Lying on the forest floor, Ebonheim struggled to catch her breath, her body bruised and battered from the relentless onslaught of the aberration. She knew she couldn't hold out much longer—she was on the verge of giving up when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
"Ebonheim!" Lira, the druid who had been with the miners when the aberration was unearthed, emerged from the trees flanking the aberration, her own injuries evident from the blood staining her clothing and the pained expression on her face. Despite her wounds, there was a determined glint in her eyes, and she limped toward Ebonheim with purpose.
Ebonheim was shocked to see her—she had assumed Lira had escaped with the others.
"Lira, you shouldn't be here!" Ebonheim called out, her voice trembling with concern. "Go back with the others!"
"I can still fight," Lira replied, her voice filled with determination. "We have to stop this thing, and you're not faring any better than I am right now."
Ebonheim hesitated, torn between her worry for Lira's safety and her desperation for help. But she knew Lira was right. They had to stop this aberration, no matter the cost.
Lira uttered an incantation and Ebonheim watched in awe as the earth beneath the aberration's twisted form began to shift and tremble. Vines and roots surged from the ground, wrapping around the creature's legs and tendrils, binding them in place. The aberration roared in fury as it struggled against its restraints.
"Alright, keep it bound, Lira!" Ebonheim exclaimed, her heart swelling with hope. "Now it's my turn!"
With the aberration temporarily immobilized, Ebonheim knew she had the perfect opportunity to use her Forest's Call ability again. She closed her eyes, focusing her divine energy on the task at hand.
[Divine Ability: Forest’s Call activated]
[Essence] 60 -> 35
Two massive trees, their bark gnarled and ancient, suddenly uprooted themselves and began to lumber toward the aberration. Their limbs creaked and groaned as they moved, their branches stretching out like enormous arms. They towered over the creature, ready to strike at Ebonheim's command.
With the aberration temporarily restrained by Lira's vines and roots, Ebonheim's animated trees relentlessly attacked the monstrous creature, their powerful limbs striking it from every angle. Lira, despite her injuries, focused on maintaining the vines that held the beast in place.
Ebonheim, sensing the opportunity to strike, unleashed a barrage of Enchanted Essence Bolts, each one finding its mark on the aberration's grotesque form.
Lira, her druidic powers surging, summoned gusts of wind to buffet the creature, and lightning crackled down from the sky, striking it with a deafening roar.
But their victory was short-lived. The aberration suddenly unleashed a devastating burst of energy, shattering its restraints and sending the animated trees crashing to the ground. The force of the blast was so powerful that it knocked both Ebonheim and Lira off their feet, leaving them sprawled on the forest floor, gasping for breath.
As they struggled to rise, the aberration writhed towards them, its myriad eyes twitching and darting in every direction.
However, the animated trees were not finished yet. With a groan, the massive trees righted themselves and stood between the wounded warriors and the monstrous aberration. Their branches stretched out like enormous arms, entwining and grappling with the creature's tendrils.
Lira, still weakened from her injuries, was unable to evade the creature's attack. The aberration's tendrils shot forward, striking her with brutal force and sending her flying through the air. She slammed into a nearby tree, her body crumpling under the impact, and fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Lira!" Ebonheim cried, her voice cracking with despair. "Please, no!"
The aberration unleashed another devastating burst of energy. The sheer force of the blast sent the animated trees staggering backward, their bark scorched and splintered as they crashed into the ground. A barrage of tendril attacks cut through the prone giants until they stopped moving.
With the trees destroyed, the aberration turned its attention back to Ebonheim. It advanced toward her, its tendrils writhing and undulating like monstrous serpents.
I can't do this. Her heart pounded in her chest as she backed away. I'm going to lose.
The aberration seemed to sense her fear and pressed its advantage. It lashed out with its tendrils, cutting through the air with terrifying speed. Ebonheim managed to dodge most of the attacks, but she couldn't avoid them all. The tendrils slashed across her arms and legs, drawing lines of blood that dripped down onto the forest floor.
[You’ve taken 30 Necrotic damage]
[Health] 155 -> 125
"Aaaugh!" she cried, gritting her teeth against the pain.
As the aberration slithered closer, she backed herself into a tree. She knew she couldn't outrun it forever, and she was running out of energy. Her breathing was labored, her muscles aching from the strain of the battle.
In a sudden burst of speed, the aberration lunged forward, its maw opening wide as it tried to finish her off. Ebonheim's eyes widened in terror—she willed her Arboreal Stride ability to activate and sunk into the tree behind her just as the maw reached where she had stood, and she emerged from another tree nearby, her heart racing as she felt the creature's foul breath on her skin.
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"That was way too close," she gasped, stumbling away from the monster. I can't keep doing this. I have to find a way to finish it off!
The creature continued its relentless assault, and Ebonheim's body was battered and bruised, her energy dwindling. The tendrils struck her again and again, each hit feeling like a whip tearing into her flesh. She could feel the blood seeping through her white dress, staining it a deep, dark crimson.
[You’ve taken 35 Necrotic damage]
[Health] 125 -> 90
She screamed in pain, clutching at her wound as warm blood seeped between her fingers. Another tendril lashed out, wrapping around her ankle and yanking her off her feet. She hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of her as she struggled to free herself.
[You’ve taken 25 Necrotic damage]
[Health] 90 -> 65
As a particularly wicked tendril caught her across the chest, Ebonheim cried out in pain and fell to her knees. The impact of the hit forced the air from her lungs, leaving her gasping for breath. She clutched at the wound, her hands slick with her own blood.
"I can't... I can't do this," she panted, her vision starting to blur. "It's too strong!"
----------------------------------------
In the heat of the battle, Ebonheim's desperation grew. The aberration's attacks grew fiercer. She tried to counter with her own attacks, but her fear and exhaustion had taken their toll, her enchanted arrows flying wide of their mark.
She knew she was running out of time and energy. Her body ached from the wounds she'd sustained, but she couldn't give up now. "I have to find a way," she whispered, her voice ragged. "I have to beat this thing."
As she fired another arrow, Ebonheim's vision blurred, and she stumbled, her legs threatening to give out beneath her. She knew she didn't have much left in her, but she refused to go down without a fight.
[Attack Hit; 44 Divine Damage to Qliphothic Remnant (Damage Doubled); 0 Charges remaining]
The aberration let out a glottal roar.
As she dodged another tendril, she noticed that the aberration was beginning to show signs of weariness—Its once frenzied motions now sluggish and weak, its attacks less precise.
Wait… it's working? Is it almost dead?! Ebonheim realized that all of their previous attacks had taken their toll on the creature, and a spark of hope ignited in her chest.
She gained some distance and turned towards the aberration slowly roiling its way towards her.
[Essence] 35
She didn't have much Essence left, and her Enchanted Essence Bolts may not have enough power to completely eliminate it. Tempest of the Grove could slowly wear it down, but it didn't last long enough to be effective. She had one last power to try.
"This is it," she thought, desperation giving way to determination. "I have to finish this now, or I'll never get another chance!"
[Divine Ability: Blazing Essence Bolt requires you to be below 30% maximum health to use]
[You do not have the requisite Essence to use Divine Ability: Blazing Essence Bolt]
[You are allowed to convert Health into Essence at a ratio of 3:1]
[Would you like to convert Health into Essence?]
Just do it!
[Conversion initiated]
[Health] 65 -> 20
[Essence] 35 -> 50
Her knees bucked from under her as she felt her life force being drained.
"Okay," she panted, her voice barely more than a whisper. "One last shot. Make it count."
Drawing on her last reserves of strength, Ebonheim activated her Blazing Essence Bolt ability.
[Divine Ability: Blazing Essence Bolt activated]
[Essence] 50 -> 0
As she raised her enchanted bow, her entire body shook with the effort. Pain seared through her veins like wildfire, and her vision swam before her eyes. But she forced herself to focus, to concentrate on the power building within her.
The air around her grew heavy, charged with divine and fire energy. Her iridescent hair seemed to float and shimmer, as if it had a life of its own. The ground beneath her feet trembled, and the wind whispered softly through the trees, as if the forest was urging her on.
The energy within her built to a fever pitch, threatening to overwhelm her. Her heart pounded in her chest, the rhythm growing louder and faster, like the beat of a war drum. And then, with a cry of pure determination, she loosed the Blazing Essence Bolt from her bow.
The arrow streaked through the air, leaving a blazing trail of divine and fire energy in its wake. Time seemed to slow down as the blazing projectile streaked through the air like a comet. The aberration's countless eyes locked onto the arrow, its tendrils reaching out in a futile attempt to deflect the attack.
The Blazing Essence Bolt slammed into the aberration, the impact resonating through the forest like a thunderclap. It shrieked in agony as the divine and fire energy consumed it, its twisted form writhing and convulsing in the blazing inferno. The air around it seemed to warp and distort, as if reality itself was being torn asunder by the force of the attack.
[Attack Critical Hit; Conditional effect triggered; ■■■■■ Divine damage inflicted]
[Qliphoth remanent destroyed]
The Blazing Essence Bolt dissipated, leaving nothing but a smoldering crater where the aberration had once stood. The forest seemed to exhale, the oppressive atmosphere lifting like a heavy fog.
Exhausted and barely able to stand, Ebonheim lowered her bow and looked at the remnants of her foe. Gone...finally, it was over.
"We did it," she whispered as she limped towards Lira. After seeing Lira’s chest rise and fall, Ebonheim’s legs finally gave out beneath her as she collapsed to the ground. "We actually did it."
She rested her arm over her eyes and quietly sobbed in relief.
Lying on the forest floor, Ebonheim took in the aftermath of the battle. The trees were scarred and broken, the ground marred by the struggle. But the aberration was gone, its dark presence banished from her domain.
As the adrenaline began to wear off, Ebonheim's injuries made themselves known, and she winced at the pain. She knew she needed to heal herself and tend to the forest, but for now, she allowed herself a moment of rest.
"I'll fix this," she promised, staring up at the sky through the canopy of leaves. "I'll make it right. But first, just a little rest."
With that, Ebonheim closed her eyes, the sounds of the recovering forest her lullaby as she drifted into a well-deserved sleep.
[Qliphoth remanent destroyed]
[You’ve acquired 1000 Quintessence from defeating the Qliphoth remnant]
[You've acquired 200 Quintessence from completing the Emergency Quest]