Extra Borne: Transmigrated Into A System Apocalypse Soulsborne Novel

Dakarnos emerged fully from the shadows, his immense frame dominating the giant crimson-lit hall. His form was grotesque and imposing, towering at least five times my height. From the waist up, he resembled a decayed human, his flesh rotted and stretched taut over sharp, unnatural bone structures. Below his waist, the body of a horse.... if it could even be called that.... took over. Its legs were flesh and bones, the joints bent at wrong angles, and patches of raw flesh clung stubbornly to the exposed bones.

In his gnarled hand, he held a monstrous weapon, a giant bone sword. Its blade gleamed faintly with a sickly yellow light, and its hilt was crowned with a human skull, its empty sockets staring into nothingness.

He raised the weapon slowly, pointing it toward us with deliberate menace.

"Show me," he commanded, his voice guttural and broken, each word scraping the air like claws on stone. A shiver ran down my spine, as though his voice alone carried the weight of death itself.

Then the horde moved again.

The frozen monsters resumed their assault, pouring toward us from every direction.

"Reform!" Uvan shouted, sweat dripping down his face. His sword flashed as he cut down the first wave, but even he looked uncertain.

The horde was relentless, more ferocious than before. Every monster seemed faster, stronger, more determined to overwhelm us. I gritted my teeth, loosing arrow after arrow, the tension in my arms and shoulders building with every draw of the bow. Celia was a whirlwind beside me, her sword wreathed in icy energy that left frostbite-like wounds on every creature she cut down. But it wasn't enough.

The monsters kept coming.

And Dakarnos watched.

He stood motionless in the center of the hall, his massive figure blocking the path forward like a living gate. His bone sword rested on his shoulder, his eyeless gaze locked onto us with an air of cruel amusement.

The realization hit me like a bolt of lightning.

"If these monsters keep coming without end," I thought aloud, shooting another arrow, "then someone is creating them."

"Pointless," Jess growled, spinning to slash a winged abomination out of the air. Her daggers dematerialized in a flash of light, replaced by a greatsword that she swung with ferocity. "We can't even get close to him if these things keep swarming us!"

"That's exactly the problem," I said, my mind racing even as my hands moved on instinct, nocking another arrow and firing it at a creature lunging for Celia's side. "We're wasting our strength. We need to stop the horde at its source."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Uvan called back, his voice strained as he cleaved through two creatures at once.

"I have a plan," I said firmly. "But I need to test something first. Celia, cover me!"

"Roger!" she replied without hesitation. Her icy blade slashed in wide arcs, clearing a path ahead as we charged forward together. I dematerialized my bow, summoning my dagger in its place. My muscles burned with exertion as I cut through the creatures blocking our path, each strike precise and desperate.

Celia was a force of nature beside me, her blade glowing brighter as frost crept along the ground in her wake. She fought like a storm, her movements fluid and unyielding, buying me the time I needed.

As we closed the distance to Dakarnos, I sheathed my dagger, summoning my bow once more. The string thrummed as I drew it back, the arrow materializing in a swirl of glowing blue energy. I pulled the string taut, the energy intensifying until the arrow blazed like a star in the dim hall.

Dakarnos didn't move.

I exhaled, steadying my aim, and released the arrow.

It streaked through the air with a deafening whistle, energy swirling violently around it as it closed the distance in the blink of an eye. The force of the shot caused the air to ripple, the hall shaking as the arrow hurtled toward the towering figure.

For a moment, I thought it would strike true.

But then, Dakarnos moved.

His enormous frame shifted with unnatural speed, stepping aside at the last second. The arrow exploded against the wall behind him in a brilliant burst of light and sound, sending fragments of bone and stone flying.

My breath caught in my throat as I stared at him. His movement wasn't just quick—it was calculated, precise. His head turned toward me slowly, almost mockingly, as if to say, Is that all you've got?

Then, something strange happened.

The horde stopped.

Every monster froze mid-attack, their grotesque bodies locked in place as if an invisible hand had pressed pause on the chaos. The hall fell silent, the absence of noise almost deafening after the relentless cacophony of battle.

I smiled faintly,

This might be a little more fun than I expected.

I stretched my bow again, the familiar tension building in my arms as another arrow formed, swirling with that intense blue energy. There was no time to hesitate. Every second mattered. If the monsters regained movement before Jess and Uvan could catch up, we'd be overwhelmed.

From the corner of my eye, Celia spoke, her voice steady despite the chaos. "If he moves, the horde doesn't?"

I nodded sharply, loosing another arrow. The glowing projectile streaked through the air like a comet, aimed directly at Dakarnos' chest. He raised a decayed arm and deflected it with ease, the impact sending a crackling burst of energy that illuminated his rotting form.

"Yes," I answered as I lowered my bow. "That's why he has to stay stagnant. If we force him to move, we disrupt whatever control he has over the monsters. That gives Jess and Uvan the window they need to close the distance."

Celia smiled faintly, her icy blade glinting as she readied it. "Nice. Let's do it."

Without waiting for further instruction, she charged forward, her figure a blur of movement. I followed, angling to the left while she took the right. My bow hummed in my hands as I drew it back hard, pouring everything into the next shot. The arrow materialized, the energy swirling around it in a wild vortex.

As we closed the gap, I targeted Dakarnos' chest. My breath steadied. Release.

The arrow streaked forward, its speed tearing the air apart, and landed with a deafening boom. But Dakarnos was ready. His massive bone sword swung upward, intercepting the arrow in mid-flight. The energy exploded on impact, the resulting shockwave rattling the hall, but the centaur-like monstrosity remained unfazed.

Perfect.

I dematerialized my bow instantly, the weapon vanishing in a shimmer of blue light, and called forth my dual daggers. Their sharp, curved blades gleamed blue with a faint metallic sheen, mixing in with the crimson glow of the hall.

Celia and I darted forward in unison, weaving in a zigzag pattern beneath Dakarnos' massive horse-like legs. His decayed skin and exposed bones made him appear almost invulnerable, but I knew better. His massive size was both his strength and his weakness. His movements were powerful but slow, unwieldy.

Our blades slashed through the flesh of his hind legs as we passed, blackened blood spraying out in bursts. A deep, guttural roar erupted from Dakarnos as he tried to react, but his towering form wasn't agile enough to keep up with us. His legs trembled under the assault, and his balance wavered.

We circled back, cutting through the same weakened spots. The sound of tearing flesh and splintering bone filled the air as the creature roared again, his voice shaking the walls of the hall. His enormous body sank lower, forced into a kneeling position as his injured legs buckled beneath him.

"Insolent mortals!" Dakarnos bellowed, his voice carrying a mix of rage and desperation. He raised his giant bone sword high, its edge glowing faintly with the eerie energy that pulsed through his decayed form. He swung it down toward me, the blade cleaving through the air with terrifying speed.

I threw myself to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack, when something blurred past me.

Jess.

She launched herself onto Dakarnos' arm perfectly, her greatsword glowing with a reddish-orange energy that seemed to pulse with life. She grinned as she drove the blade into his decayed hand, the force of the strike causing him to jerk back. The swing aimed at me faltered mid-motion, the blade crashing harmlessly into the floor.

"Don't forget," Jess said, her voice laced with a mix of defiance and amusement as she twisted the blade deeper into his hand. "We're not just two."

I couldn't help but smirk, glancing over my shoulder. Uvan had joined the fray, his massive frame cutting through the remnants of the horde that still trickled toward us. His sword gleamed as he swung it in broad arcs, the force of his strikes sending monsters flying.

The four of us were together again, a cohesive unit amidst the chaos.

Dakarnos roared, his skeletal horse legs straining to rise, but his injuries made it nearly impossible. Black blood pooled around him, the once-imposing figure now faltering under the combined assault.

"We're complete," I thought. A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

Round two has begun....