He looked down.
In his hands Felix held an orb no bigger than his fist, matte and a green so dark it was nearly black. It spun, quickly even in his enhanced senses, and within that spinning there was a terrible, awful dissonance. As if in a dream, Felix cast it forward, hand thrusting out at the Guardian before him.
The wretched dissonance unraveled the frozen tremolo, time resuming with a furious lethality. The orb blasted forward like a shot and the Guardian...dodged it.
Still, it passed within inches of the blood beast's flesh, and it left a trail of dissolving meat and the monster screamed. It was agony unlike anything it have ever known, and it's body undulated away from the horrid spell's passage. But not fast enough. The orb zipped through several broken swords and impacted Felix's bag, tearing through leather and burst apart the locked box within.
The box exploded.
A fireball as big as a house subsumed the Guardian instantly, so powerful it threw Felix back like a ragdoll and even caught the second Guardian in its radius.
Felix landed hard on his ass, and he came back to his feet haltingly, more than a little woozy from discharging so much Mana at once. He peered into the fire, which twisted around itself and poured thick smoke into the dark sky above. There was no evidence of his opponent, their body entirely engulfed in that fireball, while the second Guardian stumbled painfully out of the flames before half falling to its side. Felix blinked and backed away, the monster entirely too close for comfort, and the wretched blood beast fixed him with a baleful eye.
"You...cannot...kill...us," it wheezed, the bronze spikes rattling and buzzing with every word. "We...cannot...die. She...promised...."
Felix didn't know what to say, so naked was the hate and sorrow on its rat-like face. He'd almost feel pity if it hadn't just tried to kill them.
"We are...chosen!" The blood beast lunged forward, attempting to grab Felix; but he'd learned his lesson from the Orit, and used Relentless Charge to zip backward. It cost him in Mana and Stamina, but it was worth it. The monster fell flat on its face, his legs scrabbling against the hard ground, and it began to roar.
Beyond the Guardian the fireball had died away, instead replaced with a crimson glow, one that began reversing the explosion. The fire and light and air all collapsed upon a single, brilliantly red point. Something bright and blood red ripped from the ground where the first dead Guardian had been, and the second, chattier one began to whine in terror.
"No! No!" It cried, pushing itself away. "We are...one...with the Maw..."
Then a blood red light tore from its chest to join the crimson singularity. It dropped to the ground, dead.
You have defeated a Bloodtainted Guardian (x2)!
You have earned XP!
Felix shook, like a leaf in the wind. His Health, Mana, and Stamina were all critically low and his body was only barely coping. Luckily, his Stamina and Mana began to regenerate quickly...his Health would take far longer.
Acid Stream is level 25!
Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier in Acid Stream!
You Gain The Following:
+10 INT
+10 ALA
Rarity of the Skill has upgraded!
Acid Stream (Rare) has become Wrack And Ruin (Epic)!
Wrack And Ruin (Epic), Level 25!
Nothing withstands your calamitous might! Not earth, not stone, not flesh. Potency, density, and speed increases moderately with Skill level.
The thrum of power echoed through him, and he smiled despite the fissure of pain that followed. The undeniable song that for a brief moment overwhelmed the constant concerto that was the Mother's symphonic breath. This was a chorus of life and power and possibility, pouring through him, into him, as he grew past his own limits once again.
The glowing red light slowly grew softer, then floated gently to the ground, landing a few feet away with a soft plink. He glanced at it before a soft whine captured his attention. Magda lay on the ground fifty feet away, and Pit was nearby, nosing her entirely too still hand.
He stumbled toward them, but before he could get very far, two things happened in quick succession. The first, a notification:
Hidden Quest Complete!
Survive The Labyrinth!
You have bested the final guardians of the Labyrinth and are granted your just rewards!
And then, the massive door began to open.