John was enveloped in warm, golden light.
John was paranoid. He had always had a bit of tendency to overthink things, but Herman’s betrayal had pushed him beyond that. Luckily, his focus on ntal Stats had let him cope with that. Intellect allowed him to solve all questions that arose in record ti. Wisdom allowed him to back away when he was turning in circles. Supporting those two was his Charisma, letting him hide when he was confused or uncertain. That paranoia he felt, he had long since learned to weaponize it.
John felt the ground under his feet crumble.
John had planned for a long, long list of eventualities in regards to the Death Zone. So kind of curse, a latebloor, a particularly odd Kingdom connection, even extra-terrestrials had entered his consideration, and he had written a protocol for each of them. That it ended up being one of the most likely explanations wasn’t surprising. Few things were, at this stage. To him, a lot of eventualities weren’t a question of ‘if’, only of ‘when’ and ‘where’.
John was falling.
John had grilled tra over her entire history. So things she wasn’t willing to tell, primarily what the whole king candidate thing was ultimately about. What he primarily cared about, aside from knowing the life story of one of his loves, were the figures of her past. The abilities of Tiamat, Abzu, Marduk, and the other ancient gods. Of her fellow tracanas. Of Enki, of course, more than all others, after he had confirmation that he was alive.
John’s senses started to return to him.
John was a scher through and through. Once he had known about Enki’s ability, he had started calculating. He delved deep into tra’s mories, relived every encounter she had with the god of stars and abstracted the observed results. Simulation after simulation, all run wondering whether the Lorylim were listening in or not. When Izha had guaranteed John that he would die, the rush of relief the Gar had felt was incredible.
John’s inward focus crumbled away, just as the light around him did. He was falling, along thousands of chunks of rubble, down into the Death Zone. What had happened was rather obvious. The floor under them, aning the top of the do, had collapsed. The fight between John and Enki had already threatened the sandstone. That it couldn’t deal with the awakening of the Celestial Devourer, that was to be expected.
Turning in the air, John laid eyes upon the infinity elental in his true form. In reality, it was the third ti he saw him, but it may as well have been the first ti. The unfathomable size of the Celestial Devourer had previously made it impossible to really see him. Even now, Stirwin was over two kilotres from his snout to the tip of his tail. Sohow, he was already on the ground while John had just begun to fall.
The Celestial Devourer was a nova of gold, silver and copper, forged into a creature between a wingless dragon and a long-limbed crocodile. Spikes the size of hills covered the ridges of his back. His long, pointy head was enveloped in a steady mist of light magic turned into an aerosol. His hands were oddly human-like, the claws shining with incandescent light. The sharp, crocodile tail swept across the landscape, flattening everything in its path. His arms were muscles and scales. The energy radiated by his being scorched the surroundings continuously.
Around the four-limbed colossus, the Lorylim-infested landscape was obliterated. The continuous effort of the five-type Combination, the Celestial Devourer achieved by rely existing in the space. The reach of his destruction crawled outwards continuously. The infested sea boiled. The steeped earth lted. The spore-filled air burned.
‘Magnificent,’ John couldn’t help but think, while directing his eyes towards the approaching floor. ‘That’s a problem though.’ Falling a considerable distance was a threat at the best of tis. Diminished in health and robbed of all spells, he wasn’t sure if he could survive that. ‘A little help here?’ he asked. Watching the gargantuan creature in the middle of the Death Zone turn his head in reaction to that question was surreal in its own way.
However, Stirwin didn’t get to co to his summoner’s aid. The entire Sanctum turned against the Celestial Devourer. Years’ worth of Lorylim, produced and refined through steady competition, were all integrated into the hivemind in one mont. The rot, the filth, the mud, the blood, the mutations, the mycelium, they all stread towards the infinity elental and a relatively small dot of diminishing silver above him.
‘I got this,’ the only other voice still in their ntal connection answered instead. A tear opened in the space next to him and out ca tra, Rave and Nia. “Good job,” she just told him.
“All of this was only possible thanks to your accurate information,” John told her, while she grabbed him. Rave and Nia were already holding onto her. John slung his own arms around her when he realized what her landing strategy was.
It wasn’t exactly the intended usage of Rex Magnar, but the plasma burst did succeed in counteracting the force of gravity. It also sent them flying wildly off course. As a tumble of bodies, they hit the ground. It wasn’t a lethal impact, but it was far from comfortable. The second he reoriented himself, John started running towards Stirwin.
The Lorylim all around were in an uproar. It was only a matter of ti until part of the hivemind realized where they were and decided that it was easier to take out the summoner than what was, probably, the strongest being in the Abyss at this very mont. Not only was Stirwin level 1000, he also had an absurd 15 Stat Points per level and several buffs. John had been able to calculate that much on the fly.
Seeking shelter in the presence of that being, where friendly fire protection ant that they didn’t burn up while their enemies did, was the best move at the ti. A section of the Lorylim tide did lock onto the four of them at that mont. Waves of tentacles, teeth, eyes and broken bodies rushed down on them.
The combined efforts of the girls kept the Lorylim at bay, slicing the collapsing waves with blades of nothing, a halberd, and claws of light. John had played all his cards and was aiming only for survival now. Before him was a wall of fire, advancing towards him just as he was advancing towards it. The spreading expunging of the spores caused this continuous fire. He braced himself for impact.
Heat surrounded him, incredible heat, but just as fast as it started, it was already over again. He erged on the other side to a plain of glass. It crunched under his feet; the air reeked of destruction but was clear to see through. tra, Nia and Rave joined him on the other side, in the light of the Celestial Devourer, in safety.
They looked up to see Stirwin wrestle with Tiamat.
Around the nucleus of Enki’s corrupted body, the Lorylim of the tainted Sanctum had gathered. The shapeless mountain of bodies that ford overca even Stirwin’s current form in sheer size. A semi-connected circle of twisted forms that rose shambling all around them. Tentacles wrapped around the Celestial Devourer, trying to wrestle him. The infinity elental’s response was incredibly fast and, despite the distance involved, John had trouble following the movents.
Claws of cosmic fury tore through the gargantuan mass of corruption. Their path left burning trenches in their wake. Their force was so intense that the slicing continued from the aftershock, tearing through the entirety of the rot and even into the walls beyond.
The tendrils wrapped around the infinity elental’s neck, he tore them off with little issue. Before he even touched them, the Lorylim matter started to crack and scatter, unable to withstand the radiating might. Yet, they kept on coming, forcing the Celestial Devourer to use up more and more energy.
Ignoring all of the futile attempts to latch onto him, Stirwin raised his head towards the ceiling. The titanic maw opened. More of the misty light drifted outwards from his silver teeth. A golden radiance was born between the parting jaws. A small dot, comparatively, at first, but rapidly growing into a ball of plasma.
The Lorylim all around shrieked out in pain as the rays of the magical sun scorched them to the core. All shrieks were overpowered by a roar that shook the entire barrier. The pale, rotten stars fell out of their sockets. More and more chunks of rock fell as the do collapsed. Then the sun exploded into a translucent shockwave.
Years of taint and corruption were finally and completely eradicated, leaving behind only a singular body. Stirwin grabbed it out of the air and brought it down to John.
Enki was a shadow of himself. His scales were a dull grey, his claws scorched away, and his eye simple like that of a reptile. The corruption that had started to eat away at his still intact half had been halted and replaced by burn marks. Slted onto his body, the Astrotium plates were still attached, even as deford as they now were. Tiamat’s eye was empty. Enki still breathed. A wondrous circumstance, explained by Stirwin holding back in that regard.
“Co to ,” the god of stars demanded. Despite being pressed down by one of Stirwin’s claws, his voice was clearer now than it had been after Tiamat took control.
Regardless, John wasn’t going to oblige. “Why?” he asked.
“I was… wrong…” Enki loathed to admit it even now and followed it up quickly, “…not that it matters. Tiamat’s influence has waned and my mind is clear. I know who you are now. With my last breaths, I want to bestow you the great honour of continuing my great work.”
John was about to refuse outright. Even with the corruption removed, the Gar couldn’t stand Enki. More importantly, he didn’t trust him. This was less of a death wish than it was a demand. Yet, before he could deny the ‘offer’, Stirwin’s voice reached his mind. ‘Take it.’
The Gar looked up to the massive head above them. A skyscraper long maw filled with teeth, filling the sky, belonging to a being that was, at this very mont, several tis smarter than John and still had an interest in seeing him succeed. ‘Are you sure?’ the Gar asked.
‘There is no doubt,’ the Celestial Devourer advised and John stepped forward.
Enki raised his left claw. It quivered in the motion, barely managing to calm when the tip of it connected with John’s forehead. Like starlight pouring into his veins, the last power of Enki filled the Gar. It claid the last slot he had for godly blessings.
Enki’s lifeless claw fell to the ground. The left half of his body began to disintegrate. For a mont, he reclaid the glorious beauty, then his scales drifted apart. Stirwin raised his claw off the corpse and the energy particles followed. Turning the palm upside, the infinity elental consolidated the particles. The end result was a silver-white sphere of such size that even Stirwin needed to spread his jaws wide open to devour it whole.
The Experience for killing a god was impressive. John would take a look at all he could do with it later.
The ti Stirwin had in his true form had run its course. His body was taken by an incandescent glow, obscuring all features, as he shrunk down further and further until he was the size of a crocodile youth. “A welco change,” the much smaller, much less impressive sounding infinity elental said.
“If you say so,” John sighed and fell down on his ass. The levels had restored his HP and his absurd MP bar (not that he could do anything with it right now). Still, he felt absolutely spent. With control over the barrier finally switching to him, he knew that they could escape whenever they wished. They were safe. Safe didn’t an that they were done here, however. “What happened with the tracanas?”
“We had them against the wall, until Tiamat showed up,” Rave responded. “Then the floor collapsed and we kinda lost them, so we went to you.”
John looked over to the sole remains of Enki – half of a lted exoskeleton still connected through flesh that was more the remains of Tiamat than his. Deford or not, the Astrotium was still there. “They probably survived, but they should go dormant now that their master is gone.” As little as he wanted to get up again so quickly, he couldn’t go ho in good conscience until this was taken care of. He slowly rose to his feet.
“Get ready,” Nia suddenly said, and John reared his head towards the direction she was looking.
Trampling over the glass at a ridiculous speed ca running a man in a black armour, a cape of shadows fluttering behind him. With both hands, he held a massive sword that once had two blades, one of which was broken. Observe failed, but John didn’t need confirmation about who he was looking at.
Sigmund approached at an insane speed. His head was uncovered, showing the wounds Thana had carved into his face, all of them filled up with Lorylim matter. His eyes were mycelium, the spongy tissue shifting around a central knot that operated as the iris. Every breath exuded spores.
“That is the last loose end,” John muttered and got to his feet. He looked over the remains of his group. He was unfit for combat in his current state. Nia and tra weren’t strong enough to stand up to Sigmund and even Rave in her empowered state was weaker than the black swordsman had been after his victory at the White House. They couldn’t take this fight.
Sigmund was about to reach them. His movents seed emotionless, a doubly odd developnt given who he had been previously and what he was now infected by. tra growled, while the Astrotium exoskeleton next to them dropped through a portal that opened in the ground. “Seminaris,” the First of Wrath growled.
‘So that was their objective,’ John thought, while staring coldly at the man who had taken his eyesight. He didn’t care about the raised sword or the continued charge. This was all just one large distraction by them to get the remains of Tiamat’s avatar out of here.
Three seconds before Sigmund reached tra, who had positioned herself up front, the last standing mber of John’s party slamd into the side of the Contender. Thana drove back Sigmund, chasing after him with a loud scream. The desire she had to see John fall, it paled in comparison to the hatred she felt for Sigmund. He was, after all, one of the few humans the two minds inside that body despised equally.
The goddess of genocide clashed over and over again with the black swordsman, tearing away at his armour and revealing the writhing flesh underneath. None of his wounds were healed and he was still weaker than her. Trying to ignore her as much as possible, Sigmund headed for the portal. As much as tra tried to force it to close, the First of Wrath was out of power and Seminaris had prepared this in advance. Although the Lorylim at large had failed to predict John’s counterasures, the First of Patience had evidently formulated her own ergency protocol.
“Don’t,” John stopped his girlfriend from entering the clash of these titans. While she was powerful enough to make a small difference in that fight, it wasn’t worth the risk. The fight was about to end anyway.
Thana grabbed Sigmund’s leg, but the armour plates broke off from his body, allowing him to slip away. Fast, the goddess of genocide proceeded to claw into his side. Even his own flesh, the corrupted Contender didn’t care about, ripping himself free by opening another hole in his side. That was the final step he needed to take, to drop into the portal.
Screaming past her bone mask, the goddess of genocide readied herself to follow. “Thana!” John shouted, making her hesitate long enough for the portal to close. Growling, the goddess rushed over to him.
“I could have killed him,” she hissed.
“Even you have limits,” the Gar told her. “We have no idea where that portal would have led. More importantly, I am not losing you or Eliza.” As much as John wanted his revenge, this wasn’t the opportunity to get it. Thana backed away, the bone mask retreating back into her pores. Her expression was between guilt and hatred. John rubbed his forehead. “Seminaris probably gathered the tracanas already…” he mumbled.
“That is what that bitch would do,” tra agreed, her voice raspy with aggression.
Sighing, the Gar went on to pinch the bridge of his nose. Should they stay and search? The ruins were massive, it would take them days or weeks to scour everything on their own. “Let’s just test this. If the barrier collapses after we leave, the tracanas are already gone. If it doesn’t, we’re organizing a search party.” Everyone around nodded and John raised his hand. He exited the barrier, fully intending on shattering the Sanctum. To collapse a barrier, one had to be the last one in it and a Fateweaver of minimum talent.
John checked both boxes. When he quickly tried to re-enter the Sanctum, before anyone in the mundane city of Mobile could really take note of them, he instead created a new one.
The Death Zone was gone.
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