(Within the Dimensional Tunnel, Leo’s POV)
Only a few steps into the tunnel, Leo quickly realized that the next fifteen minutes were going to be the longest of his life, for the moment the rift sealed behind him and the distorted space closed in, the full weight of Moltherak’s aura descended without restraint, no longer dispersed by open air or distance, but instead compressed into a narrow passage that forced every ounce of pressure directly onto him alone.
’Bloody hell... I really don’t want to bear the brunt of this pressure, however, if I don’t do it and deflect it instead, then the strain will fall on the ships and soldiers behind me...’
Leo thought, as his chest tightened at the implication.
Unfortunately, he was the leader in this war.
Which meant that the men and women behind him were marching into danger for his sake.
And hence, he needed to do everything in his power to protect them as best as he could.
’But, can I even endure fifteen minutes under this?’
The thought came unbidden, not panicked, but grimly analytical, as Leo immediately understood that what he was enduring now was not a surge, nor an initial shock meant to be weathered, but a sustained, unrelenting load, something that would not lessen with time but instead accumulate, layer by layer, until either his will failed or his body did.
*Clench*
His jaw tightened.
’I’m fucked... I might have bitten off more than I can chew here.’
He thought, as every step forward he took inside the tunnel was answered by an opposing force that pushed back against his bones.
*Wobble*
*Haze*
Slowly but surely, his vision began to blur.
As while it did not happen all at once, the edges of the tunnel gradually smeared into one another and colors began bleeding where they should not, while his depth perception warped just enough that distance became unreliable, forcing him to rely on instinct rather than sight as he pressed onward.
’Too early,’ he thought, teeth grinding as he forced his breathing into rhythm.
’If it’s already this bad, then I really can’t afford any hesitation now.’
He thought, as he raised his arm again.
*Slash*
The aura dagger cut through distorted air at precisely the same angle as before, the familiar motion grounding him as the tunnel responded instantly, widening by a fraction under the redirected force of Moltherak’s orb, while the pressure on his body spiked violently in response, as though space itself demanded payment for the new opening.
*Slash*
He took another step forward, his knees trembling openly now, as his muscles threatened to give way, dizziness surging through him, as the tunnel tilted sharply to the side before snapping back into place, as a copper taste flooded his mouth violently.
*Gulp*
He swallowed hard.
’Not yet.’
Behind him, the Cult fleet advanced in disciplined silence.
Leo did not look back.
He did not need to.
He could feel their mass through the tunnel’s strain, through the way space resisted expansion more fiercely with every passing second, as destroyers, frigates, and carriers pressed against the widened corridor, their collective presence adding to the burden he carried, even as his aura shield redirected that strain outward, ensuring none of it rebounded onto the soldiers following him.
’Need to keep them safe.... Need to keep MY men safe....’
Leo thought, as that was the line he refused to cross.
All pressure forward.
All backlash inward.
But nothing at all could leak backwards.
*SLASH*
*WOBBLE*
*HAZE*
Another wave hit.
Sharper.
Deeper.
His vision collapsed inward for a split second, darkness swallowing the tunnel entirely before light snapped back into place with a violent jolt, as his foot slipped and his body pitched forward, teeth clenching as he barely caught himself before the loss of balance became a full collapse.
*Drip*
Blood drifted from his nose, suspended briefly before being torn apart by unstable currents.
’Focus.’
He thought as he lifted his arm again, ignoring the screaming protest in his shoulder.
*Slash*
Twenty-four point two four degrees.
Always exact.
Always deliberate.
His fingers felt numb now, the aura dagger trembling faintly in his grip as Moltherak’s pressure gnawed at his circuits, flooding them with power they were never meant to sustain for this long, while his skull throbbed violently, each heartbeat detonating behind his eyes.
’This isn’t strength,’ he realized dimly.
’This is an overdose’
The tunnel surged.
*TREMBLE*
*BZZT*
Reality buckled, its walls shuddering violently as collapse threatened, forcing Leo to widen the corridor again before distortion rebounded inward.
*Slash*
The act felt heavier now, each cut dragging through resistance that felt thicker than before, while the pressure on his body increased proportionally, as though the tunnel demanded an escalating tribute for every meter advanced.
*Pant* *Pant*
His breathing turned ragged.
Not from exhaustion alone, but from the way Moltherak’s aura compressed the air itself, crushing his lungs until every breath felt insufficient, his chest burning as he forced oxygen into a body that wanted desperately to shut down.
’Just keep moving,’ he told himself, the words stripped of hope or comfort.
’Stopping now means failure.’
He thought, as he took one step, then another.
*Tremble*
His legs shook uncontrollably now, balance held together by will alone as his vision fractured again, splitting into overlapping layers that refused to align, forcing him to blink hard and rely on memory to guide the next motion.
*Slash*
The tunnel widened sluggishly.
That hesitation terrifying him more than the pain, as he could not help but second guess whether or not this particular slash was made at the correct angle.
’Don’t you dare close,’ he thought fiercely.
’Not now.’
’Not when billions of lives depend on you...’
He encouraged, as the aura surged again, harsher this time, Moltherak’s power pressing down with open hostility as if resenting prolonged obedience, the force slamming into Leo’s aura shield hard enough to make his ribs creak, a sharp internal crack echoing through his chest as white-hot pain stole his breath.
*WOBBLE*
His knees buckled, as for a heartbeat, he hovered on the edge, before eventually straightening again.
Not smoothly.
Not cleanly.
But upright.
’No..... Not today...’
The words anchored him, as he raised his arm again.
*Slash*
The tunnel widened.
The fleet advanced.
And Leo stepped deeper into distorted space, carrying an army, an ancient Dragon’s power, and a choice that could no longer be undone, knowing with grim certainty that this was only the beginning, and that the true trial was not whether he could open the path—
But whether he could remain conscious long enough to keep walking it.