Thunk, step, slide All while attempting to suppress her pain, the resulting grunts and groans of perseverance still audible nonetheless. The phoneix did not pause to consider the fact that she might very well sound much like a spawn of Rudjek, mindless and shuffling. Leaning heavily on the provided cane, she would push the bottom out a short distance, half hop and held most of her weight with her hands on the cane as she moved the good leg forward. It was here that she'd grunt, as her ribcage protested her efforts to move at all. Dragging her broken leg behind her was the easy, and manageable part.

The beetles were screaming different curses at the pair for having defeated 66, renewing their plans to catch the women unawares and consuming their flesh. Mirannda easily dismissed their taunts, her attention completely absorbed by not falling over, or going blind as her vision threatened to darken with each passing moment. Maybe she should not have pushed off the healing skills of Natsumi so easily.

Underfoot, the pyramid rumbled and shook. Immediately, Mirannda grabbed onto a wall, preparing to slip into shadows just in case to prevent further injury. Which shadows she would slip into wasn't quite known, yet. While dust and tiny pieces of the structure pelted the pair, they could hear a cave in somewhere behind them, quite possibly near where the phoenix had perished. Unfortunately, the jostling eventually sent Mirannda sprawling to the ground. ”Fenehdis lasa!”

The curse, something very similar to “fuck me”, which was practically screamed out sent the fire salamanders scurrying, yet the phoenix had no intention to try and soothe them or call them back as she attempted the grueling task of standing once more. With the aid of the cane, it was a little easier this time. Even still, she muttered a plea. ”Fen'harel ir halam.” Every negative thing she was saying was in her adopted mother's native tongue.

The cane was pushed out. Thump. Her chest screamed and begged her, burning in retaliation of the excess movement just to move the one foot forward. Step. Even with the voices of near every nerve in her right leg, it was the easiest thing to ignore. Slide. This continued until they came to the antechamber which Shiloh had been fighting on. Green eyes took in the scene of the room, landing on Shiloh. Mirannda gave a sigh of relief. ”So we're all alive. Point one for us.” While she tried to smile at the attempt of lightening their grim predicament, it was ruined by the grimace of pain that flashed across her face.

[OOC: Consider this post a critical hit. >:D]

Up until that confirmation of Shiloh's safety, Mirannda's state declined into downright pitiful territory. From what little I can remember of our trek back up the pyramid, I recall thinking of her as a wounded puppy while watching her try to stabilize herself on a broken leg. I could have healed it in an instant had she let me, made it so she wasn't groaning in agony with every step, but her stubbornness kept me at bay. There was no healing to be had in that situation: only old curses from a distant land unrelated to Revaliir.

Truthfully, though, it wasn't like I was in the mood to override Mirannda's wishes anyway. I was in pain myself by the time Shiloh's pessimism was allowed to fill the air once more, so the ailments of a stranger were hardly in the realm of my immediate concerns. I actually didn't even speak to either of those two when we regrouped, instead just moving closer to Shiloh whilst the phoenix remarked on "points." I let the two of them converse without me in that place, instead choosing to watch the magical wall descend behind us from beyond my sweat drenched hair.

It was there, standing in the dim light of the pyramid's candles, that I saw something beyond the barrier that wasn't originally there. An ornate door had taken the place of the once empty hallway: an entrance flanked by oddly positioned sarcophagi. It remained shut upon first materializing, but wasted little time in remedying that predicament. After the shifting stone around it was allowed to settle, the entryway opened for us, revealing the throne room beyond as well as the high priest's intentions.

Rudjek, Sardon's chosen that had started this whole sordid affair, was inviting us into his private chambers. The entire temple was under his command, and he had used that power to allow us an expedited audience with him. The magical power coming from beyond his door made that obvious, but also left us with little information as to why he had experienced such a drastic change of heart. After all, for someone who had tried so hard to keep us at bay ever since we entered his home, Rudjek was suddenly being very forthcoming.

My suspicions were understandably high from this altered course, especially since my party had essentially just been given an open invitation to meet with who amounted to an enemy general. That thought in itself was terrifying, even without considering the state of my group. Mirannda could barely stand, and Shiloh was exhausted from her fight with 48. Neither was in any shape to fight, and the clock on my own power was already ticking rapidly away. These facts combined meant that the time for respect was over: enough that I stood in front of my companions to bar their path and garner their attention.

"I don't have the luxury of small talk right now," I said while taking out some lumps of purple beeswax and placing them in the hands of the two women. "Take these. Use them if you see me holding this weapon on my back. They'll block out the sound so you don't go deaf; and believe me, you'll need them unless you feel like having your hearing permanently damaged." After delivering those earplugs to guard against Toirneach's roar, I then slammed my fists together and emitted a greater healing aura around me. Both the rogue and the phoenix quickly found themselves back at full health thanks to that spell, allowing us to continue without fear of exhaustion.

I began moving into the room after that, but not without sending a telepathic message toward the two behind me.  ~The gem is the target. Any damage done to Rudjek will just be shrugged off, so hit that gem and hit it hard,~ I said while moving past the threshold. I was being careful with my words since I knew by this point that the walls had ears thanks to those bloody scarabs scurrying about. Rudjek would likely still protect the ruby regardless of any cautionary effort I exerted, true, but it was still in my best interest to reinforce his opinion of superiority. The longer he toyed with us thinking that he had the upper hand, the more damage we could do to his gem and the horde; or, at least, that was the thinking. My confidence in that plan was quicker to fade than a prostitute's virginity on her first working day.

When I stepped inside that chamber, I finally got a look at the size of the monstrosity behind Aysut's revival, and I suddenly had severe doubts on my group's expected utility. The chaotic energies of the gem had spread through the ceiling of sarcophagi, splitting them open and revealing their now empty contents. Surrounding these red crystal offshoots were several depictions of Sardon's acts in life, all painted in fluorescent dye that glowed in the darkness of the room. At the base of these fantastic murals were statues of gold: one for each deity that had ever risen. All of them, even the godslayer himself, were being dominated in some way by the old lord of chaos; with just one exception.

On the far side of the room, right next to the empty throne I had expected Rudjek to be seated in, was a lone, crumbled alcove. It had no statue of a deity in it, even if the statue of Sardon remained in a triumphant pose. Instead, all that remained was rubble collected around Sardon's feet, along with a blank nameplate that had been eroded by some unknown force.

I knew who was supposed to be in that place, and it was while I was staring at its empty facade that I began wondering why Rudjek hadn't tried to rebuild it with something more fitting of his lord. Sardon seemed the type who wouldn't suffer a monument that wasn't centered on his deeds, in my mind, and the lone statue just didn't fit with the pristine, exotic look that the rest of the chamber possessed.

My wonderment on that issue eventually transitioned to another, of course, just as soon as I noticed the high priest's conspicuous absence. His throne was empty, his room untouched, and he was nowhere to be found. Even still, his voice persisted in the void, carrying with it a certain edge of pride.

"Marvelous, isn't it," he asked without showing himself in that darkened tomb? "Sardon's will lives on in this place even after his death, and his law has been faithfully executed in preparation for his rebirth. Each statue in this room depicts his superiority over the other deities that graced the pantheon: exactly as he commanded upon its creation. The only exception thus far has been the deity who erased her existence from the world: the enigmatic Nameless One. But you know all about that, don't you? White One…"

I suddenly forgot that Shiloh and Mirannda were there when I heard this insinuation from Rudjek. I involuntarily glared at the darkness he was hiding in, now sent into fight or flight mode by the thought of my identity being compromised. Bad things happened when people discovered my past, and this priest was playing a dangerous game by bringing it up.

For some reason, however, he didn't see that revelation the same way I did. Instead, he addressed me cordially, saying, "No need for glares," before continuing with his explanation. "Who else possesses knowledge on how to steal souls from the Heart of Sardon himself and yet does not reek of the conclave? Who else possesses magical prowess on your level and yet does not deign to exist in the public eye? The dead know nothing of you. The living know nothing of you. Even the rocks themselves have forgotten you! Even if you hadn't practically revealed it to me with your words and gaze, it would be difficult not to conclude that you are the lost god."

'Idiot,' was all I could think of when I heard that last bit. Not Rudjek, but myself. My carelessness had allowed an ancient entity to come to the conclusion that I was the Nameless One, and I could immediately sense that this was going to lead to an "offer I couldn't refuse" scenario. The thought made my stomach ill, as if it wasn't already suffering under the effects of anima rings, and I became irritated enough from it that I interrupted Rudjek's monologue with a curt, "Get to the point."

I expected this to at least startle him, but it did not. He continued unhindered.

"You've been so very helpful thus far," he added in a sinister undertone. "We could do even more, you know. The knowledge of the woman once powerful enough to erase history itself combined with the powers of the Emperor of Chaos would be unstoppable! All you'd have to do is turn on those others that are just holding you back." In that moment, I knew Rudjek was referring to both Shiloh and Mirannda. Those two were obvious, but I wasn't quite yet dumb enough to not realize he was also referring to Robin. In exchange for life and power, the lich expected me to throw away everyone and everything else; even those people I cared most for in that wretched world of magic and gods. He arrogantly thought I'd accept the ludicrous deal too, going so far as to reappear in his throne just to ask the last bit of his offer. "Do we have a-?"

Ultimately, though, he never finished that sentence. I didn't have to think of my response because I already knew it, so I just sent that to him in the form of a highly explosive arrow. The projectile lodged itself in his teeth before he could speak any further, detonating and turning his bandaged head into a smoldering crater. "Typical," he stated after having to wait for his jaw to reform. "You're a mortal to the core: stubborn to a fault and too stupid to accept the best offer you could hope for."

Rudjek stood up from his throne then, his head still billowing smoke as he sent out a frightening magical aura. "Fine, you can die with them," he shouted, and suddenly the room lit up with multiple braziers. The final battle had begun, but not before I responded to Aysut's master with the utmost disdain.

"Better to die with a conscience than to live as a slave to pride and treason!"

They were all hurt pretty badly, one way or another. To her surprise, it seemed like she had fared the best out of everyone. Half of it was due to Mirannda's help earlier, and the other half from coincidence. Natsumi wasn't looking too well either, and she was relieved that Mirannda by some miracle–was alive. Things were ramping up and that meant they were getting closer. If that necromancer was throwing high-level soldiers their way then they were on the right track. The way was no longer blocked, and instead of a long corridor there was…a door? Was the corridor a trick of the mind, or was it the door? Either way, this entire pyramid's structure wasn't consistent. 

One thing was for certain, and it was that sickening feeling she had felt out on the sands was stronger now. He was there, behind that door. That haughty, pompous coward who relied on petty tricks and slaves to do his dirty work. Right, she still wasn't done here. No matter what she couldn't lower her guard as this entire place was still a death-trap waiting to happen. Even though her voice held a quiver and her posture was unsteady, Natsumi held herself up. She handed Shiloh and Mirannda what looked like a strange, purplish waxy substance. She explained that it was beeswax, and to put them in their ears as soon as she used the strange weapon on her back. Judging by the description, that was the thing which nearly blew their ears out earlier. Natsumi then sent out a healing aura, and immediately the heaviness in her legs and shortness of breath was gone. With blades in hand, Shiloh was ready to go.

As they advanced forward, she heard a familiar voice echo in her mind. ~The gem is the target. Any damage done to Rudjek will just be shrugged off, so hit that gem and hit it hard.~  'You don't need to tell me twice.' Shiloh thought to herself. She had a bone to pick with this 'Rudjek' after what he put all of them through. They entered the room which the lich stood, and the magical power saturated in the air was making her stomach churn. It was like inhaling bog fumes, dense and overwhelming. Now they were here, they only had one shot at this. Fail, and they'd be forcibly recruited into the necromancer's ranks. There, in the back was the crystal Natsumi had mentioned. It was radiating with power, unseemly red and grossly grandiose. It was larger than she had expected, and there was no doubt this obscene thing was the core of the disasters in the desert. There were drawings–no, paintings of the same statue outside. Murals depicting the past glories of a deity who no longer existed. To top off this narcissistic show of sovereignty were statues of gold, each one showing him overtaking another. Shiloh had barely entered this world, and naturally she didn't recognize the significance of the figures. But either way, the base symbolism was clear: this fallen god considered himself the lord over all.

The undead necromancer then began to taunt them, Natsumi in particular. He was speaking about things she didn't understand, but she did pick up a few important points. 'Sardon'–the deity who was the embodiment of pride, the 'Nameless One'–another deity who was no longer in power, the 'Heart of Sardon'–the red gem which they needed to destroy. Whatever the lich was babbling on about was unimportant. All Shiloh wanted to do was to see the look on his face when his precious artifact of destruction was ground into dust. Natsumi was having none of it, and told him to cut to the chase. He did, and said should she choose to join him–they would reign over the world in Sardon's name. A laughable offer. Did he really think anyone would be so foolish to think that would work? A person like him wouldn't hesitate to stab a cohort in the back to claim all the power for himself once the world was theirs. Or he wouldn't even honor his agreement in the first place, and further his primary objective.

Before he could even continue his lousy attempt at making a bargain, Natsumi shot him in the face. Surprising, seeing how she was the most experienced and level-headed out of all of them, but Shiloh approved. Sadly this did absolutely nothing to Rudjek, as he simply regenerated and closed down negotiations permanently. "Fine, you can die with them," he sneered, rising as he flaunted his power. "Better to die with a conscience than to live as a slave to pride and treason!" Natsumi shot back. This was what they had been waiting for, and Shiloh was starting to grin beneath her cracked mask. "It seems like someone's forgotten what it's like to be mortal…why don't we give him a refresher course?"

For all of her bravado, she still wasn't ignoring their real objective. They had to act in a way where Rudjek wouldn't be paying attention to what they were really after. A basic assessment of everyone here so far told her that Natsumi was the one who posed the greatest threat to the lich, and just so happened to have the greatest power. She wasn't sure how strong Mirannda was, but Shiloh was sure a few hits from a sword wouldn't do anything against a massive conduit for souls. However, she had an idea… Fight magic with magic. She never would have thought to use this spell for anything outside the obvious, but this was the perfect opportunity. Casting the Keeper's Secret on herself, Shiloh was planning to use its deflective properties to send back any magical attack right onto the Heart. She just hoped the others would soon catch on before Rudjek did.

All attention seemed to be on the opening barrier, drawing Mirannda's curiosity, anything to draw her mind from the ever constant pain. Something didn't seem right, what should have been a straight hall now housed a strange door. This door was completely different from the others she had notice, the sarcophagi being an odd decoration choice. Instantly, as the entrance granted an invitation to the group, the purpose was clear. They were being toyed with, a yo-yo rolling in for another throw against the leash.

Natsumi had given them little mounds of a purple substance. Holding one between her fingers, she was reminded of beeswax, having a similar texture. Warm magic washed over her, pain instantly disappearing. Bones knitted back together, and smoothed over the cracks. Her nerves were no longer screaming, and Mirannda felt a strangely euphoric sense of relief spread over her entire body. While she could complain her wishes being completely thrown out the proverbial window, the phoenix was so happy to discard the staff and shed the pain as water under the bridge. Testing her weight on the previously injured leg, Mirannda followed the women to the inviting open door, weapon now drawn in place of the cane.

Upon seeing the room within, the phoenix was floored by the grotesque grandeur. All of the gods could be seen, depicted in some way, with Sardon being the dominant being. It was an interesting choice to have one of them, however, in rubble without a name plate. For someone who knew nothing of the gods, Mirannda was quite interested now in learning more about them. Rudjek's voice filled the tomb, boastful and dripping with enticement. He was trying to build up for someone, to make an irresistible offer.

Having been trained for gathering intel, and making proper deductions on the knowledge picked up, Mirannda looked quite bored as she listened carefully. The broken statue was a goddess who completely expunged her existence from the minds of every living being. With the broken, nameless statue, it was only natural to assume that was who the priest referred to. He was specifically talking to Natsumi, yet was talking about the goddess. But he used the word “you”… Her mind made the connection, and she stared at the back of Natsumi's head, boredom turning to incredulity. They were with a goddess?

While Natsumi wasn't denying it, Mirannda was thinking back to their entire trek through the pyramid, figuring it made sense. How else could she hold the souls of the “captain” mummies? If Mirannda tried that, she was sure she couldn't hold more than one, two maximum. Rudjek stole her attention once more, she too shot him a glare, when he suggested that Natsumi eliminate herself and Shiloh. The phoenix could agree with Natsumi's actions, her statement, and her decision. Yet, if the same was given to her, would Mirannda have taken it? She had, not too long ago, made a similar deal with someone else.

Their target is the gem, most likely the storage of the collected energy. A malicious grin slowly consumed Mirannda's lips. ”I was once a slave to greed. Let me share my punishment with you.” There was only one spell she knew to cast at him that would harm the gem while hiding her true intentions. Lifting her free hand, fingers held close together, Mirannda blew on them gently, little sparks of blue lightning crackling around them. Slowly, she extended her fingers farther apart as more arced between them, the smile never fading. With the flick of her wrist, Mirannda sent the lightning at Rudjek.

She didn't care if it hit him or not. The spell did exactly what she intended. It struck him, bounced up into the air. Lightning hit the gem, dealing some damage to it. What she did not intend for, however, was for it to bounce once more off the gem. With a squeal, Mirannda unintentionally jumped back. Shiloh took the lightning. Instantly, she feared the worse, yet was shocked by what she saw. The woman was unharmed! In fact, more than that, the lightning bounced again! Mirannda couldn't believe her eyes as she watched the spell reflect back onto the gem.

Shiloh and Mirannda joined me for that battle, and the former of the two started off with a surprisingly effective but mundane statement. As rogues went, Shiloh seemed quite capable of digs even when she wasn't trying to give them out. In fact, the very moment she insinuated we remind Rudjek of his mortality; he temporarily lost all presence of malevolence.

"Mortals are the weeds of this planet, incapable of functioning without leaders,"   he whined! "So long as we have those above us, we are complete!" In the end, even Rudjek himself was a blind drone, fixated on a singular goal that had been instilled in him centuries before his latest revival. Shiloh's words were like a dagger to that fragile mind, causing him to briefly flee towards the programming that had kept him sane all these years. He behaved like a pouting child because of it, at least until he was struck by Mirannda's chain lightning.

The attack came suddenly and with little warning, arcing through the room until it lit up Rudjek like a Gobethian lightbulb. The purpose was obvious. Mirannda had chosen to hide her intentions by choosing a spell that randomly targeted enemies. By doing so, she managed to strike at the gem while making the incident seem like a total accident. Ultimately, it worked. Her opponent barely noticed at all, even though he was brought back to his senses just in time to see the same attack reflect off of Shiloh and into his precious ruby.

"An amusing light show," he muttered as the wrathful glower returned to his face. "But ultimately futile, little phoenix." I can safely say that the high priest was still playing with his food by that point, but he also didn't take kindly to the small blemishes that now graced Sardon's Heart. His own fingers began to flicker with angry thunderbolts as a result of Mirannda's actions, and soon his menacing gaze turned toward her. "It's a shame really. With all that grunting from earlier, I could have easily welcomed you into the fold in your current body. Now I'll have to make one from sand after I destroy this current form instead."

Rudjek's intent was clear, even before he unleashed a powerful chain lightning of his own. The spell was enormous in comparison to what Mirannda had just zapped him with, possessing enough energy to vaporize both her and Shiloh where they stood; assuming, of course, that I hadn't intercepted it.

Borrowing from Shiloh's use of magical reflection, I placed myself directly in the path of that bolt, forming a large, white shield to bar its trajectory. The energy powering said shield erupted from one of my rings, consuming the soul within and redirecting Rudjek's attack back at him and his precious ruby. With that, the first true shot was fired; and Rudjek could only watch in contempt as his own magic struck his lord's heart, forming a significant crack along the nearest edge.

"Persistent, aren't we," he spat as the red dust from that impact fell to his feet? I couldn't answer him despite how much I wanted to, because my counter had taken a heavy toll on me. While my companions had been completely healed by my aura in the corridor and still seemed healthy, I did not share their fate. Instead, I looked like I was suffering from a terrible plague. I coughed up blood onto the sandstone in front of me immediately following my spellcast, and so I was disallowed from speaking during Rudjek's next rant. "Do you three not see the destruction Sardon's minions have wrought," he continued while conjuring up dozens of ghostly images from the blood-soaked battlefield outside? "All the souls we have collected, and you still think you're in control?! It won't be much longer, you stubborn creatures. Once we have enough, everyone will bow before Sardon once again, in the flesh! The heart just needs MORE!"

My eyes, tired as they were, managed to trace the walls of projection in that stifling room; and they wandered until they settled on the one portraying Robin. Rudjek was watching her in combat through one of his spies, and he waited till I knew that to get in a dig of his own. "Just one more sacrifice," he said as soon as our eyes focused on the same object, "one more token of that wretched woman's descendants, and we can finally escape this hellish desert."

Despite my best efforts, Rudjek's words in that moment elicited an expression of contempt from me. I gritted my teeth exactly as he desired, acting like the puppet he expected me to be in "his" play.

"So predictable, Nameless One," he laughed in my face! "I guess the infamous lost god does have her weaknesses after all; and that weakness's name is Robin." All the projections save for the one with my beloved in it immediately disappeared with that statement, revealing a monstrous creature that had infiltrated the room behind them. It crawled across Sardon's Heart like a sickeningly mutated wolf, and practically caused a miniature earthquake when its massive form landed next to Shiloh.




The quadrapedal creature was unlike anything native to the desert itself, too twisted and mangled by the chaotic energies overhead to be anything close to recognizable. The beholder-like parasite protruding from its chest made the ruby's effects on it abundantly clear, as did the beast's erratic attack pattern as it howled wildly against the backdrop of Rudjek's cackling.

So he was just another disposable sycophant after all. For all of his power and intimidation, it was disappointing. Rudjek was an incredibly powerful necromancer, possessing capabilities that far exceeded her wildest dreams. And yet when push came to shove, he couldn't even commit atrocities in his own name without using his former master as a crutch. If he reacted so much to a simple offhand comment, then he was a weaker person than she had thought. But even blind fools with endless power were still dangerous, and Rudjek was no fool. As she was still considering the best angle of attack, Mirannda jumped in and made the first move. Shiloh instinctively flinched as the reflected lightning from her attack came at her, in spite of having used that particular spell to ward off such things. It was her paranoia kicking in, that nagging doubt of the spell's limits. Thankfully, it worked as it should–sending the magical energy right back at the 'Heart of Sardon' it had came off of.

The lich didn't like that at all, and began to conjure up a spell of his own. Unlike the electricity from Mirannda earlier, Shiloh didn't have any confidence that she'd come out unscathed this time. As expected from a mad sorcerer, the attack flew faster than they could defend–until something, or someone blocked it. With an immense burst of magic, Natsumi had send the full brunt of Rudjek's lightning right into his precious crystal. The sound of damage being done was music to her ears, and she could see the small cracks in the surface. Now the real battle was about to begin. Having played their hand early, the enemy knew what they were up to. From this point on the difficulty would only increase and he would be on high alert. As if to add to the dire situation, Natsumi was starting to cough up blood. Shiloh could smell it from the small drops that were on the ground.

The necromancer began to gloat at the woman's sign of weakness. He was confident, grossly confident that he would succeed. It was pathetic and nauseating how he was barely able to contain his excitement at making things personal against the woman now standing with a sickly complexion. One more soul–he said. Just one more and then it would be the end. Or was it? All this talk of doom and gloom was making her stir-crazy; the whispers of the darkness from human hearts within her were becoming restless. It was both terrifying and intoxicating. "Just one more sacrifice, one more token of that wretched woman's descendants, and we can finally escape this hellish desert."

From the depths of her mind, she and the shadows within came to an unanimous agreement. "…One more sacrifice? Don't make me laugh–as if you will! Even if you manage to collect the last soul of your escapee's kindred, you'll never leave this wretched prison." Then, the lich called forth a hideous monstrosity. It was twisted and ugly, just as the rest of his creations had been. The wicked thing then leaped from the massive ruby and landed with a great impact not too far from them. The time for small talk was over, and things were going to get messy. Her natural instincts going into high gear, Shiloh dashed away as soon as she regained her footing. Adrenaline was flooding into her systems and all of her senses were at full power. Sending away her phoenix blade, she summoned what looked like an ordinary elven axe in her empty hand. "It's been a while since I've hunted beasts. Just try and get me, you sick dog!"

If Rudjek was willing to bet it all on a single sacrifice, then he had better be prepared to lose everything. Taunting the fiendish chimera, she began zigzagging around the chamber. With shouts and insults she egged it on, daring the hulking beast to give chase. As she did so she recast the Keeper's Secret on herself again, in case the necromancer or anyone else decided to send a magic attack her way. Shiloh was playing a game of cat and mouse, intending to let the monster's mindless bloodlust and desire for violence to do her work for her. To the others it looked like she was getting ahead of herself, perhaps even becoming a bit overconfident. Regardless, this was all according to her plan. The more misdirection she caused, the better her 'surprise' would be.   

Sadly, Rudjek seemed unfazed, going so far as to calling her attack an amusing light show and futile. Her face turned a bright red as he continued his taunting. So many retorts sprang to her lips, yet she held them back by the skin of her teeth. The living cannot so easily join the mummified corpses, not without a fair bit of torture. Mirannda had her fair share of torture, and refused to go through anything worse than what she had experienced. She did not want a leader to fear and cower from, to constantly worry about doing the slightest thing wrong.

Where was the respect? Genuine care? Despite how much she tried to run from her past, it was still who she was deep down. Mirannda could not erase it, could not scrub it from her heart. Persistence kept her here, good will toward humanity kept her fighting. So caught up in her thoughts, she had failed to pay attention to the flickering thunder bolts in Rudjek's hand, and lost her cool head in the middle of a battlefield. Time for scolding herself would have to wait as the appearance of time itself seemed to slow with adrenaline.

Thunder zigzagged through the air toward them, Natsumi in motion, counter spells springing forth from her reserves. Energy burst forth from Natsumi's hand, shielding them and bouncing the priest's spell back at him and that precious ruby. Her condition worsened, it seemed, as the battle was prolonged. How far was this possible lost goddess willing to push herself? Even the gods have limits. Rudjek ranted about collecting the souls he stole from various places. Mirannda thought that while they were not in control, they were fighting to regain it. ”You're right, we are stubborn. The Mother Flame will consume me completely before I bow to Sardon.”

No, the phoenix do not bow, they rise above the flames and ashes. Only in death must they bow, paying tribute to the goddess they deny every time they are reborn. She watched the images, not a single one meaning anything to her. If they were in Dae Luin, would she see Vincent and Jalaya fighting to protect their lot in life? Or Tobias, Chisera, Artaxiad, the pixie Luna, or anyone from Elysium Order? To see even an image of her beloved Sithoran would have been a blessing. Yet, every single image was someone out there fighting the mummies, people from Revaliir. Each of them were fighting to save someone, something. Here she was, attempting to help a bunch of strangers.

'Just one more sacrifice' he said, and all projections disappeared save one. It became clear to Mirannda why Natsumi was here, why she was fighting. While Rudjek was giving it the name of just one person, it was so much greater than that. ”Not Robin. Our weakness is love!” Any arguments from Mirannda were cut short as a great beast, terrible and hideous, crawled over the crystal. Did that thing have two sets of shoulders, one on top of the other and descending into the arms of the lower? One thing was for certain: as hideous as that thing was, she did not want to be caught in the ginormous hands powered by equally built muscles, or bit by those huge jaws. They would likely be bit clean in half if they did.

Shiloh taunted the beast, running around the chamber nimbly as she continued throwing out noise to keep the attention of the thing. Praying that she kept the terrible creature busy, Mirannda reached up with her free hand and grasped at the small bottle hanging on a partially hidden necklace. She hadn't thought to check it after the collapse of the rubble, and was quite pleased to see the bottle was still in tact, full of the tears of her cousins. Casting a minor spell to empower her magical ability, Mirannda held up her other hand, sword held backwards down the length of her arm as she concentrated on the center of the room.

Pulling deep on the flames, the phoenix blocked out her worries. Between Rudjek and the crystal, a small dot of flame appeared, being pierced by needles of light continuously. Each needle made the flame grow larger and larger until it was the size of a human skull. All needles disappeared into the ball of flame and it sat there, hovering in the middle of the room doing absolutely nothing. Suddenly, the it condensed to the size of a grain of sand. For a split second, it appeared as if it was a dud spell, useless flash. Until flames erupted in a huge explosion. It was now that Mirannda allowed herself to worry as the flames and energy rapidly consumed the room.

Hoping that the two women were protected from her spell, Mirannda knew that she was not and could never be. Immune to most flames as she was, it was her own fire she could not withstand. It would burn and scald, melt her flesh once it touched her. Still grasping her bottle of phoenix tears, Mirannda watched wide eyed as her own flame rushed toward her, the sound of her spell and the hungry element drowned out all else to her.

Shiloh, for all her survivalist instincts, ended up being the one to lead that beast away. She was taunting both it and its master, trying to draw their attention away from Mirannda and me by playing to the lowest denominator. In doing so, she thought to give us a chance to strike at the heart in their absence, but, ultimately, she only got half of her desired audience. The high priest himself? He just brushed her aside with disinterest.

"At least I'll have company," he responded to the badgering. "You won't be leaving either." Rudjek was definitely confident in his victory; yet he was also operating with a growing sense of tactical prowess by this point in the war. His joking demeanor was gradually fading in the face of repeated disappointments, and that transition was noticeable even before Mirannda's next attack.

That said, the phoenix definitely managed to exacerbate the problem. She dropped a sappy line about love once my motivation had been revealed, and then followed up the factually accurate statement with an explosion spell. Vast swathes of heat spilled out from the detonation point of that anomaly, empowered by magic and enchantment alike until the spell was powerful enough to consume the entire room. The magic even reached Rudjek's pet before receding, though failed to do anything more than injure it. Truthfully, Rudjek and the Heart took most of the damage instead.

As a result of that cataclysm, chunks of the ruby overhead had been taken apart. Rudjek was also temporarily obliterated, forcing him to reform over time while the rest of us regrouped. Meanwhile, I was left standing in front of Mirannda, having protected her once again from the magic flying about the room. My soul-powered, counter spell was enough to mitigate all leftover feedback from her explosion, so none of the brunt passed by me to return to her.

Despite that fortunate turn of events, however, my condition worsened from the attempt. Coughs turned to vomit, and my solid stance from before had already crumbled into a kneeling position. I could tell my body wasn't going to last much longer as I slowly lost the strength to stand up straight, and yet Rudjek was already reforming as if he was unfazed by our attacks.

"I don't understand you at all, Nameless One," he spoke calmly in the wake of our latest defiance. "You're exceeding the power meant to be used by a mortal right now; using my souls to do so even at the cost of your own body. And for what? Am I to believe you'd throw your power and achievements away for one strumpet and a smidgen of emotional comfort?"

Truth be told, the asshole had a point. I had my doubts about Robin: doubts that I was using a Renaissance artifact to overcome. And under the currently dire circumstances, I wouldn't have held it against anyone else had they chosen flee instead of fight in my position. Just as Mira had stated, though, reason was not enough to overwhelm the love driving me. I suppose that's why I was stupid enough to poke the reaper while on his doorstep and not expect retaliation.

"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. I told you downstairs what my intentions were, and you simply chose to ignore them like the arrogant prick you are." My supposed "last words," as it were. Rudjek didn't even crack a smile or laugh at them as he had the others before. Instead, he spoke calmly, and just before disappearing from sight.

"You truly are a sad and predictable creature," he said, and then kicked me in the ribs before I could move. The force sent me sailing across the room until I hit one of his statues, at which point I fell face down with several cracked ribs and a broken shoulder as rewards for my arrogance.

So it was that, with one blow, the seemingly incompetent high priest had removed me from the battlefield. "Evidently, I can't kill you two while your shield is still operational," he said while stepping in my blood after the fact, "so I've gone ahead and broken that shield." Rudjek had guessed that I was the only real threat in the room since I had the power to turn his own source against him, and thus he had focused me down. With me apparently out the way, he was reassured of his victory, and so turned his gaze toward the phoenix once more before walking menacingly toward her. "Let's try this again, little phoenix: this time without your pesky spell shield."

6

Just as she was working on handling the four-legged monstrosity, the room was set ablaze. Thankfully that spell she had cast out of reflex protected her against the magical fire, and unintentionally deflected onto the creature who had been pursuing her. The flames only made the hideous beast snarl in anger, and it was barely even singed. This lich certainly had a way with making things more frustrating by the minute. If the necromancer paid her no need, then that was even better. She couldn't wait to see his high-minded attitude crack and crumble in the face of futility. Mirannda's explosive attack was damaging the ruby more and had obliterated Rudjek, but moments later he reconstructed himself again. He wouldn't bite the dust until all of his power and the crystal's was spent.

Natsumi was at death's door, and knocking. They needed to take this thing down before they all fell, or else this whole battle would all be for naught. She watched with growing anxiety as Rudjek beat down the severely injured woman, kicking her into the wall. Things were not going according to plan. The lich then turned his attention towards the red-haired woman, so Shiloh half-heartedly assumed he saw her as the least threatening out of their group. The monster which she had successfully baited was still hot on her heels, and she was ducking and running as quick as she could. It tore through a stone pillar she had jumped behind, and was climbing up on the ceiling like some wretched, oversized lizard. It was fast and its movements erratic, and going in to deal damage would be suicide. As it threw a large piece of rubble at her head, she caught a glimpse of something gross and disgusting protruding from its torso. Since it had been on all fours running around, she hadn't noticed it until now. 

Regardless if it was natural, or by the necromancer's design–there was an ugly protrusion nearly bursting out from the center of its chest, with a gaping maw and a bulging eye. Even rotting corpses looked less awful. It was so repulsive that just looking at it made her want to stab it or set it on fire. Reaching into her knapsack, she grabbed a hold of something and threw it at the thing as hard as she could. Unfortunately what had gotten into her hands was a small cat statuette, not a dagger like she had intended. The figurine began to react to the magic flowing through the chamber, and its eyes lit up. With a small flash of light, an apparition of a housecat appeared and it immediately leaped at Rudjek's monster. The ghostly feline assaulted the creature's face, just like a living cat would causing it to growl and snarl fiercely–flailing about trying to tear it away. This serendipitous distraction was a golden opportunity, and Shiloh took it without hesitation.

With sword in hand, she threw her dragon-bone sword with all her might at the massive protruding eye in its chest. With both its main body and the living chest-tumor distracted, it couldn't react fast enough to prevent the blade from impaling its target. A hair-raising screech filled the chamber as it recoiled in agony, convulsing in a fit of pain. To rub salt into the wound, Shiloh then used telekinesis on the sword stuck in its torso and yanked it back out, tearing up the bulging tumorous mass even more. With her axe in hand, she was prepared to go in for the kill when the beast flew into a blind rage. It began ripping parts of the chamber up, throwing them everywhere like a spoiled brat in a tantrum. Debris was flying everywhere, smashing into the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and into the ruby. 

Shiloh was forced to dodge the constant barrage of rubble being hurled every which way, not noticing her actions were conveniently contributing to the crystal's accumulating damage. The last straw was when the wounded monster grabbed the remains of a shattered limestone pillar base and began smashing things around it. A piece went sailing through the air and hit her in the back, where her knapsack was. What little amount of the incoming blunt force that was absorbed through the clutter she had in there did nothing to prevent her from getting knocked her off her feet. No paralysis, so her spine was still functional, but this was the worst time to hit the ground. She'd forgotten to use a protection spell after the monster gave chase, and she was paying the price for it. Pushing herself up she scrambled to get moving when it leaped off the ceiling towards her.

Her first instinct was to summon her shield into her hands and smash it into the twisted aberration's face with all the force in her legs. Its thick sinews, skeletal structure, and powerful muscles meant it didn't do as much as she had intended, but it bought her a few precious seconds to crawl out from underneath. This time she applied both protection and the Keeper's Secret, not taking any more chances with her luck now that their strongest member was down. Her sword was meters away, and her axe wasn't long enough to cut in as deep. The repulsive flesh-protrusion was now a bloody mess thanks to her handiwork, but the fanged maw it had was only missing a few teeth. With a swipe of its forelimb, it grabbed Shiloh's left leg and threw her at the crimson crystal which was already worse for wear. An audible crack was heard upon impact, and the rogue slid off it onto the floor.

She had not been expecting Natsumi to protect her, not from her own spell. Then again, maybe Natsumi hadn't expect her to be fine from most flames, regardless that this was not one of the flames she could do anything about. While relieved not to have to endure her own flame, Mirannda was broken to see how Natsumi was deteriorating before her. Worse still was the advancement of that blasted priest, and Shiloh getting pretty pressed in her efforts to both avoid and damage her pursuer which was now pretty upset of being burned.

Before Mirannda could do anything to assist Natsumi, she was catapulted across the room with a single kick from Rudjek. The priest turned on her, bearing down as an oppressive force trying to push Mirannda into a tiny box. Fear threatened to keep Mirannda in inactivity as she raised her sword in a defensive position, trying to read the mummified creature for his next assault. Poor Shiloh went sailing into the ruby crystal.

This was terrible for the group, Mirannda was the last person standing, and she felt absolutely powerless! However, it was also a blessing in disguise. The creature that Shiloh had been distracting was berserk, enraged about the damage dealt by Shiloh. It rampaged through the room, attacking almost everything. Nothing was safe. A massive paw swiped at the ruby in its search for Shiloh. It turned and bore down upon Rudjek and Mirannda.

Rudjek turned his attention to the current threat to the crystal. At that time, many fire salamanders came from the hall behind them. As a massive wave, they advanced on Rudjek and climbed up on him. His dried wrappings began to smoke and smolder as they caught flame. As he was now distracted, Mirannda ran towards Natsumi. Praying that Shiloh had recast the spell to bounce the spells, Mirannda began casting the explosive spell once more, heat spilling out. The phoenix threw herself over the Nameless One, shielding her from her own spell.

The magic filled the room. Heat and flames seared and boiled the tender flesh exposed by fresh wounds of the grotesque creature. It was unknown what became of Rudjek. Yet, all Mirannda could think of was the searing heat that beat on her back, melting her flesh, her armor long disintegrated. But she did not scream. She was too focused on controlling the flames to stay away from the body beneath her, attempting as well to pour some healing magic into the lost goddess. They needed Natsumi, as awful as her well-being currently was.

Soon the explosion dissipated, and Mirannda crawled over to the nearest flame, one of the tapestries had caught on fire. It wouldn't last long, but it would be enough to start it. Thrusting her hand into the flame, Mirannda became one with the dancing heat and began to weave a healing spell into it as she was engulfed by its warmth. No longer was she the last one standing, yet she was the one with the least severe injuries. If Shiloh had been any closer, and the situation different, Mirannda may have attempted to heal her as well. As it was, Rudjek's beast was enraged even further, almost flailing and throwing itself against the crystal.