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Chapter 2
- Eternal Struggle -
"... Let the Eternal struggle... BEGIN!"
At the end of the Feral Beast's howl a trio of energy disks shoot forward from the Feral Beast. Slowly the blackened violet flame bulldozer like wheels fan out , barreling towards the young priestess, leaving a scorched earth path behind.
Without being fazed she throws up a barrier, far in front of where she stood. She begins to conjure up her next spell just before the center energy wheel contacts with her barrier. The two make contact, but the expected explosion did not come when both powers collided. Instead, the dark energy wheel of the Feral Beast spins slowly against the barrier of of the young Priestess; increasing its rotation speed with spin before shredding through the barrier.
The barrier shatters and the three dark wheels barrel down even faster then before they collided into the barrier. The young priestess stares at the raging darkened violet wheel steam rolling towards her as the other two flew off course passed her. She stabs her staff into the ground and raises her right bare hand, with nothing more than three brass like rings inscribed with ancient ruins of Azar.
"By the power of Azar, HALT!" she commands out loud before impact.
Just before contact a bloom of invisible energy flares over the young priestess' hand. The dark energy wheel comes to a near stop, barely spinning but not advancing any closer. She gives a surprise stare at the dark energy mere millimeters from the palm of her hand, unknown whether to be stricken by the rings power or the power of the Feral Beast.
Electric like ripples spark from the dark energy of the Feral Beast, clashing aginst the energy of the ring. The dark wheel starts to spin faster, with its speed growing with each full spin. Her arm starts to shake being drained as she resists against the dark energy. The dark energy steadily inches its way closer to her body as it pushes her hand back into her, tingling in numbness. The dark energy beings to singe the priestess. She grits her teeth, resisting the Feral Beast's energy but it seem that it wasn't possible. Quickly with the last remaining ounce of feeling in her arm she slings the massive dark energy wheel completely over her as if she was a speed bump.
She goes down to one knee, with other hand grasped on her staff supporting her up right. Panting, she looks too her hand that was being tickled by the Feral Beast's energy, drained of feeling. One of the rings crackle with hairline size cracks, that quickly grew and spread entirely across the ring. She stares witnessing a sacred a treasure of her people deteriorate before her eyes, until finally falling to pieces off her finger.
"Rise..." the Feral Beast growls lowly, "Destiny awaits..."
She looks up seeing the Feral Beast stand only several yards away, staring down upon her with its cold canine eyes. She grunts out a sigh and stands to her feet, regaining her fighting stance. She stares back at the Feral Beast, trying to keep an unfazed expression.
"Strike me!" It then leans low waiting for an action, preempting the next attack of the young priestess.
Her hand flashes forward, spewing out a white streak of energy aimed at the Feral Beast; surprisingly the Feral Beast doesn't take any evasive action. The white energy strikes a frontal leg of the Feral Beast, making the entire Feral Beast slowly pulse glow a vibrant white. The Feral Beast squints it's eyes, taking the infliction from the priestess' energy.
A couple of seconds pass and the energy faded away off the Feral Beast's body. It opens its eyes, "Is that all you have, Arella?"
"Don't speak my name foul beast," she scolds coldly, "You have no reason to talk to heir of Seeress-"
The Feral Beasts chuckles sitting down unfazed by the young priestess' presence and her desire for vengeance, mocking her.
"Such arrogance..." the Feral Beast comments, "You to claim yourself as the Azarath's next Seeress?" She keeps her ground and her stance, not letting him interfere with her concentration. He gives a quick snort, "You can't even faze me... Seeress..."
She maintains her focus staring at the feral beast, waiting for the feral beast to move. The feral beast chuckles wickedly with eyes closed and head tilted to the ground.
He looks back up to the young priestess steel to fading lilac eyes zoomed into her violet eyes, "You amuse me Arella..." he starts off coolly. He steps once forward disarmingly, she maintains her ground and mind. His ears turn to her, "You portray to be unsettled by my presence and words; but I see through your eyes that you are afraid..."
She still retains her stance but gives a deep breath of discomfort, still staring off the feral beast. The strategy foreseen by the young priestess was to stay far away from the Feral Beast as much as possible. It was suicidal for a spell caster to go against the massive paws and large jagged dagger like teeth of the Feral Beast. But the Feral Beast's power was unseen... this worried the young priestess.
The feral beast tilts its head in wonder, "Nothing to say, eh?" it then muses.
It takes a brief trot and stops mere yards away from the young priestess, who still maintains her ground, not yielding an inch nor a flinch.
The feral beast leans it's head down coming to eye level of the Seeress, staring her directly into her eyes. "I didn't desire your mother Arella..." he starts a loud sinister whisper, "I desired you." He takes a deep sniff of her scent. It gives a quick euphoric shake, "I will devour you Arella; I will devour your flesh, your life..." he pauses coming closer to her, "... and your soul..."
She swings her staff bashing the Feral Beast's nose. The feral beast steps back giving a small shake of its head. It snorts loudly before giving a ground shaking roar. It chomps its jaws close, quickly eyeing the young priestess.
"Your soul will be mine..." the Feral Beast finishes its sinister whisper before belching out flurry of streaming dark energy bolts aimed at the young priestess.
She slams her staff before her, the head of the staff swirls a neon blue energy which seemed to have deployed some sort of protective field. The dark bolts streak pass and pelt the area around her, one strikes the protective field barely deflecting it away from the young priestess' body. The bolt strikes the ground inches behind her booming a tiny explosion. The dark energy brushes against the young priestess, but oddly it did not harm her.
The staff immediately shorts out and the protective energy spurs to a halt and fades away. The Feral Beast again barks out another salvo of dark energy bolts and again she slams her staff before her... but nothing happened. She throws up her hand quickly for a barrier of her own energy, but nothing conjures. A bolt strikes her body, making her stumble back a few steps.
She recovers from the attack, but finds her self backsliding from the clamping jaws of the Feral Beast. She punches the nose of the Feral Beast shouting "Zinthos!" She blinked in surprise, the feral beast blinks as well unfazed, before swatting her to the side with one of its massive paw.
After a brief tumble on the coliseums dirt ground, she picks herself up. "Why are my powers failing?" she whispers lowly to herself.
"Get up, time to eat..." the Feral Beast says from behind.
She gets yanked up by her cloak and his hoisted up into the air. She struggles to wiggle free from the teeth of the feral beast. The feral beast dips his head down, nearly letting her feet touch the ground. Realizing what the Feral Beast was going to do, the young priestess detaches her cloak. She falls to the floor as the Feral Beast flings the cloak in the air, then as if the cloak were a Frisbee he jumps at it chomping down on it in mid air.
The Feral Beast lands on all fours with a small shake of the ground, it is then he notices that the young priestess was not within his jaws. "ZINTHOS!" the young priestess roars. A large white spiraling steam of energy collides into the Feral Beast, force pushing him back. It digs it claws into the ground resisting the energy as it continue to push him away. The energy dissipates, once again they find each other at a stare off.
The Feral Beast sticks the young priestess' cloak out his mouth. It gives a small chuckle, before slurping it up like a spaghetti noodle and gulps it down with ease. He gives a light satisfied sigh, "Your cloak is a foreshadow of what is coming for you, Arella."
"That cloak was my mothers! Give it back! You gluttonous Beast!"
The feral beast leans back, "You can have it back! when I eat you!"
The Feral Beast leaps forward, the young priestess unleashes a flurry of white energy bolts as the Feral Beast bounds. It takes multiple hits, none of them forcing a flinch. It lands shaking the ground unleashing a small bloom of its sinister energy from each of its paws. The small waves tickle against the young priestess's ankles, not causing any harm.
The Feral beast leers at Arella with an hungry face, "You look yummy Arella..."
"... Zinthos..." she chants calmly with elegant movements of her hands. She throws out both hands, cupped at the Feral beast, "Saint's Light!"
The feral beast tilts its head in wonder after three seconds watching the young priestess stand there still with hands cupped, "Was that suppose to alter me?"
Arella blinks and throws her hands out again, "Saint's Li-" she froze seeing the face of the feral beast inches from hers. She stares into one of the feral beast's dinner platter eyes, seeing her reflection in the blackened pupil. "Azar... hel-"
The feral beast's snout sweeps her from the side knocking her down to the floor. The feral beast head goes just above the downed young priestess's body, "You seem a little tense... I am going tender you up a little," it then takes a big sniff, "You smell tasty."
Arella Whirls around with her staff, shoving the staff up the snout of the feral beast's snout, "Tara'Kala!" The feral beast whimpers pulling back quickly, snorting attempting to sneeze out the staff. The nostril the staff is jammed in shines a vibrant neon blue, sparks begin to emit from it.
The muzzle of the Feral Beast surges and crackles with electricity, rippling around its muzzle. The feral beast shudders, wincing with eyes shut with each surging ripple as it attempts to the paw out the staff. The feral beast manages to sneeze out the staff...
"Saint's Light!" Arella chants out.
Standing straight, with hands cupped in front front of her, arms extended out; a white flash blooms out darkening the surrounding area-
There's pounding on the door, "Rae its almost time for our monthly training session! Hurry up before Robin starts squawking on us for being late!"
Raven sighs rising from her bed, she grabs her cloak, "Once again interrupted on a good part."
Malchior gives a small chuckle, "As always..." he comments referring to his tale of his book.
Raven gives a small smile, "As it would seem."
"Come on Rae!" Cyborg hollers from down the hall.
"I have to go, see you in a while Malchior."
He gives a small nod. "I shall wait here for your return, Raven."