Blink: Ethereal Fury

The Path To Escape

Benji grunted as he hoisted Tao's limp body over his shoulder, every step sending a wave of agony through his battered muscles. Tao was dead weight now, his breath barely a whisper, hanging on to life by the thinnest of threads. Each time Benji moved, it felt like Tao might slip away completely.

The temple around them was no longer a place of peace—it had become a tomb. The once sacred halls were now crumbled ruins, the floor littered with shattered stone and the remnants of lives lost in the carnage. Benji could feel the heavy, suffocating energy still lingering in the air, the faint remnants of Nemesis' terrible power.

Mira limped beside him, her face streaked with dirt and tears, her light energy flickering weakly in the dimness. Daichi followed closely behind, his liquid metal ability shifting constantly, as if even his powers were affected by the sheer chaos of the battle they had just survived.

They moved slowly through the shattered temple, the ruins seeming to stretch endlessly before them, as though the walls themselves had shifted and bent to trap them inside. It felt like the temple didn't want them to leave.

Benji's heart pounded, his breath coming in ragged bursts. Each blink of his teleportation had nearly torn him apart during the fight with Nemesis, and now, he felt dangerously close to losing control of it completely. The ethereal energy that once made him feel godlike now felt like a burden—chaotic, unstable.

"Do you think we can even get out of here?" Mira asked, her voice trembling as they made their way through the broken halls. "What if... what if we're trapped?"

Benji didn't answer at first, his mind still replaying the events of the battle over and over. Nemesis had absorbed the strange power sealed deep within the temple, and even that had nearly overwhelmed him. If it was enough to weaken a monster like Nemesis, what chance did they have?

But they couldn't stay here. If the temple truly was a prison for that ancient power, Benji feared it would never let them leave if they lingered too long. And Tao... as much as Benji hated to admit it, Tao might have answers. If they could save him.

"We have to try," Benji muttered, adjusting Tao's weight on his shoulder. "We need to get out, regroup, and figure out what the hell we're going to do next."

Daichi looked over his shoulder warily. "Even if we do get out... where do we go? We don't have a home anymore. We don't even have a leader."

Benji's jaw tightened. The sensei was gone. The man who had raised him, trained him—gone, like so many others. The grief was a hollow ache, a pain he couldn't fully process yet. He didn't know how to be the leader they needed. But there wasn't anyone else. Not anymore.

"We don't need a home," Benji said, more for his own benefit than anyone else's. "We need a plan. And we're going to get one."

The three of them continued through the ruins, their footsteps echoing through the empty corridors. The silence felt oppressive, broken only by the occasional sound of shifting debris or the groan of the temple's fractured foundation. Benji could feel it—the place was falling apart, collapsing in on itself, as though the very presence of Nemesis had poisoned its core.

"Benji..." Mira's voice came out shakily. She reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "What if it's not safe outside either? What if Nemesis comes back?"

Benji's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Nemesis. The memory of their battle was still fresh in his mind—how unstoppable the stranger had been, how he had broken through all of their defenses like they were nothing. Nemesis had absorbed a power that was too much even for him, and he had vanished before any of them could see him weakened. But Benji knew, deep down, that he wasn't gone for good. He would return.

"I don't know if he's coming back," Benji said, his voice low. "But we need to be ready if he does."

They rounded a corner, and for the first time, they saw the temple's massive front gates ahead. The heavy wooden doors were splintered and cracked, their hinges twisted by the force of the earlier battle. Beyond them, the dense forest that surrounded the temple beckoned like a dark unknown.

Benji could feel the pull of the outside world. It wasn't just an escape—it was the only chance they had left.

"Let's go," he urged, tightening his grip on Tao and moving faster. "We have to get out of here before this place collapses."

As they approached the gates, something shifted in the air. The oppressive energy of the temple seemed to grow heavier, as though resisting their escape. The walls groaned, the floors trembled—Benji could feel the weight of something ancient, something powerful, still trying to hold them within its grasp.

The doors loomed before them, twisted and broken. It would take all their strength to force them open. Benji set Tao down carefully, his muscles screaming in protest. He wiped the sweat from his brow, and his eyes met Daichi's and Mira's. They were exhausted, terrified, but there was no going back now.

"Help me with this," Benji said, placing his hands on the cracked wood. Mira and Daichi stepped up beside him, their hands pressing against the rough surface. For a moment, they were united in their desperation, in their need to survive.

"On three," Benji counted, his voice strained. "One... two... three!"

Together, they pushed. The doors groaned, resisting, but slowly—agonizingly—they began to creak open. Benji could feel the cool breeze from outside brushing against his skin, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, hope stirred within him.

With one final heave, the doors gave way, swinging open to reveal the dense, fog-shrouded forest beyond. The air outside was thick with moisture, the towering trees casting dark shadows over the path ahead.

"We made it," Mira whispered, her voice filled with disbelief.

Benji nodded, though his heart still pounded with fear. They had made it out of the temple, but their battle was far from over.

"We keep moving," Benji said firmly, lifting Tao back onto his shoulder. "We find somewhere safe. Then we figure out what comes next."

Together, the three survivors stepped through the temple gates, leaving behind the ruins of the only home they had ever known.

But as they disappeared into the fog, Benji couldn't shake the feeling that Nemesis was still out there, watching, waiting.

And when he returned, they would need more than hope to survive.