At Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren's approach, an insidious stench of foul decay and toxic vitriol in equal measure assaulted my nostrils. I blinked involuntarily as my tear ducts responded to the strong stimuli. With each step the prime demon took, the clicking of thousand mandibles followed. Deep set pools of green glow, so filled with malice that they could drain the sanity of any who gazed, fixed sternly at Talus. Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren extended his four pairs of limbs with venomous claws at the each end and cut the empty air threateningly.

In a moment of gruesome irony, Zor'Amoth huffed in wicked delight as a glow spread across his frame. Just as swiftly, the glow faded. His skin turned translucent revealing the bare bone structure of his rib cage with dark blue tendrils of void steaming from his internal organs. Zor'Amoth of the Scorge Warren relished in the repugnant feeling of ambivalence gnawing in his very presence. In full control of his own volition, Zor'Amoth twisted like an unruly parasite feeding on abject cruelty. The discordant feeling from his vile breath grew with every wheezing breath he took. The prime demon made it evident that there would be only one path -- paved with anguish and leading to perdition -- that he would allow.

Zor'Amoth settled himself in a lethargic pace. His eyes narrowed into glistening sockets and roamed over the sight before him -- eager to devour. Then, he spat. Anthropods of the demonic variety crawled from his spit. Writhing from the spittle pit, the demonic centipedes soon devoured the scattered bones. Not even undead were spared from the Scourge Warren. It made sense that Demon Sovereign Vanaroth would be the one to send aid. For the Scourge Warren was one of the few demonic realms that could counter the undead.

A growl issued from Zor'Amoth, eliciting another exodus of demonic millipedes infesting him. The prime demon of the Scourge Warren grew even more of a hollow husk but the heavy oppressive aura blanketing him still remained potent.

As if possessed of a singular will, the demonic millipedes raced towards Talus. Their legs rippled to weave vicious patterns. Their dark mandibles, so depraved and grim, would make venomous serpents retreat in fear. Drawing near, salivating to feast on Talus, they descended hungrily upon him. Countless mandibles snapped. Digging deeply to rend Talus apart, injecting their venom into the trembling flesh beneath. But flesh, they found none. Only sheer unyielding metal.

"How odd," said Zor'Amoth over the sound of clanking mandibles from his insectoid armies. "I could have sworn you were a demon."

"An easy mistake to make considering who my mothers are," replied Talus. In an odd twist of fate, the dimness of sorrow manifested on his visor as he turned towards Phaedra Cindercrest. "Mother Lyria mourns. Still mourns for you."

A lone teardrop trickled down the Arch lich's desiccated skin of her cheek. For an interminably precarious moment, gone was Phaedra Cindercrest, the Ever Ghast, and in her place stood a vulnerable girl seeking tender warmth and assurance. The Arch lich struggled against the shackles and chains binding her to the past. There is something infinitely tragic in seeing an Arch lich, a cunning being devoid of emotion, revealing innocence lost.

Words caught in the deep gloom of her inner self as her lips trembled. Her frailty eventually won. "Yes, Mother always had a good heart. So fond of us. Kept us fed while she went hungry. She made sure we were presentable while she was clad in rags. Gave us warm hearth while she slept on the cold floor." Just as quickly, the feral mask of an Arch Lich slipped on. "Until she decided that we were not hers."

Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren stepped closer with amusement and curiosity in equal measure.

Even in her wretched state, Phaedra slipped between the mortal and the unliving, between mere shadows, slipping even further into the horrors of her living memory. "Punished." Phaedra Cindercrest drew the word with difficulty. "We refused and she punished -- by murdering."

With each word the Arch Lich uttered, I could only imagine how bitterly, painfully vivid her suffering must have been.

Phaedra let out a final wail and tore away from the proximity of Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren. Venom and malice pulsed through her as she shrieked unleashing choking waves of necrotic potency. In the wake of her release, cracks spread. Huge titanic forms, more bones melded together to form a massive colossi pulled themselves forth from the depths of the abyss. At their arrival, the darkness of the infinite void coalesced and flowed into their very being. Each bone was engraved with shadowy runes of necrotic barriers. The colossi, four in number, stood, dwarfing even Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren.

Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren gave a fleeting glance at the four massive bone Colossi and with a snarl of his moth-infested lips, dismissed them. A single eye rolled in his eye socket, peering intently back to Talus. He watched the futile attempt of his demonic millipedes on the metallic frame of the warrior before him with morbid curiosity.

No matter how long Zor'Amoth stared, Talus stood on his two powerful legs, taunting and challenging. Over the sound of scratching and screeching, Talus lifted his strong hand, a single index finger extended and waggled at Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren, inciting sheer rage born of effrontery.

Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren threw his head back and howled an unholy cry at the clear challenge. Spitting spittle of pure anguish and hatred, Zor'Amoth charged. For a fleeting instant, the prime demon lusted for a different taste -- of sublime domination. A gust of wind blasted in wake of Zor'Amoth unleashing his predatory claws on Talus. The foul, putrid scent rolled off from Zor'Amoth's very core to cascade over Talus. The claws raked across the frame of the mechanical son of Lyria.

Talus stepped aside, sustaining no physical harm but using the momentum to launch himself. Another swipe of Zor'Amoth came close to slicing open the chest of Talus, but his alloyed palms shot forward, crushing Zor'Amoth's forearm. Whirling his other fist, Talus's stone-crushing punch struck hard at Zor'Amoth's chest. The force of the blow sent the prime demon spiraling backwards. Losing balance, Zor'Amoth crashed to the ground.

"This," cried Zor'Amoth in a fury that knew no bounds. Dark veins and sinews writhed under his flesh as he struggled. ", impudence will not go unrewarded."

Ululation of a thousand wolves feasting issued from Zor'Amoth's throat as he firmly planted his feet and launched himself forward once again to confront Talus. Reaching inside his self, he drew twin dark viper-like blades. Spinning like a dark whirlwind, Zor'Amoth bore a murderous grin on his countenance as he rained a flurry of slashes on Talus. Twin blades exploded in tandem on Talus. Thrice Zor'Amoth used the momentum of his spin to toss himself forward, utilizing the distance to pounce with shocking speed.

Talus parried, almost as if anticipating what to expect. But his anticipation lacked the edge to foil Zor'Amoth's merciless attack. Dark slithering blades left white trails on Talus's armour. With two pairs of claws, the prime demon gripped Talus by the shoulders. Laughing in derision, Zor'Amoth attempted to lift Talus. The sound of rushing winds drowned out all else as Talus leapt and slammed a devastating kick aimed at the chest of Zor'Amoth.

Zor'Amoth stumbled backwards and yet, he did not fall.

In the space created by the sudden displacement, there was nothing but splintered dust. Talus rushed, so swift, leaving only after images in the intervening dust as he continued chaining blows on Zor'Amoth with unrelenting fury. The force of a hundred cannons concentrated lay behind every blow of his fist. With a scything motion, Talus seized the fist of Zor'Amoth in a vice grip that could mold tempered steel like dough. Using the leverage to add momentum, Talus launched his head towards Zor'Amoth. As his alloy-encased head smashed into the Prime Demon's face, the collision ended with the sound of clanging bones and crunching skull fragments. Immediately, an eruption of bile sprayed forth from Zor'Amoth's body releasing a further exodus of demonic Anthropods.

"Insolent..." mumbled Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren. "...Not one of those transients and neither a demon. What sort of abomination are you?"

Donning silence as armour, Talus continued his assault. Zor'Amoth, the Prime Demon of Scourge Warren might consider himself nigh indestructible and Talus shattered that illusion. The final hit from Talus sent the Prime Demon flying. As Zor'Amoth landed awkwardly, there was a faint sound of air slicing and a pair of wickedly sharp bone blades slashed the air, dangerously close to Talus's visor. The plight of Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren ushered the bone colossi to engage Talus and my Urumi answered in response.

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The seven whip blades reaved through the first colossus, reducing the titanic fiend to a pile of bones. Desolation rode the waves travelling along the whip blades. With every flick of my wrist, weaves of destruction raced along the whips, shattering the colossus. Again, and again, and again, and again...I whiplashed with furious intensity.

No one is more proficient with an Urumi than a Dark elf and no dark elf is more proficient with an Urumi than Me and no Urumi is more proficient than my Adjuration. My Lyria's divine gift. Soon, before my ferocious assault, the four colossi were reduced to a cluster of bones littering the blackened grounds.

Runes of necromantic submission flared on the pile of bones. Urged by the potent bindings, bones stirred, mending themselves back. Just as quickly as they were destroyed, the four colossi rose again, staring at me with inherent malevolence from their vacant sockets.

"So very predictable," uttered Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren despite his broken jaw. He gazed up at me, then turned his attention back at Talus who towered triumphantly over him. Then he spoke with pitiless contempt. "A creature made of cogs and springs. Transient hands crafting immortality. Your very existence is an anathema. A travesty and intriguing at the same time."

Phaedra Cindercrest, the Ever Ghast, floated above the broken grounds. "Who would have thought Mother was capable of confining such power in her work?" Gone was her wheezing strenuous voice of an Archlich, instead, words were hushed with awe. Despite the claims of Talus on her failing cognition, the Archlich before us definitely had enough wits to immediately identify Lyria's work in Talus.

The four titanic undead advanced. Converging on my position in a deliberate attempt to block my approach to Talus.

"But I wonder, that invincible armour of yours that Mother gifted," said Phaedra Cindercrest with abundant curiosity laced with mad glee. "How will it fare against lightning?"

Dark purple lightning, flowing down like vicious tentacles with thorns, struck Talus. The roar of thunder rang throughout the field as sparks danced upon his armour and settled into the exotic alloyed plating.

Even in the distance, blocked by the massive colossi, I felt its impact. I experienced the jolt. It was undeniable. The all-decimating clash between the powers wielded by Lyria's legacies.

Charged energy pulsated through a lattice of hives on Talus's frame. The glow flickered on his armour. Out of a near impossibility, his mighty form withstood the assault. Talus slowly turned and stared at one of the bone colossi. Lifting his hand, palm open and facing the massive fiend, he let tides of destruction surge on the surface of his metallic body and unleashed the stored lightning back to pulverise the colossus.

"Mother felt the energy capacitor was a vanity, but Colby insisted on installing one," added Talus before he resumed his pummeling of Zor'Amoth. One cannot deny the sense of power gathering in Talus's tone as he spoke.

Talus lowered his hands, collecting energy within the grasps of his armoured fists. Leaping high into the air, Talus returned to Zor'Amoth to deliver the next crushing blow. His fist tore into the Prime Demon, spraying chunks from the battered body. Talus then pounded with unstoppable violence, hammering Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren to the ground, repeatedly smashing him to oblivion.

Yet, only a wave of laughter, vicious mockery laced in generous measure, issued from the well-abused form of Zor'Amoth.

"I am a prime. Not to be defeated by the likes of you," taunted Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren through mangled lips as he once again attempted to surge to his feet. Out of the four pairs of limbs, he missed two and brandished a severed arm in another. The Prime Demon was riddled with punctured wounds.

Talus's kick caught his square across his chest.

Tumbling, the Prime Demon still continued his gloating. "What was your end game, O mechanical warrior? Slay me? Tear me from limb to limb? Obliterate my physical form? And I will reform in Scourge Warren."

With a growl, Zor'Amoth, the Prime Demon of Scourge Warren, castigated his demonic anthropods. Minor portals rippled into existence behind, leading to the infinite dimensions and the crepuscular corridor of his native Warren. An outflow of anthropods, with dark gleaming chitins and razor-sharp mandibles, followed. Advancing with a celerity that would put a striking ophidian to shame, they converged on Zor'Amoth, swelling his battered frame, assimilating to the steaming entrails of the Prime Demon.

And Zor'Amoth stood, challenging Talus again -- in full health.

"Enough!" bellowed Talus, as he rushed again.

"Foolish Mortal creation! You have doomed yourself with this display! You can't win against the Prime of the Scourge Warren! Demon Sovereign Vanaroth is the master of eventuality. Before his might, none shall resist, and I am his..."

Talus's knee strike caught Zor'Amoth mid-sentence. The blow caused the Prime Demon's stance to shift, losing balance and opening him up to Talus's next onslaught. The mechanical warrior kicked out again, breaking the shin of the Prime Demon. The splintered fragments of bone and viscera unhallowed the very grounds they fought. Talus followed with an upward punch, making contact with Zor'Amoth's chin. For several tensed moments of protracted silence, the Prime Demon remained pinned to the ground from the damage sustained. As Talus moved in, Zor'Amoth managed to rise up from the dust, hissing an angry epithet.

In a baleful tone, he proclaimed, "You will find that nothing in your arsenal can stop me."

Ignoring the scornful words uttered, Talus resumed the flurry of punches, pounding relentlessly onto the resilient Prime Demon.

I let Adjuration sweep a wide arc, in a more focused fashion, to produce an unearthly destructive wave. Despite the torrential maelstrom of sharp razor edges from the Urumi surrounding me, the four mindless bone colossi advanced undeterred. Bones knocked, fell and moved back to join the colossi, completing their geas placed upon them. Engraved with the foulest of necromantic rituals and wrought by the consummate of all Arch liches, the monstrous bone formations would continue their purpose.

The more I lashed with Adjuration, the more I felt the distortion of ambient energies around me. Shrinking the field. Pulling wisps of magic from elsewhere. Those currents warped. Potent necrotic energy clashed with the arcane weave of the Adjuration. Drawn closer. A battle for supremacy ensued. Only the voice of Phaedra Cindercrest, the Ever Ghast, tore through.

"Mother's weapon but the power in it is not Mother's." The Archlich faced me, gliding across the wastes. Weathered skin wrinkling into hard expression. Centuries of confinement to a phylactery have blunted her features, leaving them viable to only those most basic expressions needed to make them animated. She pointed a bony finger in my direction. "Did Mother covet these powers for herself?"

Between Phaedra Cindercrest and myself, an awkward deadlock prevailed. It lasted for an excruciating moment or two until the susurration of my Urumi demanded my undivided attention. In the lucent circle created by Adjuration, a whirlwind manifested. Arcing mystical winds howled at its unwanted presence. The chaos swirling inside, a maelstrom of untamed energies, anchored themselves to a single whip blade of Adjuration. Even Phaedra Cindercrest shunned away in abject terror.

The Archlich's horror was shared by the Prime Demon. Even the monstrous bone Colossi stopped to witness the spectacle. Unable to stop Adjuration, I watched with morbid fascination as the elementally charged whirlwind careened towards the bone colossi, spitting the necromantic hexes, reducing bone to primitive ashes.

"I don't understand." The trembling fingers of Phaedra Cindercrest gestured helplessly. "Is Mother there? Is she inviting me?"

Zor'Amoth lifted himself only to be subdued by Talus again. We lost count of the number of times Talus almost obliterated the Prime Demon -- only for him to swell himself back.

"There is no help coming for you," taunted Zor'Amoth. Eyes fixated on the chaotic swirl, he continued, "None stands against the Scourge Warren. What lies ahead anyway?"

"The Undying Forge," answered Talus.

Subjugated beneath the sabatoned feet of Talus, Zor'Amoth of the Scourge Warren still raged with authority. "Infinite is a might commanded by Demon Sovereign Vanaroth."

"The Undying Forge," repeated Talus. It was hard to deny the calmness of moonless night in his tone. "That is where your demonic insects are and will be enslaved -- forever to billow the flames."

Zor'Amoth struggled in a futile attempt to deny the veracity of Talus's claim. Try as he could, the Prime Demon could not deny and revel while defiling his grim fate.

"Vanaroth would be a fool if you are still allowed to summon aid from The Scourge Warren," said Talus. The bright red of victory glowed in his visor. "Any insect you call will only benefit The Undying Forge."

Vaguely lifting his head, The Prime Demon glared at the chaotic swirl. His gaze darted accusatorily from Adjuration to me. In a surreal moment of an inextricable act, one pair of his limbs dug inside his body while another pair clutched his head. With a violent jerk, Zor'Amoth, the Prime Demon of Scourge Warren, snapped his own neck and spine. His body shrunk in a putrid broth releasing vitriolic fumes.

The Undying Forge! The word again. Is it a place or a region? Lyria mentioned it before. What kind of region would invoke such fear from a Prime Demon?

Only the urgency-filled voice of Theko pulled me from the engulfing thoughts. "Dark Mistress, Ar'krak says we must leave."

Both Talus and I turned our attention towards Phaedra Cindercrest.

"Talus, get the phylactery. We will let Lyria decide," I instructed.

In a hushed whisper, Theko interrupted, "No Dark Mistress, this is urgent we must leave immediately. Ar'krak says every moment we spent here, we lose High-Crag Hold."

"What were his exact words?" I forcefully took my gaze from the Arch lich.

"Unexpected developments. Commander Rylonvirah will definitely need to know before she could act any further; Those were his exact words."

For Ar'krak to make such a claim meant something was about to go terribly wrong. With nary a blink to ponder, I gave the order.

"Talus, we are retreating now."

And Phaedra Cindercrest, the Ever Ghast, sneered helplessly at our retreat.