System: Daily login!!, jackpot on the first day!!!

"Daddy!"

Kiara shouted, her voice full of joy as she caught sight of Taufik and Akh'sha. Without hesitation, she sprinted toward them, her small feet kicking up dust as she ran.

A tall, shadow-cloaked figure standing nearby narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp and calculating.

"...Who are you?" He asked, his voice cold and almost curious. "She called you 'Daddy'... Are you one of my descendants too? Strange... I sense no trace of my bloodline within you. Be wise. Hand over the girl and-"

Before he could finish, a sudden burst of heat filled the air.

In an instant, Taufik vanished from where he stood, leaving only a flicker of afterimage. He reappeared right in front of the figure, his katana drawn and crackling with fierce, dancing flames... The Fire Form roaring to life.

Taufik's lips curled into a fearless grin.

"Let's talk later," He said, his voice low and dangerous. "For now... Let me beat you up first"

Without waiting for a reply, Taufik slashed downward, his katana blazing with fire.

*Whoosh!*

The blade cut through the figure... Or rather, through nothing.

Taufik's eyes sharpened. His strike had passed cleanly through the shadowy form as if the figure were made of smoke and mist.

*Tch*

Without missing a beat, he twisted his body and unleashed a barrage of slashes, each one faster and fiercer than the last.

The ground split under the force of his attacks, flames roaring around them, yet the shadowy figure remained untouched, unmoving, almost amused.

"Futile," the figure said, voice smooth and chilling. "You cannot harm what does not truly exist... This is my Realm, in here, I'm invisible"

Taufik skidded back, his stance low, katana still burning in his grip.

He grinned wider, the fire in his eyes matching the fire in his blade.

"Heh... That just makes this more interesting"

With a roar, he launched himself forward again.

The figure didn't stay silent.

With a swift, almost lazy wave of his hand, the air grew sharp and cold.

The ground beneath them rumbled, cracks racing out in jagged patterns.

Then.

From the ground beneath them, something rose... An armored warrior, its entire body forged from jagged, gleaming ice.

Frozen mist coiled around it, and each heavy step it took made the very air shiver.

The figure spoke again, his voice dripping with a cold amusement.

"I don't know who you are and how you can enter my Realm... But if you wanted to hinder my resurrection, then... Die!"

With that, the Ice Golem let out a low, grinding roar, lifting a massive frozen sword with one hand.

Its hollow, blue-glowing eyes locked onto Taufik.

Taufik spun his katana once, fire trailing from the blade in a blazing arc.

He cracked his neck, grinning as the heat around him flared even hotter, trying to fight the creeping cold.

"Alright, big guy," He muttered. "Let's dance"

With a blast of flame at his feet, Taufik charged straight toward the towering Ice Golem, ready for round two.

Akh'sha tensed, his instincts screaming to leap into the fight.

The sight of the massive Ice Golem towering over Taufik made his hands itch for action.

But in the midst of the clash, Taufik's voice cut through the chaos, sharp and commanding:

"Don't interfere, Akh'sha!"

"Just guard Kiara there... Let me have a little fun!"

He punctuated his words with a ferocious slash, sending a surge of roaring flame at the golem's legs.

Akh'sha hesitated for a heartbeat; his hands flickered with Mana before clicking her tongue in frustration.

He turned back, positioning himself protectively in front of Kiara, who was peeking nervously from behind him.

"*Tch* Show off," Akh'sha muttered under his breath; he also wanted to show his cool side to his niece, though a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Meanwhile, Taufik danced around the Ice Golem's heavy strikes, his body a blur of motion and flame.

Every swing of his katana carved brilliant arcs of fire in the air, trying to melt the monstrous thing piece by piece... But this golem wasn't just made of ordinary ice.

Its body regenerated, the wounds fusing over almost instantly, leaving behind only faint scorch marks.

And still, from the sidelines, the shadowy figure watched, arms folded, his unreadable gaze fixed on the battle.

Realizing that if this continued it would be a never-ending battle, Taufik clicked his tongue in annoyance and pushed back, creating distance between him and the towering golem.

"...I hate battles like this the most..." Taufik muttered, spinning his katana once before slamming it deep into the ground.

The ground beneath trembled.

From the point where his blade pierced the ground or whatever it was, darkness began to spread like cracks in shattered glass, veins of pure nightmare crawling outward, tainting the land underfoot.

The shadow-cloaked figure's eyes narrowed, a flicker of surprise breaking his stoic demeanor.

Taufik looked up at him, a fierce grin splitting across his face.

"You're not the only one with an army," He said, his voice like a low growl of thunder.

"Come..."

His voice echoed unnaturally, resonating with the growing shadows.

"My shadows... Answer your Master's call"

From the spreading darkness, figures began to rise.

One after another, humanoid shapes, a crawling nightmare, a beast with a shape that is hard to describe, and many more, all of them formed from pure shadow, their bodies flickering like smoke and flame.

Each one stood silently, their heads bowed in reverence, awaiting Taufik's command.

The battlefield, once cold and empty, was now filled with an ominous army, ready to drown everything in darkness.

"...Advance"

Taufik's voice was calm, almost casual, yet it carried a weight that shook the very shadows.

At once, the Shadow Troops surged forward, an unstoppable tide of darkness clashing against the Ice Golem army.

The sounds of cracking ice and shattering stone filled the battlefield, as shadowy blades and frozen fists collided in a furious, chaotic dance.

Seizing the moment, Taufik's eyes gleamed.

Without hesitation, he ripped his katana from the ground, the flames of the Fire Form reigniting with a fierce roar.

Using the confusion as cover, he vanished, moving faster than the eye could follow, cutting through the air like a streak of fire.

He reappeared right in front of the shadowy figure, his katana swinging in a deadly arc, aiming straight for the enemy's neck.

But.

*Swoosh!*

The blade passed through harmlessly, slicing nothing but mist.

The figure's form wavered, untouched, as if he were merely an illusion-given life.

The shadow-cloaked figure let out a low, amused chuckle.

"Futile," he said, his voice both near and far at once.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you cannot cut what does not truly exist"

Taufik clicked his tongue again, backflipping away to regain his stance, landing lightly on his feet.

"*Tch* Figures you'd be annoying to deal with," He muttered, adjusting his grip on the katana.

The flames on Taufik's Katana dimmed, flickering out like the last breath of a dying fire.

Seeing this, the shadowy figure let out a mocking chuckle, his voice dripping with condescension.

"... Have you realized that you can't beat me? Then I'll give you a chance... Surrender, hand over the girl, and get out of here," He said, raising a hand as if offering mercy.

But Taufik only smirked, his eyes burning brighter than ever.

"...Surrender?" He repeated, his voice low and filled with steel. "That's not in my dictionary"

He lowered his stance, and in the next heartbeat, his katana blazed, not with fire, but with pure, blinding light.

The once-fiery blade now gleamed like a shard of the sun, radiating a sacred, untouchable brilliance.

'...Light Form!'

Taufik's aura shifted, calm yet overwhelming, like the inevitable break of dawn piercing the deepest night.

"If I can't cut what doesn't exist," Taufik said, his voice steady, "Then I'll cut what I can see"

With a sudden step forward, the ground cracked beneath his feet from the force of his movement.

The light of his katana extended, forming a blade of pure radiance longer than the sword itself, a weapon made to purge anything in mind.

The figure's confident smile twitched slightly.

For the first time, he sensed it... Danger.

The figure's instinct screamed louder than any thought... If Taufik's strike landed, it would be his end.

With a furious roar, the figure unleashed his power, and the entire realm trembled violently.

The ground cracked, the sky twisted, and even the shadows and ice shuddered.

Taufik's Katana, mid-swing, froze in place.

It wasn't hesitation.

It wasn't fear.

It was as if time itself had been seized, crushed under some invisible weight.

Time seemed to be frozen...

And then the heartbeat echoed.

*BA-THUMP*

The sound was too loud, too heavy, not something from any living being.

It was ancient.

It was monstrous.

Taufik gritted his teeth, his katana vibrating in his hand. His body screamed to move, but the space around him refused.

*BA-THUMP*

Another beat, this time making the very air ripple like a disturbed lake.

From deep beneath, far below where the soles of the feet step, from the cracks that had formed earlier, something stirred.

Something vast.

Something foul.

Something... Awakening.

The figure, still cloaked in shadows, laughed, a harsh, broken sound filled with both relief and madness.

"... I don't want to do it like this, but you forced my hand," He spat. "Now, witness true despair... You and your little girl will be nothing but offerings"

Taufik's eyes narrowed.

He could feel it too.

A presence, slowly climbing up from the depths.

And it was hungry.

The figure's body dissolved into mist, slipping away like smoke caught in a storm, drawn downward, into the crack.

Into the darkness.

For a moment, there was silence.

A stillness so sharp it almost hurt to breathe.

Then...

*ROOOAAARRR!!!*

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