Having already determined who was responsible for conjuring those pillars, the confessor immediately swivelled his gaze towards the swaying, trembling Zahra. "I don’t know how you did that, but I’ll make sure you won’t do it again!" he roared, and pointed at her.
Six spinning plates of midnight followed him out of the structure of slanted pillars and immediately zoomed towards Zahra. The exhausted desert beauty snarled weakly in defiance, just as she sagged to the floor and fell back again a nearby wall. Mentally exhausted, she could no longer stay upright as the world swam around her.
Yet, she wasn’t ready to call it quits. Lifting a trembling hand, she conjured a magic circle to cast her third spell. The first she’d shown off was her ability to put people in an illusion of a black void, simultaneously suppressing sight and omnisense, her second ability was a knife-like projectile which could be both silent and invisible if she wished.
Now, her third ability became clear when Zahra suddenly shifted a little to the left... as well as to the right. Two identical Zahras appeared, to the left and right, with the original having disappeared. Indistinguishable from each other in any perceivable way, both looked equally exhausted and defiant as they leaned against the wall and glared at the confessor.
The confessor’s nose wrinkled with frustration as he unleashed his omnisense on the two Zahras, confident in his ability to distinguish them. Yet, he found nothing. To his every sense, these two Zahras were equally real and present in front of him.
"Don’t think these tricks can save you!" he snarled, and waved his hand. Instantly, the six midnight plates divided into groups of two, each zooming in the direction of a different Zahra.
Boom
The plates hit their marks... and encountered no resistance. Just as the plates passed through them and crashed against the sturdy, ancient wall they were leaning against, the Zahras started grinning mockingly. Then, they shimmered out of existence.
The confessor cursed instantly, realising he’d underestimated her spell. His gaze swivelled to the side, and there he saw a still exhausted, but clearly living Zahra, carried in Nasir’s arms. Tracing a trail of aetherium, he realised this Zahra came from her original position. He now understood Zahra not only spawned illusory doubles but also became invisible upon using that spell.
As he came to that realisation, the trio wasn’t trying to flee. Not only was there no point, but they refused to believe they couldn’t defeat one guy with the three of them.
"Just remember what we learned when facing that devilish woman," Zohran growled under his breath as he glared at the well-dressed man standing about a hundred meters ahead of them. Still located in the city centre, there was plenty of room for a third-rank fight here.
"A— And this time... I— I will also... fight," Zahra murmured, her eyes closed. After Nasir put her down behind him and Zohran, she immediately started recovering her mental exhaustion again, now sitting with her legs crossed and under their protection.
The confessor glared at them, but his face was no longer twisted in fury. He straightened himself and scoffed disdainfully. "Hmpf, wasting my anger on these insects is beneath me," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
Now calm once more, his cruel, arrogant eyes looked at the defiant trio in front of him. He paid no attention to the pile of corpses that used to be his subordinates. "Alright, I’ll admit that wasn’t bad," he reluctantly admitted, grinning viciously, before suddenly spreading his arms. "Now let’s see how you hold up as I drown you in Eternal Midnight!"
Fwoom
A large magic circle appeared beneath him, and a curtain of darkness settled around the city centre. While Zahra still had her eyes closed, Nasir and Zohran looked around suspiciously. Suddenly, most of the city had disappeared, and they were now surrounded by what looked like a clear midnight sky.
Darkness prevailed, but speckled with starlight, and even a large, full-moon shone in the firmament. "Now, face me, and die!" the confessor roared, his voice booming through the space. Leaning on the ground with his stick, he used his other hand to re-direct the six plates over to the trio.
Nasir and Zohran looked behind them worriedly, but Zahra shook her head. "Go!" she growled, her eyes still closed. "I’ll be fine, and I’ll help where I can..."
The two men looked at each other, then nodded. One howling and the other roaring, they rushed to meet the midnight plates, shadow and magma dancing around them.
Unfortunately, the strange midnight sky showed its use immediately. When they noticed what was happening, they halted in their steps and tried to turn around in a panic.
Behind them, several thin, bright-white beams shot out of the stars in the sky, aimed directly at Zahra. "Zahra!" they roared at the same time.
Fortunately, she wasn’t entirely defenceless. Groaning, she swiped her hand, and several more pillars appeared from the ground to create a roof over her head. The beams crashed against the roof... and didn’t manage to penetrate it.
"Hmpf," the confessor grumbled, clearly not amused. At the same time, more beams started shooting down, now targeting Nasir and Zohran as well.
"They’re not that powerful," Zahra cried out behind them, her voice only wavering a little. "I’ll be fine! Focus on him!"
Truthfully, they had no other choice at that point, as the midnight plates had arrived to fuck up their day. Instantly, they were forced to dodge beams and deflect plates even as they tried to approach the confessor. It wasn’t long before a plate escaped them, however, and shot straight for Zahra.
Fortunately, Zahra had already recovered a little. In the end, she wasn’t exhausted physically, and her aetherium storage was still more than half-way full. It just took a lot of focus to direct these pillars, and she needed to rest her mind occasionally.
Thus, she immediately conjured two more illusions of herself and turned invisible. Immediately afterwards, a void descended on the confessor’s visage, turning him blind.
He scowled furiously, once again losing his calm, yet still didn’t seem overly concerned. "That’s a nice trick, but it won’t work," he grumbled angrily. "In my midnight domain, I see all!"
Indeed, despite his vision and omnisense being obstructed, his plates and star beams appeared unaffected. While Zahra’s ability would mean an instant defeat for many, this confessor clearly had the answer... and it would have remained to be seen if it would have mattered in the end, as it had not been enough to defeat Erik, either.
As soon as he said that, however, the invisible Zahra immediately worried. Fortunately, ’all’ appeared to be an exaggeration, as there were still no new beams falling on her head. Clearly, he couldn’t see her.
At the same time, it soon became clear that her ability still hampered him. Although it was hard to notice at first, the trio realised his plates slowed down a little, and his beams were less accurate.
Still, all three of them were wounded and tired... Could they defeat this one man? Or would they call for help, knowing what it would mean?
And if they did... would it arrive in time?