That power of hers is pretty tempting, I wonder what would happen if I merged it with Bluestar’s power? She thought before letting out a sigh, Not that I have the space for it. What would that do to my already abysmal uptime?
Hyu out a shriek e and drew her hand up into the air, a pair of spears of amethyst light erupted from the ground and pierced through one of the gnolls, skewering it. How does her power even work? The mind trol element is a , but what did she do to Ao render him in that state? It was like…
She frowned remembering the gaze of that beast wearing A’s skin. She had instinctively thought of the name of the power, she’d known in her gut that it was his power fully realized, fully unleashed. Knowledge of a power is based on instinct, that instinct guides a person to use those abilities. What if, what if there isn’t enough left of the sind? What if all that is left is instinbsp;
How the hell did this woman obliterate that man’s sind? It had made seo Sonya that it was a steady process with the occasional sharp pushes as she lost trol. It would piss A off but nothing more than that, resulting in the expected tantrum that came when he was released. Yet she had crushed his mind into powder, that was the only expnation Sonya could e up with. Her eyes narrowed, Just what is the name of your power, Feng Hyunh?
A gnoll darted at Hyunh from behind, its spear raised as the woman released another volley of amethyst darts at the slowly dwindling warband in front of her. Sonya clicked her tongue, I guess you get to live a bit longer, she thought and drew her kossing it hard at the gnoll’s head. The e-humanoid let out a whimper of pain and surprise as its skull ierced, its body hitting the ground with a heavy thud. The gnolls and Hyunh looked up in fusion as Sonya slid down the side of the yon wall down towards the woman, snatg the knife up from the creature’s head and standio her.
“ovna!” Hyunh snarled.
“Feng,” Sonya quipped with a wink, “Looks like you need some help.”
“I’m fihe woman snapped, whipping around and drawing her finger across the line of gnolls before them with a snap of her fingers. A ray of amethyst light zipped across them in an angry line, cutting through three of their throats. They dropped messily to the ground. Two more darted towards them, bloodlust overriding survival instinbsp;
Sonya darted past Hyunh, keeping her speed close to that of a human as she drove her ko the throat of one while she grabbed the spear of the other and pushed it down towards the ground. She pu in the muzzle before ripping the k of its rade and stabbing it in the side of the head. “So it seems,” Sonya said, standing up to turn and look at the woman who had a finger poi her, a glint of amethyst beading on her fiip. “Is there a problem, miss Feng?”
“You, you’re the problem,” Hyunh growled, “What do you know about Ishtar?”
Sonya tilted her head, feigning fusion, “The mesopotamian goddess? Martin asked me the same question, funny enough. What’s this about?”
Hyunh’s expression pinched a little and she looked down at the bodies of the gnolls Sonya had sin, “You…” She trailed off, “A person named Ishtar was the one behind that speed user that pushed me in the portal.”
Sonya raised her eyebrows, “Well, Marta threw me in after your fiance went berserk, do you have an expnation for that, by the way?”
Hyunh froze, “Berserk?”
“Yes, berserk, I got a look at his eyes, they weren’t human,” Sonya said darkly and turned away, “Put your hand down, I’ve scouted this dungeon ahead of time. You need me.”
There ause as Hyuated, Sonya had hard light at the ready just in case. She have worried, though. The woma out a sigh and walked up to stao her as they watched the st remaining gnolls retreat, realizing that they were outmatched. “Yood with a knife,” Hyunh ented.
“My eyes help, but survival ates more than good senses,” Sonya said cooly, looking down at the gnoll corpse, “Shall we move on? Even if we’re out of sight of the portal, we’re still fairly close. I’d rather be as far aossible in case your man decides to gh and pursue us. I get the impression he doesn’t like me very much,” Sonya said with a ugh.
Hyunh pressed her lips together and looked down at the body as well, “I have a feeling both of us would be in danger if that happened.”
Sonya gnced her way and started walking, “Oh?”
Hyunh snorted as she walked o her, “Prying for how my powers work?”
“The fun of my eyes are public record,” Sonya said offhandedly, “You’re the one who had the chairman put your abilities in the o-know category.”
“So you looked me up,” Hyunh shot back.
“Of course I did,” Sonya chuckled, “I’m not an idiot, Feng Hyunh. Your fiance is powerful but he isn’t smart and his only strong es are you and his father.”
“You know about the hit,” Hyunh muttered as they rounded another er in the winding yon. They navigated around a rockslide that made the passage even more narrow, practically pushing their shoulders against one another.
“Obviously,” Sonya said as she climbed over a particurly obtrusive boulder and turned around to reach down and help Hyunh up. Hyunh stared at her hand and scoffed, climbing up herself. Sonya shot the woman a gnd forced herself not to click her tongue in annoyance.
“Your eyes let you know the name of an ability if you e in physical tact with someone, specifically shaking hands, and that gives you insight,” Hyunh observed as she got atop the boulder with a grunt, she wasn’t as athletic as Sonya. She cracked a grin, “ry.”
Sonya shrugged and smiled curtly at her, “It was worth the attempt. Are you going to tell me what happened with Duong?”
Hyunh hopped off the boulder a walking, staying silent for a moment as Sonya moved to catch up. They walked along the path and occasionally Sonya would redirect them, moving them out of the way of a patrling them around the camp of a group of gnolls waiting in ambush. They didn’t speak again until they had passed a particurly rge campsite that in the past served as the half-way marker of the dungeon. Hyunh gnced her way as they took a quick breather, her expression thoughtful and a little pensive. “You do know your way around here.”
“I told you, I scouted this pce out before we came,” Sonya said, smoothly slipping from truth to a misinf question, “What, did you think I would let a group of VIPs go into a dungeon I’m monit without taking precautions?”
“I thought you wanted me dead,” Hyunh said only to frown when Sonya s her. She looked away and bit her lip before looking at the ground, “Duong was out of trol, losing his grip, he was killing the staff at his residence when he lost his temper,” She expined, “He needed a leash,” She pulled a pieethyst out of a pouch that she pulled from her pocket. “I provided that leash, though I think I may have pushed too hard.”
Sonya raised her eyebrows in surprise, putting on an oscar worthy act, “What? Mind trol?”
Hyunh pressed her lips together further, was that shame? “It was either that or let him go on a rampage and waste what value he had to me, though that seems to be a moot point now.” She said holloushed away from the yon wall, starting dowh, “Happy?”
“I have an expnation at least,” Sonya said, “Though I’m surprised you were able to hold someone so powerful down for so long.”
“I have a lot of stamina,” Hyunh shot back, “Quit while you're ahead, ovna.”
Sonya held up her hands, “Fine, fine,” she chuckled as she followed the woman around the bend, her eyes fixed on the spot between her shoulderbdes for just a moment. She looked away and moved to walk beside her, stopping when they hit the crest of a cliff that dropped down into an even deeper yon below. There was a narrow path to the right winding around it, but their eyes both focused oeral war camp that sat in its depths.
Hyu out a low breath, “Dungeons are truly frightful.”
“They are,” Sonya agreed and owards the path, one side of it was sheer wall while the other was a long, trepidatious drop down into the mist of the gnoll army below. Sonya had been waiting for this. They moved along the perilous route for a few minutes, carefully ing along the path as it tapered in a downward slope. At the end was a fresh opening in the yon just out of eyeshot of the gnolls. Sonya wrinkled her the st of smoke and burni down below, not sure what the gnolls were eating. She did her best not to think about it, instead looking for just the right time.
“ovn- Sonya?” Hyunh said, giving Sonya a moment of pause.
“Mm?”
“Whe out of here, I owe you an apology, perhaps there’s a ce we work something out. So long as Duong is dealt with,” She said hollowly, “With him like that, I have nothi.”
Sonya’s pleasant demeanor colpsed in an instant, her smile turning down, her head tilted forward, casting a slight shadow over her glowing eyes. “I know,” She said, and created a panel of light beh Hyunh’s feet, pulling it out from under her and towards the ledge.
“You-” Hyunh started before letting out a shout of surprise, she turned, wide eyed, reag up in desperation as she began to topple over the ledge. Sonya snapped her hand out and caught her hand, g tight and holding her aloft as the Gnolls below all looked up at the source of the sudden noise. Sonya met Hyunh’s gaze coldly.
Analyze.
Sonya’s eyes went wide and in a fsh she drew the sed power out of her warehouse. Instinct rushed through her and uanding came . She spluttered, then ughed as Hyunh stared up at her wide eyed, “So that’s how it was! That’s how you did it! You’re one of the special ones! Did you even realize you had two abilities? How rare that is?” She ughed, “Amazing.”
“Sonya! Damn it, what are you doing?!” The woman screamed at her, dangling from Sonya’s grip.
Sonya paused and blinked, “ht,” She created a panel of light beh the woman's feet and lifted her up to stand floating just a foot away from the ledge. She released the woman’s hand before snapping back out to grab her by the throat, “That’s better,” She said, letting out a relieved sigh, “Finally…”
Hyunh opened her mouth to speak but Sonya just squeezed down ohroat, “Shhh, I’m sav this,” She said, holding a finger up to her lips. “Don’t bother using your ability, I’ll just drop you, dear.”
The woman froze and tried to choke out a response, rage arayal blossoming on her face. Sonya returned her gaze and titled her head to the right, “You want to know why?” She asked, “Why all this has happened? You, Duong, your family, your syndicate?”
Horror and realization came , “Ish-tar,” she forced out, gagging.
Sonya nodded, “Mhm, good girl,” Sonya said as if talking to a child, “Now, I suppose you of all people deserve to know.”
She put the jade heart aulled out another ability, share the path. From their physical tact she filled the woman’s mind with everything. The previous timeline, what had e of it, what Feng Hyunh had done, who she’d allied with, the people her Amethyst Order had killed, as well as Sonya’s as throughout the current timelihe woman choked, her face going paler and paler as tears streamed down her face. Sonya watched her spirit break as the st bit of sparkle dimmed in her eyes. “Yht this on yourself. Goodbye Herald,” Sonya said to the limp woman.
She let go and released the hard-light pte holding her up.
Hyunh fell, her arms flopping limply for a moment before she snapped out of it, a scream wreng itself from her lips as she hurtled towards the gathered gnolls below. Sonya stood on the ledge and looked down, watg as they tore her apart. She didn’t look away until the screams finally died down, a wave of relief and exhaustion washing over her as her shoulders sagged.
Sonya read the words that came from Broker, internalized them, but her mind was elsewhere. She had avehe past timeline’s Marta. That was all that mattered to her in the moment as her body felt weak from a wave of grief and triumph that made everything ache. She closed her eyes even as the gnolls below shouted at her, searg for a way to get to her.
She ighem and pulled Heavenly Jade Heart from her warehouse. A rush of mana roared through her veins, her body briefly inundated with power. The ability ure, no quirks, no additional funs, no spells, nothing to inhibit patibility. It ower source, the power source that had given Hyunh the capacity to crush A’s mind and maintain trol of a Peak Mythic. With it, she could ie magic abilities if she wahe word ‘uptime’ would be a thing of the past.
She smiled to herself and tilted her head up to the sky as the howls of monsters became a choral symphony to her ears, a soundtrack to Ishtar’s true birth, here in this desote pce.
“Merger.”