Nyx's enraged shriek, projecting defiance and malice both physically and telepathically, seemed to compete with the violent shockwaves that bounced her around the egg-shaped sphere. The accompanying flash of blinding golden light, like a solar flare, masked the intense rebound that was several times more powerful than the attack that had initiated it. Yet, even as the film-like barrier returned to its oval shape, it was duller and slightly more transparent than what it had been earlier.

Not that it made Nyx happy. Hissing in both pain and annoyance, she drew back the dwindling amount of essence she had under her control. The once vibrant black and blue auras she manipulated were now nothing more than a visible tint amongst the luminous yellow energy that filled the sphere.

Her essence had weakened so much that she was barely able to repel the sickly smooth golden energy that invasively coiled around her body relentlessly. It felt as if it were alive, slivering over her skin while seeking any weakness or gap in her defences. However, even as Nyx prepared for her next assault and repelled the energy, her movement's hadn't paused.

She thrashed around like a crazed beast. Her arms, legs, elbow, tail, head and even teeth smashing or tearing into the barrier whenever she was able. However, unlike when she used her essence, the attacks did little more than disrupt the liquid-like energy swirling around her.

Nyx's struggles were so violent that she barely registered the strange shadows her body made during each eruption of light. Each time she struck the barrier with enough force to cause a reaction, a silhouette far more horrifying that her original form would project onto the glow from the flaming remnants of the formation that seemed to travel alongside the sphere.

Sensing her body growing weaker with every pulse of her core, Nyx snarled while giving her all to push away the essence trying to worm its way inside her body. However, because she had used too much strength the golden, letter-like runes, the restrictions she suffered as she was initially blinded, suddenly appeared across the surface of her body.

Releasing a shriek of frustration as she shivered and squirmed, Nyx briefly fought seals that felt as if they had branded themselves into every cell of her body.

Even though she couldn't see the markings clearly with how bright her surroundings were, Nyx felt like a swarm of fire ants were biting her all over. The fiery, prickly pain only subdued as her struggles weakened.

Even though she was still resisting, without exerting enough energy to go past whatever threshold that would trigger them, the runes seemed to fade as they seeped into her skin. However, it wasn't intentional. Nyx was rapidly exhausting herself.

As her movements became slower and more clumsy, Nyx roared in frustration. The vestiges of her energies retreating to surround her body to try and stop the relentless golden energy from making any further progress.

Yet, just like time is relentless, Nyx could only watch her defences crumble one after the other. As they did, her exertions became weaker, and she became more vocal in her distress. Even the mystical scenery on the other side of the thin barrier, the stunning spectacle of the solar system, couldn't distract her.

"So Close." Nyx eyed the gradually dimming barrier, launching a barrage of attacks and triggering another flash of light that seemed to shake her insides as if she were a washing machine with a brick inside. "I needed... just a little more."

At the back of Nyx's mind, the fear of what would happen if she managed to break the barrier faded along with her hope of achieving her goal. She didn't know what the restrictions on her body would do, but it didn't seem to matter if she couldn't escape. The images of her suffocating, existing in the throws of death until she burnt up in some planets atmosphere or falling into a sun, dissolved. Only to be replaced by the haunting notions of what might be waiting when she reached her destination.

For a brief moment, she pondered what the worst fate would be, only to realise she didn't care. Nyx realised that she just wanted to do something, anything, so she wouldn't have to think about the barrier that blocked her from the abyss. Her sanctuary, and the backup plans to ensure her safety and freedom, vanished in the blink of an eye. They were so close but felt so impossibly far away that Nyx had the notion that if she thought about it too much, she would break.

Growling, feeling the spikes on her back and arms quiver in her fear and anger, Nyx continued to resist to the best of her ability as her prison tore through space. The passage of time seemed to have lost all meaning to the Nightmare. It was only when, mainly because of her burst eardrums, Nyx felt an earth-shattering blast that her mind slightly cleared up as the golden sphere started to take on an orange hue.

"I've arrived."

Flailing as she attempted to turn, not able to rotate easily due to being forced into the centre of the sphere, Nyx was barely able to see the curvature of a mostly blue planet from the corner of her eye. The solar-system's single sun was peeking around the edge, creating a tiny, pin-prick spark as well as revealing small areas of white, yellow, green entwined with a fair amount of blue. Grey-white patches, which Nyx took to be clouds, sporadically covered the colours below.

To her, who vaguely remembered the images of her homeworld, the planet looked strikingly similar to earth if she ignored the landmasses.

The struggles that had slowed as she was distracted by the scene returned with renewed vigour the moment they vanished as the sphere suddenly erupted in flames.

Nyx could feel no heat or warmth from them, no matter how hot and violent they seemed, as the golden, liquid-like energy seemed to spin and flow around her. Strangely, even though it served only to enrage her further, Nyx had the thought that the liquid was protecting her.

Yet, those thoughts soon turned to nothing as Nyx's imagination once again started to bring her fears to life. In her mind's eye, she could see Eos' battle angle form that she had seen in the dome of light, and Lucifer, who was more a yellow-haired, blue-eyed angelic blur in her memories, waiting for her to land. As soon as she did, she would be enslaved or imprisoned.

The thoughts, becoming wilder and more unrestrained, quickly drive her movements into overdrive. As she lashed out, Nyx desperately searched for a solution or way out.

While many ideas flickered through her mind, most bordering on the edges of insanity, Nyx continued to fight. However, her renewed struggles lasted mere minutes before they rapidly slowed.

The liquid-like energy around her was rapidly turning more foam-like, not even allowing her to vent her frustrations no matter how futile it was. What had felt like trying to run through water, now felt like being caked in rapidly drying mud.

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As a final shriek, filled with bitterness and resentment, was projected outwards, Nyx's struggles came to a complete stop. As they did, she fought the urge to close her eyes. The exhaustion was almost irresistible, but Nyx persevered. The feeling that she should experience what she could in the limited time left of her freedom easily overpowering the desire to escape from reality.

Now that she stopped struggling, the golden liquid covered her entirely as it slowly rotated her until her back was facing the direction the sphere was moving. Because of this, she could see the small gap in the flames and star-filled space beyond.

"Falling from the heavens." The scene provoked a thought, one that caused the corner of Nyx's lip to twitch for a moment. "... and into Hell."

Through the gap, Nyx saw a vast orange planet with purple rings circling its centre. The stars seemed to twinkle and blur around it.

The small twitch became a soft, somewhat empty smile as she turned her head to the side. Through the orange and red flames that were violently lashing about as they trailed behind, she could faintly see the other sphere of light. Remembering the human she had almost forgotten, she wondered what part he had to play in her current situation.

She was contemplating the strangeness of his appearance, including the injuries he suffered and the strangely familiar feeling he gave her when another shockwave broke her train of thought.

Seeing one of the smaller balls of residue light essence explode, the slight smile on her face grew as she tried to imagine what it would look like from the planet's surface. However, even as the thought amused and distracted her somewhat, she still curled up as she hugged her legs.

"If..." For the first time in countless ages, Nyx uttered what could have been considered a prayer. However, she couldn't quite work out what she wanted. In the end, she just decided to complete her thought. "...I shall enjoy every day as if it were my last."

As she did, her gaze returned to the small glimpse of space still visible. As she tried to sigh, Nyx realised that she didn't seem to have any air in her lungs. However, even though she wasn't breathing, she didn't feel in danger or stressed.

As the flames became brighter and the small gap started to close, Nyx reluctantly smiled. "Beautiful."

Even with its apocalyptic similarities and being nothing compared to the scenes she had witnessed from the edge of the abyss, Nyx felt that everything seemed so much more vibrant and captivating.

The smile that wasn't a smile vanished when another explosion occurred, and her momentum seemed to decrease instantly.

The change was so drastic that Nyx was catapulted to the front of the egg-like sphere before she could work out what was going on. Yet, instead of being turned into a fleshy paste as she expected, Nyx discovered the golden energy had absorbed the kinetic energy. However, the remaining force was still substantial enough to feel as if she had been stepped on by a giant. Not only that but her vision narrowed to a pin-prick as she struggled to remain conscious.

After blinking a couple of times, her vision rapidly returning, Nys realised that the golden light of the sphere had almost vanished. Around her, fluffy grey clouds reflected the orange glint of fire that still faintly covered the barrier. A little further away, flaming masses of essence continued to shoot through the clouds like shooting stars, seemingly not having suffered the same decrease in speed.

As the firey streaks passed out of her, Nyx shivered. Struggling, she tried to turn around—the fear of what would happen when she hit the ground being overruled by not knowing when.

As she slowly rotated, Nyx was able to spot massive, snow-capped mountains and sheets of ice in the distance. The more she turned, the more green she could see. What she assumed to be vast forests and wide-open grasslands, even a couple of desserts appeared.

Various coloured, stains scarred the scenery with what she believed to be cities. She spotted sprawling black lines, only different in colour to the blue once which she assumed to be rivers, spread out from their epicentre like cracks. Nyx was shocked by how some of the strange clusters of structures, looking akin to termite mounts, reached into the clouds.

However, Nyx wasn't able to absorb much more information as her altitude rapidly dropped to where she couldn't see very far. Continuing to turn, Nyx realised that while her speed was nowhere near as fast as it had been, she was still hurtling towards the ground at a terrifying pace.

Momentarily wondering if her body would regenerate from the impact with all the restrictions placed upon her, Nyx flinched as the golden energy seemed to come alive and rush towards her. Before she could form any form of resistance, it had covered her in what felt like a golden cocoon. The energy was so compact and close to her that she couldn't even blink away the stinging sensation it caused by touching the surface of her eyes.

After another small vibration, and having her sense of gravity thrown around as if she were spinning out of control, Nyx tried to prepare herself for what was to come. At the same time, she regretted wasting so much energy attacking the barrier. She felt that if she had saved it, she might have been able to put up at least a token resistance before they captured her.

"Maybe if I submit..." Nyx tried to shake her head as her resolve crumbled and rebuilt as her emotions spiralled out of control.

Nyx violently flinched as the golden energy seemed to turn into a liquid and melt off her body. It had been without warning, and Nyx instinctively raised her arms to cover her head while she remained curled into a ball.

Even though her eyes had long since adjusted, Nyx rapidly blinked as she waited for the figures, armies or barrage of spells to appear in her peripheral. However, all she met with was a faint breeze that blew across her naked body, causing a shiver to run down her spine, and the partially cloudy sky above.

Occasionally, a small patch of cloud would start to turn orange before a fireball would smash through, streaking across the sky before vanishing from her sight. A few seconds later, Nyx could feel a soft thud from the cold, wet ground under her.

Nyx took a deep breath as she stared upwards without really seeing anything. With every pulse of her core, she expected to sense formations coming to life or the sharp, piercing pain of metal as it entered her body.

After releasing the breath, her body greedily absorbing the trace amounts of dark and ice essence within, Nyx started to frown. As the vapour-like energy was refined by her body, becoming almost nothing by the time it reached her core, her body began to tremble. She had expected the environment to be similar to the dome or sphere, completely void her affinities. However, even though it was extremely faint, she could tell that what she was refining was natural.

Focusing on the steady pulse of her core, Nyx tried to calm her trembling body as she tentatively dug her fingers into the dirt below. While she was feeling repulsed by the squishiness and thick earth essence, she couldn't sense any manipulated energies.

As her bodies shaking increased, Nyx's eyes darted around. While she couldn't see much without moving her head, she could see the tips of deep green trees surrounding her.

After taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Nyx slowly forced her exhausted, battered body into a sitting position. Gradually, as if she was afraid of what she would find, she opened her eyes.

After instinctively squinting to protect her eyes from the imagined attacks that should be raining down upon her, Nyx's face became slack. She was sitting in a golden puddle, in the middle of a massive, muddy crater. Rocks and roots, as well as a few smouldering branches and the fragments wood, lay scattered about haphazardly.

Slowly, her legs giving way a couple of times, Nyx carefully stood up. Her eyes never left the crater's ridgeline as she turned in a circle once. Stopping, she turned counterclockwise before looking up into the sky as her frown deepened.

After clenching her fists a few times, Nyx's body abruptly stopped shaking.

"Run."

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Nyx's body exploded into motion. With the elegance of a newborn calf, Nyx crashed through or around the debris while running on all fours. She moved so fast that she flew for a brief moment as she crested the ridge, crashing into the wall of fallen trees that had been piled up by the impact.

As she furiously pulled her way through the twisted branches, her claws on both her hands and feet left deep gashes. Because of her speed and frantic movements, the moment she broke free from the debris, she faceplanted the ground and left a significant indent in the soft, mushy soil.

Yet, it didn't slow her momentum by much as she rolled and continued to flee into the dense forest. Nyx's movements were clumsy, and she bounced off more than one tree trunk as she flickered between the shadows of the hundred foot high trees and evergreen bushes.