Nylah burst through a curtain of branches, boots skidding across the damp forest ground as she shoved Amara ahead of her. Her breath came ragged.
"Nylah!" Amara pushed off the ground and rushed to her side, her good hand reaching out. "Are you okay?"
Nylah stopped long enough to drag in a rough breath. "Yeah… yeah." she rasped, forcing a quick nod. "Are you?"
"I'm fine too." Amara replied, wincing slightly as she adjusted her injured arm.
"Good, because we have to run." Nylah instantly grasped Amara's wrist and began pulling her toward the deeper part of the forest.
But Amara held fast, digging her heels in. "No, we can't." she insisted, her gaze fixed on the scorched clearing. "Running only keeps us alive until he catches up. We need to take him down. I can help, like you said I should."
Nylah sighed. "Fine" she said, letting go of her wrist. "But you do know that one direct hit from him can quickly erase you, right?"
"Yeah." Amara said simply. She immediately crossed her arms in front of her chest. And her mana began to flow outward. "Idle Projection." Amara murmured.
Far across the forest, Douglas stalked through the charred remains of the trees he'd vaporized. He raised his Laser Beam Gun, scanning the edge of the destruction.
"Come on, miss…" he muttered. "Where are you hiding?"
He took a slow step forward and instantly heard a soft sound of a boot directly to his left. He snapped his aim and fired. The laser ripped through but struck nothing.
He suddenly, heard it behind him. And he spun, firing without thought but there was nothing there too.
[What the hell is up with her speed?] Douglas's mind raced. [She was fast before but now... now it's like she's teleporting.]
The next sound was Nylah's voice, echoing everywhere in the surrounding forest.
"What's the matter? You seem… a bit frustrated."
Douglas forced a cynical laugh. "By you? Please, don't think so highly of yourself, miss."
Nylah let out a laugh too.
And Douglas felt a soft touch against the back of his neck. He turned violently, swinging the gun but she wasn't there.
"I'm done playing." he growled, swinging his Laser Beam Gun in a wide arc, clearing some of the remaining half-burned trees and rubble.
He saw her silhouette through the haze and didn't hesitate. Douglas fired the beam.
The blast tore through her. And she dissolved into a puff of misty grey smoke.
Her laugh rippled again from the disappearing cloud.
Douglas gritted his teeth. "What the hell is going on?"
In that moment, more Nylahs appeared surrounding him slowly, they were all laughing the same hypnotic laugh. And they were everywhere.
"You bitch!" Douglas screamed, firing randomly. Every laser strike was hitting the figures, they burst into mist as his beam ripped through them.
But each time he killed one, three more appeared giggling... again and again.
His breathing sped
His breathing began to speed up. The fear of of being overwhelmed crawling into his mind.
"No. No, this bitch is trying to mess with my head!"
He spun deciding flight was his only option to regain clarity. So he sprinted through the forest, slamming into the illusions that were in his way.
But they still kept reforming and laughing.
It was in that moment, when the real Nylah slid right close to his ear. And in that split second, she whispered the foul language of the forgotten.
"Rash'tu vel'karuun."
Douglas instantly stopped dead, his eyes turning blank obedience. And stood like a statue, the Laser Beam Gun hanging slackly from his hand.
Nylah staggered away from him, falling to her knees as exhaustion flooded her limbs.
"Damn."
Amara emerged behind her, the illusions instantly evaporating like steam.
"Did we get him?" Amara asked anxiously.
"Yeah." Nylah gasped, forcing herself up. "We got him."
She grabbed the possessed Douglas by the shoulder. "Now." Nylah said, her voice barely a whisper. "Show us where your Golem is."
Douglas turned instantly, his body moving stiffly and began walking in the direction of their Golem. Nylah and Amara, followed him deeper into the forest.
After a few minutes, they stepped out of the trees.
And saw an army of giant stone Golems standing in the clearing.
"What the hell?" Nylah muttered, stopping dead.
As the trio approached, the golems' eyes flared. All fifty turned their heads toward the then in a perfect unison, a low rumble vibrated through the ground as they started walking.
"Are they coming at us?" Amara asked, taking an instinctive step back and her voice shaking.
"Seems like it." Nylah said, her eyes wide. "Let's run!"
Nylah pulled Amara back, sprinting away from the oncoming stone army. Amara glanced back at the possessed Douglas, who was still standing motionless.
"Why are you leaving him behind?" Amara asked.
"His job is to fight for us!" Nylah shouted, still dragging her.
Behind them, the first golem reached him and launched a fist toward his position, cratering the ground with the force of its miss.
Douglas was already above. He fired a beam straight through its head and the massive figure slowly toppled, striking two others in its fall.
Three more swung at him. Douglas leapt across their arms, jumping from head to head while firing precise blasts that pierced through stone. Each impact blew chunks off the Golems but their numbers were reducing slowly.
Nylah finally skidded to a stop, turning back. Douglas was fighting valiantly, but it was a losing battle against the sheer number of autonomous Golems.
"Douglas! Use your Arc Seal now!!" Nylah screamed the command.
Douglas obeyed instantly. He vaulted up the shoulders of the collapsing giants, ignoring the giant hands reaching for him. He landed in an open space as the remaining Golems closed in from all sides.
One of his sigils cracked.
"Arc Seal: SOLAR FLARE DISCHARGE!"
The blast expanded from him, vaporizing every Golem in a perfect ring and erasing them completely. Shockwaves hurled dust and shattered stone across the forest.
Douglas collapsed instantly from the mana exhaustion, falling prone onto a rock.
A storm of glowing particles washed over Nylah and Amara, forcing them to shield their eyes.
When the dust settled, the clearing was empty. Not even rubble remained.
Amara stared, stunned. "Why… isn't the game over? Wasn't their Golem with those ones?"
Nylah let out a short, confused laugh.
"It seems not."
She wiped sweat from her brow and sighed. "Looks like we'll just have to search for the real one."