In his clenched fists, the hellish-red energy intensified, creating an even stronger and unholy aura. With a surge of power, Daemon unleashed a devastating blow, connecting his fists with the Warden's form. The impact sent the Sentinel Warden hurtling across the street, accompanied by streaks of thunder and fire.
The Battle Between Two had just truly begun!
As the dust settled, the Sentinel Warden emerged virtually unscathed, with only minor cuts marring its outer layer.
"It's never going to be a walk in the park," Daemon mused to himself, reminiscing about his days as a soldier during the War of LöreHeaven. He stretched his neck, feeling his body transform into swirling blobs of liquid, a mesmerizing blend of blue and red.
Eggers tapped into the arcane threads of his spiritual essence, unraveling his very existence. The air crackled with potent energy, causing his silhouette to shimmer like a ghostly reflection in a rippling pool of astral power.
From his core, a radiant luminescence burst forth, splitting into five ethereal wisps of light, each a perfect replica of the original Daemon. These spectral apparitions floated like echoes, their forms fluid and ever-changing, as if reality itself was engaged in an intricate dance of duality.
The clones, born from the depths of his soul, bore a resemblance to their progenitor but were cloaked in an otherworldly glow, reminiscent of the shimmering auroras that adorned the night sky.
Daemon Eggers finished cracking his neck, his gaze fixed upon the Sentient Warden. Though uncertainty and doubt filled his eyes, his soul brimmed with readiness for the impending battle.
The Sentinel Warden appeared unperturbed, striding forward with an air of nonchalance. Suddenly, a small door materialized behind the Warden, unleashing the forces of death.
Daemon's eyes widened in astonishment. "It can access the underworld without all the theatrics. What are the limits to this power?" His thoughts were cut short as the Sentinel blinked right in front of him, appearing in an instant.
In that moment, the symphony of his soul and spirit swelled, its music growing louder, longer, and more intense. The five Dancers of Daemon commenced their ethereal dance, moving with the grace and fluidity of ocean waves.
The Dancers swung, twirled, and harmonized with the grand orchestras, while the Sentinel Warden healed wounds ranging from minor cuts to more serious injuries.
However, the Sentinel Warden appeared surprisingly unfazed as his severed hand immediately sprang to life, with small mutated maggots growing from the stump and forming a fully functional hand.
But it didn't stop there. More maggots began to swarm around the Sentinel Warden, eagerly entering his body. He welcomed them with open arms as they transformed into flesh and migrated towards his neck.
The left side of his body seemed desiccated, like evaporated water, while the right side was bloated with duplicated skin, causing the right arm to fall off completely. Within the dark abyss that served as his heart, squid-like tentacles emerged from all directions, converging to create a pulsating organ.
These tentacles extended towards the right, leaving stumps where the arm once was. Daemon's face turned pale as a single thought echoed in his mind, "What kind of Eldritch Horror is this?!"
—••••••••••—
BEYOND THE
VEIL: THE
GREAT SHIFT
CHAPTER 16:
BLACK RISE
—••••••••••—
Augustus Black watched in horror as the already terrifying creature became increasingly nightmarish.
He couldn't help but think that this horror aesthetic would have been beloved in his time period, the early 1900s. "So human-like...yet, there's a depth and realism to their features." Augustus trembled uncontrollably, overwhelmed by the sheer terror of witnessing such a grotesque transformation.
Suddenly, the newly formed Sentient Warden slammed the ground, causing the entire city to shake violently.
Cracks appeared on the ground, and within a five-mile radius, the earth exploded.
Augustus Black found himself split under his feet, quickly reacting by moving to the right where Selena was assisting the sick Aryanna.
Meanwhile, Matthew and Elijah stumbled to the left side of the crumbling rock, falling several dozen feet before landing on the ground. Augustus turned around upon hearing the noise, only to see Matthew lying on the ground with a broken right foot and blood streaming from his forehead. Elijah lay unconscious in his arms, his condition no better than Matthew's.
As the floor beneath him trembled, Augustus sensed the vibrations intensifying and the ground shifting precariously. With a surge of determination, he sprinted towards the opposite end of the colossal rock ledge, where Selena was holding Aryanna on her shoulders.
Just as he reached the halfway point, Augustus's equilibrium wavered, causing the massive rock ledge to teeter and descend. It was heading straight for Matthew and Elijah. In a split second, Augustus lost his footing and tumbled headfirst.
In a desperate attempt to save Augustus, Matthew lunged forward and managed to catch him, but the force of impact sent both of them crashing to the ground. The weight of the falling rock was too much to bear, and all three men ended up trapped beneath its crushing weight.
—••••••••••—
Daemon and his duplicates swarmed the leveled and shattered floor, emerging from the cracks underground.
Engaged in a fierce battle with the Sentinel Warden, Daemon found himself constantly countered at every move. Determination surged through him as he brought his hands together, feeling the crackle of electricity course through his veins before slamming them down onto the ground.
To his surprise, solid beams of rock and earth erupted from beneath, crashing into the unsuspecting Sentinel Warden. The impact was accompanied by a surge of blue electricity, leaving the Warden momentarily stunned.
As the Warden was propelled backwards through the sky, Daemon pursued with the grace and precision of a skilled dancer. The intensity of the encounter reached its peak, resembling a grand orchestral performance.
Regaining its footing, the Sentinel Warden locked eyes with Daemon, a glimmer of excitement, approval, and arrogance shining through. The anticipation in the air was palpable.
Then, with a deep and resonant voice, the Warden opened its mouth and uttered, "Fi. Nal. Ly."
Daemon watched as the Warden extended its hand, seemingly reaching out directly for him. A sudden wave of overwhelming spirituality washed over the area, causing the colors of the world to dim and the blacks and whites to deepen.
Daemon's eyes widened in recognition. He had encountered this technique before, back when he was transported to this world.
"Absolute Decay."
Inwardly cursing his predicament, Daemon realized he was caught between a rock and a hard place. Dodging the attack would mean putting his wife and friends in danger, while facing it head-on would result in certain death. Manipulating spiritual particles to form a protective barrier would prove futile, as the attack would persist.
A risky idea formed in Daemon's mind, though his ability to execute it was far from polished. With a resigned sigh, he knew it was now or never.
Raising both hands to his left eye, palms open, he closed the ring and pinky fingers on each hand, while resting his right hand's thumb on his nose. From a distance, it appeared as though Daemon had created a triangular frame with his hands, peering through it intently.
This marked a pivotal moment in the Envoy Society, known as the Convergence of Inner Worlds, one of the two pinnacle techniques of Universal Techniques. It was a phenomenon where individuals could tap into their inner worlds, the Seeds of Consciousness within their soul and mind.
[One of the two pinnacles of Universal techniques in Envoy Society is the Convergence of Inner Worlds. As the name implies, all of humanity have inner worlds within their soul and mind known as the Seeds of Consciousness.]
[While everyone has one, rarely anyone can get control of their own Inner World as the closest people get to controlling their Inner World experience lucid dreams and lose all their process in the belief they controlled their Inner World.]
[The reason why the Convergence of Inner Worlds is just a highly recognized technique is because of two factors. The first reason why this technique is so desirable in the world of Envoys is because one is completely untraceable in their Inner World.]
[The other reason why this technique is so highly desirable is because of one common factor. The user is practically a God under this technique, granting a sure-death sentence to the victim.]
[Of course, there were always countermeasures to such techniques...]
In a sudden turn of events, the Sentinel Warden found himself forcibly merged with Daemon's body, traversing through the encroaching decay and entering Daemon himself. As the Absolute Decay was absorbed by the Sentinel Warden, Daemon's stomach transformed into a vacuum, sucking him in.
All that remained of the two warriors was a small black orb, resembling a basketball in size. To everyone's surprise, the orb began to liquefy and swiftly moved towards Aryanna, who knelt down with Selena's support, unable to venture far from the scene.
Without any explanation, something emerged from the ground and landed right in front of Aryanna. It lay flat, projecting images of Daemon and the Sentinel Warden.
The Battle Between Two was reaching its climax!
—••••••••••—
As the dust settled, Matthew Mitchell slowly regained consciousness. Memories of the past few hours flooded his mind, causing his eyes to widen in realization.
Pushing himself up, he accidentally bumped his head against something hard yet smooth. Through the narrow openings, he caught a glimpse of something unsettling.
Hovering above the ground was a black orb, resembling a beach ball in size. Just beneath it lay Elijah, unconscious, with the orb securely fastened by a white seal strap. The orb was at eye level with Elijah, as if it had emerged from his younger brother's torn pocket.
Matthew attempted to reach out, but before he could, the orb beat him to it! He watched in astonishment as the orb, sealing the Angel of Time, floated effortlessly through the cracks in the rubble that trapped them.
It became clear to Matthew that their survival depended solely on this enigmatic black orb. But then a thought struck him: Where was Augustus Black?
Frantically scanning the surroundings, Matthew found no trace of Augustus. Frustrated and desperate, he called out, his voice echoing through the debris: "Augustus! Augustus!! Augustus!!!" Yet, there was no response.
Suddenly, a serene and ethereal sound resonated within the confined space. It was the black orb, the size of a beach ball.
Matthew couldn't help but gasp in disbelief as a theory formed in his mind: "Could Augustus Black be trapped within that orb?!"