In an instant, the earth around the square erupted. Stone and soil shot upwards, coalescing into monstrous limbs that reached out to the panicking townsfolk. These arms of the city, born of Ava's will and the land's fury, swung with the grace of a maelstrom. They slammed into the soldiers and priests that surrounded the crowd, sending them flying like ragdolls in a storm. The air was filled with the sounds of bones breaking and metal clattering as the once-invincible barrier of fear crumbled before the might of Ava's fury.
Meanwhile, with each swing of his axe, Arteus's anger grew, his every blow resonating with the power of the earth. Sparks rained down like a fiery tempest, painting the morning sky with a display of defiance. The purple light of the sigil in the sky grew more intense, the arcane symbols pulsing in time with the heartbeat of the city. Yet, the barrier around Tobias remained unyielding, a bastion of corrupted divine might.
The ground trembled again, but this time it was not from fear. From the depths of the earth, the mutilated bodies of the children began to rise, their lifeless forms floating in the air as if drawn by some unseen force. They ascended to the pulsing sigil, their eyes open but unseeing, their tiny limbs outstretched in a silent plea for mercy. The sight was a macabre tapestry of innocence lost, a grim reminder of the atrocities committed in the name of the prophecy.
As the bodies reached the peak of their ascent, the purple light of the sigil began to change, the color draining away like the life had been squeezed from a bruised fruit. The purple hue morphed into a deep, crimson red, as if the very essence of the children's lifeblood had been absorbed by the arcane symbol. The air grew thick with a coppery scent, and a low, mournful wail seemed to rise from the earth itself, a lament for the innocents claimed by the prophecy's dark embrace.
Millie and Lilly, standing alongside Ava, could not hold back their horror. They gasped and gagged as the pungent stench of death and decay washed over them, a noxious reminder of the true cost of the false prophet's pursuit. Their eyes filled with tears, not just from the overpowering odor, but from the sheer weight of the atrocity that unfolded before them. The sight was too much to bear, a stark and terrible revelation of the true face of the prophecy they had been chasing.
Tobias's smile grew wider as he watched the chaos, the screams of the townspeople a symphony to his madness. The priests, their faces twisted in a macabre dance of ecstasy and malice, dragged cage after cage to the newly risen altars. Each cage contained a child, some crying for their mothers, others silent in shock, their eyes wide with fear. The children were bound in shackles, their tiny bodies bruised and malnourished. Their wails pierced the morning sky, a heartbreaking counterpoint to the priests' chanting.
But amidst the horror, Millie's sharp eyes found Gracie, her body limp in one of the cages. Her heart skipped a beat, and she knew she had to act. "Lilly, to the cages!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the cacophony. "Gracie's there!"
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Lilly's gaze darted to the cages, and she took off, dodging the panicked townsfolk and the writhing stone limbs. "Ava, protect her!" Millie yelled, her voice strained with desperation.
Ava's eyes never left the crimson sigil. "I know," she murmured, her voice a low rumble that seemed to resonate with the earth's anger. And with that declaration, her body began to change. The struggle was evident as she fought against the darkness Tobias had summoned forth, her arms stretching and multiplying, each new limb emerging with a sound like the cracking of dry boughs. The ground around her shuddered with each new addition, her body becoming a living embodiment of the chaos she sought to quell.
But Lilly had no time to marvel at Ava's transformations. The moment she heard Millie's words, she dashed through the terrified crowd, her heart racing like a wild stallion. The ground was unsteady beneath her, the tremors growing stronger with each step, but she pushed on, her eyes fixed on the cages that held the city's stolen children.
The soldiers, their faces contorted by the same madness that had gripped the priests, stepped into her path. Their eyes were cold and lifeless, their swords drawn and gleaming in the pulsing red light. Lilly's hand instinctively flew to the hilt of her dagger, her mind racing with the knowledge that she was vastly outmatched. Yet, she did not falter. The thought of Gracie, her little sister, fueled her courage like a roaring bonfire in the dead of winter.
Suddenly, one of the monstrous limbs that had risen from the earth lunged forward with surprising speed. The soldiers, caught off-guard by the sudden movement, had no time to react. The limb, an extension of Ava's will, slammed into the line of men with the force of an avalanche. The crunch of bone and the clang of metal filled the air as the soldiers were crushed beneath its weight, their lifeless forms scattered like leaves before a gale. The shockwave sent Lilly stumbling, but she managed to regain her footing, her eyes never leaving the cage that held Gracie.
With a fierce determination etched into every line of her face, she sprinted toward the altars, dodging the flesh arms that continued to rise from the ground. Each step brought her closer to the horror she had feared most, her heart pounding in her chest like the drums of war.
And then, without warning, something struck the building to her left with the force of a thousand hammers. The ancient stones groaned and cracked, the very air around her seeming to split apart. The impact sent a shower of debris raining down, a cacophony of destruction that drowned out the screams of the townsfolk. The structure buckled and crumbled, the dust and rubble billowing outwards in a cloud that briefly obscured the scene of horror from her view.
Through the dust, Lilly's eyes found Arteus. He was on the ground, his axe embedded in the remains of the building's rubble, his body a statue of unyielding fury. "Are you okay?" she screamed over the din, her voice a desperate plea amidst the chaos.
The ground trembled again, and before he could even begin to answer, a monstrous form shot forth from the sky. Six arms, each ending in razor-sharp claws, sprouted from a torso that had not one but six mouths, all speaking in a cacophony of ancient tongues. The creature's eyes burned with an unearthly fire, and as it landed, the ground beneath it cracked and splintered, sending a shockwave that sent Lilly flying through the air.
-To Be Continued-