Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Three - 163Holy shit, this is high up.
Getting up onto the Queens had been their first challenge. The creatures flew fast and high, and the imposing size of them was like trying to jump onto a super-fast rail car the size of a skyscraper. Thankfully, they had Pit. Felix few up first. They had to time it perfectly to avoid any of the other Queens' attention, and that was far harder than it seemed at first. But the two of them made it up there, though Pit was barely able to lift him that high, and then only with judicious use of Reign of Vellus to give them a kinetic kick.
Vess had it easier, utilizing her specialized Dragoon Skills to launch herself into the air and just about soar. She had enough juice to even carry the two mages.
Pit had to return for Evie and Harn, though the former had recovered some use of her legs. Still, she wasn't up for jumping.
As the others arrived, Felix crouched low upon the Queen's back, closely inspecting the pulsing sigils that covered its hide. As always, it was a disquieting thing and appeared almost volatile, but when Felix's foot touched it hadn't exploded or burned him. It seemed safe enough. What's more, the Queen hadn't even reacted to their presence.
We're like ants to them. Just like I hoped. Felix grinned. He'd dropped his shifted form to keep him lighter for Pit; his Skill added about thirty pounds of muscle onto his already heavy frame. The tenku huddled nearby, his wings tucked close in the immense wind, and he looked exhausted. Thanks, bud. Rest for now.
Convergence.
A flash of light later, Pit joined within Felix, and they both breathed a sigh of relief. It was comforting for some reason, holding his Companion so close. Felix suspected a large part was not having to worry about him.
Can't get into trouble if you're with me, right? Felix felt Pit's warbled response and laughed. Yeah yeah. I get into enough trouble for the both of us. Thanks.
The Queen shifted beneath them and the sigils flared as it completed yet another circle around the bore. The three of them were flying in formation, each one dropping burning lines of magic down into hole with every pass.
"AH!" Atar shouted as he nearly lost his balance, and slammed his metal rod down. The sharp end stabbed down into the Queen, but thankfully neither the mage's Strength nor his weapon did more than poke the beast. Vess' dark hand grabbed him by the front of his tattered robes and kept him from falling off the beast's back.
"Blind gods, Atar," Vess hissed. "Be more--AHH!"
The Queen bucked beneath them again, and this time Vess went flying along with the mage.
Shadow Whip!
What Dwells Beneath!
They both fell off the side of the Queen, practically sucked into the air by the wind. A black tendril snapped outward and entangled both mage and warrior, and Felix had to shift his form in order to hang on. Felix's bone's shifted and cracked, healing quickly but not painlessly as his body bulked up and changed. Disgusted, he spat out his flat teeth and watched them fall away from the side of the Queen. Black talons dug deep into the Queen's scaly hide, and even then he was dragged back along its length for nearly twenty feet before he stopped and could reel them in.
What Dwells Beneath is level 35!
Shadow Whip is level 33!
Bloodline Progression is 90%
The Queen beneath them gave a stentorian bellow.
God damn it!
We live.
We hunger.
We...yearn.
A dim sentience had erupted within Them, and They That Were Queen raised Their multitudinous heads and roared a challenged into the burning skies. None but Its Sisters answered, for none alive could stand up to Them.
None but One. The King.
Their King.
Even now, Their Sisters spun the incandescent power of Their Father. A ritual that They understood in their bones and enacted without conscious thought. One that would break Them free of this small world and into the next, the land beyond, where Their Father waited.
We will rise! Screams in the sky, Their Sisters echoed Their exultation. We will triumph!
We will feed!
Pain.
One of Its Sisters bellowed and the sharp sensation rippled through all of Them.
What is this? Pain was not new to Them, and it had once been a dim memory. Something that happened when They were smaller, weaker. That was before the Betrayal, when Their Fourth had been torn apart. Eaten by a predator unknown. Now pain had returned. Now it tore at Their Sister as They flew just ahead, a terrible, gushing pain against Their flanks.
As one, the Sisters turned fully half their serpentine necks and spat streams of white flame outward. The stone around them charred, melted, turned to red-hot slag that no foe could hide behind.
Still the pain persisted.
Then They saw it. The creature...no, creatures were crawling upon Their Sister. Like the parasites in Their blood, these things dared climb atop them. They were Queen!
They lived.
They hungered.
"Highest Flame," whispered Atar. "Such power."
The white flames of the hydra-beasts had slagged what little of the island remained, leaving it molten and charred beyond recognition. The cliff upon which they had huddled was little more than a melted candle stub.
"Glad you didn't stay behind, huh?" Evie nudged Atar in the ribs. The mage got up gingerly and tried to smooth his windswept and Domain-frazzled hair. He ignored Evie's jibe and nodded in thanks to Felix, who was only just disengaging himself from the Queen's tough hide.
"Hydra-dragons," Felix groaned, more to himself than anyone else. "They're fire breathing hydra-dragons."
There was a big bellow behind them and the nearest Queen to the rear accelerated, screaming with her...Felix counted quickly...40 heads.
"Felix," Harn grunted. "They know. We gotta move."
"Right, right." Felix hurriedly turned toward the long gash he'd torn in the Queen. "This is as good a place to start as any."
He slashed his claws down. Sparks flew, but Felix could barely penetrate any deeper into the wound. He slashed again, and the same result. He could tear a small furrow, but any more than that he was repelled by the thing's monstrous regeneration.
What?
The roar of the Queen grew louder and his friends started giving him antsy looks. Frowning at his talons, Felix grabbed at the corrosive essence that lingered in his core, hoping it was the answer. He reasoned that he could fight against the Maw's creatures so well in this form was that it too was influenced by the Maw's machinations. It bore the Primordial's touch, its signature maybe. So what would happen if he put more of that behind his strike? He pushed long tendrils of essence, still connected to the main mass in his core, up through his channels, looping them across his body and toward his fists.
"Whatever you're gonna do, do it now!" Alister shouted above the wind.
Flexing his talons, Felix tried again, but this time burned the essence, forcing the larger mass into his core fire. A deep, resounding echo shuddered through Felix's Body and Spirit, and the moment his claws touched the Queen it's flesh split in two.