Blood Desert, Salaark’s palace dungeon.
The constant cycles of damage and regeneration had thinned the Ra’ntar-Puppet beyond saving. Many of its tendrils were completely withered and Jirni could see with Life Vision that there was no vitality left in them.
The black aura of death surrounding them was the first sign of the rot taking hold of the Puppet.
‘If I force this thing to regenerate its tendrils, it would exhaust its life force faster than creating new ones.’ Jirni sighed, every sign she and Skywarp spotted confirming the sprout’s terminal prognosis. ‘There’s nothing I can do to stall the game further.’
She had no idea whether it was due to Ra’ntar’s determination or the World Tree’s order that the Puppet had stubbornly refused to drink a single drop of the tonics. Either way, the enemy had earned her respect.
As the remaining life force of the Puppet faded so did the hunger. Not because Jirni was going easy on it out of pity. Only because with its life the sprout of the World Tree was losing its sensitivity.
The Puppet had reached the numbness that preceded death and its mind was drifting apart, away from its ruined body.
“This isn’t good.” She said to her daughters and Aalejah. “Once the sprout is gone, without us running interference the situation of Lith’s army in the Fringe is going to get much worse.”
“Thank the gods- I mean, should we warn them?” Aalejah was worried about Lith and Solus but relieved that whatever was left of the poor elf would finally find peace.
“No. Even if they actually answer their amulets, it would be a pointless distraction.” Jirni shook her head as a silvery brilliance accumulated around her right hand. “Lith and the others knew this eventuality could come and they will notice it faster than we can tell them anyway.”
“Then what are you doing, Mom?” Quylla’s Life Vision showed her that Jirni’s Royal Fortress armor was brimming with power.
“After all this time spent together, I’ve grown attached to our friend.” Lady Ernas said while displaying her soft, motherly smile that always preceded a death blow. “I can’t let him go out with a whimper.
“This final blast will create an opportunity for Lith and give him the signal my work here is done.” Jirni sealed every joint and opening in the Royal Fortress armor and released an increasing stream of Life Maelstrom on the Puppet.
Its abilities and vitality increased tenfold, giving the sprout strength and clarity of mind back.
“What are you doing, woman?” The World Tree felt the hunger again and, somehow, even more acutely than before.
“You are the wisest being on Mogar. You tell me.” The beak of her visor curled up in a cruel grin, an impossibility that the Yggdrasill had no time to question.
“You are flooding me with Life Maelstrom!” The Puppet’s abilities were multiplied by twenty folds, then thirty, and then forty.
The sprout turned its entire body in a bundle of razor-sharp vines that whipped all over the Royal Fortress armor. The weakened Yggdrasill wood couldn’t withstand the strain from its renewed strength and speed, cracking with every movement it made.
The impacts produced the silvery patter of heavy rain on metal yet inflicted the Davross no damage. The whips shattered upon impact, incapable of bearing their own weight any longer.
The Puppet tried to slip away from Jirni but the heavy armor and the countless Davross needles of Skywarp pinned it into place.
“You want to overload me with power until I explode!” The World Tree said, the intensity of the pain they experienced growing with the amount of silver lightning that coursed through its dying body. “You want my sprout to die in the most horrible way possible!”
“Correct.” Jirni nodded, unleashing another burst of Life Maelstrom that enhanced the Puppet’s abilities and agony by eighty folds. “The keener your mind and body become, the more vivid your death will be.
“Maybe I’m arrogant, but I bet that no one has ever suffered as much as you are about to. Or at least not many.” The Puppet’s body cracked and splintered as the withering Yggdrasill wood failed to contain the immense power of the Life Maelstrom.
Its wounds opened faster than its enhanced metabolism could heal them, its mana core cracking due to the increasing pressure generated by the overloaded mana flow.
“Don’t blame me. This is all your doing.” Jirni said. “I don’t care about Solus. This was just a job to me. A favor I was doing to a friend to get something I need in return. I didn’t care if you attacked or tried to kill me.
“I knew the risks and brought the Royal Fortress armor as insurance. When you attacked my unborn child, my daughter, and my unborn grandchildren, however, you’ve made it personal and I always pay my debts!”
She could have waited and made the sprout’s agony last longer yet it would have taken Jirni more and more Life Maelstrom to inflict upon the Puppet the same pain as its life force dwindled.
More Life Maelstrom than the Royal Fortress armor stored.
So, she waited until the remaining vitality of the sprout reached the point of no return and then released the Life Maelstrom she had left down to the last drop. The Puppet’s body and mana core became over one hundred times stronger than normal.
Incapable of withstanding such power, its body shattered upon its following spasm and its mana core exploded. The silver lightning amplified the World Tree’s senses and their connection to the Puppet as well.
It was but the death of a single Chronicler, but the Yggdrasill experienced it as if one hundred of them had been burned alive at the same time. The World Tree felt every wood fiber breaking, every strand of mana burning like poison.
The death throes of the Puppet made Aalejah sob in despair and Friya and Quylla fall to their knees while covering their ears.
Once the silvery flash of Life Maelstrom faded, the four women were alone in the cell. Only Ra’ntar clothes remained to prove that the elf had ever been there with them.
“What do we do now?” Friya asked while Quylla comforted the traumatized elf.
“Now we wait.” Jirni replied.
***
The World Tree’s Fringe, at the same time.
“What the fuck?” Many of the invaders said at the same time as Jirni moved on to the final step of her plan.
The ground below their feet shook with increasing violence and the heavens screamed like someone was gutting them with a dull knife.
The Yggdrasill’s roots were spread throughout the Fringe, creating an underground network comprised of multiple layers. As the World Tree went into a seizure due to the Ra’ntar-Puppet’s agony, their roots vibrated along with the trunk.
The spasming roots created shockwaves akin to a quake powerful enough to throw even a Divine Beast off balance. The screams actually belonged to the Yggdrasill and all of its servants.
The Puppets and the now-Awakened elves controlled by the World Tree’s vines experienced the same pain as the captured Chroniclers and froze into place, their mouths opened in an unending cry.
