Celia moved faster than my eyes could follow, her blade piercing the Lords of Teka's shoulder just as It's fleshy weapon arced toward me. The frost spread from the wound, crackling as it raced along it's malformed body.
I barely had time to process it. She was faster.... too fast. How did she see it coming?
Her eyes, usually a soft, beautiful deep blue, were now cold and heartless, like frost incarnate. They shimmered with an magnificent, icy brilliance, as if the very essence of winter had taken root within her.
Celia had grown stronger.
The Lords of Teka retaliated instantly, it's flesh sword carving through the air in a desperate attempt to strike her down. But their blade met only an icy afterimage, a glimmering illusion of frost that shattered into nothingness.
I couldn't just stand there. My form dissipated into mist, the haze thickening and swirling around the battlefield. The oppressive stench of decay and rot mingled with the damp chill of my mist, cloaking the area in an impenetrable fog.
From within the mist, Jess and Uvan surged forward, weaving in erratic patterns, their attacks planning and deadly. Uvan's blade crackled with arcs of electricity, each swing a blur of crackling energy, while Jess's greatsword burned with chaotic flames, carving bright arcs through the gloom.
The Lords of Teka deflected and parried, their monstrous form an unyielding fortress, but even it's powerful speed and strength couldn't match the combined assault.
And yet, it wasn't just them it had to contend with.
It's movement became slow, it's swings less precise as the frost continued to creep over it's limbs, its icy grip unrelenting.
Then The Lords Of Teka drove it's fleshy blade into the ground. The action reverberated with a sound that felt more like a death knell than an attack.
"From nothing it came, from nothing it shall go," it intoned, the voice a cacophony of overlapping tones.
A ripple of energy tore through the battlefield, a suffocating wave that made my knees buckle.
"Domain Weaver: Decay Descent."
The words hung in the air, heavy and final.
In an instant, it's form vanished, replaced by a massive torrent of energy that erupted above us. It wasn't just energy.... it was pure decay, a blackened, swirling mass that blotted out the sky.
It began to descend.
A hollow silence fell over the battlefield.
It was the kind of silence that came before the end.
I stared up at the massive vortex, its edges fraying into tendrils of ruin that seemed to devour the air itself. No one could survive this.
Not even us.
"It covered the whole camp," Uvan muttered, his voice stained of disbelief. He stood beside Jess, their forms illuminated by the sickly glow of the decay. Celia materialized beside me, her frost-laden form glistening like a statue carved from ice.
My mind raced. The edges of panic clawed at me as I cursed inwardly. How could we stop this?
Celia didn't wait. She raised her arms, frost radiating from her like a blizzard given form. A massive wall of ice began to form above us, jagged and cold, expanding rapidly to cover the entire camp.
"Celia, it'll drain your energy!" I shouted.
She turned to me, her lips curling into a faint smirk. "Limits are meant to be broken," she said.
The air around us stirred as another figure approached. Lovia, the captain of Team Three, appeared, her face streaked with dirt and exhaustion. She had been helping the other Wanderers, many of whom were barely clinging to life.
"My trait is Wind Worm," Lovia said, her voice steady despite the chaos. "Can it help?"
"Can you create a barrier like Celia's?" I asked.
She nodded, already moving into position. With a deep breath, she summoned a shimmering shield of compressed air that joined Celia's icy wall. The decay bore down on us, pressing against their combined defenses.
But it wasn't enough.
I clenched my fists, my mind spiraling. Then an idea struck me.
"Lovia," I said sharply, "can you amplify the wind? Push the decay back... at least a few meters!"
She hesitated, then nodded again. The air around her shifted, swirling violently as she redirected her efforts. The combined force of ice and wind pushed against the descent, slowing it.
But the decay was relentless.
"It's getting stronger," Lovia said through gritted teeth, her face pale from the effort.
I bit my lip, my mind racing as I turned to Uvan. He met my gaze and nodded, as if he already knew what I was about to say.
"Jess," he called out, "get the remaining Wanderers out of here. I will do the same for the others."
Jess didn't hesitate. She darted into the mist, her voice cutting through the chaos as she rallied the survivors. Uvan followed, directing those who could still move.
Minutes passed, though it felt like an eternity.
When I looked around again, the camp was empty, save for Celia, Lovia, and me.
Their energy was fading fast. Celia's frost had dulled, the ice cracking under the strain, while Lovia's barrier wavered, the winds faltering.
"Do you have a plan?" Lovia asked, her voice trembling. "Because if we let go, we're dead."
I stepped closer to them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Just stay calm," I said.
Before they could respond, I released my mist. It poured out in a thick wave, enveloping the entire camp.
Our forms began to dematerialize, fading into the haze.
Above us, the decay finally descended.
The sound was deafening.... a hollow boom that shook the earth and sent shockwaves rippling through the mist.
When the dust settled, the camp was unrecognizable.
A desolate wasteland of decay.
Nothing remained.
Not Even A Whiff.....