image [https://i.imgur.com/r9pDaDS.png]

Once Zalthia finished her ritual, a small rift appeared in front of her. It was deep black and the energy permeating from it was quite ominous. Zalthia forced her hand inside of the rift and slightly grimaced, as though something had painfully bitten her hand. With one swift pull, Zalthia ripped out an ungodly looking scythe from the black rift.

The weapon had a large black curved blade, skulls of various sizes decorating the top backside, and the long dark brown handle looked fairly worn down, as though it had been through countless battles. This unsightly weapon was Zalthia’s Manifest, Mind Reaper.

The power emanating from this weapon was incredible and as Zalthia twirled it around, the silver strands of hair dangling from the skulls made a slight whistling noise. She stopped spinning her Manifest and aimed it at Moku, staring deep in his soul with her piercing red eyes. Moku felt uneasy about this new weapon as he stared at its appearance.

“Moku, not so sure about this one. May need to explode sooner.” Before he could even prepare himself for what was to come, Zalthia began her assault.

Her speed was beyond ridiculous, as though this weapon had granted her with newfound strength. Moku braced himself and began to block his body, ready to absorb any blows sent his way. The blade of her scythe connected and like a hot blade to butter, his armor was sliced completely through. It ripped through the gauntlets along his arms with absolutely no effort at all.

“WHAT!?” He screeched out with panic and surprise, dashing backwards to avoid the next hit. Moku looked down at the ground as he saw his armor piece laying on the stressed floor, perfectly cut along the edges. He glanced up and in an instant, Zalthia was already beginning her next attack, not letting him get any chance to fight back.

With each swipe, she sliced piece after piece after piece off of Moku, making his armor seem no stronger than cheap paper. Moku was finally able to create some space between them and in a desperate move, he raised his hands to the sky.

“So what, your weapon can cut Moku’s armor!! Big deal!! I bet you can’t cut through an explosion though!! Farewell human, it was fun but this is where Moku ends things!!!” He glowed and quickly pulled in energy, signaling that he was mere seconds away from self destructing. Zalthia glared at him and with a blink of an eye, Zalthia dashed directly behind him. Her back faced his as he continued to hold up his arms.

“H-How did she!?” Moku exclaimed with great confusion, marveling at her speed. He turned his head to look behind him and all he saw was Zalthia's cold, yet vivid red eyes glaring back.

“Who said that my Manifest’s ability was cutting things? You really are as dumb as you look.” She coldly replied. “You haven’t seen anything yet...”

His eyes went wide and in that exact moment, Zalthia cut Moku on his bare back with a quick and sharp flick of her wrist. The cold blade of her scythe sliced his flesh and drew a significant amount of black colored blood out of him.

A runic symbol quickly flashed on his forehead, glowing a dull white before fading away. Zalthia stepped forward as Moku felt a deep jolt in his head, pounding over and over until he suddenly found himself in a familiar place.

Moku sat at a table back in his home in the Core Depths, years before the Boundless originally got sealed away. His wife and kids were present in the room as well, enjoying each other’s company.

“What!? H-How is Moku here? Did Moku get sent back in time? Impossible!” He wondered to himself with great confusion, looking around and gently touching objects nearby.

“Papa, what’s wrong? Papa, okay?” His little boy asked with a saddened tone.

“A-Ah, yes... Papa is fine.” Moku patted his son on the head and smiled, however this heartfelt moment was incredibly short lived.

Seconds later, their front door burst open as a group of faceless men entered the home. They quickly gathered up Moku’s wife and kids, grabbing them in aggressive fashion. The mysterious assailants started to brutally murder them in front of Moku’s eyes, using every disgusting method imaginable to achieve their goal. Moku wanted to help and stop this assault, but for some reason he couldn't move his body.

He was in absolute disbelief at what he saw and the look of horror overtook his face. Then just as fast as the scene began, the onslaught ended. He opened his eyes and looked up again, now in a new location with his family still alive and well.

“Oh!! Thank the Core!!! You’re alive!!” He exclaimed with tear-filled happiness, his hopes restored and feeling glad that the nightmare was over.

Moments went by and the faceless men appeared again, preparing to start their assault all over. Once again, Moku could not intervene and he was forced to witness the horrible atrocities happening to his family. Their blood splattered across the floor and caked onto his face, still feeling warm to the touch.

At this point, Moku was overcome with grief and pain as he witnessed these disturbing sights. Once the attacks were completed, a new scenario began and the whole process repeated itself. Moku loudly cried out as he had to experience this nightmare again.

“NO! MAKE IT STOP!! PLEASE!!!” However, nothing he did or said made any kind of difference.

Zalthia walked away, twirling her scythe as Moku quickly dropped to the ground. His body was completely lifeless and even though his eyes remained open, they were dilated and glazed over. Excessive amounts of drool began to pool out of his mouth, puddling up around his head.

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Moku was reliving the same brutal scenarios over and over in an infinite loop, causing him to lose the will to fight and the ability to exist in the real world. His body was still physically here, but his mind and soul were completely gone. Moku was forever trapped inside of his own nightmare, living within a new reality inside his mind.

This was the true power of Zalthia’s dangerous Manifest, Mind Reaper.

As she continued to walk forward, Zalthia stumbled to the ground and gripped her forehead with her right hand, dropping Mind Reaper in the process. Zalthia felt a deep pain in her head as she grimaced, now seeing double images slightly. Moments later, Zalthia started to bear witness to what Moku was seeing and the horrible murders taking place against his loved ones.

The detail was immaculate and she felt as though she were experiencing it right there with him. Zalthia began to vomit as she watched Moku’s wife get her head split open in a visceral manner.

The moment passed and that memory was forever stored in her mind, never to be forgotten by her. She slowly collected herself as she sat up, wiping excess saliva from her mouth.

“Damn this Manifest…” She muttered under her breath while panting heavily, finding its cost to be incredibly inconvenient. Zalthia tried to stand but felt rather weak after using her Manifest for the first time in years, stumbling back to the ground. She decided to take a quick break while waiting for Asiah to finish up her battle.

image [https://i.imgur.com/d60vRFl.png]

Just as Zalthia wrapped up her fight, Asiah and Mallie were still deadlocked in battle. The two were trading blows back and forth, seemingly equals in strength. They collided once more but at that moment, Mallie happened to look over to her right. She noticed Moku off in the distance laying face down and lifeless. Her eyes went wide with shock as she yelled out to him.

“Moku! Hey! Can you hear me!?” No response came from his body and Mallie began to panic, losing focus on her current fight.

“You should pay more attention to me!” Asiah yelled out as she punched Mallie across the face, sending her flying backwards. The concussive impact caused Mallie’s ears to ring and she began to see double as she struggled to get to her feet.

“I've allowed this fight to continue on for far too long.” Asiah muttered while quickly punching her fists together and forcing her Core Energy outward again. Her eyes turned bright white as the tribal tattoo covering her body started to glow.

Seconds later, Vera’s eyes also turned bright white and she slowly grew larger, both in height and in mass. White flames ignited around her neck and feet, dancing around as the heavy wind blew. Vera’s fangs became longer and the tip of her tail also produced a potent white flame.

Vera’s new appearance was majestic and regal as a white flaming mane formed around her neck, putting a final touch on this terrifying yet beautiful transformation. Vera proudly held her head upwards, confidently showing off the completely different level of power she possessed.

“End this now, Vera!!” Asiah yelled out to her Manifest, ordering her to not hold back any longer.

Vera responded with a devastating roar that sent shockwaves of power, destroying the surrounding trees and rocks. She fixed her frightening gaze towards Mallie and Nioh, feeling ready to eliminate her prey. With immense speed, Vera galloped towards the duo and swiped her massive paw at them.

They leapt out of the way but the force from the blow easily destroyed the land around them, sending large amounts of debris hurtling towards her foes. Despite their attempt at dodging, the attack still caused significant damage to their bodies. As the dust settled, they slowly got to their feet while pushing debris off of to the sides.

As they looked up, the duo realized they were cornered by Vera, not having any chance of escape. She deeply growled while showing off her pristine white fangs, gleaming like sharp blades against her flaming mane. Vera approached menacingly, as though daring her enemies to make a move.

Nioh suddenly stepped in front of Mallie and snarled back at Vera, trying his best to protect his partner. He quickly dashed forward as he swung his paw at her, putting his all into this one attack. Vera easily dodged out of the way and found herself behind him.

Nioh’s back was fully exposed and made for an easy target. She aimed straight for his neck and bit down with tremendous force, sinking her fangs deep into his skin.

Nioh loudly roared out and swiped at Vera’s face, hoping she would let go of him. His efforts were futile as Vera continued to bite down harder and harder, shaking her head with brutal aggression.

“NIOH!! LET HIM GO!!!” Mallie pleaded as she sprinted toward the large flaming liger, trying her best to provide support. A few brief moments went by as Vera chomped down one last time, putting all of her strength behind it.

*SNAP!!* The force completely broke Nioh’s neck, killing the blue bear instantly with no mercy and sending out a visceral cracking sound that echoed through the area. Mallie didn't even get a chance to grieve the loss of her Creature Manifest, because at that same moment, she grabbed her neck and fell to the ground.

Mallie gasped for air as she struggled to crawl along the ground, digging her feet into the dirt. Seconds went by and she eventually succumbed to her fate, perishing alongside Nioh. Their bodies laid still as the tension in the air dissipated. Asiah’s eyes stopped glowing and Vera slowly shrunk back down to her normal size, losing all of the flames and large fangs in the process. Zalthia approached Asiah and glanced at the foes she just defeated.

“Why did she die as well?” She asked with a curious expression.

“For those of us with a Creature Manifest, we're forever linked to our partners in body, mind, and soul. If our Manifest were to perish, we would also lose our lives. The same principle applies to them as well. If I died, Vera would cease to exist and follow the same fate. It's our unfortunate destiny.” Asiah replied while gently petting Vera on the head, thanking her for the help in this fierce battle. She then turned her attention towards Moku in the distance, growing curious about something.

“What about you? Is he dead?” She questioned, wondering how Zalthia’s fight went.

“No, but he might as well be... I used my Manifest on him…” Asiah’s eyes went wide when Zalthia mentioned this, finding it surprising that she resorted to such measures.

“You actually used your Manifest!? I guess that explains the sudden spike of Core Energy I felt earlier. To think he was strong enough to make you summon it...” Zalthia nodded as she looked down at her palm, still vividly remembering the brutal images she saw.

“Yeah, if I didn’t use it, he would’ve leveled this whole area. Doubt we could survive a blow like that. Hopefully I don’t have to use it again... At least, not for a while.” Asiah agreed and fixed her gaze back to Vera, noticing that she was quite fatigued.

“I think we'll need to take a short break. Vera won’t be able to fly in this condition unfortunately.”

“That's fine. We can head back out once the sun goes down in a couple hours.” Zalthia replied, taking a seat and leaning against a fallen tree. Asiah aimed her hand towards Vera, causing her to glow brightly once again.

“You did well, Vera. Now, rest inside of me for a short while.” Vera softly growled as she was absorbed back into Asiah’s body. She took a seat next to Zalthia and they rested before continuing their search for Carmen.