The labyrinthine halls of the courts collapsed around Lowe, a cacophony of crashing stones and splintering wood echoing his frantic escape. He moved with desperation fueled by the imminent threat and the relentless pursuit of two Joanne Belloc clones. The walls cracked and crumbled, corridors collapsed, and rooms came crashing down as Lowe dashed, his every step a dance with destruction.
Two Joanne Belloc clones pursued him relentlessly, their curses they cast ricocheting off disintegrating walls and crashing onto the failing floors. Spells like Aquaria, Aestus, Alea Iacta Est, and Memento Mori painted the air with flashes of light of many colors, their effects unknown but he wasn’t eager to find out. Lowe, fueled by the imminent threat of the two Joanne clones, had injected his strange concoction as he fled, transforming into a warg, a desperate beast on the run.
On all fours, his tattered clothes clinging to his transformed body, Lowe raced through the crumbling halls. His jaws held the Luminescence, a pulsating beacon absorbing the surrounding Aether. Its glow flickered in tandem with Lowe's increasing desperation, the very essence of his survival clutched between his teeth.
The once-yellow brick walls and red wallpaper that defined the corridors now crumbled, swallowed by encroaching branches and roots. The chaotic path led Lowe towards the entrance, and as time pressed against him, the building threatened to bury him beneath its ruins.
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As Lowe approached the entrance hall, his wolfish form gradually turned humanoid. Exhausted, he rolled over the debris after launching himself into the air instead of descending the stairs.
Alouqua, Naga, and Kyrie waited outside, their eyes wide with a mix of concern and surprise at Lowe's tumultuous appearance.
“Enemy incoming!” Alouqua yelled, getting ready to fight the new threat. However, the two Joannes remained at the top of the stairs.
The two clones, momentarily static at the entrance, became Lowe's unwitting prey. Seizing the opportunity, he channeled the charged energy from the Luminescence. With fervent determination, he unleashed the radiant light of the cross upon the two clones. A fiery explosion engulfed them, obliterating them for good.
Gasping for breath, Lowe found momentary respite. The immediate danger subsided, and the collapsing building, though still a threat, no longer pressed to fall on him. The Luminescence dimmed after its exertion.
“Are you OK?” Alouqua's called his attention.
His bulky wolf transformation had torn his clothes, leaving them baggy and loose. Badly wounded, he bled from a cut on his head and his left flank. He tried to reach her but a limp on his right leg didn’t let him stand on his feet.
“Eat this,” Alouqua offered a red apple, approaching him.
“Thanks,” Lowe said. Weakness coursed through his limbs, and he struggled to maintain his upright posture, there wasn’t anything to lay his back against. The world spun around him, his vision dizzy and blurry. The toll of the escape weighed heavily on his battered form.
“Have you seen two children, Bietka and Ravi?” Alouqua asked him.
“I’m sorry, but no idea.”