‘They are both on their last leg and their bond allows me not to hold my punches anymore. Maybe their touching reunion made Verhen forget that the tower’s priority is preserving Elphyn’s life but I haven’t.
‘I’ve killed three of her hosts already. Maybe the fourth time is the charm.’ With a mere thought, the Yggdrasill collected several runes among those scattered in the sky and assembled them into another Annihilation.
It was overkill but the World Tree wanted to end the conflict before more of his Golems would be destroyed. With Verhen dead and Elphyn under their command, the battle would finally end.
Also, the Yggdrasill couldn’t risk another person imprinting the tower before them again.
The aura of the creature born from the fusion between Lith and Solus was still rising, its body was still growing in size when the anti-Guardian spell arrived. Golden scales emerged between the black ones, covering the red skin below.
Another set of arms, ending with lither fingers and entirely covered in golden scales, sprouted from the fusion’s sides as its chest became wider and bigger. By the time the Annihilation arrived, two more sets of wings had just gently sprouted on the creature’s back.
The Annihilation slowed down as soon as it entered the range of the tower’s aura, the speed of the anti-Guardian spell dropping as if it was moving underwater.
The world energy itself turned against the spell, infiltrating the Annihilation and attempting to replace the willpower infused in it with that of the masters of the tower.
The Yggdrasill felt the tug at their spell and shrugged it off with ease. The tower was a mindless object that followed pre-established protocols. It could produce a decent imitation of willpower but it was an imitation nonetheless.
Then, the Annihilation entered the range of the Tiamat Fear and it slowed down again. The anti-Guardian spell seemed to be moving through tar at first, then through molten lead, and lastly it stopped centimeters away from the creature.
The World Tree felt the Tiamat Fear seep inside the anti-Guardian spell and swiftly replace their will with another. The Yggdrasill fought hard, even diverting part of their focus from the other battles to push the kill shot home.
Yet with each millimeter of Tiamat Fear the Annihilation crossed, the Tree’s influence over the spell plummeted. It wasn’t a battle so much as a one-sided beating with the Tree’s willpower being purged by the creature’s and then kept out by the tower.
‘This doesn’t make sense.’ The Yggdrasill thought as they lost the last shred of control over the anti-Guardian spell. ‘I know Tiamat Fear and I know Domination very well. Neither can stop a tier five spell imbued with willpower on such close range. It’s impos-‘
The answer to the Tree’s question came as the six eyes on the creature’s face rearranged themselves in a circular shape and two more opened on its forehead. Two feminine eyes shining with golden light.
‘Mogar almighty, how could I be this stupid? How could I forget that this is nothing like the forced bond with my Librarians? There’s not just two of them now, they’ve become one!’
Two people could still argue and would still try to accomplish the same task each their own way. They could work together but that didn’t mean they would work twice as good or as fast.
To achieve that, two people should set the “I” aside and only think and act as a “we”. Something Lith and Solus had done for sixteen years and that the fusion turned from unity of intent to unity of soul, mind, and body.
The World Tree’s first and biggest mistake was to use the Annihilation against Lith and Solus. Under normal circumstances, there was no way they could overpower the will of seven Awakened.
Even with the help of the tower and the Ears of Menadion, they could have at best blocked the Annihilation with a Bastion or contained its damage.
Now, however, the anti-Guardian spell carried a single willpower.
The runes scattered in the sky after the destruction of the permanent arrays allowed the Yggdrasill to cast spells beyond their level, but the will they carried belonged solely to the World Tree.
With the combined powers of the tower, the Menadion Set, and the Tiamat Fear, it was easy for Lith’s and Solus’ perfectly aligned will to Dominate the Annihilation. The Eyes spotted the spell’s focus points, the Ears the fastest mana pathways for the Hands and the Fear to flood them, and Lith and Solus did the rest.
A flick of the creature’s wrist sent the anti-Guardian spell attacking an eight-man unit of Golems from behind. It broke their formation and shattered their bodies, dispelling the Silverwing’s Bastion they had conjured to defend against a blast of Primordial Flames.
The white fire struck weak splinters instead of powerful Golems and burned them into cinders. The pain from the fiery death of eight Puppets spread to the World Tree and the rest of their forces, tipping the scale of the battle further.
‘What is that?’ Vastor asked as the creature born from the fusion now bore eight wings and four arms.
‘Since when can Lith do that?’ Orion saw what he assumed to still be the Tiamat grow to 35 meters (115′), then 40 (130′), and then some more.
‘I have no clue.’ Fyrwal lied through her teeth.
‘It must be a bloodline ability triggered by the near-death experience.’ Tessa followed suit, setting the groundwork for the cover story they would later need.
They knew of the fusion only from the bits of Solus’ life that she shared via mind links. After Silverwing’s attempt to separate her from Lith, Solus played it close to the vest so Tessa and Fyrwal had only a vague idea of the fusion’s capabilities.
The one thing the two Awakened knew was that they couldn’t allow anyone to suspect it even existed.
The creature’s jaw split, revealing a second maw underneath that roared with a pitch higher than the first.
‘I don’t know why Verhen has yet to move but I can’t miss this opportunity. Even though magic is off the table, I can still kill him with physical attacks.’ After what had happened to the Annihilation, the World Tree was afraid of casting new spells.
Consuming more of the remaining power of the arrays just for it to be used against their forces was a loss the Tree couldn’t afford.
‘Whatever they become when fused, they are still a violet core with a body slightly bigger than a regular Divine Beast.’ The Yggdrasill thought, not aware of what had happened during Lith’s and Solus’ last fusion against the Living Legacies.
‘I need to strike before the tower reforms. Until that moment, their union strengthens their Domination but does little else and leaves them without their precious equipment.’
The Voidwalker armor had become too small to cover the hybrid’s body, leaving most of it exposed. The tower was absorbing the world energy avidly to rebuild itself but had suffered critical damage and its fragments were scattered over a wide area.
Ragnarök was still in the creature’s black-scaled right hand but the blade looked like a short sword and its power core was still exhausted.
