Nix's eyes widened, no longer filled with excitement but now gripped by fear.
Maeve kicked off the next phase of their war, unleashing what's known as a Veil of Misery. It starts as purple sparks at the base of her horns, crackling and sparking as it climbs to the tips. The static jumped back and forth until all the bolts finally connected, forming a ball of pure white energy spiraling between the horn tips. After a moment's hold, Maeve's horns rotated to point directly at Nix. The energy ball swelled, reaching about two meters in diameter. With a deafening screech, Maeve's tail unfurled, snaking out from under her pants in a black curl. Two short screeches followed, and the energy beam shot forward. The moment it left between her horns, it ballooned to nearly twenty-two meters, instantly reaching Nix and enveloping her in Maeve's misery.
Nix's skin rapidly aged, wrinkles forming as her skin sunk away until she was a white skeleton draped in a thin black gown—stripped of everything that defined her, even the flames of her gown extinguished. Nix, now a skeletal figure with a smoky aura, attempted to regenerate, only for it to wither away instantly in frustration.
Maeve closed the gap with astonishing speed, making Zero's teleport seem sluggish in comparison. Maeve held her rapier back, thrusting it forward in rapid succession, creating a whirlwind of strikes into Nix's chest. Each strike knocked Nix backward, and with a swift tug forward, Nix was ensnared in an unrelenting barrage of hits.
Maeve's rapier, crafted by the Icy Dwarves of Ayce in the United City of Naggaroth, was specially made for this day. Its mysterious origins were unknown even to Maeve, and she pledged to thank the Dwarves once this confrontation concluded.
Amid another deafening screech, Maeve momentarily dropped the rapier, leaving it hovering. She seized Nix with both hands, and a dark blood-red ball of energy formed between her horns. As it took shape, its energy-like features vanished, resembling thick gelatinous liquid. Maeve adjusted the ball in front of Nix's head, and the liquid transformed to a black color. Maeve's screech echoed across Sidra as she unleashed it into Nix at point-blank range.
The explosion rattled the entire area, sending Nix tumbling backward, flipping over herself several times. Just as she attempted to regain her footing, Maeve closed the gap. Another black orb materialized between her horns, causing Nix's eye sockets to widen.
The blast slammed into Nix, propelling her into the ground with such force that her bones began to chip away, pressed into the barren dirt. Maeve lowered her head toward Nix, the relentless blast still emanating from between her horns. The defining screech ruptured the ground, and Maeve's eyes shifted to a gleaming gold.
The immense pressure pushed away Nix's smoky aura, leaving behind an enormous skeleton slowly crumbling. Each attempt Nix made to lift her hand was thwarted by the relentless force of Maeve's attack. Nix had no choice but to endure, channeling every bit of her mana into the struggle. She was willing to exhaust herself entirely, determined to emerge as the victor.
"ENOUGH!" Nix roared, sending Maeve flying and halting her assault. Nix stood up effortlessly, shrugged off the impact, and surveyed her damaged skeletal frame. She cracked her neck, exhaling loudly as smoke enveloped her, morphing into the familiar black gown. Taking a soft breath, she hummed, "Much better." Her attention shifted to Maeve, now recovering about forty or fifty meters away. Maeve's once-pale red skin turned black, giving her a monstrous appearance. A red aura oozed from her horns, enveloping her in a bloodlust haze. "Now to deal with you."
Inspecting her fractured magic rings, Nix sighed, "Tsk. Tsk." She shook her hands, the rings instantly repairing. Closing her fists, all the rings activated simultaneously. Her stature shrank to just under two meters, skin rapidly regenerating, covering her entirely. No skeletal frame remained; the smoke melded into her gown, expanding around the sleeves of six arms. The sleeves tightened, revealing long red katanas in each hand, their dark red blades almost appearing black, with a gleam of red in the little remaining sunlight.
Nix locked eyes with Maeve, who approached slowly. Maeve's arms hung at her sides, her walk sluggish under the weight of intense bloodlust. Reflecting on her fight with Zero, Nix pondered how both held back, linked by an unspoken understanding—they were family.
Maeve neared complete transformation, on the verge of becoming a full demon. She fought to retain control, the voids of the Under Gardena beckoning her. Thousands of hands seemed to pull her towards a section of the afterlife where tormented souls waited. Maeve focused solely on Nix. Casting out her hand, the rapier soared across the barren area, landing in Maeve's grip. With another deafening screech, she dashed forward.
Nix tightened her grip on her swords. As Maeve closed the gap, Nix sliced through the air with incredible speed. However, Maeve thrust the rapier forward with precision, knocking back the first swung sword and parrying the other two on the right. With equal speed and precision, Maeve deflected the three blades on the left, causing Nix to falter slightly. Yet, Nix stomped her foot, regaining her footing, and swung again, putting more strength behind each blade.
Maeve anchored herself, placed her left hand behind her back, and emitted a short screech. She extended the rapier, blocking, parrying, and deflecting Nix's onslaught. Sparks flew, and the clanging of metal dominated the soundscape. Nix's arms moved in a blur, but with each block from Maeve, Nix was pushed back, even if only by a millimeter at a time. She was undeniably faltering.
Maeve stood her ground, using the pure strength of her rapier thrusts to keep her mother at bay. The frustration on Nix's face intensified, and any inclination to take it easy on her daughter dwindled rapidly. Nix attempted to halt her swings and shift to a different approach, but Maeve seized the opportunity to land a solid blow on Nix. In the moment Nix was about to activate a spell, she stopped swinging, and Maeve thrust her rapier forward, hitting Nix's chest. A shockwave erupted, knocking Maeve backward, sliding her feet across the dirt for about sixty meters.
The rapier had absorbed all the kinetic energy from Nix's attacks. Each parry, block, and redirect Maeve executed had absorbed the strength of Nix's assaults. When Maeve landed the blow on Nix's chest, all that stored energy was unleashed, launching Nix nearly three kilometers north, over the cliffside and into the waves of the Infinite Ocean, where she began to sink to the bottom.
Dropping the rapier to her side, Maeve looked up at the air, emitting a deafening screech. She shook her head, the cry reverberating across the entire island. As it tapered into a low wail and then silence, Maeve lowered her head, eyes fixed on the spot where Nix had tumbled. She scanned the area, anticipating Nix's inevitable return.
After a few minutes, Nix crawled back from the ocean, leaping in a single bound to where the lighthouse once stood. Anger emanated from her, and despite being completely dry, her body rippled with steam. Marching forward, Nix's rage seeped out, enveloping her as she addressed Maeve. "Again, bravo, Mae Mae. You've truly grown into a powerful young thing. It's a shame that it has to end here, while you're so young."
Moving with a speed that rivaled Maeve's, Nix closed the gap and lifted Maeve by her throat. The middle arm on the right hoisted Maeve, while the others grabbed onto her limbs. With the last one on the left, Nix began punching Maeve repeatedly in the chest and stomach.
"You arrogant little bitch," Nix boasted, landing punches on Maeve's chest. "I shaped you into the vessel you are today, and you still won't say thank you." She punched Maeve in the stomach. "I was going to make an island for all my children, old and new like you, but no, it had to be taken away from me." Three punches to Maeve's face followed, and then Nix pulled her closer. "Then you come along and turn all my children against me." Releasing her limbs but keeping a tight hold on her neck, Nix slammed Maeve into the ground. "I will burn this entire fucking world to the ground just to see you suffer, and my creators?" She lifted Maeve and slammed her down again. "I will cut off the heads of every Old God, starting with Lord. Once I'm done destroying this world, Virgil will make it anew, then him and I will sit at the top as its rulers."
Maeve's frantic movements ceased abruptly. The black complexion of her skin receded to its pale red, her scales around her forehead returned, and her eyes shifted back to silver. Her tail tucked itself back inside her trousers, and the rapier disappeared into a cloud of black smoke. Maeve smiled at Nix, stirring her anger.
Nix lifted her up and pulled her close. "Why are you smiling?" She slammed her back into the ground, causing Maeve to grunt in pain. "I was taking it..." She lifted her up and slammed her down again. "...easy on you, you smile at that?"
Maeve shook her head the best she could. "No, you fucking idiot. I just wanted to see if my husband, who you hate so much, can kill two birds with one stone, and it looks like it'll be three." Lightning cracked above, and Nix's eyes widened as Maeve took a deep breath. Nix thought for a second to cover her mouth but opted to throw Maeve just as she let out, "ZEEEERRRRRROOOOO!"
Lightning cracked down at the ground, striking with intense speed and heat. Inside the smoke and charged arcane that circled the area stood Zero. He stammered for a moment then turned around, raising his arm and striking it through the dust and smoke, clearing his vision on Nix.
He bobbed his head. "Oh shit, hey Nix."
Nix's eyes widened, no longer filled with excitement but now gripped by fear.
Maeve kicked off the next phase of their war, unleashing what's known as a Veil of Misery. It starts as purple sparks at the base of her horns, crackling and sparking as it climbs to the tips. The static jumped back and forth until all the bolts finally connected, forming a ball of pure white energy spiraling between the horn tips. After a moment's hold, Maeve's horns rotated to point directly at Nix. The energy ball swelled, reaching about two meters in diameter. With a deafening screech, Maeve's tail unfurled, snaking out from under her pants in a black curl. Two short screeches followed, and the energy beam shot forward. The moment it left between her horns, it ballooned to nearly twenty-two meters, instantly reaching Nix and enveloping her in Maeve's misery.
Nix's skin rapidly aged, wrinkles forming as her skin sunk away until she was a white skeleton draped in a thin black gown—stripped of everything that defined her, even the flames of her gown extinguished. Nix, now a skeletal figure with a smoky aura, attempted to regenerate, only for it to wither away instantly in frustration.
Maeve closed the gap with astonishing speed, making Zero's teleport seem sluggish in comparison. Maeve held her rapier back, thrusting it forward in rapid succession, creating a whirlwind of strikes into Nix's chest. Each strike knocked Nix backward, and with a swift tug forward, Nix was ensnared in an unrelenting barrage of hits.
Maeve's rapier, crafted by the Icy Dwarves of Ayce in the United City of Naggaroth, was specially made for this day. Its mysterious origins were unknown even to Maeve, and she pledged to thank the Dwarves once this confrontation concluded.
Amid another deafening screech, Maeve momentarily dropped the rapier, leaving it hovering. She seized Nix with both hands, and a dark blood-red ball of energy formed between her horns. As it took shape, its energy-like features vanished, resembling thick gelatinous liquid. Maeve adjusted the ball in front of Nix's head, and the liquid transformed to a black color. Maeve's screech echoed across Sidra as she unleashed it into Nix at point-blank range.
The explosion rattled the entire area, sending Nix tumbling backward, flipping over herself several times. Just as she attempted to regain her footing, Maeve closed the gap. Another black orb materialized between her horns, causing Nix's eye sockets to widen.
The blast slammed into Nix, propelling her into the ground with such force that her bones began to chip away, pressed into the barren dirt. Maeve lowered her head toward Nix, the relentless blast still emanating from between her horns. The defining screech ruptured the ground, and Maeve's eyes shifted to a gleaming gold.
The immense pressure pushed away Nix's smoky aura, leaving behind an enormous skeleton slowly crumbling. Each attempt Nix made to lift her hand was thwarted by the relentless force of Maeve's attack. Nix had no choice but to endure, channeling every bit of her mana into the struggle. She was willing to exhaust herself entirely, determined to emerge as the victor.
"ENOUGH!" Nix roared, sending Maeve flying and halting her assault. Nix stood up effortlessly, shrugged off the impact, and surveyed her damaged skeletal frame. She cracked her neck, exhaling loudly as smoke enveloped her, morphing into the familiar black gown. Taking a soft breath, she hummed, "Much better." Her attention shifted to Maeve, now recovering about forty or fifty meters away. Maeve's once-pale red skin turned black, giving her a monstrous appearance. A red aura oozed from her horns, enveloping her in a bloodlust haze. "Now to deal with you."
Inspecting her fractured magic rings, Nix sighed, "Tsk. Tsk." She shook her hands, the rings instantly repairing. Closing her fists, all the rings activated simultaneously. Her stature shrank to just under two meters, skin rapidly regenerating, covering her entirely. No skeletal frame remained; the smoke melded into her gown, expanding around the sleeves of six arms. The sleeves tightened, revealing long red katanas in each hand, their dark red blades almost appearing black, with a gleam of red in the little remaining sunlight.
Nix locked eyes with Maeve, who approached slowly. Maeve's arms hung at her sides, her walk sluggish under the weight of intense bloodlust. Reflecting on her fight with Zero, Nix pondered how both held back, linked by an unspoken understanding—they were family.
Maeve neared complete transformation, on the verge of becoming a full demon. She fought to retain control, the voids of the Under Gardena beckoning her. Thousands of hands seemed to pull her towards a section of the afterlife where tormented souls waited. Maeve focused solely on Nix. Casting out her hand, the rapier soared across the barren area, landing in Maeve's grip. With another deafening screech, she dashed forward.
Nix tightened her grip on her swords. As Maeve closed the gap, Nix sliced through the air with incredible speed. However, Maeve thrust the rapier forward with precision, knocking back the first swung sword and parrying the other two on the right. With equal speed and precision, Maeve deflected the three blades on the left, causing Nix to falter slightly. Yet, Nix stomped her foot, regaining her footing, and swung again, putting more strength behind each blade.
Maeve anchored herself, placed her left hand behind her back, and emitted a short screech. She extended the rapier, blocking, parrying, and deflecting Nix's onslaught. Sparks flew, and the clanging of metal dominated the soundscape. Nix's arms moved in a blur, but with each block from Maeve, Nix was pushed back, even if only by a millimeter at a time. She was undeniably faltering.
Maeve stood her ground, using the pure strength of her rapier thrusts to keep her mother at bay. The frustration on Nix's face intensified, and any inclination to take it easy on her daughter dwindled rapidly. Nix attempted to halt her swings and shift to a different approach, but Maeve seized the opportunity to land a solid blow on Nix. In the moment Nix was about to activate a spell, she stopped swinging, and Maeve thrust her rapier forward, hitting Nix's chest. A shockwave erupted, knocking Maeve backward, sliding her feet across the dirt for about sixty meters.
The rapier had absorbed all the kinetic energy from Nix's attacks. Each parry, block, and redirect Maeve executed had absorbed the strength of Nix's assaults. When Maeve landed the blow on Nix's chest, all that stored energy was unleashed, launching Nix nearly three kilometers north, over the cliffside and into the waves of the Infinite Ocean, where she began to sink to the bottom.
Dropping the rapier to her side, Maeve looked up at the air, emitting a deafening screech. She shook her head, the cry reverberating across the entire island. As it tapered into a low wail and then silence, Maeve lowered her head, eyes fixed on the spot where Nix had tumbled. She scanned the area, anticipating Nix's inevitable return.
After a few minutes, Nix crawled back from the ocean, leaping in a single bound to where the lighthouse once stood. Anger emanated from her, and despite being completely dry, her body rippled with steam. Marching forward, Nix's rage seeped out, enveloping her as she addressed Maeve. "Again, bravo, Mae Mae. You've truly grown into a powerful young thing. It's a shame that it has to end here, while you're so young."
Moving with a speed that rivaled Maeve's, Nix closed the gap and lifted Maeve by her throat. The middle arm on the right hoisted Maeve, while the others grabbed onto her limbs. With the last one on the left, Nix began punching Maeve repeatedly in the chest and stomach.
"You arrogant little bitch," Nix boasted, landing punches on Maeve's chest. "I shaped you into the vessel you are today, and you still won't say thank you." She punched Maeve in the stomach. "I was going to make an island for all my children, old and new like you, but no, it had to be taken away from me." Three punches to Maeve's face followed, and then Nix pulled her closer. "Then you come along and turn all my children against me." Releasing her limbs but keeping a tight hold on her neck, Nix slammed Maeve into the ground. "I will burn this entire fucking world to the ground just to see you suffer, and my creators?" She lifted Maeve and slammed her down again. "I will cut off the heads of every Old God, starting with Lord. Once I'm done destroying this world, Virgil will make it anew, then him and I will sit at the top as its rulers."
Maeve's frantic movements ceased abruptly. The black complexion of her skin receded to its pale red, her scales around her forehead returned, and her eyes shifted back to silver. Her tail tucked itself back inside her trousers, and the rapier disappeared into a cloud of black smoke. Maeve smiled at Nix, stirring her anger.
Nix lifted her up and pulled her close. "Why are you smiling?" She slammed her back into the ground, causing Maeve to grunt in pain. "I was taking it..." She lifted her up and slammed her down again. "...easy on you, you smile at that?"
Maeve shook her head the best she could. "No, you fucking idiot. I just wanted to see if my husband, who you hate so much, can kill two birds with one stone, and it looks like it'll be three." Lightning cracked above, and Nix's eyes widened as Maeve took a deep breath. Nix thought for a second to cover her mouth but opted to throw Maeve just as she let out, "ZEEEERRRRRROOOOO!"
Lightning cracked down at the ground, striking with intense speed and heat. Inside the smoke and charged arcane that circled the area stood Zero. He stammered for a moment then turned around, raising his arm and striking it through the dust and smoke, clearing his vision on Nix.
He bobbed his head. "Oh shit, hey Nix."
