No matter how much she begged, the beast of her body would not yield in its onslaught.
The ferocity of the oblivion grew and grew, its target Carlos. Magpie cast her shields, but, Nuallis knowing the strength the Dark Weaver had, such magics would do nothing to save them. Both of them would dissolve in their malevolent light upon contact: shields and flesh.
"Enough! " she protested uselessly.
"Let us ease his pain," offered Dark Weaver as it readied itself to release the charge.
Nu could feel the rain on her blessed flesh. She could hear her friends calling out to her, both in the air and telepathically through to her mind. She could even feel the hungry orb of death in her hands. But she was helpless; the other inhabitants desired destruction. STOP MAKING ME DO THIS, she thought with anger.
No good. The energies struck Carlos and only Carlos; the fae had shoved Magpie away to save her.
As the green tendrils licked at the fae's body, they lit up his flesh. The hole in his chest widened, and Nu could see through him. The shards of his sword dropped to the dusty floor, the pattering of the metal oddly sharp to their ears.
You've killed him. You've killed him. The thought resonated in her head. You've killed him. You've killed him.
Then a voice, one composed of several: Shadows, the Aether Spirits, and others Nu could not identify. "We have killed him," it corrected without remorse or joy.
Commands and pleas did nothing, Nu understood all too well, so she stopped begging.
She shut her eyes and screamed as hard as she could. The world went dark. Whether the beast obeyed her soul and Dark Weaver screamed itself as well, she did not know. Yet, she did not scream for it all to stop nor to kill them all and be done with it in some bout of madness.
She screamed hard. That was all.
"What have you done?!" she heard Van howl at her.
When she opened her eyes, she could move the fingers of her left hand, unfettered by the spirits' hold. She could not move her lips, however.
Ignatius and Van had tried to reach her through the mind, so she tried to speak to Van in the same way.
"Run," was all she could say.
Dark Weaver forced control and sent a vicious row of oblivion spikes towards the gunner. One of them caught his side as he fell over and rolled towards the edge of the building. Van …
Off to the side, the gryphon screeched, blood seeping out of a cut over its ribs. It clawed its way out of the rubble and towards the falling gunner.
"Futile," hissed Dark Weaver.
In its left hand, blackening dust gathered to form a stone. Jagged points bloomed from it, teal bolts dancing between them. Its target was Ignatius.
"Look out," Magpie screamed after her lover.
Nu found she could still move her fingers. With all the will she could muster in her invaded body, she succeeded in stopping Dark Weaver from launching the oblivious missile.
Pain shot through their body. They looked down: Nu had made them squeeze the spiked stone. One barb had completely pierced through their galaxial palm. Another sliced the flesh between two fingers. Blood—in the form of black pitch, flecked with stardust—surged from the injuries.
"What are we doing?" Dark Weaver asked.
Perhaps it was pain that allowed Nu to have more control. Focusing, she made another wicked thorn grow, this one longer than the rest. I know not what will happen to me, Nu thought solemnly, but if this will end it … What was, for now and for the most part, her arm again shook violently, the invaders fighting for control of the limb.
Nu, stymied but determined, pressed the long spike into Eye of Aion affixed to her breast. She felt the cross rumble as she pierced the glass lens over its three-eyed pupil. Even if I die …
"CEASE!" The spiritual amalgamation ordered its host. "YOU KNOW NOT OF THE CONSEQUENCES—"
Magpie, who stood in the distance, fell on her hands and knees as the ground below her shook. The violence of the earth seemed like it would demolish the hospital. Another shift? Nu thought.
Before she could destroy the ancient trinket, her surroundings warped. All voices silenced, Nu and the spirits suffered the shift, losing consciousness in the process.
ns 18.68.41.136da2
