The Blight manifestation lunged, its twisted limbs moving with unnatural speed. Tendrils of dark energy lashed out, cracking the stone floor where they struck. Lumi reacted instantly, throwing a handful of a shimmering powder into the air. It erupted in a flash of blinding light, momentarily disorienting the creature.
"Now, Xylos!" she yelled.
Xylos, his mind still battling the Blight's psychic assault, focused his will. The raw, volatile energy of the nexus pulsed around him. He reached out, not trying to control it fully, but to channel its destructive force, to amplify the echoes of his own diminished power.
A surge of unstable energy erupted from him, a chaotic blast of wind and dark force that slammed into the Blight manifestation. The creature shrieked, its form flickering as the raw power of the nexus, amplified by Xylos's touch, collided with its corrupted essence.
[Attempted Channeling of Blight Nexus Energy (High Risk)]
[Partial Success: Amplified Emergent Abilities]
[Sustained Psionic Assault: Moderate Resistance]
The cavern shook, and chunks of rock rained down from the ceiling. The Blight manifestation staggered, but its burning green eyes fixed on Xylos with renewed fury.
"You cannot comprehend the darkness that awaits!" it hissed, its voice echoing with the coldness of the void. "This world will fall, as so many others have fallen!"
It unleashed another barrage of dark energy tendrils, more focused and potent than before. Lumi moved with surprising agility, dodging the attacks and throwing more of her shimmering powder, creating bursts of disorienting light and sound.
Xylos, still wrestling with the Blight's psychic intrusion, felt fragmented memories of battles long past resurface – the clash of godly powers, the desperate fight against the encroaching void in his own realm. He drew strength from those echoes, from the ingrained instinct to protect and command.
He focused on the water that seeped through cracks in the cavern floor, the faintest trace of the lifeblood of this world. He reached for it, not with the full command of a sea god, but with the nascent sensitivity he had rediscovered. The water rippled, then rose in swirling tendrils, lashing out at the Blight manifestation, hindering its movements.
[Emergent Ability: Minor Water Manipulation (Improved Control)]
[Psychic Resistance Strengthened (Temporary)]
The creature roared in frustration, its attacks becoming more frantic. Lumi, seeing an opening, darted forward and plunged her dagger into its arm. The Blight manifestation shrieked, and a wave of dark energy pulsed outwards, throwing Lumi back against the cavern wall.
"Lumi!" Xylos cried, a surge of protective anger overriding the Blight's mental assault.
He unleashed another chaotic burst of wind and dark energy, forcing the creature back. Then, focusing all his will, he channeled the raw energy of the nexus once more, this time directing it with a sliver of his former divine precision.
A concentrated beam of dark force struck the Blight manifestation in its core. The creature convulsed, its form flickering violently. The green light in its eyes dimmed, and a high-pitched, keening sound filled the cavern.
[Focused Channeling of Blight Nexus Energy (Critical Hit)]
[Abyssal Blight Manifestation (Minor) Weakened]
[Psionic Assault Weakened]
With a final, shuddering gasp, the Blight manifestation dissolved into a cloud of dark smoke, which dissipated into the stagnant air. The pulsating spiral of dark energy in the center of the cavern flickered, its intensitydiminishing.
Silence descended upon the cavern, broken only by Lumi's pained cough. Xylos rushed to her side.
"Lumi! Are you alright?"
She groaned, clutching her side. "Just… winded. That thing… it was powerful."
Xylos looked at the fading spiral of dark energy, the weight of the encounter settling upon him. They had faced the Blight, a fragment of the ancient darkness that had destroyed his world, and they had survived. The useless god had found a flicker of his power, fueled by desperation and the echoes of a forgotten past. But he knew this was just the beginning. The heart of the rot had been wounded, but the Blight itself… the Blight was still out there, its shadow looming over Aethel. And they were now standing in its lair, with a long and dangerous path ahead.