The air hung thick with the stench of decay and despair. Amara was a prisoner in her own flesh, frantically clawing at the monstrous abomination. Even with a gaping wound in its abdomen, the grotesque amalgamation twitched and writhed, its numerous mouths muttering unintelligible horrors as black ichor oozed from them. Her voice caught in her throat, a strangled plea trapped behind the grotesque parody of her own face that was now fused with the creature. She outstretched a trembling hand, desperate for salvation.
Suddenly, the abomination lurched back to life. Its remaining hands, far too many for any natural creature, scrabbled against the cold stone floor, levering its bulk upwards. The three massive shards of obsidian embedded where its face should have been pulsed with a malevolent energy, unleashing an eerie, bone-chilling scream that reverberated through the chamber. Cassia and Lorian stumbled back, their faces etched with horror.
Izari, however, didn't hesitate. He shrugged off the wave of revulsion and charged, leaping onto the abomination's shuddering shoulder as it struggled to stand. He crawled towards Amara, dodging twitching limbs and gaping maws. Her eyes, wide with terror and a flicker of hope, met his. "Please," she choked, the word barely audible.
The abomination finally stood, its scream intensifying as the wound in its abdomen began to knit itself closed at an unnatural rate. New hands sprouted from the monstrous flesh around Amara and Izari, reaching, grasping. They snared at him, pulling him towards the grotesque mass. "No, no, no!" Amara wailed, already sinking into the creature's flesh.
Izari clung to her hand, his grip tightening. He couldn't give up. A desperate plan formed in his mind, something he'd never attempted before, something that strained the limits of his abilities: to render Amara intangible. The sheer energy required to affect something as large as a fully grown human threatened to consume him, offering himself as a sacrifice to the abomination, but he was willing to risk it.
He focused every fiber of his being on Amara, altering her density, making her invisible to the solid world. Slowly, painfully, he began to pull her free. The abomination fought back, its new hands tugging him deeper into its flesh with horrifying force. He ignored the encroaching darkness, pushing himself harder, driven by the desperate plea in Amara's eyes. He managed to pull her up to her waist before three more hands erupted, snatching at his shoulders, dragging him in.
"Lorian! Cassia! Help me!" he shouted, his voice ragged.
Lorian, spurred into action, scrambled to his feet and charged towards the ten-foot-tall monstrosity. But the abomination, a whirlwind of flesh and stone, lashed out, its massive foot connecting with Lorian's chest. He went flying backwards, crashing into a wall with a sickening thud.
Cassia countered, unleashing a potent psionic blast that slammed into the abomination's grotesque form. She followed it with a barrage of psionic hand constructs, using them to pull Izari and, by extension, Amara, free. The abomination retaliated, thrashing wildly, its eerie anti-hymn growing louder, attempting to shatter Cassia's concentration.
Overwhelmed by the sheer force of the creature's psychic assault, Cassia lost her balance and stumbled, her grip on the constructs faltering. The abomination seized the opportunity, lengthening one of its grotesque arms and backhanding her. She managed to raise a psionic shield just before impact, but the force of the blow still sent her careening across the chamber to the opposite wall.
While Cassia was being pummeled, the abomination proceeded to stomp Lorian several times.
In that instant, Izari, still straining to pull Amara free, faced an impossible choice. Save Amara, or save Lorian, who was rapidly losing consciousness under the creature's relentless assault. He looked at Amara's pleading face, a wave of guilt washing over him. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice thick with regret.
He released his hold on Amara, phasing through the hands that clutched at him, and dropped down beside Lorian just before the abomination could deliver another crushing blow. He knelt beside the gravely injured Lorian, and in one last burst of strength, he densified his body, increasing his physical power.
The abomination brought its leg down, aiming to crush Lorian beneath its weight. Izari braced himself, planting his feet, preventing the foot from landing completely. The floor beneath him cracked and crumbled as the immense pressure forced him downwards. For a moment, he managed to hold the leg aloft, but then he heard Amara's screams grow fainter, more muffled, as she was finally engulfed entirely by the abomination. His resolve wavered.
The screams tore through Izari's focus like a jagged shard of glass. For a fleeting moment, fueled by adrenaline and a desperate sense of duty, he managed to push the abomination's grotesque, foot upward. But then, Amara's cries, already strained and desperate, became muffled, swallowed by the horrifying mass of the creature. The reality of her fate crashed down on Izari, a crushing weight that weakened his resolve. He struggled to hold the colossal leg aloft, the combined weight of the abomination and his despair threatening to overwhelm him completely.
Suddenly, a blur of motion materialized beside him. Rona, his face grim, slid into the space beside Izari. His eyes, locking with his for a brief, powerful moment, reflected an intense gratitude for his sacrifice. "I got him, Izari! Hold on!" he yelled over the creature's guttural roars.
Rona quickly grabbed Lorian, who was slumped nearby, barely conscious. Hauling him over his shoulder with surprising strength, he bolted towards the gaping maw of the tunnel exit. The abomination, fixated on its torture of Izari, ignored him. For the monster, Izari was a more interesting prey. It increased the pressure, grinding him deeper into the unforgiving stone floor.
A sharp crack echoed in the cavern. A chunk of rock, thrown with surprising force, struck the abomination's side. The creature paused, its fractured, shard-like 'face' turning towards the source of the interruption. Rona stood defiantly at the exit, another rock clutched tightly in his hand. With a snarl, he hurled it. "Hey, you overgrown rock pile! Over here!"
The abomination dismissed the pathetic attacks. Izari was the more pressing concern. But the brief distraction was all Izari needed. Drawing on a hidden reserve of strength, he grunted with effort, pushing against the monstrous weight. The abomination, momentarily unbalanced, stumbled back. Izari, gasping for air, fell to one knee, his muscles screaming in protest.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he surged forward, launching himself onto the abomination's shard-covered face. He landed on one of the obsidian protrusions, his fist connecting with brutal force. Blind rage, coursed through him. He pummeled the shard, each blow cracking and fracturing the crystalline structure, exposing the bright, pulsating green light that was the Womb Mind's essence within.
He jumped to the second shard, unleashing another furious barrage of punches. It cracked and shattered under his relentless assault. Before he could target the last shard, the abomination, enraged, swung a massive limb, brutally slapping Izari away. He went flying, crashing hard into the floor. The breath left his lungs in a painful whoosh, and he collapsed in a heap, his body screaming in protest.
The abomination rose, its fractured face slowly reorienting. It spotted Rona, who was standing protectively in front of a semi-conscious Lorian. Ignoring them, it lumbered towards Cassia, who was feebly crawling away, her face pale and drawn.
The abomination reached her in a few strides. It scooped her up in a massive hand, her protests muffled. Cassia unleashed a wave of psionic energy at the creature, but the damage rapidly regenerated. Horrific tendrils of the Womb Mind's essence snaked out, entangling her, draining her life force.
"Hey, you! I'm over here!" Rona shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. he grabbed another rock, his knuckles white as she gripped it. "I'm over here! Come get me!" Tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision. The abomination ignored his, continuing its slow, agonizing drain of Cassia.
Left with no choice, Rona charged. Screaming a battle cry, he punched the abomination's leg with all his might. The blow barely registered, but the abomination, annoyed, lashed out, kicking him across the chamber. Rona landed hard, feeling a sharp pain shoot through his arm and ankle. Ignoring the agony, he brushed himself off and limped back towards the creature, punching and kicking it, shouting for it to release Cassia. "Let her go!"
The abomination kicked him harder this time, sending him crashing into the wall, the impact blurring him vision. He dragged herself to her feet, clinging to consciousness by sheer force of will. Using his one good arm, she punched the abomination again, but it barely flinched. It kicked him again, harder than before.
This time, something was different. A shimmering purple force field enveloped Rona as he was sent flying a second time. She landed near Lorian, the force field dissipating with a faint hum.
Lorian's eyes fluttered open. He groaned, his face contorted in pain. He moved his one good arm, focusing his energy, charging a nearby twisted metal bar with everything he had. The metal glowed, crackling with energy.
Rona, seeing the effort, muttered a thank you. He picked up the glowing bar, its heat radiating against his skin, and faced the abomination. It had diverted its attention from Cassia and was now lumbering towards him, still holding the weakened girl in one of its numerous hands.
It began to charge, its shards glinting menacingly in the dim light. This time, Rona didn't charge. Instead, with all the strength he could muster, he hurled the metal bar at the abomination's leg.
The impact was devastating. The bar exploded on contact, the force of the blast blowing off the abomination's entire left leg, a limb that was at least five feet tall. The creature crashed to the ground, its grip loosening on Cassia.
Cassia slumped to the floor, struggling to stay conscious. Rona, ignoring the pain searing through his body, limped towards her. "Cassia! Now! You have to finish it!" he shouted, his voice hoarse. "This is your chance! Kill it once and for all!"
Cassia, her eyes burning with fading psionic energy, responded with a final act of defiance. She unleashed a massive wave of pure psionic energy at the abomination, stripping away the remaining flesh, leaving behind a pulsating mass of exposed Womb Mind essence. The abomination writhed in agony, its fractured body spasming violently. But the effort was too much. Cassia's connection to the psionic plane snapped, and she collapsed, unconscious.
Rona turned to Lorian. "Help me get him closer," he said, his voice strained. He dragged him closer to the writhing abomination. "Do it," he commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument.
He limped towards Izari, his body still lying in a crumpled heap. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he picked him up, supporting his weight as she dragged him towards the exit. He repeated the process with Cassia, ignoring the badly injured abomination, which was feebly trying to reach him with its remaining arm.
Lorian, his face pale with exhaustion, proceeded to channel his remaining energy into the floor beneath the abomination. Rona came back and picked him up, carefully. "Glad we're finally getting out of here," Lorian coughed, his voice weak.
But Rona wasn't listening. Something had caught his attention. Further up the staircase, obscured by the darkness in the tunnels above, a figure stood silhouetted against the gloom. The Seer. He was watching them. His presence, though expected, sent a shiver of unease down his spine.
Ignoring him, she focused on the task at hand. "It's time," she said to Lorian, her voice resolute.
Lorian, understanding dawning in his eyes, activated the explosive charge.
Rona turned and ran towards the exit before the entire altar chamber was destroyed behind them.