demon-in-the-dungeon

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

His voice echoed across the stone hill, in sharp contrast to the calm breeze and the birdsong of a new day. Juro's face twisted with sadness, and he carefully stepped forward, continuing to channel Neual's power while reaching out with another hand and cupping his face. The change in Nala's aura was shocking compared to her outburst. She was so relieved that Kalmah had released their grip, but it wasn't fair to leave Dario in their place to suffer their punishment. And yet, she had little choice. It won't be long, young one. I'm so sorry. She kissed his forehead and suffused it with a wave of reassurance and comfort, trying to make it last through whatever headspace he would be in when the stone sealed him in. He could sense how exhausted she was, and how iron-wrought her will continued to be despite everything the Rebellion had just been through. We will fix this, I swear it.

Theos Sotiras [pt 6]

[previous]

Nala and Juro skidded across the ground and crashed into the base of the watchtower, which billowed with dust and wobbled dangerously. She shoved himself upright, drawing on Juro's healing abilities to shimmer across his torso. In either hand, he wielded two blazing, slightly-curved swords, one short, one long, and he crossed them viciously to throw wide showers of sparks at his feet, catching the grass ablaze. "Your age shows only in how your skills have decayed," she snarled, Juro's right eye strobing between sky and fire. With each flash of color, she threw long javelins of her essence through Kalmah's dregs, trying to draw out identity, memory, personality, anything she could get her claws on. "Who sent you on a lowly errand boy's mission to Midgard, only to see you fail at my hands?"

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

It was like another bond snapped, another chain loosed. Juro stumbled to his feet, blood from an already-healing cut lip running down his throat. A sensation like hands missing each other by only a finger's brush, projected as far into Dario's subconscious as Nala could manage. A jolt of fury, indignation, heartbreak, desperation, all at hearing Dario's grim plea.

"We have won," the Warden seethed through the steam, blades shaking with adrenaline. "And you hate that. The gods themselves turned their backs on you. You have dragged everyone around you into a spiral of spite, a sunk cost you will never be able to afford. And you will not bring us any further down with you. I am through with you. I have WON, you envious, cheating, blasphemous bitch. You will LET ME WIN!!!"

The sound of two marble walls crashing together drowned out the sounds of alarm from the Rebellion, along with a groan of wordless, ancient language. Kalmah went to take another step and realized that white stone was emanating from beneath Juro's boots, flooding across the grass and petrifying Dario's hooves to the ground, climbing rapidly up his legs. Juro had a hand outstretched, fingers hooked, and clouds of sunlit, sandy dust were falling from his palm and scattering on the breeze. His eyes were fixed in an intense glare. The same power from before was grinding through the air, solidifying the blades of grass, the loose bricks of the watchtower, localized to the hill and focused on the fight.

Theos Sotiras [pt 6]

[previous]

Nala and Juro skidded across the ground and crashed into the base of the watchtower, which billowed with dust and wobbled dangerously. She shoved himself upright, drawing on Juro's healing abilities to shimmer across his torso. In either hand, he wielded two blazing, slightly-curved swords, one short, one long, and he crossed them viciously to throw wide showers of sparks at his feet, catching the grass ablaze. "Your age shows only in how your skills have decayed," she snarled, Juro's right eye strobing between sky and fire. With each flash of color, she threw long javelins of her essence through Kalmah's dregs, trying to draw out identity, memory, personality, anything she could get her claws on. "Who sent you on a lowly errand boy's mission to Midgard, only to see you fail at my hands?"

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

"You may have to. Unfortunately for you, I am famously hard of hearing."

Nala rushed in, and instead of going to pierce with blades, she crossed them behind Dario's knee and hiked them up towards her, flipping him to the ground. She stepped on his throat to follow through with the slam and gathered her entire mind in a blinding spotlight, trying to shine through to Dario and see if he still resided in his own body.

"I will not allow either of us to leave this place until you concede your mission," she growled. "Rest assured I have the means to do so. Will you fight here until they both starve?"

Theos Sotiras [pt 6]

[previous]

Nala and Juro skidded across the ground and crashed into the base of the watchtower, which billowed with dust and wobbled dangerously. She shoved himself upright, drawing on Juro's healing abilities to shimmer across his torso. In either hand, he wielded two blazing, slightly-curved swords, one short, one long, and he crossed them viciously to throw wide showers of sparks at his feet, catching the grass ablaze. "Your age shows only in how your skills have decayed," she snarled, Juro's right eye strobing between sky and fire. With each flash of color, she threw long javelins of her essence through Kalmah's dregs, trying to draw out identity, memory, personality, anything she could get her claws on. "Who sent you on a lowly errand boy's mission to Midgard, only to see you fail at my hands?"

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

Theos Sotiras [pt 6]

[previous]

Nala and Juro skidded across the ground and crashed into the base of the watchtower, which billowed with dust and wobbled dangerously. She shoved himself upright, drawing on Juro's healing abilities to shimmer across his torso. In either hand, he wielded two blazing, slightly-curved swords, one short, one long, and he crossed them viciously to throw wide showers of sparks at his feet, catching the grass ablaze. "Your age shows only in how your skills have decayed," she snarled, Juro's right eye strobing between sky and fire. With each flash of color, she threw long javelins of her essence through Kalmah's dregs, trying to draw out identity, memory, personality, anything she could get her claws on. "Who sent you on a lowly errand boy's mission to Midgard, only to see you fail at my hands?"

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

Daybreak landed with a thud beside Treepelt, and Kendra leaned down with hands clad in archer's gauntlets, her brown-eyed glare fierce and determined. The older cat half-breed raised her chin and challenged the look with her own, borne out of twice as many years of struggle and survival. Neither of them were leaving that pit alive until Vox and Liam were safe. Tree kicked her way up onto Daybreak's back, and the huge dragon grumbled and took off with a powerful gust.

Milae stared at the center of the Construct, which was lifting itself by its forelegs on top of the wall, and hugged Virion close to his neck, willing his thoughts forward by whatever powers would allow him to do so. "Við verðum í umsjá þinni. Stay safe, bokari, and do not worry about us. Ég elska þig." He gripped Dario's hand, looked to Atty, and then briskly strode forward, both of them vanishing in a twist of space. The pages flapped shut on the journal tied to his scarred arm, the most recent entry only consisting of two words:

Yun Milae (U-00000001): Engaging Kezia.

A very odd sound interrupted the charge, and the remaining rebels whipped to look around in the direction of the towers. Nothing was visible, but it sounded like the deep crack of a whip being diffused through an enormous body of water. They could barely make out puffs of spray, and hear the distant sound of rushing water, and then torrents of dark water began pouring through the final gate and down the streets, beginning to flood the entire city with the contents of the reservoir behind the towers.

Nio glanced up at Tezz, who Lila had left in the literal dust, and they nervously gestured back and forth between themselves and Tezz. "We cool?" Tezz gave a single nod, and Nio breathed out in an attempt to relieve their tension. "Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Okay."

Both elementalists sprang into action, the two of them portaling themselves high above the hole in the ground, one on either side of the section of destroyed wall. They twisted in tandem, and scattered below them, the other nixes rushed to help, getting their own vantage points and stretching forth their arms in an attempt to curb the tide. Tezz, however, led the charge, and instead of redirecting the wave bearing down on the Rebellion, he made use of it, pulling every stray drop of water into line, and used both arms to throw the massive current straight down into the new cavern carved below him. It glowed and churned as the nixes channeled their power into it, some even leaping after it in order to teleport those jumping straight in to safety. It rushed past the Construct like a roaring river, and her body sent knives of mist soaring into the air as she steadied and repositioned, waiting for her moment. The cascade began to fall in earnest from the cracked ceiling underneath High Central.

When the water had been truly tamed to drain through the ground, no longer threatening the medics, the Construct reared up on two feet, its entire structure hissing as water quickly evaporated from its heated surfaces. Nala began to tear chunks out of the edge of the hole, tearing it wider and wider open, looking like a fox determined to drag a rabbit out of a burrow. The Construct began squirming and wriggling inside, screeching in earnest, ready to begin hacking into something substantially more evil.

Far down at the bottom of the cavern, the body of the Tyrant slowly became visible as their forces fell closer, curled around the tomb, appearing to be preoccupied with it. The sound of their arrival could not be mistaken, though, and Kezia wrenched her monstrous new form upright, seeing the new, final threat approaching. Its maw widened and bellowed, and the Construct stretched its neck forth from the surface like a striking heron and echoed the sound, far more metallic than organic.

Rumble PT 2

[Previous]

Indigo let out a little growl when Lila jumped right in without hesitation, and knew this was an excellent moment to dive right in.

To prove even more how dedicated he was to helping this cause and these people. To being an ally, and one worth keeping. Worth trusting. The Indigo Phantom got to his feet with a burst and ran full speed towards the hole, Storm chasing right on his heels.

He didn't even mount the dragon, letting out a holler, almost a war cry, maybe the screech of a fury, and jumped in after the leader, his dragon companion on his heels.

They met up midair effortlessly and vanished into the red tinged void below, the wing whistle and roar of a night fury coming out after they'd vanished.

He didn't even see Indi, perched hidden inside one of the many holes in the walls, watching them, since they were going so fast.

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

As if in sync with her words, the laser emitting from the Construct brightened, backlighting Lila and the entire wall she stood on, and with a sonorous boom, it finally broke down the gate, throwing it at high speed towards the base of Kezia's tower, which now lay vacant and silent. A massive cloud of dust and debris exploded out of its fanciful front doors, and all the windows blew out as it began to shake and crack. The Construct fished itself out of the holes in the street, and with one jaw-dropping bound, it cleared the entire mid-city section, and skidded to a stop right behind Lila. Nala's entire face was ruddy red with hot metal, and she opened the mech's jaws and screamed triumphantly right behind Lila's silhouette. The air around the Commander flooded with brilliant scarlet smoke and scattered embers. The ground shook with the sound, and even more so as Kezia's tower began to crumble in the background, falling from its lofty position as the highest point in High Central. Rebellion soldiers thrust their weapons into the air, moonlight glinting off of the thousands of shards of Fenrir's teeth, and dragons screamed into the night, their breath white and steaming in the humid air. They were not a day, an hour or even a minute early. They were all exactly where they needed to be, fighting for their homes, their lives, and their entire world as they knew it.

The Construct projected to everyone once more. YOU HAD ALL BETTER JUMP, BEFORE I WIDEN THE GAP. Though she was a friendly through and through, her manic grin could still be felt by everyone nearby, along with a blast of courage to wash away any fear from leaping into the darkness in front of them.

Tezz emerged out of a sudden portal to Lila's right, landing deftly on the stone wall, eyes fixed on the cavern. He had shed his patient's gown, and in the time they had fixed up Sav, had taken the bone-armored trousers of a recently-deceased rebel for himself, and the machinery was visible down his entire shirtless spine, though it appeared to now be dim and functionless. His right forearm was entirely made of shifting water. He then eyed the Commander. She looked a lot like someone he once knew.

"You need a ride," he stated. "Tell me where to go."

Rumble Down Under

With the beacons open again she began to speak to all her soldiers across the city. "This is Commander Lila Ericson. I need the following soldiers to meet at the site of the Construct's hole in the wall for a mission of dire importance." Soldiers across the city began to receive orders retreat to the site. All told it was around 3/5 of their main forces and a majority of the Nixes.

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

The laser activated once more and began drilling into the final gate, sending showers of sparks flying for hundreds of yards, the intensity reduced from the more destructive power that ripped through layers of earth, but plenty to toss aside the gates given enough time.

In return to Lila's hail, Nala projected an image of herself standing atop a burning hillside, still holding a limp but unharmed Juro in her arms, and turning to look over her shoulder, eyes wild and sparking with flares of energy.

I WILL BE THERE. A grin cracked out of her mask-like face. COUNT ON IT.

Topside Turvy (Part 3)

[X]

Deo had also been thrown from the roof when the quakes had occurred thankfully unlike Sven and Jari she had managed to keep hold of the parapet and flip herself up after the quake. "The hel is going on down there?" She asked incredulously. Regardless, the quake had not just affected the rebellion and Central forces were now in a brief moment of disarray. Perfect opportunity for her and her Rangers to unleash hell on them.

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

The sounds of groaning and humming machinery neared them at a rapid pace, and suddenly Sven had to duck and cover again as the intimidating shadow of the Construct bounded a distance away, causing much lighter debris to rattle against the rooftops and streets as its legs worked like a titanic racehorse's towards the last gate. She wasn't certain on what her lesser half was trying to communicate to her, but all she understood was Liam and danger, and she was in a massive, reckless rush. Several Rebellion members tried to reach out and warn her against it, but it was too late--she stepped squarely on the crossroads at the exact center of the city.

A chain of detonations sent shockwaves through the soil and street, along with huge plumes of smoke that wafted around and even through the Construct's body. Nala's mind lit up in alarm as below her, the very streets blew up one chunk at a time, and her back legs wobbled and sank dozens of meters into the street, and water splashed for blocks over High Central's forces from the craters that began to crumble under the Construct's weight. They did not carve their way completely through the earth, but it was certainly an unstable situation. The boroughs and suburbs were unharmed except for those bordering the main streets--those buildings were heavily damaged from the explosions.

Determined, Nala clawed her way forward, lifting partially out of the ground, scattering slabs of cobblestone and sweeping aside any squads that dove in for an opportunity to attack or entangle, and her lower jaw dropped with a boom once more, intending to do the same to the last gate as she had to the first. The sheer speed at which she sucked energy from the pod in her chest made everyone's ears ring. All soldiers panicked and began flooding to their right and left, taking cover.

Topside Turvy [Pt 2]

[x]

Dario walked through a scene of gore he could not have steadied himself for; while most who seemed to have been caught up in the stone were unscathed, there were plenty of signs to say that not all were that lucky. He could feel his stomach ready to flip at any moment, and the split second that he wished he wasn't in control nearly made him vomit.

The half-breed was pulled from his internal contest at the sound of a goat nearby - he moved autonomously towards the melodious voice.

Dario kept a wide gap between himself and the pair of demon and caprinae. Given the last interaction between the three of them, he couldn't be too careful.

"Seems like you found what you were looking for, huh?"

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

Tell your friend that any threat to Rebellion life or limb will spell immediate consequences for them, the Warden growled privately to Dario. I guarantee it. She hoped not to scare the deer, but she needed the silent voyeur to hear her meaning loud and clear.

An impossibly bassy trumpet split their conversation and caused their ears to ring. Everyone in the city had to flinch and cover their ears, still hearing the sound in their very bones. Those near to the Construct whirled around in fear, seeing its eyes rapidly brighten to the strength of spotlights, and multiple of the same radiance ran down its spine and through its ribcage. Its many small limbs and attachments lifted and fluttered, and the Construct rattled with new life, pulsing with colors of sun and sky and blood. For a moment, both sides were horrified at what it might do, until it stretched forth its mind and the Rebellion felt as though Nala herself had stepped up beside them and stretched forth her arm, pointing decisively at the final gate that stubbornly held firm in front of the taunting towers. The Rebels stood in shock and awe, and then began to cheer, morale renewed.

I HAVE RETURNED TRIUMPHANT!! The Construct itself bent downwards, forelegs spread, and waggled its pelvis in the air, making its many tail-limbs clatter, before turning a quick circle and beginning once more to bound towards the first wall which it had sloppily attempted to climb once before, making entire city blocks shake and even crumple nearest to its feet. However, Nala wildly lacked direction or context for the current happenings, and began seeking out those directing the fight for assistance on what to do.

The Warden crossed her arms as she watched, and looking closely at her, it was possible to see a small, smug curve to the eyes behind her ceramic mask.

Topside Turvy [Pt 2]

[x]

Dario walked through a scene of gore he could not have steadied himself for; while most who seemed to have been caught up in the stone were unscathed, there were plenty of signs to say that not all were that lucky. He could feel his stomach ready to flip at any moment, and the split second that he wished he wasn't in control nearly made him vomit.

The half-breed was pulled from his internal contest at the sound of a goat nearby - he moved autonomously towards the melodious voice.

Dario kept a wide gap between himself and the pair of demon and caprinae. Given the last interaction between the three of them, he couldn't be too careful.

"Seems like you found what you were looking for, huh?"

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

Fine. The Warden's attention pierced Dario's mind--if there was a danger, she wanted to be instantly aware of it. Milae kissed the back of Dario's head and laid his chin on Dario's shoulder.

"I don't know where to go from here--oh, the Library." He pulled his forearm in front of both of them and flipped the pages open, looking for any further messages from Yun or Moirai. There were plenty from the latter, but nothing from the former.

MOIRAI: please tell me if it worked i am so stressed

MOIRAI: my fans sound like a jet engine. i might literally need a bag of ice to lower my cpu temp

"Lost my pencil, unfortunately." Milae frowned and shuffled the Library, anxious to reply but unable to do so. Virion cawed and then spat up another writing utensil, more complicated than the last, and Milae caught it out of the air. "Þú ert blessun, vinur."

Yun Milae (U-00000001): Moirai--you saved our lives. The Warden says both demons are dispatched. Thank you for helping.

MOIRAI: ohmygosh...you're so welcome haha

MOIRAI: wait what do you mean BOTH??

Milae had already closed the journal. "Perhaps we retrieve the beacon? I feel that may be the wisest choice presently." He still wanted to go below ground to handle the tomb, but he was wary of angering the being inside Dario.

Topside Turvy [Pt 2]

[x]

Dario walked through a scene of gore he could not have steadied himself for; while most who seemed to have been caught up in the stone were unscathed, there were plenty of signs to say that not all were that lucky. He could feel his stomach ready to flip at any moment, and the split second that he wished he wasn't in control nearly made him vomit.

The half-breed was pulled from his internal contest at the sound of a goat nearby - he moved autonomously towards the melodious voice.

Dario kept a wide gap between himself and the pair of demon and caprinae. Given the last interaction between the three of them, he couldn't be too careful.

"Seems like you found what you were looking for, huh?"

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

"Ástin mín--!"

Milae instantly broke into a run towards Dario, definitely off-balance the entire way there, but having full faith that once he reached Dario, the deer would catch him. The Warden rose to her full height, sharply watchful of Dario's behavior, but not acting yet. "Are you hurt!?"

Topside Turvy [Pt 2]

[x]

Dario walked through a scene of gore he could not have steadied himself for; while most who seemed to have been caught up in the stone were unscathed, there were plenty of signs to say that not all were that lucky. He could feel his stomach ready to flip at any moment, and the split second that he wished he wasn't in control nearly made him vomit.

The half-breed was pulled from his internal contest at the sound of a goat nearby - he moved autonomously towards the melodious voice.

Dario kept a wide gap between himself and the pair of demon and caprinae. Given the last interaction between the three of them, he couldn't be too careful.

"Seems like you found what you were looking for, huh?"

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

As soon as Treepelt unfroze, she barely took a second for herself before hearing the horrific sounds of agony coming a distance away from the medical stations, and sprinting in, she stopped dead in her tracks, seeing Kettil with gore splattered up to his elbows, looking entirely lost and shocked at what was happening. Like a knife in her heart, she was overcome with anger and pain for what Greg's son had gone through, and was still going through, for all of them.

"C'mere, c'mere." Tree swept in and tucked Kettil's face into her shoulder, doing her best to hustle him away from the scene despite him being nearly a head taller than her. It reminded her of holding Liam--how long had it been since he'd let her do so?--and it caused a lump in her throat. She snatched up a canvas rag and started scrubbing Kettil's hands clean. "I'm sorry for leaving. You're doing amazing, okay? You tell me where you need me next and I'll do it."

The Warden and Milae reappeared in a twist of space between two homes, lines of smoldering laundry hanging above them in shambles. The demon's large hands lowered the ex-seidkonur to the base of the alley, propping him up against the wall while he struggled through the horrific mix of both asthma and panic attack. For a brief heart-wrenching moment, he wished for Yun's medicine; whatever substance it may have been, it probably would have provided some relief. Virion hummed and glowed insubstantially around them, trying to provide some comfort, while the Warden prodded at Milae's mind, asking for access to assist. Milae haltingly let her in, and she took over his automatic functions, forcing his chest to expand and deflate deeply and slowly and washing over his thoughts with a sluggish wave of calm. Even still, Milae struggled weakly against her oversized grip.

"Take me back--" he coughed.

All is well. Breathe. We have survived, and so has the Bookkeeper. The Warden tilted her face up to the Construct's chest, noting that it was slowly powering back up again after the near-death experience everyone had just gone through. We should sooner check up on Dario. I fear the danger has not passed for him. This new fragment of her personality felt so clinical and cold compared to her usual self. It was very odd, concerning but still somehow reassuring. Milae nodded and stumbled to his hooves, using the Warden's extended fingers to steady himself.

Topside Turvy

As the two teams moved underground towards their various goals, those above worked as well. Jari and her group of saboteurs were causing havoc along the back lines of High Central forces, taking out small groups of isolated soldiers quickly and causing major distractions before disappearing into the alleys and streets of the city, trying to divert attention from the front lines.

Meanwhile Deo was working on the front with her Rangers. The city was cramped and finding clean shots was difficult at best with how central was using the main road to hold them back. They had taken to firing volleys of arrows at an angle so they would strike from above.

Further behind Rebellion lines Kettil was busy both treating wounds and organizing the other healers, having them focus on those who they could save while making those who were too far gone, comfortable in their last moments.

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

Of course there was more, a growl that could barely be heard by the receding earthquake. ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ʜᴇʀ ᴅᴏᴡɴꜰᴀʟʟ, ᴀɴᴅ ꜱʜᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱ.

Nala finally had enough. Like an adult to a child, she gripped her uncle by the metaphorical wrist, slowly wrenching it away, pushing his presence further into obscurity. Thank you for the visit. Her voice was growing stronger. Now, I have better things to attend to. Stand by.

The multitudes of eyes before them instantly went out like candles. In a whirl of shadow that very slowly began to clear, Nala and Stonegit knelt together in a patch of light that was all their own, and as their connection to Neual faded, so did the bridge that allowed her and Stonegit to speak. She wasted no time.

Thank you, dark-eyes. Nala cupped his cheeks, thumbing them tenderly, and he saw the last remnants of fear clear out of her solid astral eyes, returning to the bright, fiery shades he knew like the back of his hand. Her emotions were full and alive, a deep bath of love and energy like no other. A fight I was unaware we had to finish. But nonetheless, finish it we did.

She pressed her smooth lower face to his forehead, giving him a gentle but firm push back into the world of dreams. The sky fully brightened again, at a vibrancy that was both painful and fulfilling. She watched it for a moment, and then bent down to scoop Juro from the ground, who was still nearly unconscious from the strain of the fight. With the lowering and raising of her arms, she once again felt connected to the grinding and flexing of metal tendons and massive joints, and the faint flickering of High Central coming back into view, of eyes glowing after several minutes of being dark and empty.

Let us pick up where we left off.

The Blood-Stained Lamb [pt 4]

[previous]

Don't take too long! the Guardian called as he and Sol withdrew as well, the oil-slick colors painting the sky shifting and fading to be dominated with shades of ruby and sapphire. The Glassmaker continued to writhe underneath Nala's adamantine grip, trying to shift forms as the Changeling did in order to slip away, but Nala would not allow her to. They locked eyes in finality as Milae drew two perpendicular lines across Juro's palm.

"...X..." The half-breed flinched as the opening to the pilot's pod squealed shut several inches, and the fragment of the Warden helping him did her best to push it back open.

Hurry.

Inside, Nala lifted her rival demon to face height, ignoring the weak molten glass grip around her wrists. They continued to stare at each other, minds still locked in desperate, fighting layers, driven to a stalemate without the presence of the other demons filling the Construct. Even now, in the struggle of their lifetimes, Nala couldn't fight back the bitter sting of pity for the sniveling being before her. It made her struggle with herself.

In the pod, the Warden re-adjusted her grip, propping the upper door across her shoulders, giving her another minute of stamina with which to fight the spring-loaded panels. Something felt strangely hot near her thigh, and with her newly freed hand, she reached down for it, frowning. At first, there was nothing, and then, as the burning increased, her charred porcelain fingertips slipped into a tear in space, brushing the corner of an envelope, hot to the touch. Pockets.

Her eyes widened, dark essence flaring. She reached out for Milae, grip closing in the back of his cape. Seidkonur, wait--!!

The final letter entered Nala's mind. Her inner mindscape paused, breathless, waiting. Similar to her other self, her eyes were wide, regarding the Glassmaker with a sudden cascade of true understanding of every fiber of the demon's being. In turn, the Glassmaker also stilled, like a prey animal that had just been sighted by a predator. It was very much the case. Nala now knew how to tear her enemy down to atoms, to instantly unmake her with a single thought.

Nala's fists clenched tighter. I am sorry you were created to destroy, cousin. This life was not meant for you.

Sapexa.

The name clicked like a single drop of pure water, echoing deeply through space.

Sapexa trembled, seen, understood.

Rest.

She had already wished to obey before even fully comprehending the command. Sapexa's arms went limp by her sides, and Nala pressed their foreheads together. The glass demon's essence began to slowly disintegrate, floating upwards without gravity, being absorbed by the inner atmosphere of Nala's own mind. It was like she was taking heavy draughts of a life-giving elixir, energy and fuel channeling straight into her astral veins, but she ate and drank with sorrow. The only thing left in her hands after she was sated was a tiny glass bead, refracting wildly as the sun fully set behind Nala, leaving behind cool twilight. She pressed it to her core, waited to hear the ambient natural sounds of her mindscape once more, but there was still only silence. In fact, it was getting darker.

Nala whirled around frantically, looking for Juro. In the fading light, she could just see the silhouette of the shattered, glassy protective sphere she had encased him with, and she sprinted towards it at the speed of a wildfire, but as the shadows lengthened and blindness set in, she suddenly struck a solid surface, palms slapping against it hotly, illuminated by her own body. But this one was not made of glass. It was stone.

ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴄʟᴇᴠᴇʀ, ɴᴀʟᴀᴀɢᴜʀᴀ.

Two pale, white eyes opened in the pitch blackness, flanked by two more pairs of smaller ones beneath the lower lids. Nala panicked, reaching out for help again, but was boxed in by solid stone as far as she could feel. The surface beneath her was hard as granite, and though she could tell the mental room had boundaries, it seemed infinite. She tilted her chin up, staring at what she could barely make out to be a carved face looking down at her from an angle, as though grafted onto the architecture of a church.

ʜᴀᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴜꜱᴜᴀʟ ʀᴇᴄᴋʟᴇꜱꜱ ʜᴀꜱᴛᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴋɪɴ ʟᴏɴɢ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ. ʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ. ʀɴᴀʟᴀᴛʜ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴅɪʙʟʏ ɪɢɴᴏʀᴀɴᴛ. ɪ ꜱʜᴀʟʟ ꜰɪɴɪꜱʜ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴍʏꜱᴇʟꜰ.

"Hold on, not yet--" Milae clung to Juro, fighting off the Warden's grip, desperately searching for any signs that the struggle had stopped. The Construct was still frozen in place.

No--you must leave with me, now! Her voice was like a gong in his thoughts, overwhelming and commanding. We are not yet through with this!

Milae's stomach dropped. He whipped his head around to stare at her, seeing a very familiar letter clutched in her hand, penned in his own hoof. Around him, his ears twitched at the sound of stone beginning to crackle, and with horror, he saw that the glistening metallic surfaces surrounding him and the Bookkeeper were growing dull and matte, with a rough texture like that of a canyon wall. Virion screeched and pulled at Milae's armor, and it distracted him long enough for the demon body behind him to pry him away.

"Juro!!" he hollered, as the Warden re-affirmed her hold around his midriff, dragging him out of the pod. "JURO!!"

She knew exactly who this was. She was done for. Though her uncle's words were devoid of tone, Nala could feel his intent--the barest touch of impatience, of annoyance, but also the glimpse of superiority, of satisfaction. She tried anything, viciously lashing out at him, essence ablaze, but she felt herself break across an impenetrable, monumental wall.

ᴡɪᴛɴᴇꜱꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜰᴀʟʟ.

The Warden's porcelain body kicked off of the Construct before the creeping stone surface could overwhelm her and Milae, and the pair dropped heavily back down towards the city. Virion shrieked and dived after them, morphing into portal space mid-flight. At the Construct's feet, the pure white stone began rapidly spreading and overtaking anyone and anything standing nearby, organic turned to marble in the blink of an eye. Rows of armored statues, frozen in fighting positions, decorated cold streets and walkways and alleys. A handful of dragons began to tumble from the sky, too leaden to stay aloft, heading straight for the ground alongside the tumbling demon.

In front of Nala, a silhouette materialized on the ground between her and the demon, a mortal form, with thick build and scarred face, sleeping soundly through the late night hours and completely unaware of the danger around him. Nala screamed silently, completely unheard, unable to reach out, feeling her very sense of self crushed by endless weight.

With the fossilizing goat curled up against the Warden's belly, one petrifying arm circling him protectively, the other gripping the paper fluttering wildly in her huge hand and lifting it before her face. One single word, in Milae's chicken-scratch handwriting. With her mind, she flung a thread of herself upwards like a safety rope, aiming for the Construct's hardening throat, and gripping its controls with titanic effort, every mental faculty she had fighting and straining for survival. It was quite literally now or never.

NEUAL.

The Construct bellowed like a beast of Ragnarok itself, still unmoving. Its voice resonated through the hollow streets, and for a moment, time slowed. The demon's disembodied, expressionless face glared down at Nala as she struggled against her bonds, the last remnants of her reaching out and touching the tendril of her other self, gathering her strength. Together, they spoke to their mother's sibling, one of the three major archdemons, through the Construct once more.

STAY.

Pure silence.

Then...in every meaning of the word, it was done. The masonry encroaching on the city halted in its tracks. It began to flake away, like sand being whipped from a dune, revealing original textures and buildings and bodies and creatures once more. It flagged in trails above the Warden and Milae, and Virion caught up with them, scooping them up in a humming portal and vanishing to a safe place on the ground. The dragons caught themselves from shattering on the ground, ascending back into the sky with much confusion. The pilot's pod in the Construct's chest melted back to normal first, followed by the Bookkeeper in its seat, and the cleansing effect spread back across the entire Construct itself. Nala gasped in tandem with those restored, fighting off the nauseating feeling of being turned to stone, and throwing herself at Stonegit, cradling his mind like a terrified mother, ensuring it was severed from Neual's presence entirely, however the powerful demon had manifested it in this realm. Within the darkness around them, she heard heavy cracking, and chunks of something falling and crashing to the ground around them. She looked up at the blank face before them, which still had not yet spoken nor moved. Somehow, its white eyes were fixed on the man in her arms.

ᴅᴇɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ... he finally rumbled.

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

The eyes flared brighter, and then to their right and left, more and more sets of the same eyes alighted, burning the same bright platinum in their eldritch, inhuman arrangement. Infinite rows of the same statues, the same masculine faces fused into each other, extending into the darkness and illuminating the streams of dust and fist-sized chunks of stone that occasionally dropped from the ceiling. The ground and air were vibrating.

ʙᴇᴀꜱᴛꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴘʀɪᴅᴇ, ʙᴀʀʀᴇʟɪɴɢ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅꜱ ʙɪᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴇɴᴅꜱ, Neual spoke in a voice of thunder. Despite his threat displays, Stonegit felt how Nalaagura kept him easily at bay with a single finger. ʏᴏᴜ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ꜱᴀᴠɪᴏʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱᴇʟᴠᴇꜱ? ɪ ᴀᴍ ɪᴍᴍᴜᴛᴀʙʟᴇ. ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴇᴠɪᴛᴀʙʟᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴇᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟʟʏ ᴀᴘᴘʀᴏᴀᴄʜ.

Perhaps, Nala said softly. But the inevitable comes for you, too. You have already broken your contract...and you will not be treated kindly for it.

Foregoing an answer, Neual's attention seared into Stonegit again, just out of reach, taunting him with the sudden turn of tides. The man felt a wave of haughty disgust for Nala's protection of him, seeing every imperfection in their relationship that could possibly exist, diagnosing them like a deeply infected wound. Frustration that the flawed had still outwitted him.

The Blood-Stained Lamb [pt 4]

[previous]

Don't take too long! the Guardian called as he and Sol withdrew as well, the oil-slick colors painting the sky shifting and fading to be dominated with shades of ruby and sapphire. The Glassmaker continued to writhe underneath Nala's adamantine grip, trying to shift forms as the Changeling did in order to slip away, but Nala would not allow her to. They locked eyes in finality as Milae drew two perpendicular lines across Juro's palm.

"...X..." The half-breed flinched as the opening to the pilot's pod squealed shut several inches, and the fragment of the Warden helping him did her best to push it back open.

Hurry.

Inside, Nala lifted her rival demon to face height, ignoring the weak molten glass grip around her wrists. They continued to stare at each other, minds still locked in desperate, fighting layers, driven to a stalemate without the presence of the other demons filling the Construct. Even now, in the struggle of their lifetimes, Nala couldn't fight back the bitter sting of pity for the sniveling being before her. It made her struggle with herself.

In the pod, the Warden re-adjusted her grip, propping the upper door across her shoulders, giving her another minute of stamina with which to fight the spring-loaded panels. Something felt strangely hot near her thigh, and with her newly freed hand, she reached down for it, frowning. At first, there was nothing, and then, as the burning increased, her charred porcelain fingertips slipped into a tear in space, brushing the corner of an envelope, hot to the touch. Pockets.

Her eyes widened, dark essence flaring. She reached out for Milae, grip closing in the back of his cape. Seidkonur, wait--!!

The final letter entered Nala's mind. Her inner mindscape paused, breathless, waiting. Similar to her other self, her eyes were wide, regarding the Glassmaker with a sudden cascade of true understanding of every fiber of the demon's being. In turn, the Glassmaker also stilled, like a prey animal that had just been sighted by a predator. It was very much the case. Nala now knew how to tear her enemy down to atoms, to instantly unmake her with a single thought.

Nala's fists clenched tighter. I am sorry you were created to destroy, cousin. This life was not meant for you.

Sapexa.

The name clicked like a single drop of pure water, echoing deeply through space.

Sapexa trembled, seen, understood.

Rest.

She had already wished to obey before even fully comprehending the command. Sapexa's arms went limp by her sides, and Nala pressed their foreheads together. The glass demon's essence began to slowly disintegrate, floating upwards without gravity, being absorbed by the inner atmosphere of Nala's own mind. It was like she was taking heavy draughts of a life-giving elixir, energy and fuel channeling straight into her astral veins, but she ate and drank with sorrow. The only thing left in her hands after she was sated was a tiny glass bead, refracting wildly as the sun fully set behind Nala, leaving behind cool twilight. She pressed it to her core, waited to hear the ambient natural sounds of her mindscape once more, but there was still only silence. In fact, it was getting darker.

Nala whirled around frantically, looking for Juro. In the fading light, she could just see the silhouette of the shattered, glassy protective sphere she had encased him with, and she sprinted towards it at the speed of a wildfire, but as the shadows lengthened and blindness set in, she suddenly struck a solid surface, palms slapping against it hotly, illuminated by her own body. But this one was not made of glass. It was stone.

ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴄʟᴇᴠᴇʀ, ɴᴀʟᴀᴀɢᴜʀᴀ.

Two pale, white eyes opened in the pitch blackness, flanked by two more pairs of smaller ones beneath the lower lids. Nala panicked, reaching out for help again, but was boxed in by solid stone as far as she could feel. The surface beneath her was hard as granite, and though she could tell the mental room had boundaries, it seemed infinite. She tilted her chin up, staring at what she could barely make out to be a carved face looking down at her from an angle, as though grafted onto the architecture of a church.

ʜᴀᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴜꜱᴜᴀʟ ʀᴇᴄᴋʟᴇꜱꜱ ʜᴀꜱᴛᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴋɪɴ ʟᴏɴɢ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ. ʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ. ʀɴᴀʟᴀᴛʜ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴅɪʙʟʏ ɪɢɴᴏʀᴀɴᴛ. ɪ ꜱʜᴀʟʟ ꜰɪɴɪꜱʜ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴍʏꜱᴇʟꜰ.

"Hold on, not yet--" Milae clung to Juro, fighting off the Warden's grip, desperately searching for any signs that the struggle had stopped. The Construct was still frozen in place.

No--you must leave with me, now! Her voice was like a gong in his thoughts, overwhelming and commanding. We are not yet through with this!

Milae's stomach dropped. He whipped his head around to stare at her, seeing a very familiar letter clutched in her hand, penned in his own hoof. Around him, his ears twitched at the sound of stone beginning to crackle, and with horror, he saw that the glistening metallic surfaces surrounding him and the Bookkeeper were growing dull and matte, with a rough texture like that of a canyon wall. Virion screeched and pulled at Milae's armor, and it distracted him long enough for the demon body behind him to pry him away.

"Juro!!" he hollered, as the Warden re-affirmed her hold around his midriff, dragging him out of the pod. "JURO!!"

She knew exactly who this was. She was done for. Though her uncle's words were devoid of tone, Nala could feel his intent--the barest touch of impatience, of annoyance, but also the glimpse of superiority, of satisfaction. She tried anything, viciously lashing out at him, essence ablaze, but she felt herself break across an impenetrable, monumental wall.

ᴡɪᴛɴᴇꜱꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜰᴀʟʟ.

The Warden's porcelain body kicked off of the Construct before the creeping stone surface could overwhelm her and Milae, and the pair dropped heavily back down towards the city. Virion shrieked and dived after them, morphing into portal space mid-flight. At the Construct's feet, the pure white stone began rapidly spreading and overtaking anyone and anything standing nearby, organic turned to marble in the blink of an eye. Rows of armored statues, frozen in fighting positions, decorated cold streets and walkways and alleys. A handful of dragons began to tumble from the sky, too leaden to stay aloft, heading straight for the ground alongside the tumbling demon.

In front of Nala, a silhouette materialized on the ground between her and the demon, a mortal form, with thick build and scarred face, sleeping soundly through the late night hours and completely unaware of the danger around him. Nala screamed silently, completely unheard, unable to reach out, feeling her very sense of self crushed by endless weight.

With the fossilizing goat curled up against the Warden's belly, one petrifying arm circling him protectively, the other gripping the paper fluttering wildly in her huge hand and lifting it before her face. One single word, in Milae's chicken-scratch handwriting. With her mind, she flung a thread of herself upwards like a safety rope, aiming for the Construct's hardening throat, and gripping its controls with titanic effort, every mental faculty she had fighting and straining for survival. It was quite literally now or never.

NEUAL.

The Construct bellowed like a beast of Ragnarok itself, still unmoving. Its voice resonated through the hollow streets, and for a moment, time slowed. The demon's disembodied, expressionless face glared down at Nala as she struggled against her bonds, the last remnants of her reaching out and touching the tendril of her other self, gathering her strength. Together, they spoke to their mother's sibling, one of the three major archdemons, through the Construct once more.

STAY.

Pure silence.

Then...in every meaning of the word, it was done. The masonry encroaching on the city halted in its tracks. It began to flake away, like sand being whipped from a dune, revealing original textures and buildings and bodies and creatures once more. It flagged in trails above the Warden and Milae, and Virion caught up with them, scooping them up in a humming portal and vanishing to a safe place on the ground. The dragons caught themselves from shattering on the ground, ascending back into the sky with much confusion. The pilot's pod in the Construct's chest melted back to normal first, followed by the Bookkeeper in its seat, and the cleansing effect spread back across the entire Construct itself. Nala gasped in tandem with those restored, fighting off the nauseating feeling of being turned to stone, and throwing herself at Stonegit, cradling his mind like a terrified mother, ensuring it was severed from Neual's presence entirely, however the powerful demon had manifested it in this realm. Within the darkness around them, she heard heavy cracking, and chunks of something falling and crashing to the ground around them. She looked up at the blank face before them, which still had not yet spoken nor moved. Somehow, its white eyes were fixed on the man in her arms.

ᴅᴇɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ... he finally rumbled.

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

The Blood-Stained Lamb [pt 4]

[previous]

Don't take too long! the Guardian called as he and Sol withdrew as well, the oil-slick colors painting the sky shifting and fading to be dominated with shades of ruby and sapphire. The Glassmaker continued to writhe underneath Nala's adamantine grip, trying to shift forms as the Changeling did in order to slip away, but Nala would not allow her to. They locked eyes in finality as Milae drew two perpendicular lines across Juro's palm.

"...X..." The half-breed flinched as the opening to the pilot's pod squealed shut several inches, and the fragment of the Warden helping him did her best to push it back open.

Hurry.

Inside, Nala lifted her rival demon to face height, ignoring the weak molten glass grip around her wrists. They continued to stare at each other, minds still locked in desperate, fighting layers, driven to a stalemate without the presence of the other demons filling the Construct. Even now, in the struggle of their lifetimes, Nala couldn't fight back the bitter sting of pity for the sniveling being before her. It made her struggle with herself.

In the pod, the Warden re-adjusted her grip, propping the upper door across her shoulders, giving her another minute of stamina with which to fight the spring-loaded panels. Something felt strangely hot near her thigh, and with her newly freed hand, she reached down for it, frowning. At first, there was nothing, and then, as the burning increased, her charred porcelain fingertips slipped into a tear in space, brushing the corner of an envelope, hot to the touch. Pockets.

Her eyes widened, dark essence flaring. She reached out for Milae, grip closing in the back of his cape. Seidkonur, wait--!!

The final letter entered Nala's mind. Her inner mindscape paused, breathless, waiting. Similar to her other self, her eyes were wide, regarding the Glassmaker with a sudden cascade of true understanding of every fiber of the demon's being. In turn, the Glassmaker also stilled, like a prey animal that had just been sighted by a predator. It was very much the case. Nala now knew how to tear her enemy down to atoms, to instantly unmake her with a single thought.

Nala's fists clenched tighter. I am sorry you were created to destroy, cousin. This life was not meant for you.

Sapexa.

The name clicked like a single drop of pure water, echoing deeply through space.

Sapexa trembled, seen, understood.

Rest.

She had already wished to obey before even fully comprehending the command. Sapexa's arms went limp by her sides, and Nala pressed their foreheads together. The glass demon's essence began to slowly disintegrate, floating upwards without gravity, being absorbed by the inner atmosphere of Nala's own mind. It was like she was taking heavy draughts of a life-giving elixir, energy and fuel channeling straight into her astral veins, but she ate and drank with sorrow. The only thing left in her hands after she was sated was a tiny glass bead, refracting wildly as the sun fully set behind Nala, leaving behind cool twilight. She pressed it to her core, waited to hear the ambient natural sounds of her mindscape once more, but there was still only silence. In fact, it was getting darker.

Nala whirled around frantically, looking for Juro. In the fading light, she could just see the silhouette of the shattered, glassy protective sphere she had encased him with, and she sprinted towards it at the speed of a wildfire, but as the shadows lengthened and blindness set in, she suddenly struck a solid surface, palms slapping against it hotly, illuminated by her own body. But this one was not made of glass. It was stone.

ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴄʟᴇᴠᴇʀ, ɴᴀʟᴀᴀɢᴜʀᴀ.

Two pale, white eyes opened in the pitch blackness, flanked by two more pairs of smaller ones beneath the lower lids. Nala panicked, reaching out for help again, but was boxed in by solid stone as far as she could feel. The surface beneath her was hard as granite, and though she could tell the mental room had boundaries, it seemed infinite. She tilted her chin up, staring at what she could barely make out to be a carved face looking down at her from an angle, as though grafted onto the architecture of a church.

ʜᴀᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴜꜱᴜᴀʟ ʀᴇᴄᴋʟᴇꜱꜱ ʜᴀꜱᴛᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴋɪɴ ʟᴏɴɢ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ. ʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ. ʀɴᴀʟᴀᴛʜ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴅɪʙʟʏ ɪɢɴᴏʀᴀɴᴛ. ɪ ꜱʜᴀʟʟ ꜰɪɴɪꜱʜ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴍʏꜱᴇʟꜰ.

"Hold on, not yet--" Milae clung to Juro, fighting off the Warden's grip, desperately searching for any signs that the struggle had stopped. The Construct was still frozen in place.

No--you must leave with me, now! Her voice was like a gong in his thoughts, overwhelming and commanding. We are not yet through with this!

Milae's stomach dropped. He whipped his head around to stare at her, seeing a very familiar letter clutched in her hand, penned in his own hoof. Around him, his ears twitched at the sound of stone beginning to crackle, and with horror, he saw that the glistening metallic surfaces surrounding him and the Bookkeeper were growing dull and matte, with a rough texture like that of a canyon wall. Virion screeched and pulled at Milae's armor, and it distracted him long enough for the demon body behind him to pry him away.

"Juro!!" he hollered, as the Warden re-affirmed her hold around his midriff, dragging him out of the pod. "JURO!!"

She knew exactly who this was. She was done for. Though her uncle's words were devoid of tone, Nala could feel his intent--the barest touch of impatience, of annoyance, but also the glimpse of superiority, of satisfaction. She tried anything, viciously lashing out at him, essence ablaze, but she felt herself break across an impenetrable, monumental wall.

ᴡɪᴛɴᴇꜱꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜰᴀʟʟ.

The Warden's porcelain body kicked off of the Construct before the creeping stone surface could overwhelm her and Milae, and the pair dropped heavily back down towards the city. Virion shrieked and dived after them, morphing into portal space mid-flight. At the Construct's feet, the pure white stone began rapidly spreading and overtaking anyone and anything standing nearby, organic turned to marble in the blink of an eye. Rows of armored statues, frozen in fighting positions, decorated cold streets and walkways and alleys. A handful of dragons began to tumble from the sky, too leaden to stay aloft, heading straight for the ground alongside the tumbling demon.

In front of Nala, a silhouette materialized on the ground between her and the demon, a mortal form, with thick build and scarred face, sleeping soundly through the late night hours and completely unaware of the danger around him. Nala screamed silently, completely unheard, unable to reach out, feeling her very sense of self crushed by endless weight.

With the fossilizing goat curled up against the Warden's belly, one petrifying arm circling him protectively, the other gripping the paper fluttering wildly in her huge hand and lifting it before her face. One single word, in Milae's chicken-scratch handwriting. With her mind, she flung a thread of herself upwards like a safety rope, aiming for the Construct's hardening throat, and gripping its controls with titanic effort, every mental faculty she had fighting and straining for survival. It was quite literally now or never.

NEUAL.

The Construct bellowed like a beast of Ragnarok itself, still unmoving. Its voice resonated through the hollow streets, and for a moment, time slowed. The demon's disembodied, expressionless face glared down at Nala as she struggled against her bonds, the last remnants of her reaching out and touching the tendril of her other self, gathering her strength. Together, they spoke to their mother's sibling, one of the three major archdemons, through the Construct once more.

STAY.

Pure silence.

Then...in every meaning of the word, it was done. The masonry encroaching on the city halted in its tracks. It began to flake away, like sand being whipped from a dune, revealing original textures and buildings and bodies and creatures once more. It flagged in trails above the Warden and Milae, and Virion caught up with them, scooping them up in a humming portal and vanishing to a safe place on the ground. The dragons caught themselves from shattering on the ground, ascending back into the sky with much confusion. The pilot's pod in the Construct's chest melted back to normal first, followed by the Bookkeeper in its seat, and the cleansing effect spread back across the entire Construct itself. Nala gasped in tandem with those restored, fighting off the nauseating feeling of being turned to stone, and throwing herself at Stonegit, cradling his mind like a terrified mother, ensuring it was severed from Neual's presence entirely, however the powerful demon had manifested it in this realm. Within the darkness around them, she heard heavy cracking, and chunks of something falling and crashing to the ground around them. She looked up at the blank face before them, which still had not yet spoken nor moved. Somehow, its white eyes were fixed on the man in her arms.

ᴅᴇɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ... he finally rumbled.

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

The she-demon screeched with the sound of blades over ice, mind-numbing but heartily desperate. Floating limbs flailed as she was handily tossed about by the Changeling, then the Arbiter, eyes bouncing and scattering across the ground like spilled marbles. She tried to pull herself together, fragments whirling like a hurricane, but her middle-most eye was immediately set upon by the Guardian, roaring with the thunder of a thousand lions, at times even using his bare fists to smash chunks out of the glass surface before him. The other eyes angrily floated into the air and then flinched and shrunk back under the similar many-eyed gaze of the Matriarch, surfaces shivering as she hummed with a deep resonance. The Warden paced forward, one taloned foot at a time, eyes hungrily waiting for an opening. Shards of glass the size of logs flew and speared the ground around her, and yet she did not shrink back from the carnage being wreaked around her. She had her attention fixed on a figure slowly forming in the shining hailstorm, a female figure the same size as herself, scooting backwards on her rear, legs dragging in the grass, which was beginning to unfreeze and wave in the strong wind once more.

Outside the Construct, the smaller Nala's hand sizzled as she gripped hot gyros and latticework and filigree, keeping Milae from any steaming surfaces. She grabbed the front of the panels on the pod, heaving herself up higher, and bringing the goat level with the tightly sealed entrance. Her essence cast a strange ultraviolet glow against the ruddy orange light around them from so much heated metal. Here. Nala shifted Milae to the front of her abdomen, who wrapped a hoof around a porcelain rib each, and then, anchoring herself with her left hand and right foot, the demon body reached forward and hooked her fingers into the seam between the three sections that made up the door of the pilot's pod. It was a gargantuan effort on her part to pry them open, even with her artificial strength.

The first squad that had been guarding Milae and Dario were beginning to make their way down the wall, having decided to at least tote the beacon back down to the ground before abandoning it. They were watching the kaleidescopic spectacle of the Construct with wary eyes, concerned about what the brightness of its chest meant. The second squad waited in the guard tower to maintain control of the wall.

The first squad leader suddenly yelped and batted at his chest, causing everyone to leap back and look at him in concern. He had the beacon harnessed to him the same way Milae did, hanging from his torso, and it had begun to hum and glow with several geometric cracks, including two round golden rings mimicking eyes. He hurriedly unhooked, it but there quickly became no need--it began lifting itself away, pieces unhooking from each other and the egg shape dissolving into a floating, puzzled mess. The squads stumbled away from it, catching each other so that they didn't lose footing on the stairs back down. The other two beacon holders experienced the same phenomenon, the egg-shaped beacons appearing to hatch mid-air. The shapes began re-arranging themselves into a familiar shape, a bird with broad, wings and a very round head and tucked tail, primaries made of thick stone slabs and down made from glowing green and gold engravings. The eyes were still illuminated in the bird's face, above a tiny beak. It was an owl. It did not flap its wings, but it continued to float, resonating deeply with some vibration that they could barely feel in their lungs.

The pilot's pod groaned and shook as Nala continued to force it open. Milae was untying the laces on the journal again and flipping it back open, the pencil falling away and spinning down the fifty-foot drop below them. He gritted his teeth and opened the Library against Nala's sternum, hanging on for dear life with his legs. There, he saw it--a new message from Moirai. The final letter. The relief was swamped with instant, terrifying anxiety.

The pod wrenched open the last few inches and Nala made a strained mental noise. Quickly, she urged, and Milae did not hesitate. He vaulted inside, fur singeing on the edges of the panels as he brushed by, and immediately tumbling into Juro's lap. The goat fumbled upright and gripped the man's shoulders, who seemed all but responsive to him. Clearly alive, and reacting to whatever war was being waged inside the machine, but barely aware of anything else. Everything was limp except his hands, white-knuckled on the seat below him. The magic erupting from his eye constantly rushed outwards and then sucked backwards into his amplification point.

How on earth do I get this to him?

Milae uncurled one of Juro's hands from the seat and cradled his hand, palm upright, while leaning into the Bookkeeper's neck, mouth right next to his ear. "Bokari," he said roughly, emotion already catching in his voice. "I don't know if you or the Warden can hear me. But I pray someone can. I have the demon's name, and I need to get it to her."

Juro twitched and rolled his head, exhaling hotly. Milae's words tugged at the Warden's subconscious, and she paused in her prowl, reaching out to connect to the half-breed through Juro. He tensed, the banners of blue and gold emitting from his eye darkening to scarlet for a brief moment. He gave another rough inhale, and the next exhalation was a soft "Milae..."

Milae's heart clenched, and he pressed onward. "You're both doing well." Here we go. He pressed a fingertip into Juro's gloved palm and began tracing the letters as he spoke them one by one, into the Bookkeeper's ear, just in case the additional stimulation would help Juro transmit the letters to the demon. "S...A..."

The Warden caught up to the Glassmaker and pounced on her, gripping her neck and lifting her up high into the air before slamming her back down once, on her back. The earth cratered and the Glassmaker screamed, scrambling against the Warden, as the other demons approached behind her, essences burning and roiling with color and life. The sky looked psychedelic, flaring with multicolored galaxies and dancing auroras. The letters in Milae's voice rang loud and clear through her mind.

"...P...E..."

Everyone clear out, the Warden ordered, eyes fixed on the Glassmaker. Get a distance away. I will be fine, but this will likely be messy.

The Blood-Stained Lamb [pt 3]

[previous]

The Warden jerked her head up at the sound of the voices with her, inside her own mind, chest heaving as streaks continued to leak down from her fractured mask. As the landscape was overtaken with glass, so too was her barrier, which slowly grew more transparent with each passing second. In slow motion, she could see the Arbiter and the Changeling, trading blows with the Glassmaker's last, desperate attempts to drive them out, and from behind the Glassmaker, a huge, masculine humanoid figure leaped into the air, baring two huge, golden blades attached to the armor on his muscular forearms, and sank them into one of the elbows of the glittering arms, shattering the joint to tiny fragments. Around him, a swimming aura of gold and bronze flashed, radiant as the sun itself, and his eyes flickered with bright flames underneath an elaborate helmet.

Don't you dare give up, klf'rn gh'lk! Zsil bellowed, stamping his feet to smash the hardened glass beneath his boots. Not only do we have to show Central who's boss, we have to come out the other side kicking and screaming! We don't get to lie down and die! Not now!

The light around them shifted from angry scarlet to soft sea-green and blue, as a fourth presence seemed to hug the protective bubble, permeating it with serenity, tempering Nala's wild urge to self-destruct. So few of us left, Sol murmured, that can do what we can do, sister. Few of us that can stand up to those who would see this world in ruin. If you stand with us, we will not let you fall.

Nala looked down at Juro, who weakly reached up to hold the wrist of the hand that held his face, not entirely clear on what was happening, but still feeling her wretchedness and trying to offer some form of comfort. "Stay with me," she heard, the trace of a whisper echoing from his subconscious.

I'm scared, she cried, consciousness and emotions still battered to and fro with the loss of her restraint. I am afraid to fail...I cannot watch as I lose everyone around me...

This is not the end. This is only the beginning.

Get up! No more self pity! We destroy this monster today!

[demon-in-the-dungeon]

The glass bubble in the midst of the fight seemed to dim for a moment, and the crystalline sounds around everyone paused, giving a strange ambience to the moment.

Then the front of it shattered outwards like a bull straight into a wall, rainbow fragments gleaming through the air, and Nala, both birdlike and draconic, exploded out into the plains, radiating heat strong enough to begin melting their surroundings once more. Behind her, the Matriarch radiated protection around the Bookkeeper, who was still not conscious enough to keep himself upright.

The Construct lurched, nearly shaking off the tall body climbing it, cradling a goat half-breed in one arm, and he felt her alarm at the movement as her entire hand clutched his abdomen. Milae locked his hooves against her hip and fixed his gaze upwards, to the pulsing pilot's capsule above them.

The clouds above the demons were no longer refracted in glass. They all now stood beneath an astral sky, brilliant with all the colors of every demon's essence, drowning out the paleness of the Glassmaker with saturated emotion and ferocity. The Warden stood to her full height, wings aflame, and she bared her smoking claws on either hand. To each demon, she crashed into with a tidal wave of love, desperation, and grim finality and commitment. Tears still poured down her mask, but she acted despite them.

You're right. I need help...from all of you. One more time.

And she charged forwards, as the Glassmaker formed six hovering eyes in a vertical line between her wavering arms, fixed on the demon before her, determined to kill. The hands threw fists at the ground in sprays of more molten glass and earth, at each demon in turn, being blocked by strikes of their own, waves of force, trying to grab them up and tear them apart, each eye glowing with every pulse of magic she tried to summon to defeat them.

The Blood-Stained Lamb [pt 3]

[previous]

The Warden jerked her head up at the sound of the voices with her, inside her own mind, chest heaving as streaks continued to leak down from her fractured mask. As the landscape was overtaken with glass, so too was her barrier, which slowly grew more transparent with each passing second. In slow motion, she could see the Arbiter and the Changeling, trading blows with the Glassmaker's last, desperate attempts to drive them out, and from behind the Glassmaker, a huge, masculine humanoid figure leaped into the air, baring two huge, golden blades attached to the armor on his muscular forearms, and sank them into one of the elbows of the glittering arms, shattering the joint to tiny fragments. Around him, a swimming aura of gold and bronze flashed, radiant as the sun itself, and his eyes flickered with bright flames underneath an elaborate helmet.

Don't you dare give up, klf'rn gh'lk! Zsil bellowed, stamping his feet to smash the hardened glass beneath his boots. Not only do we have to show Central who's boss, we have to come out the other side kicking and screaming! We don't get to lie down and die! Not now!

The light around them shifted from angry scarlet to soft sea-green and blue, as a fourth presence seemed to hug the protective bubble, permeating it with serenity, tempering Nala's wild urge to self-destruct. So few of us left, Sol murmured, that can do what we can do, sister. Few of us that can stand up to those who would see this world in ruin. If you stand with us, we will not let you fall.

Nala looked down at Juro, who weakly reached up to hold the wrist of the hand that held his face, not entirely clear on what was happening, but still feeling her wretchedness and trying to offer some form of comfort. "Stay with me," she heard, the trace of a whisper echoing from his subconscious.

I'm scared, she cried, consciousness and emotions still battered to and fro with the loss of her restraint. I am afraid to fail...I cannot watch as I lose everyone around me...

This is not the end. This is only the beginning.

Get up! No more self pity! We destroy this monster today!