Jas hadnt known what to expect. The very term facility had evoked vague notions of a factory, perhaps a tal futuristic building with gleaming windows, an alien building with security doors and featureless parking lots around it. An installation theyd have to charge and break into, overcoming defenses so as to get to a central storage room.
The reality was completely different.
The nine of them appeared within a huge white geodo, its faceted interior large enough to encompass a ten-story office building. Each of its facets extruded a sh of gleaming threads that twined into thick, revolving ropes that extended to the center. There they wrapped around a mass of spindles that shrank and collapsed upon each other the closer they got to the geodos exact center; Jas had seen enough of this nonsense by now to realize that there was dinsional stuff going on in the core.
All was shifting white lights and pristine ivory surfaces. The air was frigid, shockingly so, and a bright flash of golden light appeared just beneath the dinsional knot of spindles: a Reservoir Cube appeared, glowing as if drawn from a forge, into which a bead of pure sunlight dropped and was enclosed.
All this he observed with a glance, but his focus imdiately locked on the entity that hung suspended over the central node, a massive orb spider of silver and white marble, filants of gold inlaid in complex patterns over its body, its dozens of legs which phased in and out of view. It was the size of a cent truck but indescribably beautiful, alien in its movents, its thorax a liquid, oily black beneath the shining glory of its bulbous abdon, its reflective silver legs, and its insectile head with golden pedipalps and endless onyx eyes.
Olafs Circle of Protection was up the mont they appeared, enveloping them all in a do of perfect cerulean blue; even so Kimmie cried out and clutched her head as she executed her role of Sentinel and defended them on the substrate.
Everything happened very, very fast.
Jas evoked his Death Attack and hit the orb spider alien with 300 billion points of damage, infusing his attack with one of his nine Aeviternum points.
What/indelible heretical insertion against/rebellion -
The words appeared in Jass mind even as his attack hit the spider at full force and caused its interior to glow brilliantly as if a sun had ignited within, its body blasting apart a second later -
- only for ti to reverse itself, the spiders corpus flowing back together seamlessly, with Crimson Hydra frozen as the Death Attack was undone.
Interiority declension variable | inadequate surfeit of declaration of
intent
ambition nuncupatory
Eradication/Deformation removal execute
Engaging Seraph protocol
Kimmie scread. Blood was flowing from the corners of her eyes, from her ears.
A thousand smaller spiders phased into existence from within the main alien and leaped forth in every direction, clinging to ropes of thread but Serenity activated her crowd control attack and the do flashed crimson.
The thousands of smaller spiders shriveled and disappeared.
Jas cast his Death Attack once more. The ray of power flew forth, Aeviternum blessed, but hit a forcefield that flared into view around the spider and failed to harm it.
His attack was returned.
A beam of golden as thick as his wrist speared against Olafs Circle and shattered it. The beam split into four and Denzel, Serenity, Jason, and Olaf were cut down, their bodies sliced into great bleeding chunks of -
The chunks reversed their trajectories and flew back together, gouts of blood returning to the wounds that sealed themselves up as Jas found himself reversing the small movents hed made.
Kerim had his hand up, spiraling white light fluctuating between his palm, his thickly curled black hair writhing against his scalp, his spectacles flashing white.
Resistance/space-ti violation interesting | pretty
Declare intention and identity, transgressors
Fluctuations manageable | eradication eternal
The whole geodo pulsed with invisible power of such magnitude that even without Spiritual Exaltation Jas could sense it.
Kimmie scread as blood burst out her nose and both eyeballs popped free of her ocular cavities. Denzel barked his negation and she reared back up from mid-fall, her eyes restoring themselves.
Jas launched his Death Attack once more, burning his third point of Aeviternum. It hit the forcefield and once again failed to penetrate, but this ti Serenity unleashed her own attack which layered over his own and caused the shield to shatter.
The spider flared gold from within again, burst out like a sun going nova, only to freeze and restore itself as before.
Jason grabbed hold of Yadriels arm and they both appeared above the spider, forty or fifty yards up in the air. Yadriels whole body changed into a single spike of tal which fell and bounced off the forcefield. The field, however, deford beneath Yadriels touch, and then a huge patch flared green and disappeared.
A filant of gold speared out from the spider and punched clear through Jasons face, killing him instantly.
Yadriel fell through the forcefield and speared into the spiders huge fleshy abdon, sinking into it as if it were made of Tiramisu. The spider keened on the substrate, which caused Kimmie to scream and clutch at her head again.
Jas hit the spider with his fourth attack. The forcefield, weakened, shattered, and his beam lanced straight into the spiders head even as Jason fell limply through the air, Miriams keen of horror joining Kimmies scream.
Yadriel was infecting the spiders very body, causing its abdon to rot and fall apart. The Death Attack caused the spiders head to blow apart and for a second Jas felt a surge of victory.
Valence variable (surprise|shock) Void Subli aura
Alternate pathway adopted [initiate]
The spiders form flew apart, not explosively, but as if its image were a reflection in a mirror that had suddenly been shattered. Fragnts of its body were visible throughout the do, repeated, overlapping, kaleidoscopic.
Yadriels tal spike, no longer supported, fell.
Denzel shouted in fury and Jason sat up where he lay, hand to his head, eyes wide.
Serenity unleashed her attack. The geodo flared crimson and half the disparate images flickered and disappeared.
But the remaining partial images loosed a thousand filants of gold at their group. Olaf grunted in pain and dropped to one knee as the filants played over his do of blue light like carnivorous worms seeking entrance into a freshly killed corpse. Miriam placed a hand on his shoulder and the blue light strengthened.
Serenity pulsed her attack once more.
More images disappeared, but then Kimmie shrieked and fell over again, the spiders ntal attack overwhelming her anew.
Kerim lowered his chin as he thrust forth his palm, that tornado of starlight appearing in his hand once more, and everyone within their little bubble reversed and undid their actions, Kimmie rising up, restored to health.
Please, she cried, I cant keep -
Serenity pulsed her attack once more and the last of the images disappeared. The spider didnt re-appear, but instead a bowling ball of purest steel manifested where it had been before. Sohow the bowling ball was larger than the geodo, but it was wrapped up in itself so that it appeared contained.
Jas hit it with a Death Attack, but felt his assault fly around the sphere, not blocked, nor dissipating, but lost, as if the closer it got to the entity the more complex its path beca, growing infinitely more convoluted the closer it beca so that it traversed light years without ever getting closer.
Fuck this! shouted Yadriel, whod risen to his human form once more. The ground beneath his feet began to change, at first slowly, then shooting out all at once, the marble changing to mud, the change racing up the walls and corrupting panels and their thread extrusions.
Alarm
Curtains of light flew forth from the steel sphere to play over the corrupted segnts but in doing so the spider entity returned to their dinsion or otherwise made itself vulnerable because Jas felt his andering Death Attack suddenly punch ho.
The steel sphere duplicated itself, sacrificed one of its selves to the attack, and continued healing the corrupted walls, the shimring curtains of light undoing Yadriels transmutation.
Serenity and Jas both launched their attacks simultaneously.
The sphere divided itself once more. Jas destroyed one of the duplicates with Serenitys help, but her assault only blackened the second, which then split into nine and flew out across the geodo.
All nine launched beams of golden light at them. Olaf grunted as the beams scorched the exterior of his do, but the attacks didnt relent.
Jas didnt wait for his divine pool to refill; even with the Void Subli regeneration rate making it near instantaneous, that wasnt fast enough. He tapped his remaining three Aeviternum in quick succession, hitting three of the spheres in quick succession even as Serenity blasted all nine at once.
The three spheres disappeared and a scorched fourth fragnted as well.
The remaining five continued to pour on the attacks. Miriam cried out and staggered back. A split second later Olafs blue shield shattered.
Kerim manifested his ability. The shield reford, Miriam staggered back to Olaf.
But that was as far as he could return them. Jass divine pool refilled and he destroyed a fifth sphere.
Serenity pulsed, weakening the remaining four.
Again Miriam scread, fell back, and the shield broke.
Again Kerim returned them a few seconds back, but now he fell to one knee, sweat drenching his brow, blood running from his nostrils.
Jas was forced to wait on his divine pool. A mont later he hit a sixth sphere. Serenity pulsed, but that wasnt enough to destroy the remaining three.
It took a second longer, but the three golden beams overwheld Miriam again. She cried out, fell back. Olaf held on for an extra mont, then his shield broke.
The gold beams imdiately speared into Denzel and Kerim, punching pencil-sized holes through their heads.
Both n collapsed as if their strings had been cut.
Fuck! scread Serenity and pulsed her attack.
The geodo flared red, another two spheres cracked and disappeared leaving just the one.
The spider reappeared in the center of the do, its tallic and ivory form the worse for wear. Several of its legs hung loosely, its abdon was cracked and oozing cottage cheese flecked with mica, and several of its eyes had burst.
Jas needed just a second more to refill his pool.
Olaf fought to stand tall. The blue do appeared again.
A pulse of invisible energy washed over them, terrible and potent as a hurricane wind.
Kimmie braced herself, jaw clenched, hands thrust forward, blood welling up from her eyes again, her whole body shaking.
There! Jas fired off his Death Attack again.
But without Aeviternum it was so greatly weakened.
The blast hit the spider and caused a diffuse golden glow to bloom within it - but the attack didnt destroy it as before.
A second wave of invisible might poured over them.
Kimmies cry barely rose to a scream before she collapsed.
Yadriel hurled himself up at the spider in Nem2 form, his old calling card. He hit the spiders flank and began slashing his way into it, his scythe-like arms edged with glowing purple power.
The spider twisted about, bringing its entire focus on Yadriel. An ethereal scream sounded and Yadriels masked head exploded like a clay flower pot hit with a sledgehamr.
Heaving for breath Jas and Serenity hit the spider again. Jas wanted to scream. Only nine Aeviternum? He should have purchased twenty, fifty -
The spider collapsed, overwheld, and then ti reversed and it reford. Not completely, however; more of its legs hung limp, half its head was crushed, and rivers of clotted cream fell through the air from its ruptured abdon.
One more hit! cried Serenity. Just one more -
Terminate endga | worthy contest | Insufficient contest
A beam of gold speared through the blue do like a length of rebar punching through a windshield.
Olaf flew back, arms windmilling, and fell upon the ground.
Jason appeared beside Miriam.
Wait, she cried, what are you -
They both disappeared.
Now! barked Jas.
Serenity and he hit the spider with their combined attack.
The do pulsed red.
The inside of the spider blood gold.
Its silver carapace turned black. Gouts of milky ichor burst forth, steaming, superheated.
Surprised | Unexpected |Improbable
Activating distress beacon
The spider fell, caught itself on nothing, hung in the air, seesawing back and forth, then lost its purchase and collapsed completely to the ground with a great crunch.
Jas stared in horror at the great corpse. He couldnt breathe, he couldnt think, couldnt catch his breath.
Serenity pulsed the do again and the remains grew more scorched.
Fuck, she whispered, slowly straightening. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck.
Jas lowered his hand.
Blinked.
Tore his gaze from the dead spider and looked about him.
Kerim. Denzel. Kimmie. Olaf. They lay fallen about them.
He felt like he was going to puke. Feeling stupid, thick headed, he looked up. Yadriel lay still in the middle of the do, having reverted to his human fault.
Oh no, whispered Serenity. This cant be real. Not like this. Not like this.
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