"Try punching the evil out of... This," Dacer panted, suddenly extending his free hand towards Oswald despite his injuries. His claws began channelling an orb of black energy that crackled with a ghastly series of sparks. Without much delay, he launched it at Oz, before his arm fell back down, and he tried to catch his breath.

"Dangit Dacer! Really trying to restrain myself from outright killing you now.. stop making this more difficult then it has to be!"

The sage yelled trying his best to contain his anger as he swiftly swung his legs around in the air and whipped up a burst of wind which he kicked towards Oz and let it wrap around him almost instantly. The wind then picked him up into the air and using similar speed that Jeff could move himself, launched him to the side out the way of the attack while spiraling him in closer towards Dacer. The sage then proceeded to launch out his left arm gauntlet towards the burnt up Feline's free arm and tried to grab hold of it, hoping to keep hold of Dacer with his full strength while working alongside Jenso to stop all use of his arms.

Oz whipped through the air, narrowly avoiding Dacer's reckless attack. He caught himself against the ground. The white-blue energy roiled off his arm like mist while he rose back up against the stifling gravity. Advancing like he was going to punch Dacer in the gut, he instead faked out and went to plant his hand firmly against Dacer's forehead.

Dacer thrashed for a moment until his arm was caught and his head and held still by Oz's arm. He didn't say anything as the veil coursed through his body. His eyes filled with purple for the briefest moments, once, twice, it continued for some time, as if his mind had naturally attempted to fight against Oz's energy. But this only went on for a few seconds. Ultimately, the purple hue faded, and he was left, his hanging over, half-conscious. A few moments passed before his One With Gaia form faded away, and his features returned to normal. He looked up curiously, lost for words at first. His legs fell to the ground and he stood up weakly.

"Any reason why you've still got my arms in a fucking vice?" Dacer groaned angrily, tugging at Jenso and Jeff's restraints.

Jenso was relieved that Oz managed to avoid the attack with Jeff's help, but gave Oz a frown after he'd touched Dacer's forehead. What good would that even do? When Oz was done, and Dacer's One With Gaia form faded along with the purple hue, Jenso gave Dacer a confused look. It seemed like he was just as confused as Jenso and Jeff were. Did Oz turn him back to normal? "Oz...how'd you do that?" He asked Oz, releasing Dacer as he stood up.

Dacer pulled away from Jenso, and yanked Jeff's grappling hook off of his arm. "Y'know, as interested as I am, I don't really think it matters in the least," Dacer wheezed, anger still polluting his tone, "Where's the Jam colored bitch? I'm intent on Jamming my fist through her fucking face." Without waiting, he started stomping away from the three who'd freed him from her control, towards the giant mound of purple ooze. His legs gave out almost immediately, and he fell to one knee.

Jenso walked forwards, stopping beside Dacer. "You and the rest of us, buddy." Jenso stated. "From the looks of it, Oz killed her already, but I wouldn't assume she's out of the picture just yet. These people are tricky and hard to kill, after all."

"Oh, in case you don't remember, you also have mine, and Lark's One with Nature form within your body. So, heads up." He added.

"Jenso, don't be stupid," Dacer barked, pushing himself back onto his feet, slowly, "One with nature isn't just some silly garment you can put on. All I did will pull Lark's soul out of your body. Whatever's left of him isn't around anymore, which is probably for the best." He narrowed his eyes and scanned the battlefield. "Where's Tiger?" He said softly. Suddenly, the little cat's form began to grow from his shoulder, until Tiger was perched quietly against Dacer's head. He sighed and looked at the Tower of chaos, and then up at the rip in the sky. "We've got... I dunno, maybe a few hours before that huge rip reaches critical mass or whatever." He turned to Jenso, expecting some sort of briefing, or any information, really.

Jenso nodded at Dacer. "Right...we need to defeat Yzeira before that happens. We don't have any time to waste. Let's go, guys!" Jenso called out to Oz and Jeff as well. "Bruce and Alvios are here too. The five of us have been taking on Ada, Vale and you. Looks like those battles are over, though." He explained. "The rest of the Order are probably all in the tower, and it wouldn't surprise me if Yzeira was at the very top."

"He is," Dacer said, dryly. The archer grabbed his chest and coughed up a small amount of blood. "My body needs more that a few hours to heal, though. I'm not going anywhere. Even if I could heal, I don't think I can use One With Gaia again... Not for more than a few seconds, at lease." He turned back to where Jeff. "Next tim you put something in my chest, I'm gonna break your legs," Dacer joked, half-serious as the lingering sense of pain finally reached his brain. Dacer turned back to Jenso and wrapped one of his arms around the Hero's back, using him as a support.

"Thanks a lot, ya couple'a doofuses."

Vale still sat silently, glaring at the vial in his hand. His expression was blank. His mouth hung open, revealing both of his canines through a somber frown. He didn't even react when Bruce found his way into the Tower's main entrance way, unaffected by the apparent barrier that guarded the structure. Inside, Bruce could see two sets of stairs hugging the rounded wall, mirroring one another as they climb up into the roof above him. Where they met, there was a large door similar to the one he'd just entered, but beyond it lay only a pitch black aura with no hint to its contents. Vale sat near the edge of the door, with his legs sprawled out, and his eyes still focused on the vial.

Entering the tower had been easier than Bruce would have thought- he supposed that might have been intentional, because he had followed the vampire inside on the instinct of Sakki.

Regardless of what had brought him inside, however, the high of turning his powers loose unto a massive stage was waning, and such was fortunate. He'd thus retracted his outward flow of Ki and returned Jeff's hover board to his bag. The real battles ahead would require the mindset of a cold-hearted, ruthless hunter rather than a raging, ferocious hound.

And, upon noticing Vale crouched near the one visible exit of the chamber, Sakki seemed only too happy to adapt to the subtle differences between those roles.

'I want both arms this time.' Sakki hissed.

Deciding that sneaking up from either side would be hoping for too much, even with his Ki output at zero and his sandals off, Bruce let a bit of his aura escape, highly concentrated, into his sheath, while he also formed a familiar shape- one of the spearheads he'd used in their last fight- in his hand. He sent the smaller form in an arcing motion that would bring it about into striking the vial Vale seemed so intent upon.

Vale gently twisted his wrist, moving his vial out of the way of Bruce's small projectile, and letting it pierce his body. The vial was still, at a 30 degree angle, for a few moments, before Vale let it drop back down, parallel to the ground. His eyes peered upwards, and he rose his head, resting it against the wall that his spine was meshed against.

"You'd better hurry," Vale mocked, smiling weakly while lowering his vial slightly, "Climbing this labyrinth won't be an easy task, little one." His eyes moved in their sockets while his head stood still, pointing towards the door by his side. "Haha, or don't. Your pace won't change much. the notion that you or your friends could make a difference is laughable."

Bruce regarded Vale silently for a moment before darting his eyes about the chamber, noticing how the layout seemed... illogical. Nonetheless, with no other clear exit, and given his experience trying to smash his way inside the tower, Bruce made his way toward the door. Sakki whined from within, but the protest was weak.

'I would hate for it to be easy,' Sakki hummed. 'He's not in the mood to play anyway. Maybe someone else will be.'

As entertaining as banter with the pale bloodsucker could be, Bruce had nothing to say to him. His pace wasn't breakneck nor a crawl, and his blade remained in his sheath ready in case Vale chose to try to detain him.

'Nothing worth changing is ever easy.' Bruce thought.

Vale chuckled to himself. "That's it?" Vale gawked, coughing up a few heavy, blood-soaked breaths. He waited silently, before dropping the vial of blood, and letting it break against the ground between his legs. He stifled a deep sigh, straightening his back and pushing his head against the wall. Vale reached up with his nails, and clawed at the tattoo under his eye. As he tore the skin viciously, the glow in his eyes faded slightly. Once the tattoo was completely shredded, his eyes returned to their usual hue.

"Wait."

Bruce's approach of the door didn't falter, but he did spare a glance toward the floor where the vial had shattered and the blood spilled.

Something in Vale's voice changed- subtle, but not impossible to detect. This gave Bruce momentary pause, if only because of Sakki's curiosity.

Bruce slowed his pace- he kept quiet, but he was giving Vale an allotment of time to give him an actual reason not to proceed immediately.

"If you continue forward, you're going to die," Vale assured Bruce, letting himself slump against the wall once again. "Zelriane, Rajaka, Adarine, you've prepared yourselves well enough to at least stand some semblance of a chance against them. But stopping the only one who matters, the patriarch of this would-be family of interlopers, that's nonsensical. You and your friends are walking towards an assured death-" Vale's speech grew quicker for a moment before he coughed up more blood. He rose one of his hands towards the newly created hole over his solar plexus and felt the viscous liquid still oozing out of the wound. He wasn't clotting naturally anymore. Vale took a deep, wheezing breath and exhaled heavily.

Bruce saw, for the first time, just how critical Vale's condition was. These were likely his final words, unless the blood he'd spilled could rejuvenate him. This, rather than any real consideration for his warnings, halted his progress, though the door was within a few sprinting strides.

He turned away from the sight of the vampire's wound, looking through the door rather than at it, seeing nothing. He scoffed.

"Death." he said. It seemed the draw to banter with the vampire was a temptation Bruce would rather not resist.

"Why do people fear it? It only does one thing. Dying can be unique, torturous, painful, swift, merciful. But no, we focus instead on death," Bruce said, idly feeling the elastic material of the hairband around his wrist.
"We waste time running from it, some by seeking it out. It comes all the same. Even the elements meet an end, in their own way."

Bruce looked at Vale again, his eyes lidded and gaze thoughtful though determined.

"What would you have us do? Mortality will catch up to all of us. You once wielded a blade that saw all futures- we turn back now, go home, wait for the fabric of reality to tear itself apart. Death. Some epiphany strikes upon this patriarch you refer to, and he retreats from this dimension without intervention on our part. Death will come. We barge inside, get picked off in some order, and we die. Or," Bruce paused, gripping the hilt of his sword with one hand. "We follow through on everything we've done, take back our part of the universe we were born to, and we succeed. Even then, we'll meet our end some other day."

"I do not fear death, Vale. I fear dying having not earned the right to live."

Vale's laughter was weaker this time. Even now, moments from death, the vampire managed a toothy grin as his head lay back. "I suppose you're right. I've never been much afraid of death myself, or any consequences at all." He paused and his smile vanished. "I'm not telling you to run away, nor do I seek to eviscerate your indomitable little spirit. I offer you, only a warning, and some friendly advice." Vale struggled to raise one of his hands towards his shredded cheek, pointing to it with a finger that shook more violently than a spastic rodent. "His eyes," Vale started, "His eyes see everything. They're unlike the eyes of his children, unlike the visual prowess that already keeps you and your little hero brigade on the ropes. His eyes see all." Vale's arm dropped limply by his side. The wound that Bruce caused finally clotted. "I stepped into his study, guided through this mystical maze by the little black creature, with the intent of killing him. I may not be nearly strong enough to perform feats like the Gaians, or clever enough to manipulate people like Geode, but I pride myself on my knowledge. And, in one outcome, I saw myself killing him on my own." Vale took a moment to breath deeply, even though he didn't need to. His breaths were far enough apart to hint at that. His wasn't alive after all. Or, was he? The line continued to blur as he went on.

"It was the one moment where his eyes were powerless, when branding another child," Vale spat, gesturing his head to signify the shredded mark under his eye, "But I was sloppy. He didn't believe me." Vale's eyelids drooped and his lips began to wrinkle with sadness. "The moment didn't come."

"His eyes see all," Vale repeated. He looked back up to Bruce, and smiled, bearing his trademark smile disingenuously. "The answer is in his children. The only way to destroy him, is through his children." Vale's eyes snapped to the tower's exit. The ground shook as Ada was struck by Atlas' hammer. "They are connected to one another- To him." Vale's eyes began to glow a deep silver as he spoke that last sentence, and his smile disappeared.

"Shit"

Bruce felt a hand gently touch his shoulder, and pull him back politely.

"For a moment," Yzeira whispered, walking towards Vale slowly, "I was convinced."

Alvios had taken a short time to recuperate before following Bruce, muttering a few curses under his breath as he did so. He didn't hurry, but he did think that his ally following Vale into the tower by himself was a dumb idea. He had watched him carefully while building up his Ki again, and was surprised when the Tower showed no resistances to Bruce's entry.

"The Tower repelled Bruce's giant attack from earlier, so why not the one who made it? I doubt its protections are faltering or something. Perhaps it only tries to repel whatever might destroy it, and not individuals. Which would mean we aren't seen as threats...infuriating, but understandable. The Tower isn't what's going to kill Bruce though if he lingers in there without the rest of us, dammit."

He had a hand on the hilt of Vale's sword as he stepped through the door. He rather liked the blade; perhaps a little too long for his taste, it had excellent balance, and the edge felt like it was cutting the air around it just by existing. A good substitute for a Ki blade if he needed.

"Bruce, I know wandering is your thing, but you really shouldn't--"

Alvios stopped mid-step. He no longer cared what Bruce had to say to Vale. He no longer cared much about Bruce's well-being either. He only heard the sound of his own heartbeat, felt the tightening of his grip, smelled his own cold sweat, tasted bitter dryness in his mouth, and saw only red.

"You."