake off the adrenaline from the boar-like monster that nearly tore them apart, and now this—something bigger, meaner, impossible. For a beat, no one moved, like the sheer size of it drained the air from their lungs. Then Derek's voice cut through the shock, sharp and urgent. "Take cover! Now!"

But there was no time to evade. The Thunderbeast surged forward with terrifying speed.

Nows as good time as any to introduce the rest of the party right?

Derek reacted first, raising his massive axe without hesitation. He was always the one to meet danger head-on, the group's other Warrior through and through. With a sharp yell, he charged, swinging the weapon in a wide, powerful arc. The blade slammed against the Thunderbeast's armored plating with a metallic clang, but the strike barely left a scratch. The creature didn't even flinch. Instead, it just shaked it off, unleashing a surge of electric energy that rippled through the air, making the ground tremble and the space around them hum with static.

Then the Thunderbeast roared, the sound splitting through the air, and with it came a pulse of electricity that rippled out like a shockwave. Static clung to their skin. Every hair stood on end. And the fight was only just starting.

Kai didn't hesitate. His mind worked quickly, focusing on the fight. He darted forward, eyes flashing silver, fists clenched. The beast was fast, but his own movements were quicker. He moved with fluid precision, closing the distance between himself and the creature. Without thinking, he threw a quick strike aimed for its exposed side, only to watch in disbelief as his punch barely left a mark.

"Damn!" Kai grunted, stepping back. The beast's thick hide absorbed the blow. It was far stronger than he had anticipated.

Sasha fired an arrow, but it ricocheted off the beast's armor without making a dent. "It's too tough!" she shouted, her voice tinged with frustration.

Isabella raised her staff, the tip glowing as she hastily whispered the words of a protective spell. Light flared to life, forming a shimmering barrier that wrapped around the group like a thin veil of glass. But it barely had time to settle before the Thunderbeast reared back, its body crackling with power. In the next instant, a violent wave of electric energy erupted outward, slamming into the shield with a burst of blinding light, shattering it almost as quickly as it had formed.

The blast hit Derek first. He was sent flying back, slamming into a tree with a sickening crack. His body crumpled to the ground, motionless.

Survivor Count: 1146

"Derek!" Isabella screamed, but there was no time to grieve. The Thunderbeast was relentless. It howled in anger, charging again, its massive paws slamming into the ground with enough force to crack the earth.

In the chaos, Jason broke from the group, twin short swords flashing as he sprinted toward the Thunderbeast. A melee Ranger, always bold, always thinking speed could outmatch strength. He weaved between the creature's steps, aiming low, driving his blades toward the joints beneath its armor. For a second, it looked like he might land the hit—might actually pull it off.

But the Thunderbeast moved like a storm breaking loose.

A single clawed swipe came crashing down, faster than anyone could shout a warning. It tore across Jason's chest with a sickening crack, the force lifting him clean off the ground. He flew backward, limbs limp, crashing into the dirt with a heavy, final thud.

For a heartbeat, no one breathed.

And just like that, Jason—the fastest among them—was gone.

Survivor Count: 1144

Jason's lifeless body hit the ground with a dull thud.

"Focus!" Kai yelled, his voice hoarse. He wasn't sure if anyone was listening, but he couldn't stop. They couldn't stop.

The Thunderbeast was getting more aggressive. It was like nothing they had faced before. Kai's chest burned with exertion, and his mind raced, trying to calculate the best way to defeat it. He could feel the ether around him, but it was disorienting, overwhelming. The energy flowed through him, but it wasn't like the controlled precision he was used to.

Isabella's voice rose above the chaos, her staff trembling in her hands as she chanted, desperate to heal the wounded scattered around her. Light bloomed at her fingertips, but it was too slow, too fragile against something like this.

She never saw the Thunderbeast coming.

In a blur of muscle and crackling energy, it lunged, jaws snapping shut around her arm with a sickening crunch. Her scream tore through the air, raw and sharp, as the beast lifted her effortlessly, thrashing her like a toy caught in its teeth. Bones shattered. The glow of her spell flickered and died.

And then, just as easily, it tossed her aside—her body hitting the ground with a dull, lifeless thud.

Another mage. Another loss. And the fight had barely begun.

Survivor Count: 1142

Isabella was gone.

Kai's heart skipped a beat, but there was no time to mourn. The creature was still standing, still roaring in defiance.

It wasn't until Kai caught sight of Sasha and Talia moving in—faces pale but eyes locked, weapons gripped tight—that the fog in his mind finally broke. They were still fighting. They had to. There was no other option but to survive.

Talia struck first, her dagger flashing like silver lightning in the dim, flickering glow of Isabella's last spell. Blood trailed down her temple from a cut she hadn't even noticed, but she didn't slow. She darted low, aiming for the soft gap beneath the Thunderbeast's throat, her blade carving a desperate arc. But the creature was faster. With a guttural snarl, it swiped her mid-stride. The impact cracked out like a tree snapping in half, sending her skidding across the dirt in a smear of dust and red.

Still, Talia groaned, dragging herself up on shaking arms. Her breaths came ragged, and blood dripped from her split lip, but she forced herself back to her feet. She wasn't done. Not yet.

"Stay back!" Kai barked, his fists tightening until his knuckles went bone-white. He'd thought his strength could carry them through this. He was wrong. This wasn't a fight any of them could handle alone.

They had to move as one.

Sasha didn't wait for a plan. She loosed an arrow the moment Talia regained her footing, aiming high and true. The shot sliced through the air and buried deep into the Thunderbeast's eye with a sickening shlk. It roared in fury, shaking its massive head, blood streaming down its face in thick, black streaks—but it didn't fall.

Kai saw his chance. Heart pounding, he surged forward, planting his feet and launching a full-force blow into the beast's exposed belly. His fist connected with a solid crack, but it felt like punching stone. The beast barely staggered.

Then came the backlash.

The Thunderbeast's body arched, electricity rippling out in a violent, blinding wave. The shock hit like a hammer to the chest. Kai felt himself lift off the ground before slamming back down, his ears ringing and his skin burning from the surge.

Talia wasn't as lucky. The blast threw her hard into the rocks at the edge of the clearing. Her head struck with a dull, sickening thud, and she crumpled, motionless. Blood pooled beneath her, seeping from a gash along her scalp, but her chest still rose and fell, shallow but steady.

Unconscious. Still breathing.

But barely.

And the Thunderbeast was still standing.

Kai barely registered the burning in his chest as he forced himself to his feet, lungs aching and muscles trembling from the last blast. There wasn't time to feel pain. Not with that thing still standing. The clearing was chaos—shouts, the twang of Sasha's bow, the crackle of Isabella's last fading spell still hanging in the air like smoke. They were running on fumes, every one of them bruised, bloodied, barely holding together. But stopping wasn't an option.

The Thunderbeast barreled through their formation, its massive claws carving the air inches from Kai's head as he ducked just in time, feeling the wind of the strike graze his back. Behind him, Sasha barely rolled away from a stomp that split the earth where she'd just been standing. Her arm was bleeding, deep and dark, but her grip on her bow never wavered.

"Left side!" Kai shouted, voice hoarse.

Sasha answered with another arrow, loosed without hesitation. It tore into the beast's undamaged eye socket, sinking deep. The Thunderbeast howled, thrashing wildly, bolts of electricity firing off its body in wild bursts. One stray arc caught Kai's shoulder, searing through fabric and flesh alike. His teeth clenched through the pain. He didn't back down.

This was it.

As the beast staggered, blinded and frenzied, Kai saw the opening. Just for a second. But it was enough.

He surged forward, every part of him screaming, feet pounding against the dirt as he closed the distance. His right hand pulsed with raw power—ether coiling at his palm, invisible but there, vibrating through his bones. The Force Palm wasn't perfect yet. Wasn't clean. But it would have to do.

Kai planted his back foot, pivoted his hips, and launched his palm straight into the side of the Thunderbeast's skull.

The impact echoed like a cannon, a low, thunderous boom that rippled through the creature's head. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the force erupted inward, folding the beast's massive body sideways as its legs buckled beneath it.

With a final, broken roar, the Thunderbeast collapsed to the ground, the weight of it shaking the forest floor.

[You have slain Stormhide Thunderbeast – Level 12.]

Silence followed—ragged breaths, the crackling of dying static in the air, the distant drip of blood hitting dirt.

Kai stood over the body, chest heaving, hand still glowing faintly from the strike.

"Finally," he muttered, staggering back as the adrenaline drained from his limbs.

They'd survived. Barely.

Post-Battle

The group was silent, their bodies bruised and battered from the fight. The Thunderbeast was dead, but the cost had been high. The air was thick with the smell of blood, and the weight of their losses hung heavily in the clearing.

"Is everyone alright?" Kai asked, his voice hoarse. He was met with silence.

He didn't need to ask, though. He could feel the loss.

"Damn…" Sasha whispered, looking around at their fallen comrades. "They gave everything."

Survivor Count: 1140

Kai looked down at the fallen bodies of Isabella, Derek, and Jason. Three lives. Gone in an instant. There would be no coming back for them. No second chances. Just silence and the cold, unforgiving finality of it all.

As the last of the adrenaline bled from his system, the weight of it hit him hard. They had fought like hell—together, side by side—but it hadn't been enough. The Thunderbeast was stronger than any of them expected, and they'd paid the price for that mistake.

The days that followed passed in a haze of exhaustion and quiet grief. They buried the dead. They patched their wounds. They kept moving, because the world didn't care about their pain. Out here, you either carried the weight or it crushed you.

Talia finally woke up on the third day. Groggy, pale, and stiff, but alive. We patched her up as best we could—wrapped her ribs, sealed the worst of the cuts—but she still winced every time she shifted. Even so, there was a fire in her eyes.

"How long was I out?" she croaked, already trying to sit up.

"Long enough," Kai said, offering her a hand. "But don't push it. You're not healed yet."

Talia smirked weakly, brushing the hair from her bruised face. "Doesn't mean I'm useless."

Kai almost smiled. Even after everything, even after the blood and loss, that stubborn will to fight was still there. Maybe that's what survival looked like now—tired, broken, but refusing to quit.

Kai sat by the fire, his gaze locked on the slow dance of flames, but his mind was somewhere far beyond them. His knuckles were still raw from the fight, crusted with dried blood, and every inch of his body ached. But none of it compared to the weight pressing on his chest. Their team felt emptier with every hour that passed, and Kai couldn't shake the thought that this was only the beginning.

The survivor count dropped again that night.

Survivor Count: 1084

Kai barely looked at the number anymore. It felt meaningless. Just digits ticking down, reminding them how small their chances were.