She snapped her feelings and the captiveÆs lungs inflated Through the binding chains a thread of her power wormed its way into his flesh and animated his broken body His eyes widened and small streams of blood began to gush cheerily out filling the saucer once more As the man coughed and spasmed the picture within the crystal ball became clearer It was just for her own amusement but his blood formed the medium to convey the image
Please He spoke in a guttural whisper Just let me die
Devick clicked her tongue Your fellow rebels were digging around in the Skull of Truth What would have happened if people were to learn the truth ha thatÆs actually quite amusing isnÆt it Considering the secret hidden there No youÆve committed a crime now you must live through the punishment
Her attention turned back to the crystal ball She waved a hand and chains tightened around the rebelÆs throat so the only sound he could make was a strained gasp Now please be quiet ItÆs getting to the good part
Wick gritted his teeth as his image wavered in the face of the GhosthoundÆs Nether storm Despite his earlier confident pronouncements of victory reality sadly painted a blurrier picture of their current struggle Veritable drifts of some of the most potent Nether Wick had ever encountered slammed against the barriers his copper spikes created weakening the isolation and allowing the winds to squeak through and stir up more power in the other portions of the giant room
The Ghosthound somehow maintained two grand patterns of Nether one within the binding and one without and kept them in particular harmony just with the few gushing blasts that managed to penetrate WickÆs defenses The insight and mastery required for such a feat astounded him And also meant he had to watch out for Nether flares from every direction
At this point none of the furniture remaining Wooden chair backs and legs had been ground down to nothing by the force of the conflict The calamitous wind that the Ghosthound mobilized had obliterated everything and smothered the fires so what remained were two men struggling with each other under the illumination of WickÆs copper spikes
WickÆs hand neared RandidlyÆs shoulder In a supreme effort of physical power the Ghosthound rolled his shoulders and sent a shuddering shift through the net of burning copper that entangled his limbs As he held the bindings Wick felt the full force of the moment The effort must have been herculean he simply suppressed an image with just his body
WickÆs first grasp missed But it only took him another moment to lean the extra distance and lay his palm upon his target
That second was enough time for the bolt of Nether to twist and crash down through Wick ripping in through the left side of his back and then boring a hole straight down into the opposite thigh Nether devoured flesh and image and then ran rampant through his torso and leg
DevickÆs strange methods activated even as Wick cursed and writhed from the pain Their bodies were left behind and they slid down through a chute of molten copper to land on a vast plain of darkness Wick instantly felt disgust rising in him they had metaphorically just arrived in DevickÆs womb Rust colored madness wove itself into a fence that would subtly tighten until the duo was bound together for all eternity Wick intended to take advantage of their arrival to strike but the influence of Nether into his body distracted him
By the time he had recovered the Ghosthound raised his head and looked intently up at the copper chute Gnashing his teeth Wick was helpless as the kid adjusted His form ripples and shifted sometimes a tree sometimes an armored monster sometimes a vast darkness sometimes a horrifying storm of grey flames
Those grey flames took precedence as he reached up toward how they arrived He was a glimmering avatar of ash and hunger warping the world not with heat but with the sheer force of his Nether The beast of the storm made flesh seething in this strange mental battlefield
Unfortunately even I would not be able to escape once IÆve been forced here Wick finally obliterated the rampant Nether inside his body with his superior image and straightened And being here is a death knell for you Accept your fate boy
Maybe But maybe not The Ghosthound shifted back to a creaking tree as he turned to regard Wick His emotions continued to boil and the powerful branches creaked and groaned under their ferocity An infinite number of emerald leaves rustled creating a deafening pressure that surprised even Wick
The Ghosthound took a step forward with a wicked grin on his face But you can be fucking sure IÆm not leaving this strange place until you are dead Wick
Ha Wick snorted in spite of himself Once more their sentiments mirrored one another I will take great pleasure in making your last conscious thought one of disappointment Now prepare yourself
Those dangerous grey spectral flames exploded from the Ghosthound and crashed against the rust colored bindings of this place Finding no outlet they spun back together and began to churn in the familiar pattern of a storm
However Wick ignored the Ghosthound At this point it was unnecessary to fight him His copper stakes rushed to surrounding him a very particular arrangement and then stuck into the ground His defenses wove themselves together into a tight net Then at his direction he connected himself fully to this area
In a frothing gush the emotions that Wick usually suppressed poured in through the copper chute The emotions’ first response to being finally freed was to lash out at their maker The almost liquid rainbow sparkling violence of the emotions pounced at Wick and slammed against his defenses The colors of the liquid darkened their hatred grew more intense as he proved beyond their reach
But of course there was suddenly a much easier target The emotions happily twisted around and rushed to drown Randidly joined every moment by more and more of that same liquid Soon the entire plain would be submerged beneath their wild force
Wick smirked And once you have become part of the sea of our emotion it will be quite easy to completely
He couldnÆt help himself Wick gasped Because as the rush of emotions surged toward the Ghosthound he shifted to his swirling darkness image Without even seeming to strain himself Randidly Ghosthound gulped down every bit of emotion that tried to invade him
WickÆs expression fell It wasnÆt just his Willpower earlier when I tried an emotional sneak attack But how the hell can he withstand that torrent
Chapter 1882
The crystal ball vision in front of her had fallen into a curious state of stillness but Devick didnÆt mind She knew that this meant that the final confrontation was upon Randidly and Wick All the elements were present Considering the ending of this story she forgave them for their small transgressions of competing using bland patterns
In the end she was a woman concerned with results the methods didnÆt matter as much
She patted her stomach affectionately as though these rambunctious two were really hidden there inside her body about to be born in a curious miracle In a way that was exactly what would happen
Then her gaze landed on the bound figure and a sharp tang of lemon was added to her good mood Smacking her lips she sent another finger of power into his body and healed his wounds Blood began to flow more freely from the rips in his skin made by the chains but he didnÆt stir at all Sighing Devick pressed herself to her feet and walked over to examine the man She lowered her face next to his and scrutinized him
You decided to even kill your image to escape me Devick frowned Then she flicked her wrist and the chains around he body tightened until he popped and splattered across the side of the room A cracked rib skittered across the ground half of the manÆs jaw was flung sideways The rest was forced out between the rusted and spiked chains in a peculiar jelly Devick didnÆt even bother to wipe the sprayed bits of gristle off her arm and torso as she sat back down and began to pop grapes into her mouth