Essentia Animus

38-Unrelenting Motivation

Even with such odds, such wounds, such despair, neither Sryine nor Vwyx were going to give Riyxia a moment of rest. Even as she stood up once again, they both prepared their next attacks.

Sryine sent a volley of arrows streaming towards Riyxia from multiple directions, all originating from her smokey form. Riyxia dodged the series rapidly, only to be struck from behind by the massive hammer once again. Flying forwards suddenly, she found herself suddenly hunted by a smokey spike which Sryine had sent thrusting towards her. Riyxia struck the spike, the spike vanishing as a puff of smoke, only for her to be flattened again by the hammer, then chained to the ground with illusionary chains. She managed to break the chains, only for the hammer to strike yet again. This was going really poorly, she wasn't even able to keep up with this onslaught. That was the cumulated cherry to this cake of despair, that even having lost all control, the two entities of destruction were actually working together to sow their own agendas, something that really didn't actually make complete sense.

"Sryine, so why exactly are you working with Vwyx in this madness anyway?" "Madness, despair, enriching isn't it? The look on your face, beautiful, a terror I could only dream of in my wildest nightmares. To think I had caused such, done such, like beautiful art." Riyxia only got Sryine's maddening laughter in reply, but she wasn't done yet. Another slash from illusions, another strike from a hammer, she struggled back to her feet. "Really then. I guess you aren't as skilled with terror as I had thought. I guess there are limits to such fear after all." "What? Ridiculous, nonsense, impossible! What could..." "So while Vwyx is entranced like that, there is absolutely nothing you can do anymore to make her feel fear. You know that, and have surrendered to it. Look at her, not a care in the world, absolutely fearless, untouchable." "No, no, no! So wrong, so wrong, this can't be, so ugly, so wretched! Vwyx, so broken, invincible. But I know you are still in there somewhere, watching, waiting, struggling. You might think you have a chance, but there is none, no hope, no hope." Riyxia dodged another hammer strike, this time finding Vwyx the one struck back by Sryine's lashing blades, a moment of seeming betrayal.

"Vwyx, I can't believe you would let her hurt you like that. What about your sense of vengeance and retribution?" Vwyx wasn't even listening, but was clearly of like mind. The other standing before her was also deserving of sharing in her pain and anguish, none should in fact be spared. Vwyx spun around with her hammer, catching both Sryine and Riyxia in a single strike. Not exactly what she had in mind, but at least this was still more of a free for all than a two versus one, it gave her a bit more opportunity to make some progress of her own. Riyxia took advantage of Sryine's close proximity and suplexed the collection of smoke into the hammer on it's return movement. It might look like smoke, but Sryine was still in there somewhere, and Riyxia knew her own movement could force wind into motion. Face-planting into the hammer disrupted the illusion, causing her smoke form to fade. Sryine then turned to Vwyx, a series of spinning blades rotating around her. She rushed towards Vwyx guiding the blades to slash before her. The illusion suddenly turned to dust, Vwyx having dismantled the apparent pieces with her gift, an act which influenced the illusion itself. It was at this point that Sryine decided that physical attacks against Vwyx held a significant flaw, turning to her favourite fear instead. Her hand ignited again in illusionary flame, a flame she threw towards Vwyx, igniting Vwyx's hammer in flame.

Vwyx wasn't concerned about the injury however, it only made her hungrier, so she brought the hammer back down on Sryine. Sryine had yet another dramatic solution for the problem, using her flame in an explosive blast that sent both Vwyx and Riyxia flying, Riyxia having tried to take advantage of the opening. Sryine laughed at the humor of her own victory, and turned to throwing more explosive fireballs around, a blast connecting with Vwyx and knocking her back down, unable to counter. Sryine was revelling in her success, having found a way to force even Vwyx to her knees, standing beside Vwyx's burning hammer in her triumph. Riyxia took the opportunity to strike the hammer again from the other side, sending shards and rubble smashing into Sryine and having her buried in a pile. Vwyx then promptly repaired the hammer, trapping Sryine inside the hammer as a result. Sryine unleashed her attacks blindly from within the hammer, trying to find a way to have the hammer break apart and set her free. Perfect, that was one down, at least partially.