SWNOVELXO Chapter 6: Resolve
The moment Aminah charged, Raiyan knew something was wrong.
She shouldn't have been on the front lines. She was a mage—quick, clever, devastating from range. But whatever the Shadow was doing—whatever illusion of humanity it had worn—it had shattered the moment Max fell. And now it was showing its true form.
Aminah shouted, flames gathering at the tip of her staff, hurling a searing bolt directly toward the creature's chest.
But the Shadow didn't even flinch.
Its body twisted unnaturally, and from what looked like a shoulder grew a jagged, glimmering black claw—stretching and growing mid-air as if born from smoke.
It slashed.
A sound like tearing silk followed by a short, choked cry.
The claw tore straight through Aminah's upper arm, blood splashing across the forest floor. She fell backward, tumbling awkwardly in the dirt, her staff clattering beside her.
"Aminah!" Felix's voice cracked, louder and more desperate than Raiyan had ever heard it.
He raised both hands, glowing symbols flaring to life across his skin. A gust of wind magic pushed Aminah's body away from the next incoming claw. Another flash of green light swept over her wound as Felix dashed in, panting, to begin healing.
But Raiyan barely noticed.
He was staring at the Shadow.
And the Shadow was staring back.
It didn't blink. Its face was all wrong. The flesh rippled—too smooth, too fluid, like ink floating in water. Its grin remained stretched impossibly wide, eyes glowing like dying stars: one blue, one violet.
And it was growing.
Not just in form—its body extending, distorting, sprouting extra limbs and spines—but in presence. The air felt heavier now. The moonlight couldn't pierce the shadows it cast. Even the trees seemed to lean away.
A deep, cold voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere all at once.
"Poor little heroes. So loud when confident. So fragile when truth returns."
Raiyan stood frozen.
His grip on the sword was numb. He couldn't feel his hands.
This isn't something I can fight.
This isn't something I was meant to fight.
He looked at his teammates—Felix kneeling beside Aminah, eyes darting between her injury and the monster in front of them. Neither of them was ready. Neither of them could move if it came at them again.
And he… He was the only one still standing.
But he couldn't move.
He wanted to run.
Again.
"Raiyan!" Felix's voice rose, cutting through the dread. "Do something!You're the sword! You're our front!"
Raiyan's mouth was dry. His body screamed no. Every instinct cried out for him to turn, to flee into the trees, to survive.
But another sound pushed into his head.
"Stop running away from your problems, you home wrecker."
A memory. Shattered. Vivid.
A woman's face—furious, broken. A door slamming. A goodbye he never had the courage to answer.
Then another voice.
Gentler. Wistful.
"If you face away from the world, the world faces away from you."
Her voice.
Someone he couldn't save. Someone who had smiled at him through tears.
Raiyan's throat tightened.
He clenched the sword tighter in both hands, knuckles white.
"I don't want to die," he whispered. "But… I don't want to run anymore."
> ❖ SYSTEM MESSAGE
> Combat Potential Detected
> Temporary Upgrade Approved
>
> Swordsmanship Skill Advanced: Rank II Unicus
>
> Attributes Boosted: Strength, Speed, Reflexes, Mana Conductivity
No Magic Element Unlocked
It hit him like a jolt—his muscles suddenly alive with tension, breath sharper, clearer. His body moved easier, lighter. The blade in his hands felt different—less like cold steel, more like an extension of his own thoughts.
He stepped forward, slowly, eyes fixed on the monster.
The Shadow tilted its head, watching him approach like a curious beast watching a wounded prey attempt to bare its fangs.
"Do you think that will help you?" it asked. Its voice was made of echoes. "Do you think you can hurt me?"
Raiyan didn't answer.
He ran forward.
His boots tore against the grass, the sword raised. Lightning didn't crackle from it—not yet—but he moved with speed and clarity far beyond what he had before.
His blade came down hard.
The Shadow twisted at the last moment, but not fast enough—Raiyan's slash tore across its shoulder, sending void matter spraying into the air. It hissed, the shape of its arm twisting into a shield-like bulge that deflected Raiyan's follow-up strike.
It grinned again.
"You're faster now. Stronger. But not enough."
It struck.
Claws whipped around. Raiyan barely blocked one, then rolled aside as two more slammed into the earth where he'd stood. Each impact shook the ground.
Felix shouted something, and suddenly Raiyan felt lighter—his limbs swifter. Another boost spell.
Aminah, panting, staggered upright, flames flickering in her good hand.
"Covering you!" she yelled, and a bolt of fire launched past Raiyan's shoulder.
It struck the Shadow's thigh, searing part of its form. It howled again, lunging.
Raiyan met it mid-way.
Blades and claws clashed in a flurry. Sparks flew as Raiyan's blade scraped against the creature's bones—if they could be called that. The Shadow's movements were too unnatural, too slippery, but Raiyan's upgraded speed let him land two more slashes—one deep, one glancing.
But every hit felt like it wasn't enough.
It kept reforming. Kept growing.
Finally, one claw caught him in the ribs.
Pain exploded through his side, and he flew backward, tumbling into the base of a tree. His sword slipped from his hands.
His head rang. Everything blurred.
And then he heard it.
The gasps.
He opened his eyes.
The Shadow had Aminah and Felix in its claws. Felix dangled limply, his chest rising barely. Aminah struggled, eyes wide in panic, clawed fingers wrapped tight around her torso.
"No…" Raiyan rasped.
They were being lifted. Slowly. Toward that gaping maw.
He felt cold again.
All that strength. That speed. It had meant nothing.
He had failed them.
He had failed again.
He gritted his teeth.
The voices returned.
"Raiyan… stand up."
He whispered aloud. "I don't want to die."
His hands clenched in the grass.
"But I don't want to abandon them either."
His heart pounded.
And something inside him snapped open.
> ❖ SYSTEM ALERT
> Internal Blockage Removed
> Soul Resonance Detected
> Magic Affinity: Unlocked
> ▸ Primary Element: Air
> ▸ Secondary Element: Fire
> Composite Type: Lightning
> Skill Acquired: [Voltic Heartblade]
> Pathway: First Pathway of Resolve
> Weapon Modification: Sword Imbued — Lightning Conduction Active
The air changed.
A gust whipped around him, leaves rising, the static in the clearing intensifying.
His sword trembled on the ground beside him—sparks danced across its edge.
He reached for it.
The moment his hand touched the grip, a jolt surged through his entire arm. His breath hitched, and then the lightning bloomed.
Blue and white electricity crawled up his limbs, lacing around his shoulders, down his chest. The blade crackled to life—an arc of energy connecting it to the ground and to his spirit.
The Shadow paused.
For the first time, it looked afraid. At least that's what it seemed to Raiyan. It's expression was rather amused. Like it changed it's plan all of a sudden.
Raiyan stood.
"I'm done running."
He charged.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he moved—each step trailing blue sparks. His blade shone like a torch in the dark, lightning roaring as he swung horizontally.
The Shadow raised a claw—but the impact blew its limb apart.
Aminah and Felix fell from its grasp, rolling to the side.
The Shadow reeled.
Raiyan didn't stop.
He drove forward, slashing again—arcs of lightning burning away the creature's midsection. Every time the blade hit, the energy exploded, tearing chunks of void apart.
A scream tore from the Shadow's throat—not words, not echoes. Just pain.
It reached out desperately—but Raiyan's sword came down one last time.
Right through its chest.
The creature convulsed, then exploded in a burst of shadowstuff and violet mist.
Silence.
The forest slowly breathed again.
Raiyan stood in the center of the clearing, his sword still humming, electricity dimming with each heartbeat.
Felix was coughing, alive.
Aminah sat up, bloodied, but breathing.
Raiyan lowered his sword.
His body trembled—but he didn't collapse. Not this time at least.
But something was off still. Terribly off.