The two Lifeweavers reached into each other's mana channels as they clashed. Rather than run up against each other and battle it out in some epic struggle of willpower and strength, they both gained instant access. Luke flexed, attempting to push Relian out, but found that he could not. Not wasting a moment focusing on defense, he tore into Relian's mana channels at the same time, slicing and stabbing, wrapping threads around his meta-heart and the corruption in Tim's body.

  Before he had a chance to cut through anything vital, Luke's arm fell limp to his side, and an orc rushed in, weapon raised. Catching a glimpse of the attack, he managed to divert the blow to the side with another thread. Healing himself, Luke went on the offensive, even as he felt Relian's threads worm their way into his heart and brain. A searing pain in his eyes left him stumbling, blind. A second thread had gone for his throat, but a barrier blocked it. Even as he took damage, Luke dished it out at the same time, slicing into Relian's aorta, puncturing lungs, and ramming Needle of Life right into the base of his opponent's neck, into the spine.

  Healing and hurting, hurting and healing, the two stood locked in combat while orcs and Integrated battled around them. Luke healed his own eyes and lashed out with a thread to slice Relian's throat. A ghostly wolf leaped in all of a sudden, closing its large jaw around Relian's neck, and an arrow followed, striking the side of his head, but the wolf disappeared as quickly as it'd appeared, and the arrow fell away, the wound it left closing faster than what Luke could've managed.

  Pain wracked Luke's body, but he kept going, kept pushing. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, the exchange, but during every moment of it, he kept wondering if it was time to use The Healer's Moment. If he used it and Relian lived through it, Luke would lose, but the reverse was true as well. Thing was, Luke wasn't sure he'd survive. Still, it wasn't time. Not yet. Not for what Luke had planned.

  Martin appeared above Relian's shoulder and Luke could only watch as the Phase Blade fell into two pieces, separated at the waist. Even as he fell, he buried a blade into The Fallen Shepherd's back, but it didn't even seem to hurt. Of course it didn't. Luke could dull pain. Relian was capable of doing the same.

  The inkling at the back of his head from before grew stronger. With it, the attention from the void-creature grew. It watched with rapt attention as Luke's leg fell away. If not for the cut mana channels, he wouldn't even have noticed it. There was no pain, no nothing. Reconnecting the limb as he tumbled to the side, Luke pushed himself back up with a thread, killed another orc that tried to stab him with a spear, then set his foot and swung a fist into the side of Relian's head, cracking the zygomatic bone. Pain shot up his knuckles as Luke followed through, pushing as he twisted his hip in. A soothing wave of something ran up his spine, and his health bar ticked upwards. Healing. Cass. Damn, but it felt good.

  After fighting with nothing but Lifeweaver skills, the physical force took The Fallen Shepherd by surprise, judging by the way his eyes widened. Luke seized the moment. He stepped in even as he healed a myriad of injuries brought about by their fight, injuries that would have killed most men within minutes, and that Cass's healing staunched, but didn't heal right away. A speck of something appeared in an orc's shadow, and Luke recognized it.

  The Healer's Moment froze everything and everyone. Everything except for that speck. It grew. Faster and faster, it approached. Soon, it covered the entire orc's shadow. Luke readied himself, reaching out with as many threads of mana as he could muster. The creature inside the shadow bulged outward and froze, caught in Luke's skill. In the distance, from beyond the weave, the void creature watched as Luke flexed and pushed for all he was worth just as The Healer's Moment ended.

  Relian crashed backwards, pushed off his feet as sound and movement returned, and the approaching speck left the orc's shadow and emerged in the middle of the raging battle.

  The Deep Dweller had returned. It crashed right into Relian, growing in size until it swallowed several orcs and almost reached the fallen Martin, who Luke reached for without taking his eyes off what he hoped would be a battle for the ages.

  Healing the Phase Blade, Luke was not disappointed by the display before him. Tentacles of shadows lashed out and wrapped themselves around The Fallen Shepherd, a thousand mouths and eyes opening along each of the monster’s long limbs. Relian screamed either in fear or in frustration. Luke couldn't tell. Tentacles fell to the ground, dissolved, and regrew an instant later. Taken by surprise, one monster was overwhelming the other. With Relian on the back foot and many of the orcs fleeing the moment they laid eyes on The Deep Dweller, the group pressed their advantage, destroying the remaining forces.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The Deep Dweller shattered into a million pieces of shadow but came together again an instant later and tore Relian's left arm off, absorbing it into itself. The Fallen Shepherd used Threads of Mana to push himself back as Weaver's Renewal restored the arm. Tentacles of shadows followed, grasping for Relian, and caught him in another embrace. In the blink of an eye, Luke's vision went spinning, and his limbs lost all sensation.

  Everything began to shake, and Luke found himself twisting, pieces of himself coming together with those of Martin and everyone else as The Fallen Shepherd, having used The Healer's Moment, had remodeled their flesh into a form he knew very well. That of a Flesh Golem.

  Linda: "WHAT IS THIS?"

  Cass: "HELP."

  Curtis appeared in Luke's vision, charging toward Relian, pieces of him reforming from darkness pulled from the Flesh Golem. The Reaver had grown strong enough to reclaim his own body.

  Martin: "This is one of The Fallen Shepherd's abilities. Keep calm, everyone."

  Greg: "It is unpleasant."

  Rolf: "Unpleasant? UNPLEASANT? SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!"

  Martin: "Luke?"

  As The Deep Dweller caught up with Relian and punched a spear of shadow through his chest, Curtis cut through a leg before The Fallen Shepherd used Weavestep to get away. Luke let his consciousness drift inward. Weaver’s Perception showed a network of mana channels wrapping the pieces of them all together, with each person's meta-heart serving as some sort of anchor point keeping it all together.

  Somewhere in the distance, he felt the DIA Integrated, those who still lived, approaching.

  Luke's own meta-heart served as the centralmost point of power, to which everyone else connected. It was easy to see why. It was far stronger than everyone else's. The Flesh Golem Relian created took a stumbling step forward and swung, a massive arm made out of legs and hands swept from left to right, crashing into Curtis, who, taken by surprise, dropped his sword and crashed to the side, flying low near the ground, bouncing off the grass, limbs flailing.

  The golem took a step toward The Deep Dweller, then another.

  Martin: "Luke?!"

  Cass: "It feels like I'm drifting away."

  Linda: "I don't like this, I don't like this, I don't like this."

  Greg: "Almost like falling asleep. I think it's nice."

  Laura: "Greg, I swear to God."

  Luke ignored them all as he worked, mapping the pieces, finding himself in the mess. Each person's mana channels differed from the others, so it wasn't difficult to pinpoint what pieces belonged to himself. A strange calm settled over him, and he thought back to being a kid working through puzzles with his sister, trying to find the right piece to complete a clear blue sky or a sprawling jungle.

  The Flesh Golem stepped toward The Deep Dweller and struck out. It reeled back, releasing Relian, who took the opportunity to heal. Before the golem could attack again, Luke made his move. Eight threads of mana cut the monster apart in key places, and they all tumbled to the ground. From there, it was just about reassembling himself. Piece by piece, Luke pulled himself together with threads of mana, working with a feverish obsession until he was whole. It took far longer than he'd wished, and the concentration it took was beyond working a mere puzzle but, in the end, he got it done.

  Luke: "I'm sorry, but there isn't enough time. I'll be back for you."

  Ignoring the many messages cursing him out, Luke got to his feet and, blushing, pulled on his discarded underwear. No longer naked, he rushed toward Relian. His hope that The Deep Dweller would be enough on its own had proven wrong. As he ran, he sent messages to Hannah, trying to get a sense of where she was. Weaver's Perception trembled when the monster appeared, and it was as if Hannah was in there too, somehow. At one moment, it was almost like she was standing right in front of him, but then a moment later, she was almost gone, drowned out by the monster.

  That was a problem for later. Now, Relian needed dealing with. Skirting around The Deep Dweller to make sure he didn't fall into its shadowy form, Luke crept closer to Relian, who was bleeding in several places, one of his arms gone from the elbow and down, and part of his skull bulging inward. Even with all that, the look on his face didn't show fear or anger, just irritation.

  Unsure what to make of it, Luke moved closer and closer until The Fallen Shepherd was within reach. This was it. Luke's moment.

  He sprang up and leapt into action, threads of mana spreading out before him, reaching for Relian.