Re:Cursed

Chapter 152 150: Regret

Lysyra wavered at the other side of the amphitheatre, holding her wound that no longer bled. The shock was carved into her face. Never did she imagine that she could be hurt, and now that it had happened, she was assaulted by a wave of emotion she failed to hide.

Pain, fear, and disbelief. All took their turn.

Nyxila didn't doubt for a second the girl had been truthful when she said her true body was somewhere beyond the arena. As long as the Trial ritual didn't stop it, she had no reason to risk herself. She had believed she was safe. Now that Nyxila had poked a hole in that belief, the girl trembled.

"I'm… I'm at the other side of Coral. You shouldn't be able to hurt me here." Lysyra's voice no longer held the strength of confidence. She was on the verge of breaking down. "No name should be that powerful."

Ts͂tll. The Feat hadn't suddenly stripped Lysyra of her abilities. Though it might seem that way. All it had done was bind her soul in an oath to never flee. Her replicas now linked to the soul stronger than before, and would transmit the injuries they received to her true body.

As the girl had just tried, it also meant she couldn't run. Until one of them was dead, Lysyra had to leave a part of herself to fight. That was why she couldn't dismiss all her replicas.

Even in her muddled mental state, Lysyra was quick enough to realise the danger this put her in. She immediately multiplied herself.

Nyxila's blade crashed through the evaporating image of her opponent. Lysyra could still disperse to avoid attacks. Unlike before, it likely had to be done intentionally, so as long as Nyxila struck faster than her opponent could react, the rapier would hit.

None of the replicas were visible. Despite that, it was relatively easy to track them now that she knew what to look for. The ripples were small and quivered noticeably upon even the strongest waves. Nyxila let her heart slow. The aching of her chest relented, but having kept the pace for so long, there was nothing she could do about the lingering pain.

Lysyra was slow. So long as she kept track of those ripples, she didn't need such a dangerously high reaction rate.

She was tempted to lower it all the way, to wash away the disruptive concerns that continued to assault her mind… but she wasn't certain Lysyra had ran out of cards to play. As nice as it would be to rely on prediction and calmness, she couldn't take the chance.

Besides, the more time she gave Lysyra, the more replicas she would make.

Nyxila broke into a sprint. The Bodytwister acolyte's bodies lingered at the edges of the amphitheatre — scared of the rising ocean in the centre — so it was as simple as dashing along the wall to fell the replicas in droves. She needn't even swing her blade. Lysyra had become so horrified of the wounds she might now receive, that she voluntarily popped her mirrors before Nyxila got close.

"Stay back!" Lysyra's panicked voice echoed from a multitude of directions. "I can't die yet. I can't lose to you."

As she ran, Nyxila felt something grab her arm. Reflexively, she twisted. Her blade smashed through nothing but swirling steam. She'd thought it was Lysyra somehow eliminating the ripple from one of her replicas to get close… but the grip remained.

Glancing down to her arm, Nyxila barely stopped herself from tripping into the inky black water that crashed against her waist. It was no longer just the blood that clung to her. Something far more dangerous had appeared.

The skinless hand of an amalgamation gripped her shoulder. Manifested from the blood that hung from her, the hand pushed against her, birthing more of its body into reality.

Corruption had already taken hold of her blood.

This was too quick. It wasn't completely unexpected, but she'd hoped with how lively her blood had become even when outside its body, the monstrous creatures would take longer to manifest. Ideally, they wouldn't appear at all.

She grabbed the inhuman hand, and squeezed until bone shattered beneath chitin. The pulped remaining flesh fell to the waters. Immediately, the waves shifted, and Nyxila was pulled forward as something massive swallowed the offering.

It took all of Nyxila's self control not to peer up to the crowd. That would only confirm any suspicions.

For now, she was probably safe. But should amalgamations start climbing from her body, no amount of corruption in her surroundings could offer an explanation.

Nyxila reached into her robe and grabbed Tarchon's vial of stabiliser. She always kept some on her. It was rather important when your blood tried to kill you if left alone. Though… she was starting to run low now that Tarchon was avoiding her. And not like his house was still around for her to pillage.

She reached for the cork and, of course, that's when Lysyra decided she still had a backbone.

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Three ripples closed in on her at once. Many more close behind. With vial in hand, Nyxila snapped her long spines down into place and loosened the joints between her vertebrae just as she had done against Sekhhath'Ra.

Her body twirled in a way the human form never could. Fist and foot crashed into the first two appearing Lysyras, while the third disappeared long before the blade could slice through her neck. The next seven tried their best to stab anywhere that might kill Nyxila, but Lysyra's lack of experience fighting someone that could tell where she was coming from was obvious. Only two came anywhere near offering a threat. Both vanished immediately; the girl was jumpy at Nyxila's rapid reaction.

Despite her failure to land a lethal blow, this was the most dangerous Lysyra had been. She no longer cared for subterfuge. A dozen knives would appear at once, ten of those disappeared the moment Nyxila reacted. The last two managed superficial wounds to Nyxila.

But was Lysyra satisfied with mere scratches when she'd just revealed her ruse to the world?

Nyxila doubted it.

"I cannot die here." The words came from everywhere. "I will not die until I'm done with the Bodytwisters."

Damn it. Nyxila clicked her tongue, inviting it to nip at her cheek in retaliation. Couldn't you have just accepted the loss? I don't want to deal with your moment of resolution.

As difficult to avoid as Lysyra had suddenly become, she was not nearly as dangerous to Nyxila as Grifvoi's summon had been. Despite that, her countless duplicates meant she could strike without end. Nyxila got a few good hits in; ones that now actually showed up with some nasty bruising upon all the replicas. But that relentlessness… was a problem for Nyxila.

She could feel more fingers. This time, they came from her neck and immediately moved to squeeze her throat.

Nyxila, desperate to keep this new amalgamation from the eyes of the crowd, dove the only place Lysyra avoided. Right in the centre of the amphitheatre. The waves swallowed her whole. She scrambled to get her feet under her, but there was no longer a floor to stand.

Water currents crashed into her from all directions. She was tossed around and before she could so much as tear off the fingers that choked her, she found herself lost.

Up was as dark as down. Shadows lurked anywhere she looked, but it was impossible to tell if it was because of the churning currents, or creatures had already made themselves home in this corrupt sea.

Nyxila twisted — as she would manoeuvre in air — but found water was not so accommodating. It was like nothing she'd experienced before. Despite the weightless sensation, it couldn't be compared to a freefall; the pressure of her surroundings was heavy.

She couldn't swim.

Not really a surprise, considering the only other body of water she'd come in contact with was a waist deep bath. Well, unless she included a sea of blood… though she hadn't exactly spent long in that.

Nyxila crushed the fingers at her throat, and the few other semi-manifested amalgamations across her body. Shifting currents stole the flesh from the palm of her hand.

At least she hoped it was the currents.

She brought the vial close to her chest and popped the cork within her blood. This wasn't the most ideal of situations, but she still needed to stop the manifestations.

The stabilising substance — despite being contained within her blood — immediately caused a reaction with the ocean. Nyxila felt herself tossed around. If only she could bring out her wings; she didn't know if they would work underwater, but some control was better than none.

Her feet left water first. Then followed the rest. For a brief moment, she soared through the air. That moment was enough to take in Lysyra's hundred replicas and the storm that brewed above. Nyxila flipped and landed on her feet near the wall.

A bolt of power ripped from the storm overhead and, upon striking the waves, branched out into a million arcs. They all reached downward. For the instant the lightning lived in reality, its light highlighted the shadows below.

Very real shadows.

Thunder rattled Nyxila's body, but it was nothing on what Lysyra experienced. One loud, synchronised shout of pain and the copies were down to one again. Lysyra bent over, clutching her bleeding ears.

Nyxila had heard the loud bang of thunder once. Lysyra heard it a hundred times. It was a terrible vulnerability. One that stole away the girl's only path to victory.

Gale winds spun the steam into an obscuring storm above them. The crack of lightning had only seemed to accelerate the weather entirely enclosed within the Trial ritual.

Lysyra was overcome with pain. Even when Nyxila approached, she didn't react. It was clear the girl wasn't accustomed to pain of any sort. Having burst eardrums hurt, sure, but not enough that it should take her out of the fight. Not with her life on the line.

It would be so easy to step forward and drive her rapier through that unprotected head. It would be easy… but something bugged her. Something she'd been cycling through her mind since the fight began.

What had Lysyra intended to get out of the Null Scar disaster? It couldn't be an effort to ingratiate herself further with the Bodytwisters; it would only ever bring them the anger of the cults. Not to mention she'd killed the other Bodytwisters.

Lysyra was already leagues ahead of the competition. She doubted it was an effort to get ahead. If that were the case, Nyxila and Grifvoi would have faced knives in the back from the moment they did well in the second Trial. Besides in the Pyramid, she never made an attempt. Considering how perfect her name combination was for assassinations, it was strange.

She wanted to face them in the Final Trial. She needed the recognition. But for what reason? Nyxila doubted it was for vanity alone.

Why had she killed all those acolytes?

The blood had long since cleared from the girl's ears. She no longer seemed in pain. Nyxila watched as Lysyra regained awareness of her surroundings again, but made no effort to stop the creation of replicas.

Wherever the Bodytwister's true body hid, she apparently had access to healing rituals, or something of the sort. Quite beneficial that she could enact rituals and whoever she fought through proxy had no way to stop it. Her names may not be teleportation, but Nyxila struggled to see how that made her any weaker.

"You are working against the Bodytwisters, aren't you?"

It was the only answer that fit. The Null Scar disaster wasn't an attack on those it killed. It was an assault on her cult.

Lysyra froze. She stopped her efforts to create more replicas. If Nyxila wasn't sure before, she was now… and Lysyra knew it.

"Yes." Lysyra didn't move, but Nyxila just knew she was now glaring up into the crowd through one of her replicas. Her eyes burned with an all too familiar hate. "The scum deserve nothing but the worst. I'll make sure they all die. For that, I will be victorious."

Nyxila suddenly experienced kinship beyond anything she'd felt before… and deep regret. Ts͂tll had locked their fate. Only one soul would leave this Trial.