3147 Foreign Land (Part 1)
Squads of seven Chroniclers Warped at a safe distance from the Engine and conjured the anti-Guardian spell, Silverwing's Annihilation.
Solus cursed and in answer to her distress, long stone tubes erupted from the surface of the Engine, bolting at the elves. They were forced to break formation and Blink away, but it wasn't that simple.
The Ears followed the flow of mana to the exit point before the Eyes could see it and those who failed to Blink again quickly were captured by the tubes. Just like the first Chronicler, the Engine had no reason to kill them.
They were trapped inside the tower's space-compressing arrays and then into one of the Bleed's gene tanks along with their weapons. Chronicler's standard equipment was made of living Yggdrasill wood which meant more food for Solus.
Even better, the World Tree suffered the pain they received as feedback from both the imprisoned elves and branches.
'Mogar, mercy!' Ripha Menadion had lacked time to study and control the Yggdrasill like M'Rael had done, but the agony her workings inflicted upon them was nothing to scoff at. 'Stop her! Bring her one inch from death if necessary!'
A seven-elf squad came out of a dimensional rift and unleashed the Annihilation. The Engine conjured the Bastion, knowing there was no point dodging a spell that would chase its target.
Solus had just raised her hand for a return Annihilation when a second squad appeared.
'Oh, shit!' She was forced to use her Annihilation to counter the enemy's but a third squad appeared.
Then, as she tried to use footwork to buy the seconds she needed to kill the first unit and focus on the new threat, the ground below the Engine opened, and rootd trapped its legs.
Solus tried to Blink, but even in the open the Yggdrasill's control over the Fringe's space was too strong. She tried to Tower Warp one more time, but the Warp Mirror was still blank. She found no exit point, as if she was stranded on a different planet.
Those precious moments of hesitation caused the third Annihilation to blast the Engine's left arm and allowed the anti-Guardian spell from the first squad to blast a hole through the colossus' chest.
Solus screamed in pain as her own left arm crumbled and a hole opened in her guts.
'You may have forgotten about this due to my kindness, but inside MY Fringe, with the support of MY Chroniclers, this humble bright violet core can go toe to toe with a Guardian!' The World Tree activated a powerful Spirit array that amplified gravity around the Engine by hundreds of folds.
At the same time, the emerald energy seeped inside the ruined limbs, ravaging the floors of the tower. A second Spirit array conjured a pillar of light that descended from the sky and hit the Engine like a hammer.
The first blow opened cracks all over the gold-veined white stone surface. The second blow spread them like spiderwebs that also appeared over Solus' skin. The third blow flattened the Engine on the ground like a downed animal.
'I can go on like this all day, Elphyn Menadion.' The World Tree said as all the injuries she had inflicted upon them healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. 'What about you? Do you want to keep fighting a losing battle and die or do you want to surrender and live?
'On my terms, sure. To my whims, indeed. But you'll live.'
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