Extra Borne: Transmigrated Into A System Apocalypse Soulsborne Novel

We scattered deliberately, darting in random directions to escape the tightening mist. Each step felt like a gamble against the unseen forces in the air. The mist clung to my skin, heavy and damp, as though it had a will of its own.

I gritted my teeth and focused. Just as we planned, I thought, my dual daggers materializing in my hands. Their faint blue energy glowed against the oppressive grayness, humming with a quiet promise of power.

The air felt charged, the mist shifting unnaturally as if reacting to our movements. I dashed toward The Crimson Knight, my body moving faster than thought. My steps were light, calculated, and deliberate. Each one brought me closer to him, my target within reach.

The figure turned toward me, his hollow, black eyes unblinking. The mist thickened instantly, wrapping around me like a serpent. It constricted, warping the space around me.

I struggled against it, but my mind was sharp. This was exactly what we needed. The Knight was distracted.

A flicker of movement caught my eye. Jess.

Her figure blurred, a streak of fire as she appeared directly in front of The Crimson Knight. The heat radiating from her was palpable, even from where I stood, still ensnared by the mist. Her hands sparked with violent flames, licking the air like hungry predators.

The moment froze. Then, she unleashed it.

The fire roared to life, surging toward the knight in a violent explosion. The flames engulfed him, their heat blistering and relentless. The Knight staggered, his silhouette writhing within the inferno. For a moment, I thought we had him.

Jess and I both dashed away, instinctively retreating as the flames continued to consume him. The mist around us seemed to recoil, but something felt off.

The air shifted again, heavier now. The mist didn't dissipate. Instead, it thickened, growing denser and darker. It seemed to feed off the flames, its oppressive weight bearing down on us like a living, breathing entity.

The flames extinguished abruptly, snuffed out as if by an unseen hand.

When the smoke cleared, The Crimson Knight stood unharmed. His tattered crown glinted in the dim light, and his pale face twisted into a crooked smile.

"Foolish Wanderers," he said, his deep voice reverberating through the mist, carrying a weight that pressed down on my chest. "Did you think me so weak?"

The mist around him surged violently, coiling and swirling with newfound intensity. It was alive, sentient, and it answered to him.

Before I could react, it lashed out at me, wrapping around my legs, my torso, my arms. It was cold and unyielding, a suffocating presence that sapped my strength with every second.

I tried to struggle, but I was rooted in place. My daggers flickered weakly, their glow dimming as the mist tightened its hold.

"Watch," The Crimson Knight said, his voice a mockery of reverence. "That is all you will do."

I met his blackened gaze, my breaths shallow, my body immobile.

"As I finish them all," he continued, his smile widening.

I couldn't move.

And the mist was closing in to them.

Celia lunged forward, her frost-tinged sword glinting faintly as she charged. Uvan and Jess followed suit, their movements synchronized. Yet, The Crimson Knight didn't move. He stood there, unflinching, his ragged cloak billowing in the unnatural mist.

The air shifted abruptly, the mist thickening and twisting into a monstrous form. Before our eyes, the mist coalesced into a massive, grotesque creature.... a spectral behemoth with elongated claws and hollow, swirling eyes. Its translucent body pulsed with an otherworldly glow, and it radiated an aura of pure malice.

The mist monster surged forward, slashing its claw toward Celia, who barely managed to sidestep the attack. Its movement was fluid, almost serpentine, and unnatural. Uvan and Jess dodged as the beast's other arm swept toward them with staggering speed.

But it wasn't done.

The creature split apart seamlessly, dividing itself into three smaller entities, each one targeting one of my companions. Each fragment moved independently, their forms flickering and distorting like reflections in rippling water. Celia, Uvan, and Jess were forced into a chaotic dance of evading relentless strikes from the mist monsters.

They didn't notice the mist growing denser around them. But I did.

This was our chance.

I smiled to myself and dissolved into the mist, my body melting into vapor. The sensation was disorienting at first... the cold weightlessness, the muffled silence, but it was the only way. My form flowed with the mist, indistinguishable from it, a shadow within the fog.

As I moved closer to The Crimson Knight, the oppressive aura around him grew more intense. His dark eyes scanned the battlefield, calculating, but he didn't sense me. Not yet. The mist coiling around him felt alive, a defense that could shred anyone who dared approach.

But I wasn't just anyone anymore. I was the mist.

I crept closer, my essence swirling fluidly through the oppressive fog until I reached him. The moment his form came into focus, I struck.

The mist around his neck shifted unnaturally as I materialized, my daggers plunging into his throat with brutal precision. His body jerked, a low, guttural choking sound escaping him. Without hesitation, I wrapped my legs around his torso, anchoring myself as I drove the blades deeper.

And I didn't stop.

I stabbed again. And again. And again. The sound of metal slicing through flesh was sickening, but I didn't care. Blood or whatever corrupted essence ran through him spilled out in thick, dark rivulets.

Finally, with a swift motion, I slashed his throat clean through.

Breathing heavily, I dematerialized once more, my form dissolving into mist and retreating. I reappeared beside Celia, Uvan, and Jess, my chest heaving with exertion.

"I don't think he's dead," I said, my voice steady but grim.

The Crimson Knight was still standing. His body shuddered from the wounds, yet his laughter echoed through the mist. It was a low, menacing sound, rising in volume until it reverberated through the space like thunder.

" Meaningless ?" he growled, his voice a mocking snarl. The jagged line across his throat sealed itself with the mist, as though time itself was bending to his will.

"You may have figured out how to maneuver within my domain, but do you truly think that is all I am capable of?"

The mist around him churned violently, swirling like a maelstrom. His hollow eyes gleamed as the air trembled with an ominous energy.

Then it happened.

The massive gate behind him groaned, its ancient hinges shrieking as it swung open. A cold wind rushed through the space, carrying the stench of decay and something far worse.... pure, unbridled malice.

A figure emerged from the shadows beyond.

It was enormous, standing at least three times my height. Its armor was jagged and misshapen, forged from dark, otherworldly metals that pulsed with misty, flame-like energy. Every inch of the figure radiated a terrible heat, though the mist clung to it as if it were alive, licking at its surface.

The creature's gait was slow but deliberate, each step shaking the ground beneath us. Its helmet was warped, its visor a gaping maw of swirling darkness. This was no ordinary foe.

The screen materialized before us, its cold text sending a chill down my spine.

[SYSTEM]

+

GAODAS THE CRIMSON SHIELD

THE RIGHT HAND OF THE CRIMSON KNIGHT

+

The Crimson Knight's smile widened, his teeth glinting like shards of bone in the dim light.

"Let's Continue," he said, his voice dripping with cruel amusement. "Shall we?"

The mist surged again, the oppressive weight of the battlefield pressing down on us all.