My blood boils gazing at this Vessel, knowing that if Lennon or Kate were here, things would already have exploded into a battle. I can see Silas's arms bulging with force as his eye practically wrestles with him. Mie's so pissed. I slide over to the duo, placing my arm across their front as I speak with gritted teeth.
"We do not have time to deal with your shit, Weiss. Leave."
The old man clad in porcelain skin tsks, walking with his signature cane toward the golden barrier. The Devil raises an eyebrow as he stares at Eli. Obviously, he is questioning how the Underground Tree managed to enter the Crimson Court.
"You see, that is precisely why I am here. You need some help, no? I am willing to deal with Eldest. Desolation often spoke of his only near-equal, mostly about countermeasures. Your assassin has no knowledge of my arrival, but he is of the rational mind to join my efforts."
The Devil continues to struggle to hold the barrier open, but there is so much happening that I simply grab my skull to focus. Eli speaks to the God while Aniwye holds back Mie and Silas, the latter acquiescing to her vengeance.
Meanwhile, I run the past few minutes in my head. It's all crammed and bewildering, but I shove it all down for now beyond the simple declarations of my mind. Alexos is alive. I am half-artifact. My father is a dick. Well, the last one was already known.
I can tell he cares, at least a bit, but he is too focused on all of this to truly show it.
And so, air flows into my lungs and then out of them as text appears on the wall again.
2/1 1/1 1/1
Another session has begun.
Fuck. Without waiting any longer, I stride up to Louis Fern, ignoring Eli's attempts to join the fight. Instead, I push to place my hand on the wall to join Virgil.
"Release it. Fa—join me when you can, Killian. Eli... stay out of this fight. If you must... enter that third one. Stay away from the rest of us."
Eli Weiss mechanically grins, the porcelain somehow stretching to match the motion. Then, he nods, and the Devil touches my arm. No one says another word as I notice the third arena filled with another familiar face, the Motherbound that appeared to Abraham.
The next thing I know, gold covers my vision, and I appear on a sandy battlefield right beside Virgil. As my feet hit the ground, the effects that are keeping everyone in place lift, and Eldest begins with his abilities. Darklight swarms over the arena, filling the open sky as if it were limitless.
I step close to Virgil, knowing what is to come. My friend nods to me, asking for clarification as the world turns to nothing but stars and empty nothingness.
"You and me?"
Returning the nod, I spin the Colt in my hand as Lily forms beside me. Even Bonfire's heart is in her hand, an aspect of her appearance that throws me off. Still, I focus while the stars above grow in radiance.
"For a little while. You alright?"
Virgil grins, the emotion visible due to his lack of a mask down here in the underworld. He lifts his scythe, letting it hover as he makes a claw out of his right hand.
"Of course. Who else better than you? I'll take the first star. Second?"
"Yeah."
Our plans are made, set in stone, and immediately put into action as Eldest descends the first star upon us. Lily giggles happily with the heart in her hands and the scarf of a river around her neck. The volume of the scarf has decreased notably since it was first made, but there still seems to be plenty left.
Little needs to be said between Virgil and I. A slight bit of communication is all we need. Blodwyn is similar, but Virgil is just different. We aren't bound by blood, after all. I've fought with no one else more than him other than the two on my hip and in my heart.
As such, I trust no one else more to have my back in a fight than him.
I don't even glance at the descending sun as Blodwyn sets one of his newest skills into motion. My blood contorts, shifts, and moves like the tides of the planet with the moon beside my heart with such momentum that it shunts my body forward, eliciting my first movement toward Eldest.
My heart is the core of all that is my power. Painsforge falls into place as a Blood Nexus forms to complement it an inch away. All the strength I have wanes for a fragile second as Eldest stares me down. But it is not from his eyes nor his power. It is because...
Thump.
When my heart beats, an unimaginable feeling soars through me. I feel as though I could—
A single step lands me in front of Eldest, yet my body does not shatter. Legs bend, knees tremble, and everything roils with energy, but in the vacuum of another heartbeat, I can live.
The Motherbound looses a hand, string coming to life to attack me. It is less like a single attack from a being and more akin to an onslaught from an entire army. A thousand threads seek my life while I attempt to find a moment to aim the Blooming Spider Lily. Simultaneously, I built the Ether in my other hand, preparing for the Accretion Ether to reach its peak. There is no Marshall Protocol this time. We'll have to beat him without Earl's help.
Meanwhile, Lily herself grasps out with her hand, forming a watery hand of pitch-black liquid to devour Eldest. In exchange, the Motherbound drops a hand toward the conjuration, and a thunderous explosion detonates from his hand.
My vision shudders under the force of the explosion for a moment as I retreat slightly. Doing so, I stare at Eldest through the blackened smoke. I see. Between the stars, the threads, and this? There was a demon who could use explosions. And it wasn't even their Power but their Dominion, right?
What does that mean here? That...
Shit.
Ether spins together into my feet, launching me back toward Eldest as he flicks his hand, conjuring a double-sided spear of harnessed lightning. This time, he doesn't cower away and meets me up close. With the Blooming Spider Lily in one hand and my arm blade wrapped in Ether in another, I contest the Dominion.
Though, I am not alone.
Swinging my blade, Eldest leans back, only to swipe his spear toward me. A wall of abyssal water turns to pitch, blocking the spear wholly and devouring much of the lightning. However, threads sink into the water, ripping the liquid into countless pieces.
A scythe then sinks for the back of Eldest's neck, but a bolt of lightning strikes in the air, slamming Virgil's Carnation out of the way. The three of us immediately reengage with Eldest, not wasting a single moment.
The battle shifts out of our favor within seconds, each of us being put on the back foot. Eldest strikes Lily, aiming for Bonfire's heart, forcing her to dodge despite being incorporeal to attacks. At the same time, he keeps both Virgil and me at a stalemate simultaneously through his unimaginable amount of skills and Ether. We attack, and he simply reacts with the perfect movement to cancel out our efforts.
This Demigod seems to break all understanding of Sigils and skills. At least Eli's Dominion has a limit. Plus, the old man only knows so many skills, but it seems like Eldest rips out another skill the moment Virgil and I adapt.
The minute promised by Louis Fern just never seems to come as I handle the next star with a Twisted Edge, the Accretion causing the superheated mass to collapse. Then as a third comes, I need some extra juice. So, I use another bullet to remove it from being a threat. Vitality and energy fill me, and so I reinvest my strength against this Dominion. Though, I quickly learn that finding a moment of peace was a mistake.
His spear of lightning strikes my blade as I attempt to deflect the ingenious strike, and while I succeed, the sparks enter my body. My muscles convulse for only a split second, yet it is enough to be skewered by a half-dozen threads.
And the instant the wires enter my flesh, they turn red, siphoning out my blood, while Darklight sinks into me with awful torrents. The Darklight, however, is pulled deep into my heart, only to be utterly destroyed by Blodwyn's vortex of blood.
Standing, I grab onto the wire, using it to hold Eldest still while Lily congeals water around his legs and Virgil forms a blindingly bright claw. I recognize the attack from Virgil and duck. Yet, it is not needed.
The supremely deadly skill of Virgil stops dead on Eldest's arm, only managing to dig deep enough to reveal the bone. Dammit! The Dominion smiles at me eerily and yanks even more blood from my body.
Feeling as though something more is afoot than him simply attempting to weaken me from blood loss, I cut off the wires with the help of some Living Manacles and my blade seething with the cantankerous nature of my Plasmic Ether. I stumble backward, creating some distance as I call out to Blodwyn and holster Lily. The real one doesn't seem to mind, lashing out with all the water she can spare.
We need a stronger weapon to do any real damage. Ballista might hurt him, but... Soulbone most definitely will. My companion already knows my thoughts and yells at me.
"No way! Have you even recovered all the way from the first one? Don't!"
Wiping the blood from my lips, I can only ignore his concerns. Lily's doing her best, but she can't seem to drain enough life to matter. Virgil's deadliest weapon isn't enough. I have to do something.
"Take charge for a moment. I'll be done shortly."
Blodwyn groans but agrees in the end, protruding a spear of bone from my left palm. Smiling, I fall back into the passenger role as I focus wholly on my Ether and my soul. This attempt, no this creation, of Soulbone starts far smoother than any other.
My confidence and prior success prove worthwhile as I dive into my body, sliding Ether out of my fingers and into the spear. Alongside that Ether flows my soul, a fragment of it detaching to join the bone.
A soul-splitting headache forms, but I don't lose a grasp of what matters. Instead, I remain a bystander for a moment, watching Blodwyn wield the Soulbone. It can, after all, strike the very soul.
Nevertheless, we continue to lose ground and gain wounds. Eldest is certainly more powerful than even us combined, and more impressive is that he is doing this all slowly and steadily. Bit by bit, he overwhelms and weakens us, never taking a risk or overextending. He is simply... destroying us. Slow and steady, seemingly guaranteed to win. Fuck this shit. I hate his face and his confidence.
I take back control to toss out Living Manacles to save Virgil from losing his eyes due to Eldest's spear swiping for his face with crackling blue. Then, by doing so, I take a pivoting kick to my chest as the focus switches to me before I can dodge. The force is enough to send me rolling on the ground and messing up the Blood Nexus.
A significant portion of my strength leaves me while Blodwyn fumbles to restart the Dzil. Still, the minor period of time stretches painfully as Virgil takes another awful wound, the spear stabbing through his shoulder and electrocuting him. In this realm, his Flicker is dampened massively, taking both longer to activate and far more Ether.
Lily pushes Virgil away, tossing some of her water toward him that reconstructs his body but washes away all his Ether around his body. I nod to her as she whispers to me.
"I can't do that forever. There is only so much creation left in the scarf."
I nod and rush back into the battle the second Blodwyn reignites the Dzil. Again, we meet Eldest, but this time, we are beaten back even faster and with far more cruelty. Cradling my backward knee, I lament my inability to land a strike with this Soulbone. Virgil, however, is even worse, with his innate durability being far beneath mine.
Half his torso is missing, a wound that would otherwise cripple an Angel, possibly killing them, but it quickly fades as Lily saves both of our lives. I roll away from another spout of threads, noticing a falling sun above.
Damn. No time for Accretion to build! I think I have one bullet left. Is she—
A body appears beside me, lingering scars and bruised flesh, but whole in form nonetheless. That is, barring the missing hand that ends in a dangerous point of bone. Killian stands tall against Eldest as the Dominion speaks for the first time.
"For all his rules, the Devil sure loves to cheat, eh? Three against one? Not too fair."
Killian Graves glances up at the falling sun, clicking his tongue before twisting his hand. A ball of swirling Ether forms in his healed hand, the color swiftly turning dark, then darker. In only a fraction of a second, dozens of times faster than I can manage, a ball of Accretion Ether is hurled into the sky, meeting the falling star.
The resulting eruption sends us all to the floor, even Killian. More blood spills from my lips from the internal damage, and I wave away from Lily, having her focus on Virgil. I do spot the bloody strings falling away from Virgil as the man stumbles to his feet once more.
That has to be preparation for some skill. And if Eldest has to prepare for something... Yeah. That's bad. We need to kill him before it comes to fruition. Wiping my face of blood again, I dive toward Eldest with Killian, the man moving even faster than me. The fact we, including Blodwyn, all have Accretion Ether is not lost on me. It must have something to do with being artifacts. I'll have to see what Mie's Plasmic Ether is, though, to be sure.
Killian stabs toward Eldest's skull with his bony arm as an instrument of death, ignorant and uncaring of the dangers against him. He charges through most of the danger, withstanding more and more damage, and I follow through with him, cautious not to be hit by anything as well.
Virgil skulks behind Eldest while Lily runs around us four, tossing out both destructive and healing water where she can. Killian truly created a powerful weapon, being able to fight on her own like this. It is impressive—very, very impressive.
We all lunge at Eldest simultaneously, and, like he is his whole army of Motherbound shoved into one being, he attacks each of us with a different Dominion.
A sun falls for Lily, forcing her to run away as far as she can. She is quite speedy with her steps, but I can see it will hit her... and Bonfire. Yet, there is nothing I can do as snakes of lightning seek my throat, born from the air around his double-sided spear. If even one hits me, I'll be paralyzed.
Twisting with sudden jaunts from Arbalest, I evade the electricity while Killian eats the brunt of the threads. The moment he gets close, a shattering explosion tosses him backward, all blackened and charred. Virgil dodges a spear of lightning by an inch with a Flicker, only to reappear and suffer from a fist to the jaw, hurtling him away.
I'm the only one uninjured, but that likely won't last for long as Eldest sets his sights on me. I slip some threads with my own Living Manacles, slide under a swipe of a spear, and Arbalest to the other side of Eldest, predicting the explosion. Yet, it is not enough to simply see the failures of others.
Necrotic fog fumes out of Eldest's mouth, and knowing how debilitating it is, I leap backward. As I do so, Killian is already back, up close and personal with Eldest. My eyes flip over to Lily as I see her panicking for Bonfire. My minute hesistation of what to do costs me a leg with lightning arcing up it already.
A second later, I'm rolling on the ground, clutching my stomach as Blodwyn works to heal me. Then, a rumbling wave of light reaches me. My stomach sinks as the fallen star covers Lily and Bonfire. Frantically, I throw myself to my feet, the bone and flesh quickly regrowing as I tighten my hand on the Soulbone.
I toss the Soulbone to Virgil as I sprint past him, heading straight for Lily. I hardly make it ten feet, however, before the floor becomes red instead of vast space. The sky becomes red. The distant horizon becomes red. All becomes red.
A reverent voice preaches to those who want to hear anything other than his voice.
"All Blood Is Her Blood In Due Time."
A presence forms above as many black lines drip down the crimson above, arcing over like the legs of an infinitely massive spider. Luminous orbs spread out from the darkness as a body seems to spread, and as the eyes turn to eight, I realize what is above us.
The Mother Below, or at least a manifestation.
A presence slams into my mind, an unstoppable force driving me right to my knees and onto the floor. I roll onto my side and can only see Killian in a similar position. However, the Demigod kneels, struggling to stand as Eldest strides to him with heavy, strained steps, each one leaving behind blood that ripples out across the cosmic floor. Virgil is on the ground, too. The only one not on the ground is Lily. And the heart that is still in her hand as she walks up to all of us.
Relief fills my body, but it is quickly lost as Eldest shifts his attention to the threat. He steps toward Lily as she puts Bonfire's heart behind her body.
"No! You will leave Bono alone! He's Wyatt's friend and mine! I won't let you have him!"
Eldest chuckles, the noise grating and painful to hear as he lifts a hand toward Lily.
"I do not care for that lifeless core. I care for you, dear. A whole family get-together, huh? Perfect."
The word perfect is the last thing I hear before wails fill my vision, the noises turning into screeching lines of endless waves in an abyssal depth. I'm within a black sea, the waves slow and calm with the depths unknown, yet above lie those eight orbs and twelve legs.
A slithering presence slams against mine. The words mean nothing. In fact, there are no words that this manifestation of the Mother Below presents to me. The sheer weight of the mind shoves the water around me, and I can do nothing but sink beneath into the darkness.