"This is attuned to two creatures, mistress Trapper and something else. It feels demonic in nature. Some sort of mind demon, maybe."
These words horrified all present as no demon should be able to enter the academy. In fact, to the best of everyone's knowledge, since the creation of the barrier, demons shouldn't be able to pass through the barrier surrounding Sungrove.
"This is bad."
"That's explains the council tower."
"This can't happen."
Voices were blurting out quickly in a state of near panic.
Alden held both large hands aloft amplifying his voice, "Calm DOWN!" Looking to the two myalomancers, he asked, "Can you sense more than one presence within her, without exposing yourselves?"
Nodding together within the chamber, the two moved beside one another and grasped hands as though lovers walking along the beach. Looking at the two Von saw their auras fill with the familiar energies intertwining between them becoming one complete aura. Wishing he had asked before they started, he hoped to one day learn how it was done, but at this moment all he could do was watch.
As though they were a single being, they reached to the table with their empty hands covered in vivid purple energy placing them upon the unconscious woman's head. The air surrounding them became tinted with hints of this purple in anticipation of their joint effort to probe their college's master's mind. With synchronized gestures and harmonized thoughts, they delved into the recesses of Eve's mind, where the cerebrenth demon slithered in wait like a serpent through the corridors of her consciousness. The mental magic they wielded shimmered in hues of ethereal light, a manifestation of their combined strength protecting them against any possible darkness and against any potential attack. As their aura merged into the mind of the woman beneath their hands, the malevolent mind of the waiting demon grabbed at their minds holding them against their will.
For what seemed like hours, they waged a silent war within the depths of the woman's psyche, seeking to unravel the demonic tendrils ensnaring their minds. As the struggle persisted, beads of sweat formed on their brows, and weariness etched lines of strain on their faces. The cerebrenth demon, proved to be a formidable adversary, resisting their every effort with cunning and tenacity. Its malevolent thoughts echoed in defiance, a discordant symphony drowning out the harmonized magic of the two sorceresses.
In a final, desperate surge of collective energy, the two myalomancers unleashed a surge of mental force, a tidal wave of pure magic aimed at freeing them from the demon's grasp and allowing them to flee from the depths of their friend's unconscious mind. Yet, as the crescendo of power reached its zenith, the demon retaliated with a surge of its own dark energy, a chaotic counterforce blasting from the tiara throwing the women back with a forceful explosion of unseen power.
Gasping for breath and disoriented, the two found themselves expelled from the mental battleground, their connection severed by the ferocity of the demon's defense. The unconscious woman remained untouched, still in the clutches of the malevolent force that now pulsed with newfound strength.
As the two metal wizards struggled to regain their composure, they exchanged a somber glance, realizing the formidable adversary they faced. The chamber, once filled with the hopeful glow of magical potential, now hung heavy with an oppressive darkness as tendrils of deep purple began surging from the thin crown directing itself toward the two women.
"Break the attunement!" shouted Von dropping the circlet onto the table in front of Poralis. He then reached out with his own probe and entered the forethoughts of the master chronomancer. He watched diligently as Poralis created a field around only the tiara sending its condition back through time to when it was new and unattuned to anyone. As its condition was revitalized, a dark sludge could be seen pouring off of it heading directly toward the concentrating chronomancer. As this malevolent essence attempted to leap onto the man, Von directed his mental probe into an arrow piercing the dark energy before it could make contact.
From this short contact of his attack, Von felt the attack of the demon trace itself back through his probe. He could make out the thoughts of the foul cerebrenth demon, "I am the whisperer in the shadows, the unseen architect of chaos," as its consciousness echoed with a cacophony of sinister voices. Through his mind he experienced the thing weaving through his mind trying to sense delicate threads of emotions and any fears it might manipulate within this child. "Within the labyrinth of your thoughts, I shall find the fractures, the weaknesses, and exploit them to unravel your very essence." It sought any vulnerability it could within the mortal child's mind. Von felt the demon reveling in the anticipation as it touched his mind, a dark ecstasy fueled by the prospect of dominating a conscious being. It explored the intricacies of the young individual's psyche, like a spider examining the strands of a fragile web. "Your fears shall be my gateway, and your desires the path I tread. With every breath, I, the demon lord Veknezimal, shall seep into the recesses of your soul, cloaking your thoughts in shadows."
The demon's thoughts became a hypnotic murmur, infiltrating the boy's mind. "I shall be the echo in your nightmares, my unseen hand will guide them towards the precipice of your darkest inclinations," mused the cerebrenth demon, relishing the subtle shifts in the young victim's demeanor.
The demon tried to feed on the confusion it was sowing within Von, amplifying doubts and sowing seeds of discord within the hiss thoughts. "You will question your reality, doubt your own intentions, and dance to the tune of my malevolent orchestrations," its thought continued, a sinister grin etched upon the ethereal contours of its consciousness was clearly felt in Von's mind. "I shall mold you into a vessel of my will, a puppet dancing to the tune of the shadows," it whispered, each syllable dripping with venomous satisfaction. "You will be mine."
Yet, amid the darkness, a flicker of resistance lingered within the Von's mind—a spark of defiance the demon perceived as a mere nuisance as it began to engulf the boy's mind. Unbeknownst to the malevolent entity, this spark would become the ember igniting the flames of resistance against the impending possession. Grasping on to this spark, and willing it to empower him, he let out one clear thought. System.... Help me!
A flare erupted around Von as his aura strengthened. His body glowed with a visible lavender light bursting forth from his mind. At once, thousands of thoughts of all those who aided in the creation of the system repelled the attack of the sinister demon lord. Loudly, Von shouted, "I am the guardian of my mind, the keeper of my sanctum," the boy declared, his voice resonating with a resonant power that echoed through the metaphysical realm. With a forceful thrust of his will, he unleashed a counterwave, a surge of pure arcane energy aimed at repelling the insidious presence.
Caught off guard by the unexpected resistance, the unprepared cerebrenth demon recoiled, its ethereal form contorting in a writhing dance of frustration. Von's system seized this moment of vulnerability, a window of opportunity in the struggle for dominance. Mystical sigils materialized into ethereal chains; each link forged with the essence of celestial bindings. These ethereal chains sought out the malevolent entity, latching onto its shadowy form with a resounding clang.
"I bind you, creature of the Fell!" the boy commanded, his eyes ablaze with the intensity of magical prowess drawn from the ages. The chains tightened, restricting the movements of the cerebrenth demon, preventing its escape back into the recesses of Eve's mind. The demon thrashed and wriggled; its once-confident thoughts laced with desperation. "You are but a flicker in the cosmic tapestry, mortal. I am eternal!" it hissed defiantly.
Undeterred, the system channeled the very essence of his being into the bindings, imbuing them with a radiant energy repelling the darkness. With a final incantation, Von sealed the ethereal chains into an arcane ward, a glowing emblem etched onto the demon's consciousness. Trapped the demon, its malevolence now contained within the mystical prison, seethed with impotent rage. Von's system, having safeguarded its host's mind, set about the intricate work of mending the fractures caused by the demon's initial intrusion.
As the last echoes of the battle subsided, the chamber filled with an ethereal calm. Von, victorious in his defense, stood as a guardian against the encroaching shadows, ensuring the cerebrenth demon remained confined within the wards for eternity. Now free from the insidious influence, his mind cleansed of the malevolent whispers, he wanted revenge on the demon. Von thought, I want it gone. As though it were made for this purpose, his system reached forth with a flurry of mystical and mental energies crushing the ward into absolutely nothingness.
* * *
In the farthest reaches of the desolate north, where the air hung heavy with an otherworldly chill, the land scarred by the malevolent touch of the Fell, a fell rift manifested like a tear in the fabric of reality. This rift, a gateway to the abyssal realms, radiated an ominous energy resonating with the tortured souls dwelling within the fell world.
Amidst the icy winds and the desolation, a deathly scream echoed through the fell rift, piercing the silence of the frigid landscape. This anguished cry carried the weight of eons, a lamentation reverberating through the very essence of the Fell. It was the wail of Veknezimal, the cerebrenth demon lord whose dominion over this portion of the dark realms had endured for epochs untold.
As Veknezimal's malevolent essence disintegrated, a cosmic upheaval unfolded within the fell rift. The throne upon which the demon lord once presided, a grotesque amalgamation of bone and shadow, crumbled into fragments. Yet, instead of dissipating into the void, the remnants of the throne transformed into an ethereal maelstrom, a swirling vortex of raw fell essence.
The scream of the demon lord mingled with the tumultuous energies, as if the very fabric of the Fell world was mourning the demise of one of its tyrannical masters. The skies above the rift twisted and contorted, displaying hues of unearthly greens and purples, an eerie dance of arcane forces.
As the scream gradually faded into the eerie whispers of the fell winds, the fell rift stabilized, its malevolent energies returning to an uneasy equilibrium. The frigid landscape, scarred by the legacy of Veknezimal, remained as a testament to the eons of darkness that had reigned in the far North.
In the aftermath of this cosmic upheaval, the fell world stood on the precipice of transformation, awaiting the subtle whispers of the next fell lord who would rise to claim the vacant northern throne and wield the raw essence of the Fell for their own dark purposes.
* * *
Within the ancient council chamber, the fell essence coalesced into a pulsating crystal core, a manifestation of the power which once fueled Veknezimal's dominion. It pulsed with a sinister rhythm, a heartbeat echoing through the fell rift. The raw fell essence bore witness to the demise of its tyrant. Upon the formation of this pure demon heart, the brain pendant on the unconscious Eve's necklace cracked across it surface before shattering into dust drifting from the center of her chest.
Von had just enough wherewithal left to pass a message through the link to Poralis, wait, she is safe and will need the focus to recover. The swirling glow of power emitting from his body which had washed the chamber in a brilliant shade of lavender perished as the small boy fell unconscious to the stone floor.