The air grew thick and heavy, the Lurker's cold psionic presence feeling like a physical weight on their minds. Adam's Iron Will flared, shielding him from the worst of the mental pressure, but he could feel Alice and Ignis shudder beside him.

"It's trying to intimidate us," Adam growled. "Ignore it. We hit it hard and fast. Alice, the moment it strikes, bind its neck! Ignis, aim for its eyes! I'll draw its attention!"

The Lurker moved with unsettling speed. Its crystalline head shot forward, maw gaping wide to release a concentrated beam of violet energy. Adam reacted instantly, using Phantom Onslaught. He vanished from his position, the beam scorching the rock where he'd been, and reappeared in a series of blinding dashes that brought him slamming into the Lurker's neck.

CLANG!

The impact sounded like two mountains colliding. Adam's Scale Fortification met the Lurker's crystalline plates, and shards of obsidian and violet crystal flew. The Lurker barely flinched, its neck whipping around with monstrous force, throwing Adam back through the air. He crashed into the shallow water, his Volcanic Hide sizzling as it touched the strange liquid.

'Void Bind!' Alice's command was a sharp mental cry. Shadows erupted from the water's surface, coiling around the Lurker's long neck. For a crucial second, the beast was held fast.

"NOW, IGNIS!" Adam roared, surging back to his feet.

Ignis didn't hesitate. She unleashed her most powerful attack. "SUN LANCE!" A searing beam of pure solar energy lanced across the cavern, aimed directly at one of the Lurker's eye clusters.

It was a perfect shot. The beam struck home, and a satisfying pop and sizzle echoed as one of the eye clusters shattered, leaking viscous fluid. The Lurker let out a soundless, psychic shriek of agony that made their brains throb.

But in its thrashing pain, it broke Alice's bindings. Its tail, which they had all forgotten, erupted from the water behind Ignis. It was a whip of solid crystal, moving faster than any of them could react.

CRACK!

The tail slammed into Ignis's side with devastating force. There was a sickening sound of cracking scales and a pained, guttural shriek from the young Drake. She was thrown like a ragdoll across the cavern, smashing against the wall and slumping into the water, a trail of smoke and golden blood marking her path.

'IGNIS!' Adam and Alice cried out in unison.

Rage flooded Adam's system. He saw the Lurker turning its remaining eyes towards the motionless Ignis, its maw beginning to glow with another violet beam.

"No, you don't!" Adam bellowed. He didn't charge. He planted his feet, coiled the muscles in his neck, and unleashed a point-blank Cyclone Cutter. The vortex of cutting force screamed through the air, ignoring a portion of the Lurker's crystalline armor and carving a deep, smoking furrow across its chest.

The beast recoiled, its attack on Ignis interrupted. Alice, her void-like fur bristling with fury, used Void Step to appear on the Lurker's back. She raked her claws against the crystals, but they barely scratched the surface. The Lurker bucked, trying to throw her off.

"Alice, its underbelly!" Adam projected, seeing a patch of softer, leathery hide between the crystalline plates on its chest. "I'll flip it!"

It was a desperate, risky move. Adam charged forward, not with a dash, but with raw, ground-eating speed. As the Lurker struck at him again, he ducked under its bite and put all of his immense Strength into a single, upward thrust of his body, using the Horn Charge skill to focus the impact.

He slammed into the Lurker's chest, right where Alice had indicated. The force of the blow, combined with the beast's own forward momentum, did the impossible. The massive creature was lifted and thrown onto its side, exposing its vulnerable underbelly for a critical moment.

"ALICE! NOW!"

Alice didn't need to be told twice. From her perch, she leaped down, and as she fell, she unleashed not a Void Bind, but a concentrated sphere of pure void energy directly into the exposed hide. There was no sound, only a terrifying absence of everything as the void sphere imploded, tearing a horrific hole in the Lurker's flesh.

The creature's psychic scream was a final, silent wave of pure agony that echoed in their souls. It thrashed once, then lay still, the light in its remaining eyes fading away.

Silence returned, broken only by Adam's heavy panting and the soft, pained whimper from where Ignis lay.

The battle was won, but the cost was high. They were battered, and one of their own was severely wounded. The victory felt hollow as Adam rushed to Ignis's side, the threat of the Violet Abyss replaced by the fear of loss.

She was curled in the shallow, glowing water, a deep, crystalline gash weeping golden blood on her flank. Her breathing was shallow, pained whimpers escaping her maw.

"Hold on, Ignis," Adam said, his voice tight with urgency. He looked towards Alice. "The berries! Now!"

Alice, understanding the immediacy, didn't hesitate. She opened her Void Locker and retrieved one of the precious Gleamdew Berries. Adam carefully took it in his jaws and nudged it towards Ignis. "Eat this. It will help."

With a weak, grateful flicker of her eyes, Ignis consumed the berry. Instantly, a silvery light enveloped her. The horrific gash on her side began to knit together at a visible rate, the bleeding stopping and the color returning to her scales. Her breathing evened out, deepening from ragged gasps to the steady rhythm of healing sleep. The high-tier berry's effect was nothing short of miraculous.

As the immediate danger to Ignis passed, the system notifications Adam had been ignoring flooded his mind. The defeat of the Crystal-Hide Marsh Lurker and the remaining Observer Wisps had granted a massive influx of energy.

[ Ding! Level Up! ]

[ You are now Level 37! ]

[ Next Level: 81/190 ]

[ Skill Point: +1 ]

[ Ding! Level Up! ]

[ You are now Level 38! ]

[ Next Level: 12/195 ]

[ Skill Point: +1 ]

[ Evolution Points: 1524 -> 1989/3000 ]

Two levels. Two more skill points. And a significant leap towards his next evolution. The power surged through him, soothing his own aches and bruises. But his attention was pulled away as he felt a shift in the other member of their party.

Alice was staring at the fallen form of the Lurker, her body trembling not with fear, but with a palpable, rising energy. The void around her seemed to deepen, pulling in the very light of the cavern. The intense battles, the shared near-death experience, and the raw power of the Area Boss they had just felled... it had acted as a catalyst.

She turned to Adam, her star-filled eyes blazing with a new, fierce intensity. The playful rivalry, the casual jealousy, it was all gone, replaced by a pure, unyielding resolve.

'Adam.'

Her telepathic voice was different. It was deeper, resonant, vibrating with a power that was no longer just latent.

'It's my turn.'

A system prompt, visible only to Adam, flashed with an urgency he had never seen before.

[ Alert: Companion 'Alice' has met the conditions for Evolution. ]

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