Jirni had pierced the densest nerve clusters and blocked the main neural pathways. Even with Ragnarök gone, the needles paralyzed so of the Chronicler's main joints. So, but not all.
Luckily for Ra'ntar, Jirni had been tasked with hurting the elf while keeping him alive so she had focused her efforts on his pain receptors and steered away from his vitals. Ra'ntar waited until the next nutrient potion restored a bit of his strength and tears from pain clouded his vision no more. Then, he infused his right arm with air fusion for speed, fire for strength, and water for flexibility, turning it into a flesh whip.
The Chronicler also called upon the Yggdrasill wood fragnt fused with his body and focused it on his fingertips. The wood was still alive. It could grow, change shape, and move according to its master's will.
'Killing myself is not an option.' Ra'ntar thought. 'Between this gods-damned array and the healer woman focused on , there's no way I can inflict myself a fatal wound she cannot heal. I have only one chance and if I waste it, I won't have another.'
With Jirni bent over the elf and her hands on his head to study his life force, she was well within Ra'ntar's striking range.
The elf's wooden fingertips beca razor-sharp as his arm lashed toward her swollen belly. An unborn child was naturally weak and to save it the three won were bound to forget about the prisoner.
The cell's dinsional seal was already off and if Friya were to lose her focus, the Chronicler would need but a Blink to escape capture.
Jirni noticed the threat and so did Skywarp. The needles attempted to jump out of the elf's body and block the attack but Jirni stopped them. With Ragnarök gone, the mana flow had changed and Jirni had to figure out a way to block it again.
Sweat beaded her face as she ignored her survival and maternal instincts while focusing on her job.
Bloodbind ca out of Quylla's sleeves to intercept the flesh-whip. The forearm escaped its grasp by becoming thinner, smoother, and covering itself with sweat so that the chain links couldn't keep their hold.
The wooden' tip struck Jirni's womb with a wet sound, digging deep inside the flesh until it reached the pelvic bone.
Ra'ntar's pelvic bone.
The golden light had intercepted the blow and redirected it to the Chronicler's nether regions with a small Warp Steps.
"Nice try, jackass." Friya shut the Steps with the Dinsional Ruler spell, severing the arm at the elbow. "You're lucky I can't kick your ass until the procedure is over, but that doesn't an I can't hurt you."
A snap of her fingers made a plate of delicious soup appear right outside Ra'ntar's remaining arm's reach. The sll wafted to the elf's nose, reminding him of how hungry he was and making his stomach growl.
Despair overwheld the pain from the needles as the Chronicler stretched toward the plate, missing it by a hair's breadth. Even from thousands of kiloters of distance, the World Tree shared Ra'ntar's distress and their battle prowess plumted again.
The Chronicler grunted with effort, conjuring enough water magic to lift a few drops of soup and bring them to his mouth. Then, sparkles of golden light enveloped the soup that plopped back into the plate.
"You monster!" Ra'ntar tried and tried again and Friya let him succeed every ti only to Warp the food away before it touched his lips.
"You don't like the soup? What about so steak?" The plate disappeared and was replaced by a steaming filet.
The new sll overwheld the Chronicler's senses which had just started to get used to the soup and resist its call. Ra'ntar scread and thrashed his limbs, but Jirni tightened her grip.
"There!" She adjusted the position of the needles slightly and added a few more. Darkness fusion stopped again and the Chronicler found himself in so much pain that the veins on his body bulged out like they were about to burst.
"Keep changing the dishes, dear." She said after confirming there was nothing else she could do. "This is the most physical pain I can inflict on him, and it falls short of Ragnarök. We need to get creative!
***
Back at the Fringe, a few minutes before Lith summoned his Demons.
"They have captured Ra'ntar and found my Fringe, but the battle is far from lost."'The World Tree fought against the constant waves of pain coming from their Chronicler trapped in the Blood Desert. 'Even if Ra'ntar remains in Verhen's clutches and those damned white cores break past my Golems, turning the tide of the battle is easy. The Yggdrasill sent one of the few Chroniclers who wasn't fighting outside to retrieve Solus' ring. The elf staggered at every step, the phantom pain from Ra'ntar making her experience Jirni's cruel needles, a hunger she couldn't sate, and a thirst she couldn't quell.
No matter where on Mogar the Chroniclers currently were, they had their minds constantly filled with images of food and water but no matter how much they gorged themselves, Ra'ntar's suffering was unabated.
The attack from the Desert was both physical and psychological, greatly limiting the strength of the defensive forces deployed on the frontlines. The Golems depended on the Chroniclers to move, cast spells, and enact battle strategies. Without them, the constructs were just colossal wooden paperweights.
If not for the overwhelming advantage from the array field suppressing the enemies' strength and the world energy resisting their attempt to use bloodline abilities, the Chroniclers would have already lost the battle.
The army of Divine Beasts was outnumbered and outmatched but due to the waves of agony the elves shared with Ra'ntar, they could express only a fraction of their real strength.
'Ma'shol, get Elphyn nadion and bring her away from here.'The World Tree said. Whatever ans Verhen possesses to track her will alert him of Elphyn's disappearance and crush his focus.
'He will be forced to give her chase or just waste his ti and allies' lives here to fight for nothing. Whatever he is planning, it requires stealth and speed. I don't understand his plans, but I don't need to in order to foil them.'
'Yes, my Liege.'Ma'shol replied. 'I'll keep Warping until Ra'ntar is rescued or dead. At that point, even if Verhen cos back with double this force, he'll find us ready.'
The Chronicler opened the prison's door and made the ceiling rise enough for her to walk comfortably.
"We are going away, nadion. Don't oppose resistance or things are going to get ugly" Ma'shol said.
The tower couldn't be stored in a dinsional item because it was alive, it could only be carried. Giving Solus a host to dominate her had failed until that mont and there was no reason to think that a third attempt would go any differently. Especially now that the Fringe was under attack and more elves died by the second. With their haven invaded, the trust of the elves in the World Tree was at an all-ti low. On top of that, the Librarians were scared that the conflict might reach their families and with their minds in a panic, Solus would have an easy ti bending them to her will.
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