The battlefield immediately turned into a storm of destruction again in no time. The four Dragonborns fought in the shadow of the towering monolith as wave after wave of undead and stone constructs surged forward.

The cracked earth trembled beneath their feet as the tower's army seemed endless. Each fallen monster will immediately be replaced by another rising from the cracked ground or the blackened bones scattered around it or from the tower itself.

Krono waded through the horde like a golden tempest. His attacks shattered through stone and bone alike, sending shockwaves that split the ground.

But now the enemies were changing as well. Several of the humanoid giants raised their rusted weapons high and runes glowing across the corroded metal. Aura of Magic power ignited around their weapons and the next swing released blasts of concussive energy that struck Krono's chest, forcing him to slide back several meters.

He grinned at the challenge, his aura flaring gold like a burning sun. He vanished in a blur and appeared behind one of the warriors and drove his fist clean through its torso.

Beside him, Aesa fought with cold precision. The temperature around her plummeted as frost and snow suddenly spread across the field.

She raised a hand and a tidal wave of ice blades spiraled outward, tearing through dozens of undead.

But as the shards hit them, thick black smoke erupted from some of the creatures. It was poisonous fumes that hissed and sizzled against the frost.

The vapor crawled across the ice, corroding it with an acidic hiss.

Aesa frowned then waved her hand again to summon gusts of frozen wind to blow the smoke away.

"These things are changing their attack as well," she thought coldly as another skeleton lunged at her, its bones burning with a sickly red light.

Eccar slammed his fists into the ground and jagged spikes of earth erupted in all directions, crushing a cluster of the bone beasts. But then several giant undead warriors stepped forward.

A monet later their hands glowing as they formed sigils of pure Magic. Barriers of molten red energy surrounded their army, deflecting his next wave of boulders.

One of them raised a massive arm and suddenly conjured a torrent of molten lava, hurling it toward Eccar.

He crossed his forearms and summoned a wall of rock that absorbed the impact, but the heat cracked the surface, turning it red.

"So they can cast Magic now," he growled, breaking the wall apart and charging forward through the molten steam.

Erend's lightning blazed across the chaos, arcing from one undead to another. But even his storms faced new resistance. Some of the skeletal giants raised glowing shields that absorbed the lightning before channeling it back in wild bursts.

Erend countered with fire next. His eyes narrowed as the flames swallowed the enemy's counterattack.

The battlefield became a field of smoke, thunder, and fire.

"It seems that they're able to use their former power," he thought, fury igniting in his chest.

He thrust both hands forward, merging lightning and fire into an incandescent spear of red-blur energy that tore through the barriers and vaporized everything in its path.

Above them, the tower pulsed brighter. Its red veins flaring brighter. The pulses poured more power into the ground and its army, forcing even more undead to rise.

Some of them were crawling and some of them reforming from shattered remains. A few of the broken ones pulled together into abominations of mixed bone and stone, their bodies dripping black sludge and their limbs reshaped into blades.

They let out a breath of clouds of corrosive vapor that clung to the air and went floating the Dragonborns.

Krono leapt into the air, his wings spreading wide. He roared and slammed into the ground with crushing force, creating a golden shockwave that scattered hundreds of the creatures into dust.

Aesa freezing the scattered remnants solid before shattering them again with a wave of her hand.

Eccar and Erend stood side by side now, their elements intertwining. Lightning danced through the cracks of rising stone pillars and fire spilled through them.

Together they unleashed a combined strike, burning and crushing through another swarm that tried to surround them.

But the undead did not stop. The humanoid giants gathered again, their decayed lips moving as if chanting some spell. Circles of Magic appeared in the sky above them and elemental storms began forming. Fire, ice, and black liquid rain then fell upon the battlefield.

Aesa raised her arms and froze the incoming fire rain midair, turning it into crystals that shattered upon contact.

Eccar countered the black liquid with his own earth power and Erend incinerated the residue with his blazing storm.

The four Dragonborns stood in the chaos. The world shook under the weight of their battle.

After a long and brutal struggle, the battlefield finally fell silent. The last of the undead shattered under Erend's lightning and Aesa's frost, crumbling into piles of motionless bone and stone.

The four Dragonborns stood amidst the wreckage. Their breaths were steady but deep. The air thick with smoke and the metallic scent of scorched earth.

All around them, the field was once again littered with remains. Bones, broken armor, and fragments of black stone that looked no different from how it had been before the battle began. It was as if nothing had changed except their places.

Erend's gaze swept across the battlefield, eyes narrowing. If it weren't them and normal warriors or Mages instead… none of them would've survived this.

The scale of what they had just faced was beyond anything mortal forces could endure. Only Dragonborns could have endured that storm and lived.

Eccar let out a low grunt, brushing ash from his forearm.

"Guess it's finally done," he muttered, though his tone held no relief, only readiness for whatever came next.

They all turned their eyes toward the tower. Its pulsating red veins had dimmed, and for the first time since their arrival it appeared motionless. No more shrieks or monsters. Just silence and the faint hum of dormant power.

Krono said nothing. Without a word, he launched himself toward the tower in a flash of speed.

They all knew Krono was acting more rashly than usual. But none of them tried to stop him. In truth, his fury was exactly what they needed now.

They reached the tower's massive base. Krono didn't hesitate. He lifted his leg and kicked the towering black door with a single explosive motion.

The impact echoed like thunder and the door was flung inward, slamming against the interior wall with a booming crack.

The Dragonborns rushed in.

Inside, the air was heavy. The walls were made of the same black stone threaded with pulsing red veins and the light from them gave the place an eerie glow.

There was nothing else except a spiral staircase winding upward into the darkness above.

Krono didn't pause. Without a glance back, he strode to the base of the stairs and began to climb.

Eccar, Aesa, and Erend exchanged brief looks. Then, wordlessly, they followed.

Their steps echoed in the hollow chamber, a steady rhythm that blended with the low pulse of the tower's veins. None of them spoke.

They knew that whatever waited above had been expecting them.

—