⑄ 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚠'𝚜 𝚓𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚕 ⑄

『 Act XV: let the games begin 』

well.

this wasn't meant to happen.

in five seconds flat, the platform was frozen solid, lightning bouncing off of stone and cold barriers, creating small mine-like explosions across the area.

now, this would have been good -

if it weren't for the fact that the statues had begun to spring to life, and the Core was refusing to go down without a fight.

the first monument, a monster with jaws where a face should be, tore itself from its perch, massive chunks of aged stone threatening to crush the smaller duo. with loud creaking sounds, its many jaws cut off the supply of soul magic, before letting out a low, rumbling growl.

the lantern-holder stumbled back, nearly into the veiled figure, who stood just behind him. they caught the antlered cryptid, albeit nervously stepping back as well.

"...well. this wasn't supposed to happen."

.

.

.

it didn't take too long for the duo to figure out that each time a statue uprooted itself from its perch, it left itself vulnerable by exposing its back - which was covered in up to seven stolen hearts. each time a heart was broken, the monster would begin to break, and would crumble to ash when all hearts were destroyed, freeing a flurry of trapped souls.

not to say that this task wasn't challenging, of course.

considering that each statue would emit varying negative spells - weakness, soulsteal, and other draining enchantments - and each statue would chase one or the other relentlessly, all while weaponizing hundreds of years of stolen magic to try and kill them.

good gods, it was difficult.

the lantern-holder, covered in ash and his own silver blood, let out an enraged roar, swinging their heavyblade upwards into the last monuments' chest - sending a powerful burst of violet electricity through the sentient rock.

and as the statue began to fall, all mobility stifled by the stunning hit, the heavenly horror teleported just above its shoulder blades, before attacking. plunging downwards, the overseer drove her spear into the last heart, then boosted herself off the beast, just before it collapsed.

a brilliant flash of multicolored light erupted from the crumbling stone, splitting off into dozens of different routes, before disappearing into the rotten thicket of the grove.

the faceless landed in front of her ally, stumbling over their own tail for a moment, before promptly digging the blade of their spear into the cracks in the platform to keep steady. she pulled her hair back, brushing ash and vine from her veil.

"...that was an experience."

"you don't say?"

the antlered creature sighed, collapsing onto his knees. he leaned back, using his axe as a sort of crutch, as he closed his eyes. the other paused for a moment, before walking forward, quietly sitting in front of him.

it was quiet, for once.

the duo just kind of sat there for a moment, together, in silence, catching their breath.

there was only one more task to complete, before the war would be over; kill the Core itself. they had weakened its defenses through the five statues that had attacked, and with every statue that was killed, it lost some of its power.

this would be an easy win, now that the Core was too weak to fight back - and especially now that its crystallized, stolen innards, which held most of its power, were exposed.

the faceless quietly got up, brushing their overcoat off. the lantern-holder tilted their head a bit, looking up.

"now," she muttered, "shall we get this over with?"

"...yeah."