A screaming spirit, its face twisted in ungodly agony, swiped at him with its yellowing nails. The attack slammed into his still swinging hammer. It contained a surprising amount of force, but not enough to deter Sam.

Twinned explosions heralded the realization of Sam and Elvras' full techniques. A spear of water merged with a spear of pure energy, splitting the oncoming ruse of monsters down the middle. The Veilguard simply waved its sword once more, and they vanished. Then it disappeared in turn. Sam swung his hammer blindly, anticipating a sneak attack. He felt his weapon catch on something, and gleefully detonated a tiny bomb of Dao energy out of the end of the hammer.

Searing pain exploded in the center of his back as the Lost Bone of the Dreamer ripped through his armor and flesh alike. A crescent of pink light rippled off on both sides of him, followed by a spray of bright red blood. Sam whipped around, but saw nothing there.

A second pain bloomed in his left arm. The plate armor there nearly fell off, cleaved in half along with almost his entire arm. His forearm split down the middle, both sides flopping down. Sam stared at it in astonishment, but continued to fight. He used Worldsense, pouring more of his Dao into it than ever before. A cosmic thrum spread out through space as a wave of all revealing Dao energy tore through any of the ambient illusions. Something flickered in the air about fifty feet away. Sam wasted no time in attacking. A beam of light shot from the center of his ruined left arm. It slammed into the Veilguard, ripping a hole through its torso. Whatever it was made of, it thankfully wasn't that durable.

Then for the third time, Sam felt unexpected pain as his calf was flensed from the rest of his leg by a wicked slash of the powerful blade of his foe. Somehow, it had even fooled the Dao itself. His health was dropping as he bled out, and it was already quite low to begin with.

Elvras tried to strike back, sending a rapidly expanding bubble of water in every direction. It was deep blue, containing enough water pressure to crush a mountain. It found purchase on nothing, though, and fell as useless rain a mile out.

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"You are those who seek to prevent my master's arrival?" The Dreamer Veilguard asked. Its voice was sibilant, seemingly coming from all directions at once. There was no distinguishable gender to it. "What weakness. What utter incompetency. Your existence is an insult to me."

"You think pretty highly of yourself, huh?" Sam asked.

"Think? I know. I know everything that runs through your mind. I know your situation. I know of the Tower. I know who you are, Dao Incarnation of Existence."

Sam's blood ran cold. "What? I don't know what you're trying to get at."

"Dao Incarnation of Existence?" Elvras asked, looking uncertain. "What does that mean?"

"It's trying to get into our heads."

The Veilguard laughed. "Trying? I'm already there. I know what makes you tick, Sam Atlas."

"Fuck you," Sam spat. "It's stalling. We need to attack."

Sam and Elvras reached out with their Daos, trying to lock down space. Rather than contest that, the monster simply shifted itself with raw strength. Wings of ethereal light spooled out of thin air, and the Veilguard appeared between them. One flap shattered the air, sending the monster on a collision course with Sam.

Sam clenched his fists around his hammer. Then he pushed harder into Dao Juggernaut, condensing the skill's energy down into a shorter timescale. The white shafts of light turned into pillars, radiating the light of a tiny star. Sam felt power surge through him, compounded by a use of I Am My Vengeance. Focusing on the wounds that the Veilguard had dealt to him, Sam felt his strength continue to spike. The Veilguard's incoming sword swing slowed down by almost half in Sam's perception, giving him time to react.

Terra's Will impacted the side of the Lost Bone of the Dreamer, parrying the powerful sword. A spray of sparks flew from the metal. Sam felt his hammer ring disconcertingly, as if it were being stressed from its contest with the higher rank weapon. Sam imagined that he felt the weapon twist, a crack spreading across its end. However, he couldn't afford to give that any notice. For all he knew, it was yet another illusion.

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