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Chapter 72: The Inverted Castle (IV)
Zayn gripped his sword tightly, his injured arm protesting as he swung —
Clang!
His blade met brittle bone, slicing one of the soldiers in half, but another was already there, lunging.
"Damn it — "
A skeletal knight landed on the griffin’s back, claws digging into its hide.
The beast shrieked, thrashing violently, but the knight refused to let go.
Zayn spun his blade downward —
SHLNK!
The knight crumbled into dust, but two more took its place.
The griffin jerked suddenly, nearly throwing him off balance.
Zayn barely managed to keep hold of the reins as another skeletal soldier latched onto his leg, clawed fingers digging into his armor.
He had no time.
The core.
He still held it in his bloodied palm. If he didn’t act now —
With a final push of strength, Zayn crushed the core in his grip.
CRACK!
A wave of golden energy exploded outward.
The skeletal dragon froze, its hollow sockets flaring brightly for a single moment before —
It shattered.
Bones disintegrated into dust, collapsing in on themselves like a tower of sand.
The skeletal soldiers plummeting toward him let out silent, wordless wails as they too were consumed by the light.
Hundreds of them — vanished.
For a moment, all that remained was the golden energy dissipating into the air.
And then —
A chunk of falling bone slammed into Zayn and his griffin, knocking them violently off course.
His vision spun.
The world tilted as they crashed into a floating rock platform below.
The impact ripped the air from his lungs, pain blooming across his back as he skidded against the uneven surface.
The griffin landed harshly beside him, wings twitching from the force of the fall.
For a long moment, neither of them moved.
Zayn could feel the blood trickling down his arm, soaking into the fabric of his sleeve.
His body ached from the crash, and his mind reeled from the sheer exhaustion of using so much soul energy at once.
"...Still alive?" he muttered weakly, turning his head toward the griffin.
The beast let out a low, exhausted huff — but it was alive.
Zayn let out a strained chuckle. "Good. Thought I lost you there."
His limbs felt like lead, but he pushed himself upright anyway, wincing at the sting in his arm.
He looked upward, toward the battlefield above.
The dragon was gone.
The skeletal army was gone.
The dungeon was silent.
Then, from above —
"Zayn!"
A voice.
He turned his head just in time to see Tobias, Bran, and the others descending toward him on their griffins, their faces a mixture of relief and disbelief.
Bran was already grinning. "You crazy bastard, you actually did it!"
Tobias adjusted his glasses, shaking his head. "I don’t even know where to begin with how reckless that was."
Elisse landed her griffin next, eyes narrowing as she scanned his injuries.
"You’re bleeding everywhere," she said, dismounting. "Do you ever not get yourself torn up like this?"
Zayn smirked weakly. "Guess that means I’m consistent."
Elisse rolled her eyes but extended a glowing hand toward his wound, beginning to heal it.
Kara exhaled, crossing her arms. "That was probably the most absurd fight I’ve ever seen."
Zayn let out a breath. "Yeah... but we won."
And then suddenly, the air vibrated with an eerie hum as the dungeon began to collapse.
Zayn barely had a moment to breathe before the entire Inverted Temple started cracking apart.
Massive fissures spread like veins through the floating architecture, fractures splintering along the intricate stonework before —
BOOM!
The entire structure shattered, sending debris flying in all directions.
Zayn felt weightlessness take hold as the platform beneath him vanished, leaving nothing but open air beneath his boots.
His stomach lurched as he began to fall, the wind rushing past his ears.
Elisse was right beside him, her eyes wide with alarm as she too was caught in the sudden freefall.
Above them, the others clung to their griffins, struggling to regain control amidst the chaos.
"Zayn!" Tobias shouted from above, his voice barely cutting through the roaring winds.
Zayn clenched his jaw, twisting midair.
The dungeon was destabilizing, its very existence unraveling, leaving them suspended in a sky full of crumbling stone and fading light.
No ground. No platforms.
Just freefall.
He turned to Elisse. "Hold on!"
Before she could respond, he pushed her toward her griffin, using the last bits of the dissipating soul energy to propel her through the air.
She twisted, reaching desperately — and caught hold of the saddle.
Her griffin let out a sharp cry and flapped its wings, stabilizing just in time.
Zayn exhaled in relief — but then his own descent sped up.
’Shit.’
He was still falling, the remains of the dungeon disintegrating around him.
His griffin spiraled somewhere above, thrown off course by the sudden collapse.
Zayn stretched his fingers, trying to reach for it — but the beast was too far, still regaining its balance.
The realm itself was coming undone.
He could feel it.
The once-floating dungeon shattered like glass, fragments dissolving into nothingness around him.
What had once been a domain of magic and darkness now broke apart, the last remnants vanishing into thin air.
Then, all that was left was sky.
No more inverted architecture. No more glowing gems.
Just open air — and gravity pulling him down fast.
"ZAYN!"
Bran and Tobias were diving toward him, their griffins flapping furiously, trying to reach him before it was too late.
Zayn forced his body to move, angling himself midair.
The wind whipped against his face, his injured arm throbbing from the pressure.
He reached out, his fingers straining toward his griffin —
It was closing in.
’Just a little more,’
Almost —
His fingertips brushed against the saddle —
And then the griffin veered sharply, barely avoiding a falling chunk of debris.
"Dammit!" Zayn growled, his pulse pounding.
The griffin moved once again, going below him.
He slammed onto the griffin’s back, nearly losing his grip as the beast let out a startled screech.
His hands fumbled for the reins — then tightened around them.
"Got you!" he breathed.
The griffin, recognizing him once more, adjusted its wings and stabilized its descent.
