System

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by System>

*Halfway along the walk to the next chamber, the material of the structure shifts from adobe brick to solid black stone, the gleams with an odd cleanliness for an ancient chamber against your light*

@Valiance

*Gingerly brushes my hand against the walls while I trace my way through the hall*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by System>

*The long curved hallway beyond this doorway becomes pitch black within a few feet, much less well lit than the prior sections*

@Valiance

*The beam gathers into a sphere in front of me, the pale glow illuminating a short distance ahead of me as I continue through the chamber*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by System>

...

@Valiance

*Carves a teleportation sigil into the wall that triggers on danger, and leaves a note explaining that I’ve proceeded deeper into the structure before walking toward where the barrier used to be*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by System>

*The cocoon snaps away almost in an instant, leaving me lying on the ground, unconscious but without a scratch on me. The moment that energy fades, the sealed door’s barrier dissipates as well*

@Valiance

*Draws a set of protection sigils on the strips and attaches them to the wall*
Akora, can you hear me?

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by System>

*A singular cocoon of swirling pink energy, noticeably different from the stuff attacking you before, lies on the floor in the chamber. The floors, walls, and ceiling are all charred black, and Garsun is nowhere to be seen, while the red barrier to the next room hums softly as though it did not falter*

@Valiance

*Emerges from the ground, battered and cautious of remaining traps, and makes my way toward the cocoon*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by System>

*Silence follows the aftermath of the explosion, even any conflict that could be heard outside is no longer audible*

@Abominations

*Sends a miniature probe to scout ahead, looking for Akora*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by System>

*The moment you look away, the tiniest twinkle flashes from each half of my remains for just a moment before detonating, filling the entirety of the temple from this room upward with fire from an explosion so immeasurably hot, that each if the 4 doorways at the top of the ziggurat spurt white flame like a massive four-sided flamethrower for miles around, absolutely incinerating everything and anything it touches*

@Abominations

*Hits the ground, the insulating properties of my blood giving me just enough time to carve away a trench below me with the beam, choosing clouds of lightning over the flames above*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by System>

*My body splits in two, and a swarm of wires from both halves splurge out and begin flailing everywhere like tentacles from a living beast*
You do know correctly. And what does that tell you?
…
We’re done here.
*The flailing wires fall to the floor suddenly, unmoving, along with the rest of me*

@Abominations

*Instinctually attempts to warp the remnants to a lab, which fails without a known destination, and I turn my attention to Akora and Garsun instead*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by System>

*The slash puts pressure on my abdomen for a brief moment, during which time seems to slow before nearly severing my body in two, but not quite managing to cleanly cut all the way through. I grab your arm as though the damage does not bother me at all and, as the pink cloud from the most recent structural damage surrounds us, unleash yet another continuous surge of pseudo-electrical blasts through your body*

@Abominations

I know you have more tricks than that, Omega!
*The beam arc reorients itself to form a basic exoskeleton around my right arm and right leg, concentrated around my fist; I use the support structure to launch myself upward through the cloud and then back down into you, colliding with your sternum and following through the strike until my fist reaches the ground*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by System>

*Plants my hands in front of me, pressing against an invisible wall almost like a mime, putting a barrier between us that only appears and glows red on contact*

@Abominations

*Hypersteps to the barrier and cleaves it with the beam in a clean swipe of my wrist*