Nunax sensed the deadly threat in all its glory as she was propelled back towards its source. Admittedly, she hadn't even managed to fathom what it was that struck her just now, blasting off half her flesh, but she didn't need to understand it.
She needed to avoid it. The half of her flesh left was not unscathed. It was akin to overcooked, borderline charred at with cracks teasing what could have been. What's more, she couldn't do anything to save it. Strands of Ju`wtte were running along it, interfering with any kind of restorative ability she could have used to salvage it.
Nunax had no choice but to discard the dead flesh.
It might have looked as though she was throwing away a dark pair of pants.
Divinity was a stage where the soul took on aspects of the body, becoming an entity that could interact with physical matter, while the body inherited aspects of the soul, becoming more sophisticated, complex and generally open to supernatural influences.
Becoming a Deity improved this basic quality by leaps and bounds. Most common Divines wouldn't be able to distinguish between a Deity's body and soul.
But Skullius could.
He saw the Deity of the Seventy-Seven Moons shudder and summon nine more of them. They expelled a different series of lights her way, no doubt in an attempt to restore her flesh. It was imperative that Nunax do so.
A Divine could only be killed if their Broader Existence – the abstract space between their body and soul – was extinguished.
Most Divines and Deities didn't have a way to locate and destroy an enemy's Broader Existence directly. The only way to do so without outlandish ans, was to attack the soul or body of an enemy while they were separate from each other. The damage would reach the Broader Existence then.
By all ans, if Skullius wanted, he would have pursued Nunax and landed another lethal blow on her soul right after she was propelled back towards him, but he didn't.
There was no need to risk it. She had an assortnt of light powers with different effects. Desperately, she could use more lethal ones that could harm him. A Deity was a Deity, after all.
The future Hybrid zipped around erratically, dodging the lilac arrow which had suddenly grown ten tis more driven. It had grown faster after Nunax was propelled back up by the elastic space she had slamd into.
The Corrupted Deity could indeed sense everything within the territory she had created – even if she didn't understand it all – which was why she kept the arrow on Skullius even now.
…But this didn't an Skullius was incapable of attacking the Deity. He wasn't so handicapped or desperate, for that matter. Indeed, he had already decided how he would defeat the Corrupted Deity.
Before she could use her moons to restore her flesh…
Future Skullius spared one of his hands in the Deity's direction.
"The darkness devours."
Of the nine differently-shaped moons that Nunax had just summoned, five were suddenly blanketed by a deep darkness, turning them wholly black. They imdiately lost their powers.
…!!!
Nunax's white eyes bulged.
But her panic only grew in the next instant, manifesting as sothing more substantial than panic.
Another ring of Ju`wtte had flown her way and wrapped around her only to disappear in a flash. It had activated, it too empowered by Fundantal Barter.
Ju`wtte had disorienting properties; Crush and Shock damage were pri examples. This disorientation could extend to an opponent's cognitive qualities or even those of their energy reserves. (At least, Future Skullius was capable of that with his Ju`wtte.)
He used a Fundantal Barter that would empower these properties, greatly limiting any ability Nunax could use to restore herself, for six minutes. Exactly six minutes.
As soon as the effect bound to Nunax, Future Skullius donned a small, satisfied smile.
'That should make things easier,' he thought.
The montum that had been propelling Nunax finally died down and the effect of the first ring of Ju`wtte Skullius had used to paralyse her disappeared.
Indeed, one second had finally passed.
Nunax was livid now, even while free. She could feel the dead, black moons hanging behind her following her obediently, even though they couldn't do anything for her now.
Just what was this ability?
Her opponent had used it before, when she released a scarlet-gold fla that burned the entire tiled space. Her flas had been turned black and stripped of their qualities.
This was… troubleso.
The sa was happening to her moons. She had summoned nine with the best healing properties, but was now left with four. Their light was funnelling into her, resonating with her Broader Existence and attempting to restore her flesh, but the process was gruesoly slow.
It would take at least an hour before she was able to restore so much as a full limb of her flesh.
But thankfully, unlike mortals, Divines could use their abilities without their body or soul. Andori were tied to the Broader Existence and could be expressed through either the body or the soul.
As for Exotic Parlous Natures, they were generated within the body, and didn't grow unless provided with special circumstances, but Nunax was different. She was a Corrupted Deity. Her very Broader Existence was tainted with all manner of light-based properties. It could act as a substitute for her body and allow her to express all the powers of her seventy-seven moons – or what was left of them.
Scowling, the Deity glared at her opponent.
He was weaving in between the racing bubbles of light and the arrow that was hot on his tail.
He had avoided every blow and every trick. He might have had as much awareness as Nunax herself within the Fated Reef.
He indeed wasn't soone she could look down on.
She had to crush him with her full might.
Her first move was to conjure four more lilac arrows to ricochet against the light bubbles in an attempt to nail Skullius.
Indeed, it spent a massive amount of her energy to fuel such a thing, but she needed to distract the monster.
And distract it she did.
Skullius sighed and found himself having to work four tis harder to anticipate the trajectory of the arrows and dodge them as well as the bubbles themselves. In addition to using his unique movent technique…
BZZZZT!
There was a belated roar of lightning as the future Hybrid's body condensed into a long throng of Ju`wtte that slid through the thinnest openings between all the attacks making attempts to harm him.
He was even faster in this form, though not by a staggering degree. Either way, Nunax found herself scowling even more.
But in any case, the enemy was distracted. She could exercise her full might.
The Deity of the Seventy-Seven Moons summoned all her remaining moons in several neat rows behind her.
Without wasting ti, dreading that Skullius would suddenly devour their powers with that odd darkness, she condensed the light they each gave off until it was sothing as flowing and physical as liquid.
Each of the different-coloured flowing liquid dripped down towards Nunax, bathing her in a shower of power.
And it was dreadful power indeed.
~~~
[Standard Units:
Nunax – 35,000
35,800
43,670
49,988
51,910]
~~~
The Fated Reef trembled aggressively. Its master's power had jumped significantly… and its power did too.
'Of course…' Skullius thought. 'It's about ti.'
Indeed. It was about ti Nunax stopped holding back her powers.
Only then could he also use his trump card.
After all, Future Skullius had decided that the best way to deal with the Corrupted Deity was to use the War Body.
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