I glanced over my shoulder and tilted my head in the direction I wanted Kalia to move in. Don't underestimate him, she warned before disappearing from my limited line of sight. "Smart of you to get her out of the way. Even as powerful as she was, she couldn't stand against me. So what makes you different?" he asked, setting his lead foot forward, crushing the stone beneath it and kicking up a small cloud of dust.
"I guess you'll have to find out," I growled, immediately leaning into the space behind him to try to land a strike. Without looking, he conjured a set of chains to capture me, but halfway through my movement, I shifted just enough to get out of their way using minimal movement.
"Hmm, I guess you were taught by her as well. Are you the one I sensed when Irun returned from the Between?" he asked, sending another binding spell my way. I honed the mana at the edges of my blade to slice through the chains, then dashed backwards and to the side to avoid a large orb of mana aimed for my head, exploding the ground where I had just stood.
He can attack without looking, and there's no sign that the spell has even formed when he attacks, I noted, trying to figure out the secret.
"He brought me here, but not for any reason you can think of," I answered loosely before being forced to rotate my position to counter a handful of mana spikes aimed at my limbs and torso with my swords. "Oh, you mean your friends by the portal?" he grinned over his shoulder, the green tendrils in his eyes flaring as he raised a single finger.
Barely managing to backstep then re-materialize in front of him, I saw the spell he'd sent Ysevel's way. A grotesque claw-like hand spawned just above her and Ardrin as she sliced through the neck of another large thran. Thankfully, Ardrin noticed and immediately put up a dense barrier of dark mana to slow the claw just enough so that she could get out of the way.
Ardrin, however, wasn't so lucky, as the tip of the claw's finger pierced his shoulder for a moment before dismantling. I could only watch in horror for a heartbeat before more violet chains laced with the same, sickly green mana spawned around me.
Damn it, I got too distracted, I thought, forcing the scarlet mana around my blades to harden once more before slicing through the chains.
Nexis began to chuckle maliciously, spawning another myriad of spells around him. "You're not half-bad, but since you won't answer me about who you really are, I'll just have to take your core and find out for myself," his mana flared, lacing each spell with tendrils of the same green mana.
I could feel a surprisingly wolfish grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.
"Good luck," I said, drawing as much Wraith mana into me as I could manage, feeling every muscle, bone, and tendon in my body strain against the influx. Visibly pleased by my challenge, he matched my grin just before sending every spell he'd formed at me in rapid succession.
Knowing I had no choice but to break whatever mental barriers I had regarding this fight, I leaned into the spaces as much as I dared, feeling the Wraith mana surge, letting it lead me to the best locations to counter his barrage.
I sliced through the first maelstrom, then the second in rapid succession as I tried to close the distance. A spike of pure Leech mana, as Athar had called it, reached for my torso, forcing me to bring Maikell's blade lathed in scarlet mana down in front of me, dismantling the spell entirely.
Nexis' eyes met mine as I reappeared at his right side, forcing him to launch another spell in my direction. I used the minaiha technique combined with Ysevel's phantom technique to slice through it, using the misdirection to my advantage.
"What?" I heard him snarl, rapidly conjuring another handful of spells. Again he launched an attack, and I sent another phantom to slice through the spell just ahead of me. Spell after spell, I leaned into the open spaces and conjured a phantom as quickly as I could manage, moving in a practiced, octagonal pattern and striking down his spells as often as they came.
"All your dancing around will get you nowhere," he shouted, surging with dark and Leech mana again, creating a large orb that enveloped him entirely. Pausing momentarily some distance away, I quickly assessed what was happening. His mana swelled, consuming some of the creatures and a pair of Ardrin's hegraphenes as it grew. "None of you are leaving here alive unless you tell me who you are," he shouted through the swirling globe of dark and Leech mana.
I took a deep breath and focused within the heartbeat that followed, drawing in as much Wraith mana as my body and core could handle, feeling the anxiety of what could go wrong begin to creep into my mind.
Then, the world around me slowed. Severed limbs and spurts of blood seemingly halted around me as I felt the Wraith realm embrace me with its mana.
Do not fear death; become it, a voice spoke the words in my mind, reminding me of my mother's voice permeating my thoughts when I went through my third stage certification. My eyes widened in surprise in the half-second that followed. What do you want me to do? I asked, bewildered by the voice in my head.
Strike his core and put an end to his madness, the voice answered simply, showing me the path I needed to lean into and exactly where I needed to place my next strike.
I didn't understand what was happening, but instinctively knew I had to trust the Wraith mana to guide me.
Glaring at the swirling globe from beneath a furrowed brow, I sheathed Maikell's blade and leaned into the path the Wraith realm showed me. Another variety of spells reached for me as the kataki blade in my hand reformed into a scythe, wreathing itself in scarlet mana without any direction from me.
Again, I had to trust in the gift Kalia gave me and began to cut down the spells as I moved toward my target. Moving in to strike, the spells appeared to move much more slowly than before, making it easy to target them as I made my way forward.
With each cut of the scythe, the spells dismantled and fizzled out, unlike their explosive, destructive nature as the strange feeling overtook me. One by one, the spells fell prey to my weapon as I drew closer to the swirling orb of malicious mana before me. I leaned into the space above the orb, rearing the scythe behind me as I charged my final attack.
Time slowed again, giving me a clear view of the battlefield beneath me. Ysevel and Ardrin were pouring mana into the final rune on the portal's arch, while Irun, Athar, and Devyr were gathered in one of the many hallways that lined the Hall. However, Kalia was watching me through a blood-soaked brow with a fearful look in her eyes.
I didn't have a good answer for you before, but I do, now, I thought, the world still halted before me, staring at Nexis' frustrated face through the fist-sized gap at the top of the orb.
"I am yourend," I swung, the world lurching back into motion as I forced every bit of mana and strength into my swing, crashing down into the orb, leaving a streak of scarlet mana in my wake as I split it, and its creator, in two.
"Sunder," my voice echoed throughout the hall as I landed, a large crater forming beneath my feet. The scarlet phantoms burst out from the aftermath of my strike, severing the heads of the remaining creatures that the others were fighting. Everyone glanced around them in confusion, many of them still mid-swing of their attacks or spells.
The swirling orb of dark and Leech mana dissipated, revealing Nexis with a thin line down the center of his body, his eyes nearly bursting from their sockets in surprise.
In the single heartbeat that followed, I noticed the surprised look on his face was quickly replaced by rage just before the two halves cleanly fell apart. I felt a sense of relief wash over me, knowing the fight was over but it was quickly followed by one of loss. "Goodbye, Nexis," I muttered in the silence that followed.
His core was the only thing that still hung in the air as the two halves drenched the floor beneath in thick pools of blood. I breathed heavily, feeling the mental and physical exhaustion from the battle settling in. Looking at Nexis' blackened core, I could see a thin line drawn across it.
I know I cut it, but wha-...? my thoughts trailed as the inner edges of the cut began to crumble into the core like thin ice on a lake. "Everyone, get away from his core!" Ardrin shouted from across the hall, his face pallid and eyes riddled with fear of whatever came next.
Using the last bit of my energy, I leanedinto the path that I knew would take me to Kalia. "Are you alright?" I asked, immediately wrapping her arm around my shoulder. Due to our connection and the reassurance she sent me through it, I could tell Ysevel was okay. "I-I'm fine," Kalia managed weakly, adjusting her weight a little so it was easier to manage.
"Thoma, Kalia, Ysevel; Encase his core in mana before it kills us all!" Ardrin shouted, prompting me to return my attention to the inwardly collapsing core. "Shit," I muttered, drawing as much of the scarlet mana as my body could handle in that state.