Tal was trying very hard not to be sick. Ever since the group had entered the cavern, it had become increasingly difficult to focus, as riotous streams of mana were sucked into the gaping black abyss that hovered over the altar.
Worse, however, were the screams of terror and pain that arose from the squirming souls of those who had been killed since the start of the battle. The dark ritual the Cabal used to steal a portion of their essence prior to their re-entry into the cycle of reincarnation fueled the growing tear in the fabric of the universe.
Not for the first time, Tal felt a tinge of regret for the pact that gave her Spirit Sight. As much as she treasured her bond with the ghost, seeing the world through a spirit's eyes was often a little too overwhelming for a mortal mind.
It gave her the ability to perceive the otherwise invisible passage of mana through the world, the souls of the dead, and even those spirits that were either too weak or too shy to take on a visible form. Unfortunately, it took her quite some to get used to her new field of view.
Had Mike been privy to her vision, he would have said it looked like an animated version of a Van Gogh painting, done in chaotic, almost nonsensical colors.
After a day spent in existential agony, Tal was able to control her sight to a limited extent, but certain stimuli still overwhelmed her.
Prior to the cavern, the worst she had experienced was when Mike was throwing his power around at the barricade. Each time he'd called forth some new brute force application of magic, it had left her temporarily disoriented. Something that had prevented her from contributing much to the battle.
That said, Mike's mana was almost refreshing in its purity. If not for the ridiculous intensity it acquired when he released it, Tal would have almost found the experience pleasant.
The cavern was different. The mana here had been tainted by the foulness of the Cabal's ritual. Even descending the stairs into the subterranean complex had been a trial, as the act made her feel as if she was sinking into a pool of raw sewage.
By the time the adventurers reached the ritual site, it was all she could do to maintain her focus, as a pounding headache and near constant waves of nausea left her virtually helpless. She was debating about relating her condition to the others when they were discovered.
In his typically reckless fashion, Mike started the fight, throwing a stone spear at a priest-like figure that seemed to be leading one portion of the ritual. Surprisingly, the attack succeeded in slaying the man, which inspired his flock to seek vengeance.
Initially, she'd hoped that the sneak attack disrupted some aspect of the ritual, but Tal could only watch in horror as the priest's life and soul were ripped out and fed to the terrible abyss that hung before the idol, causing it to grow in size. As her companions started cutting their way through the cultists, a similar phenomenon occurred.
Evidently, the deaths of the faithful seemed to power the ritual in a far greater capacity. They needed to-
Tal was momentarily distracted by the need to save Brenden from a demon's attack. The beastman had been bantering with Mike, and had been caught off guard when a skeletal demon had emerged from the nearby shadows. It seemed like the omnipresent scent of decay was deceiving his normally excellent senses.
One positive aspect of her current condition was the ability to see mana dependent creatures like demons, even when they are concealed from normal sight.
"Focus. Surrounded." She made sure to warn the group about the other enemies that were creeping closer.
She returned to analyzing the ritual's construction. As much as it made nauseous to even look at the thing, Tal needed to try and understand it if she hoped to disable it.
Of course, Mike chose this exact opportunity to try something flashy. She managed to give him a quick reminder to not disrupt the ritual site magically, but was still overwhelmed by the effects of the tidal wave he summoned and threw at their enemies. It succeeded in killing or immobilizing the vast majority of them, but sometimes she wished that he would use more precise and controlled methods.
As the group engaged the ritual caster, Tal once again tried to study the site in question. She wasn't sure, but it looked like it was locational in nature, and used the strange idol as a focal point. If that was the case, simply removing or destroying it would stop the ritual.
She planned on informing the rest of the party about her discovery, but a demon attack stopped her.
The odd amalgamation of insect and serpent moved with ridiculous speed for a being of its size, blurring between the rocks with a supernatural grace. It was mostly by luck that she was able to fend off the creature's first few blows.
"Stay behind." Tal told Sera, already shielding the Oracle with an arm.
The serpent demon hissed in a disconcerting manner, and promptly vanished. For the vast majority of viewers, it would have been invisible, luckily Tal had just the right skill to still see it. So, when the creature went in for an attack at an unexpected angle, she was able to summon an earthen wall to block it.
The demon, no longer invisible, started hacking away at the wall with its mantis arms.
Tal was trying to come up with a plan to counter attack, when a sudden surge of mana from Mike's fight gave her a case of vertigo. At first she thought he must have attempted some other ridiculous magical stunt, but it quickly became apparent that the origin of the spell was from a far darker source.
As she heard the caster finish his spell, she quickly reinforced her earth wall with as much mana as her contracted spirit could spare, and hunkered down with Sera. The entire world seemed to shake as dozens of explosions rocked the cavern, destroying many the stalagmites and sending shards of debris raining in every direction.
As soon as the rumbling faded, Tal was back on her feet, warily tracking the serpent demon's now sluggish movements. Evidently it had been caught in its master's attack.
"MIKE!" Sera screamed from behind her, staring worriedly at the cloud of dust that had formed near the base of the altar.
Tal laid a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulders. "Don't worry. Still alive."
Even though her vision was still reeling from the blow of the caster's spell, the subtle connection that had formed ever since her new title had appeared confirmed that the young man was still very much alive. She just hoped they all lived long enough to get an explanation out of him.
Watching the serpent demon already regenerating the damage it had sustained, Tal knew she had to act fast. The opportunity created by the friendly fire incident was simply too good to pass up.
The demon was too quick for the majority of her spells, and too resilient for the rest, so she would have to use a recently acquired ability. Tal concentrated on her newest pact, and brought forth the spirit of the ancient elf that now served as her eyes.
The grey colored shade was largely featureless, more of a silhouette or an outline than anything else, but its aura of easy confidence and gentle warmth reassured her.
She spoke in the Elder Tongue, "Revered ancestor. I humbly beg you, take the promised price and aid us. Rend the mind of the beast before us, and render it an ally to our cause. Let it turn upon its former master."
The shade seemed to hesitate, but nodded in silent acquiescence. It became even more transparent, elongating until resembled a wisp of smoke. Moving in a steady, sinuous manner it sunk into the head of the demon.
At first there didn't seem to be any effect, but after a few moments the beast halted, and shook its insectoid head as if to clear its primitive thoughts. Then, it started to shudder uncontrollably, as the battle for the control of its body started.
She sighed in relief, now that the spirit was no longer inhabiting her, the cavern was merely unpleasant, and no longer intolerable. A tingling started forming at the edges of her eyes.
A pair of hands gripped her arm, and she turned to look back at the Oracle, only to see her smiling in joy. Following her gaze Tal saw the dust had cleared from the space near the altar, revealing Mike completely unharmed by the barrage, a sphere of force surrounding him.
With a hint of a smile forming on her lips, the elf burned the sight of her defiant companion into her mind. Her vision had already started to fade, narrowing as the void seemed to eat away at its edges.
The last thing she saw before darkness engulfed her, was Mike grinning triumphantly.
"Sera, listen. Key. Stop ritual...."
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As the explosions ceased, Mike opened his eyes to see that the Salvation Stone had delivered on its initial promises.
[Holy s***, that was close. I'm glad I remembered this item at the last second. Gotta thank Kaya the next time I run into her. Now, let's see, how do I get this thing to move again?]
He felt the sphere rise into the air a bit, finding that all it took was a little mental direction. As the dust cloud settled around him, he made a few experimental moves. He realized that he could channel mana into the spell to make it move faster.
Grinning, he decided to test the full limits of this item before it was expended. He shot out of the remains of the dust cloud, moving as fast as it would let him.
Huzan gave a surprised squawk as the sphere slammed into him with the force of a wrecking ball, sending him careening through the air for dozens of meters, before he collided with a stalactite.
The now disheveled mage barely managed to get his wits about him before another collision sent him spinning once more, this time smashing through one of the rocky formations.
Taking a quick look around to see that Tal had somehow disabled her opponent, the snake looked like it was going through convulsions, and that a now fur-covered Brenden was tearing into his own opponent, Mike felt much more assured.
"Now let's see. Should I call this Mage Pinball, or perhaps Wizard Billiards?" He chuckled to himself while sending his sphere forward.