divina (marilag) wrote in emillion, |
It cut the scene into harsh blacks and whites, lights and shadows, a high-contrast flash. As the Light flooded the field, a Scream pierced the air: the Berserker’s battle cry, to rob the opponent of their support. And so the Regens came to a sudden halt; the light enveloped the weakened toads and the giant crab – But Divina knew it wasn’t enough. A tingle began at the base of her spine, a feline instinct that told her that now was the critical moment, that in the span of the next few heartbeats, she could attempt anything and rise victorious. So, recklessly, her lips too began to move without sound, summoning a power that Divina did not yet control and would not master for quite some time still: Unholy Sacrifice. Suddenly, it felt like a vacuum had taken root in the pit of the Fell Knight’s stomach, robbing her of breath, of beauty, of life. For a moment, her heart stopped. Somehow, she raised her blade. The death of a star reversed: the vacuum became a black supernova borne from Divina’s own life energy, ravaging the battlefield with tendrils of inky Darkness that wove in and out of the Light, the two Forces tempering one another inasmuch as they strengthened each other. For a moment, it seemed like the two energies would combine, but it was like black inky tar coasting on the surface of clean water. They were separate. They were inseparable. They could never mix, but they could brush shoulders and entwine and coil amongst each other, a nested double helix of Light and Dark, and together they were stronger. Neither knight, Holy and Fell, had ever seen anything like this. The bright light and shadows imprinted on their eyelids; anyone in the near vicinity who didn’t close their eyes in time was treated to a sequence of searing afterimages from the mix of magic. When Rictor’s vision cleared, he saw that all of the Iguions and Mindflayers and Crabs in his and Divina’s immediate area were lying dead and mangled. The rest of the world filtered back into his senses. He was breathing shallowly, his head dizzy and swimming; only now did he notice that he was bleeding heavily, that his limp had gotten worse, that the ache in his side had graduated to all-out agony. Somewhere throughout the fray, he’d sustained injuries that he hadn’t even noticed. – and she was a fell knight. Of course. No healing magic here, only the poisonous leeching of Deathbringer. He had grown so used to fighting alongside other holy knights, their chants buoying him, lacing strength back into broken bones... Rictor teetered on his feet for a moment, almost stumbling before managing to swing the gunblade into position as an improvised cane. He leaned heavily against it. “Well, I’m ready to call it a fucking night,” he mumbled, shooting Divina a tentative, weary smile. Though the Fi’noi prided herself so greatly on her love for battle, she could not help but return his smile with a rare, genuine one of her own. “Damn straight.” Something was beginning here. Not quite a reparation, but a bridge, built on trembling foundations, but a bridge nonetheless, and – An enormous wave swept in, taking with it the moment and the battered bodies of the knights. The force and volume of it swept the pair into the streets, where a climactic battle was broiling. Sputtering, a hand raised to make sense of her sopping mass of hair, Divina took the scene in. Spells were flying – a scorching Firaga narrowly missing Rictor’s head – and the song of swords rang out deafeningly even amidst the drone of the rain. At the center of it all rose an enormous mass of algae-covered rocks and water, staggering in its amount and enormity, swirling through and around itself: a Water Elemental. Its attention had been momentarily diverted by the thick stew of magic in the air, but soon turned its focus back to another group. Her heart beating like a hummingbird (always, always a hummingbird), Divina turned to her companion. “Persevere to the end...” “In any enterprise begun,” Ric finished, his pale eyes taking in the churning battle around them. So in they went, once more. |