Dharen blanched.

For a moment, he stood stockstill, shocked.

The Aarthriin Mother slashed at him once more, unperturbed by his attack. The scythelike arms came for him, whistling through the air with a blistering intensity. With his high attributes and quickened mind, he slipped underneath the devastating blows, bending backwards in an impossible fashion. As he straightened himself to his full height once more, a second set of blades came for him - forcing Dharen to dodge once more.

The behemoth looked down at him with increasing interest. Dharen felt a chill as it did so, meeting its alien eyes with his own. The beast’s face split down the middle, mandibles stretching out to reveal a tooth-filled maw.

A strange rumbling sound began to spread forth, engendering a sense of foreboding deep within Dharen’s chest. It reached a crescendo, overpowering the sound of the thundering waterfall nearby. The monster’s maw opened further, dripping a liquid that could force the air itself to sizzle and cower away.

Filled with urgency, he pressed a foot against the Aarthriin Mother’s sturdy plates, pushing off with a strength fueled by desperation. The force of the push flung his body backwards, sending him careening through the air.

A stream of black-green acid shot from the creature’s widened maw, slamming into the stone where he had been standing. Though he managed to dive out of the way, a small part of the stream splashed off of the surface and impacted his lower right leg.

He gasped, the strange liquid setting a proverbial fire to his flesh.

⥫⥬⥫⥬⥫⥬

Acidic Genesis:

With Destruction comes Creation.

Burn away at the material encountered, forging it anew in the creator’s image. Success depends on the characteristics of the destroyed material.

⥫⥬⥫⥬⥫⥬

The stone behind him melted and sizzled, forming a hole that was eerily similar to the structures that nestled the Aarthriin eggs behind him. An unfortunate Nulzan was hit by the stream of acid as well as the Aarthriin Mother adjusted the trajectory.

He suffered far more than Dharen. The Nulzan Hunter let out an eerie shriek, filled with anguish and misery. His skin melted and bubbled under the acid’s ruthless administrations. Then, a series of dark chitinous growths split from the hollowed pits of his flesh. Similarly to the stone nests, it did not completely replace that which it destroyed. Instead, it simply coated the furrowed flesh. And then, in the next instant, the unfortunate Hunter dropped to the floor - motionless. Dead.

Dharen could feel his own flesh protesting under the acid’s assault as well. It had managed to sear through his sturdy armor, working its way deeper and setting fire to the skin underneath. Fortunately, it had not yet managed to work its way through the surface. He had no desire to suffer the same fate as that of the recently deceased Nulzan Hunter. Yet, he did not have the opportunity to examine himself further, too worried about being caught with a full blast of the dangerous acid.

The ground shook, vibrating with an earth-shattering intensity. Above, a colony of batlike creatures were startled from their perches, various stalactites splitting apart and falling to the stone below. They shattered, sending dangerous shrapnel in every direction.

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Yet, that was not even worthy of note.

For behind Dharen, the Aarthriin Mother had begun to climb. Her devilishly sharp arms had worked their way into the stone, stabbing deeply below the surface. She pulled, forcing the cavern to shake once more as it protested the movement of her unimaginable mass. One by one, her bladed arms slipped under the surface of the stone, working to pull her further out of her former resting place.

The same foreboding rumble renewed once more. The monster looked ahead, focusing on those that stood furthest away. Panicking, they dove into the river. A stream of acid followed them, right on their heels.

The acid met the flowing stream. Yet, surprisingly, it dissipated - leaving only a cloud of steam to mark its presence.

Knowing that the battle was hopeless, Dharen made the call to retreat. The presence of the acid-ruined tunnel behind them made it clear that the Aarthriin Mother’s acid could reach far beyond what one might guess. And even Dharen had been unable to entirely avoid it. Because of that, there was only one place they could go.

“Into the river!” he yelled urgently. “There’s an underwater passage to another cave where it meets the wall!”

Having seen the protection that the water offered, there was no hesitation. The harried Nulzan began to dive into the stream, submerging themselves in its depths. Some, however, are slower than others - slowed by wounds and exhaustion.

The all-too familiar rumbling began once more. Ekzel, still exhausted by his previous efforts throughout the day, responded slowly to the threat. Seeing the trajectory of the Aarthriin Mother’s gaze, Dharen dove at Ekzel. He smashed into him as the rumbling reached a crescendo, sending him flying into the water below. He continued forward, a portion of the stream of acid managing to connect with his back as he did so.

An unimaginable pain assaulted him, setting his back on fire as the acid tore through his armor and split his skin. His muscles felt as if they had become fire itself, searing him to the bone as the perilous fluids worked to deconstruct his body.

He hit the water with an audible slap. The cold stream embraced him, writhing around him as if alive. Yet, though it served to protect him from further harm, it did little to dim the burning agony that seared its way across his back and leg.

Helpless to do anything else, he allowed the stream to pull him further along. In what felt like an eternity, but was likely only a moment, he arrived at the wall and was pulled under by the current.

He fell, slipping through the submerged passage and dropping into the waiting arms of the water below. His vision began to blur. His leg and back were still on fire. Every moment was agony, especially with Spirit Overflow serving to lengthen his perception of time. From the next cavern over, he could still hear the Aarthriin Mother raging. It trampled about, shaking the stone around it. Yet, even that was beginning to dim, his vision diminishing along with his hearing. His sight was closing in, black tunnels that became ever-smaller, ever-darker.

He knew what was happening, though it had been a long time since he had been in such a state. Truthfully, part of him had thought that his Vitality had grown far too high to ever suffer such effects again. Though, surely, it was only his Vitality that allowed him to experience the sensation. Without it, he would already be dead.

He knew that he was going into shock, recognizing the sensation. It had been a long time since he felt so weak. So powerless.

Hands pulled at him, dragging him from the water just as his lungs began to rebel. He gasped, sucking in the cool air. Around him, Nulzan gathered. They shot him concerned looks, filled with worry.

He laughed inwardly at the thought. Here they were, creatures who only a short time ago had been his enemies. Yet, they stood there, looking down at him with apprehension.

The thought became too much, and he let out a weak and choking chuckle.

Pulling himself to one knee, he began to stand on trembling feet. The next thing he knew, he was back in the water again.

He only had time for one thought before unconsciousness took him.

The frigid water wasn’t enough to stop the searing pain.