Worlds sealed themselves from one another, stranding Demon inside. He quickly shot up onto his feet, glaring in the direction he was thrown from.
The Seeker calmly stepped forward, allowing itself to be seen by the grander creations above. Right around the Nine's blind spot, but just far away from it so they could catch glimpses of it.
It pointed at Demon. "Pathetic manifestation of evil. You corrupt innocent Variants. I will punish you. The Nine are careless. If you die. You are replaceable. And I will force. So they replace you."
Demon lunged forward, getting right up in front of the Seeker's face in a split second. Then he drove his foot into its stomach. Sending the being stumbling back.
Syndicate Dust consumed Demon, allowing him to reappear right behind the Seeker's head. Where he delivered a devastating knee.
False bones broke on impact, letting out a nasty crunch. Before the Seeker could recover and deliver its own counter, Demon manifested dust to drive itself into its gut and crotch area.
Using said dust, he attempted to cause structural damage on the being. Only to figure out the Syndicate Dust would not work. It didn't respond to his commands anymore because he 'gifted' the dust to another Distorted.
"You claim yourself powerful. But you are pathetic. Demon, I am end. You will not survive. You will be cleaned. So the Nine understand. Corruption kills Koroth. It is coming," the Seeker warned.
Demon narrowed his eyes, taking aim for the Seeker's jaw. "Funny coming from a Distorted!"
He let his fist loose, sending it barreling towards his aggressor. But it did nothing, the Seeker flicked the attack off. Then it struck Demon's chest with its own hit.
Eager to show Demon just how massive his mistake was, it brought a deadly upper-cut straight into Demon's chin. Sending the creation off the ground.
Syndicate Dust consumed the Seeker, allowing him to reappear by Demon's side. It grabbed his wrist then spun around, building up momentum so it could throw him higher into the sky.
Purple clouds devoured him. The air was still and clouds unnaturally sticky. None of it made sense, it slightly reminded Demon of the Distorted Mind when he first got there.
Up there, he realized something was off. All three moons hovered over the horizon, except they weren't normal.
It was like the biggest moon was consuming the smallest, except the biggest moon was somehow glowing a black color. The celestial body manifested creations powerful enough to destroy its younger sibling.
Demon watched the middle moon drift like an arrow through the sky, ramming itself against the smallest, almost as if it was putting it out of its misery. Then the gravity of the largest moon tugged on its new meal.
While he watched, he realized he was not being pulled back down to earth. He was stationary in the air, right on a cloud.
"The hell is happening?" he muttered to himself.
"Our end is happening. Corruption is strong," the Seeker answered. "We need to die. To ensure survival. Our souls must be. Agonized and ionized."
Demon struggled to get back on his feet before the Seeker arrived. But the cloud was too sticky, it didn't let him go. It almost felt like a trap, one the Seeker somehow avoided.
He watched the creation rush towards them, then kicking his ribs. Demon rolled onto his side, where the Seeker stomped on his head hard enough to thaw him loose.
The purple cloud spit them both out, sending them barreling towards the corrupted version of Koroth. Grass turned a sickly orange color, with trees looking like they were blown up.
Bones shattered on impact. Demon heard them crunch and burst, sending shards of themselves into organs and veins. He felt it all. The pain was unreal, he couldn't properly think from there.
"One suffers," the Seeker continues. "The other accepts. I know my end. You deny yours. Let me free you."
Demon crawled away from the Seeker's approaching shadow. "I am not going to die. Not until I am done with my goals. Let me achieve them before you kill me."
The Seeker reached down for Demon's collar. "You were reborn. Corrupted by Distorted. But you didn't die. Let me free you."
He groaned and grunted in frustration. "You think I wanted this?" Demon struggled against the overwhelming strength. "I wanted to die. But they brought me back."
"I didn't ask," the Seeker drove its hand straight through Demon's chest. "But I cannot end. You are paranormal. So I must clean. So you can die."
"AGH!" Demon cried. His eyes were focused on the empty holes on the Seeker's mask. "Fucking kill me already!"
Surprisingly the Seeker agreed. It flung Demon across the dead field, however it remained with chunk of gore in its hand.
Reality began to weaken again, allowing the creation to escape. Demon found himself clutching a gaping hole in his chest in the middle of an open street.
Krugi citizens stumbled away from the sudden display. They were unsure of what to do with dying entity.
"Hey, move - move! What's happening," Jakery pushed through the crowd. His eyes widened when he saw Demon dying. "Wh - what the hell!"
Despite wanting to be worried for his brother, he understood Demon couldn't truly die. Only be put in a cool down. So he sped up the process.
Lightning consumed his arms, crackling in their multi-colored glory. Jakery unleashed the volley of electricity into his brother's wound.
Which instantly engulfed Demon in an electrical explosion. Consuming him nearly instantly and sending him into recovery.
Hazen pushed through the crowd, carrying Hylo on her back and holding Etherna's hand. Together, they made an opening for the nearly blinded Valentine to pass through.
They stopped at the same time, waiting for Jakery to snap out of his trance. A look of concern and confusion quickly disappeared from his face.
"That was..." Jakery slowly turned to face them. "N - never mind. Let's go find Ether."