The spectre took one, long breath.
Rena staggered as ley was pulled from her key, bringing her to her knees, and she wasn't the only one. All around her, Mythics and humans alike were collapsing. Some sank, panting to the ground, others fell unconscious entirely. Rena felt her eyelids closing and knew she had to do something.
With a blink, she swapped her gaze to the ley. A fog-like layer clouded most of her vision, but there were solid tendrils wisping from her key, straight back into the spectre's body. On an impulse, Rena grabbed it with her own energy-imbued hand and severed it.
The spectre howled. Rena changed her vision back just in time to see the spectre lunging forward, bony fingers outstretched for her neck.
Rena dropped, launching herself forward and rolling to recover. She spun around, throwing a fireball in the spectre's direction and expected that to be the end of it. Instead, it just seemed to make it angrier.
"I have assscended passst the elementsss, little fox," it hissed. "You cannot hurt me now!"
Rena backed off, drawing it towards her and away from the portal. A quick glance behind it revealed she wasn't going to find help in the others. All seemed downed by the spectre's effect, and none would have the ability to break it like she had except the djinn, but she suspected he was spent from communing so many with the portal.
It left her with one choice: fight the spectre herself.
She ran over the options in her head. She didn't have her sceptre. She didn't have Cayden. She didn't have the reckless abandon that her impending feral mindset brought.
You have nine tails though, said the voice inside her mind, her human. Everyone seemed to think that was a pretty big deal.
Not so much when I don't know how to use them. All I know is they make me stronger.
The voice took a moment to reply, another moment that the spectre lurked closer, rags dragging along the ground as everything it touched turned dark. Looking at your memories, you kind of figured everything out yourself anyway, if the situation was stressful enough. I think this counts as stressful, don't you?
Rena grit her teeth, drawing fire to her hands. Maybe she'd just missed before, or maybe it was bluffing. When we're done with this, I'll have to teach you about when banter is relevant and when you should probably let me concentrate.
Oh. Sorry!
Once more, Rena threw fire, and once more, after making no move to dodge the direct impact, the spectre completely ignored it.
Fire was off the list. She doubted illusions were going to worry a being of pure energy. It didn't even appear to have eyes. It sensed the ley of its surroundings and cared little about anything else. So that left her energy abilities.
She just wasn't sure how she was supposed to beat an energy Mythic at its own game.
It chuckled. A hollow, breathy sound that sent a shiver through her tails.
"You are realisssing how hopelesssss it is, little fox," it hissed. "I can feel your fear, your doubt. It isss beautiful, and I ssshall enjoy feasssting upon it!"
"Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't you?" said Rena, pooling energy in her body.
The shift brought back her ley-sight. With that acting as her eyes, she was now fighting a giant, grey cloud trapped inside something that looked like a badly woven black blanket. Despite being full of holes and loose threads, the blanket seemed to be the only thing stopping the cloud from floating away. A huge, ley-filled pillow leaking its stuffing.
YOU ARE READING
Mythic (NaNoWriMo14)
FantasyRena wanders a decaying land, searching for purpose to a life that was supposed to have been laid out for her. As a Mythic, the people worship the ground she walks on. To them, a Mythic is life, a living representation of the ley energy that sustai...
