End of Nightmare

Chapter 20: End of Nightmare

The dust began to settle across the ravaged battlefield. Arabella felt the immense power of the elemental cores start to wane as her ability to fuse with the Hexacore Primusyn reached its limit.

Her consciousness separated from the towering golem, and she found herself back in her physical form, kneeling upon the scorched earth. Sweat beaded on her brow as she tried to catch her breath, utterly drained from the mental exertion of controlling such a colossal construct.

She looked up at the Hexacore looming above her, its immense obsidian form casting long shadows in the fading light. Its pulsing elemental cores were dimming, the swirling vortexes of primal power flickering like dying flames. The golem stood unmoving now, a vacant husk without her guiding will to animate it.

But the path of devastation the Hexacore had wrought upon the demonic horde was utterly catastrophic. The surrounding area was littered with the smoldering remains of the enemy forces, twisted and charred forms frozen in their final throes. Gaping chasms split the ground where the golem's massive earthen limbs had struck with seismic force. Deep gouges and blackened craters pocked the landscape as far as the eye could see, grim evidence of its explosive, elemental fury.

Though she had only managed to control the unstoppable juggernaut for a mere three minutes, in that span Arabella had unleashed the full, unified fury of the six primal elements upon their adversaries. The demons' numbers had been significantly reduced.

As Cedric surveyed the battlefield through the eyes of his reconnaissance golems, he couldn't help but feel a surge of pride and relief seeing Arabella emerge alive. Her gambit with the Hexacore, though immensely risky, had turned the tide of battle in their favor.

"Well done, Arabella," he transmitted, the slightest tremor of emotion slipping into his usual crisp cadence. "Your actions have bought us a pivotal advantage. Retreat for now we've done all that we can."

Cedric said looking at one particular battleground the Shadow Wraith slaughtering the demons with ease. Arabella managed a tired smile, before the sounds of renewed clashing of claws and steel reminded her that the fight was still unfolding. The knights that were ordered by Cedric were already coming towards to retrieve her.

The courtyard was painted in swathes of viscous demonic ichor, the ground slick and slippery underfoot. Bodies - or what remained of them cause by the Shadow Wraiths' unstoppable onslaught.

Cassandra surveyed the carnage dispassionately, her obsidian blades dissolving back into ethereal shadow tendrils. Erykas and the others regrouped around her, their shadowsilk robes appearing as dark liquid constantly in motion.

"We have carved a path, but more will continue to pour through the portals," Erykas stated, his deep voice devoid of any fatigue despite the intensity of their battle.

Cassandra gave a slight nod of acknowledgment. "Then we make haste to the cocoon before the Infernals can regroup." She turned towards the remains of the inner courtyard, where a vast, pulsating organic mass dominated the space.

The cocoon writhed and shuddered, a grotesque perversion of nature crafted from demonic biomass. Thick tendrils snapped and lashed the air while cavernous maws opened and closed with endless hunger.

"There is no time to lose," Cassandra intoned. As one, the Shadow Wraiths flowed forward like a rippling tide of infinite night itself. Their forms blurred and fragmented, becoming amorphous clouds of sentient darkness that slipped through the demonic ranks with ease.

Runa took point, her lithe form twisting and contorting through any gap or crevice. She danced ahead, leaving curtains of smothering shadow in her wake to entrap and suffocate any threats. Alayne followed like a vengeful specter, silently cutting down opposition with cold precision.

Cassandra and Erykas moved with implacable momentum, a rolling thunder of destruction that simply erased anything in its path. Shadows swirled into piercing lances and slashing blades without pause, cutting an inexorable swathe towards the pulsing cocoon.

The demons rallied with increasing desperation, throwing themselves bodily in a futile attempt to halt the Shadow Wraiths' advance. Spell fire and raking claws met only impervious darkness, their attacks slipping through the night-formed warriors as if they were mere illusions.

At last, they reached the foul cocoon's periphery. Tendrils as thick as ancient trees lashed at them with berserk fury, but passed through their shadowy forms utterly unhindered. Erykas and Alayne took up overwatch positions, their blades slicing apart any threats that dared approach.

Runa seamlessly flowed around the cocoon's convulsions, seeking out any vulnerabilities or access points with probing tendrils of her own. She locked gazes with Cassandra and gave the slightest nod. "We are ready."

Shadows swirled as Cassandra marshaled her power. The infinite night seemed to draw inward, coalescing around her slender form until she shone like a rip in reality itself - a sphere of perfect, all-consuming blackness.

[Infinite Darkness: Shadow Void]

With a subtle gesture, that oblivion was unleashed upon the demonic cocoon. It struck with the unstoppable momentum of a supernova, the tearing gravitic force of a collapsing singularity given abyssal form.

Alayne's shadowmeld anchored their assault, holding the obliterating blast steady as it ravened into the cocoon's foul biomass. Layer after layer of the alien flesh was scoured away, withering in the face of Cassandra's apocalyptic power.

For a moment, demonic entity seemed to groan in protest under the onslaught. Then, with a violent inrush, the cocoon's innermost sanctum was breached in an implosion of annihilating force.

But just as the shadowy vortex threatened to consume the cocoon entirely, a powerful shockwave erupted from its core. The backlash slammed into Cassandra and Runa, disrupting their attack and pushing them back.

Cassandra gritted her teeth, digging in her heels as the invisible force threatened to overwhelm them. Runa flowed around the disruption, her shadowy form contorting and reforming seamlessly.

Then, a blinding white light flared from the breached cocoon. The searing radiance cut through the infinite darkness like a blazing sword, repelling Cassandra's obliterating power. Her shadow void winked out of existence as the light washed over them.