Lumi didn't hesitate, disappearing into the dark opening in the spiraled rock. Xylos turned to face the grotesque Rotspawn, their guttural snarls echoing in the desolate valley. He focused his will, drawing on the raw, volatile magic of the Blight nexus itself, a dangerous gamble.
The air around him shimmered, and the swirling vortex of wind intensified, tearing at the corrupted creatures. He felt a strange connection to the Blight's energy, a twisted echo of the power he once commanded. It was like touching a diseased limb powerful, but inherently corrupting.
[Proximity to Abyssal Blight Nexus:
Enhanced Divine Energy Reactivity]
[Attempted Manipulation of Blight Energy (Risky)]
[Emergent Ability: Minor Blight Energy Manipulation (Unstable)]
Using this unstable power, Xylos lashed out, tendrils of dark energy erupting from his hands, striking the Rotspawn. The creatures recoiled, hissing as the unnatural energy burned their corrupted flesh.
He held them back just long enough for Lumi to call out from within the passage. "Xylos! It's clear for now!"
With a final surge of wind, he scattered the remaining Rotspawn and lunged into the darkness. The passage was narrow and claustrophobic, the air thick with the acrid stench of decay. Faint, pulsating light emanated from strange, organic growths lining the walls.
"This way," Lumi whispered, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and determination. She held a glowing crystal, illuminating their path deeper into the rock formation.
The passage opened into a vast cavern. In the center, a pulsating mass of dark energy spiraled upwards, casting eerie shadows on the cavern walls. Twisted vines of Shadow Rot snaked across the floor and ceiling, and the air thrummed with a malevolent energy that pressed against Xylos's mind.
"The heart of it," Lumi breathed, her voice barely a whisper.
As they approached the spiraling mass, the whispers in Xylos's mind intensified, no longer faint intrusions but a chorus of cold, alien voices trying to overwhelm his consciousness. He felt the Blight probing his memories, seeking weaknesses, trying to corrupt his very being.
He fought back, drawing on the resilience of his divine core, the echoes of his former self a shield against the encroaching darkness.
Suddenly, the spiraling mass pulsed violently, and a figure emerged from within its depths. It was humanoid in shape but twisted and distorted, its skin a sickly gray, its eyes burning with the same malevolent green light as the Rotspawn. Tendrils of dark energy writhed around its limbs.
[Emergence of Abyssal Blight Manifestation (Minor)]
[Psionic Assault Intensified]
[Divine Resistance Engaged]
"You dare trespass?" the figure hissed, its voice a grating rasp that echoed with the coldness of the void.
This was it. The nexus of the Abyssal Blight in Aethel. And it was aware of their presence. The useless god, finally confronting the darkness he had foreseen, knew that the true battle had just begun. The fate of Aethel hung in the balance within the heart of the spiral's shadow.