Imura's sharp, blade-like nails clattered together in anticipation. It was all coming together for her. With a swing of her trident, she cut down a vast swath of foliage with ease, exposing Lila's position.
"The final truth is at hand." She spoke to herself with pride in her voice, reaching up towards the roof of the Garth as she began to direct her pack.
The howling of the Xenquar concentrated around her, forming what appeared to be a Psionic bubble above her pronged helmet. She could practically feel the fear of her victims and used their essence to empower her spell, reaching the boiling point in its cascade of energy. To Imura, it was a work of art.
The bubble of screams and Psionic terror formed into a whirlpool that dangled above the roof of the Garth, spinning and churning at Imura's command. A blackened hand reached out from its apex, calling out to Imura with a gesture. She begged for power, obsessed with the idea of using it to claim her next victim.
She didn't need its help. But she wanted to feel the touch of a power she had worked her entire life to attain.
Lila looked on in horror, realizing she had no idea where to even begin defending herself. Fending off the jaws of a roaming Xenquar, she could only hope that her pain would soon come to an end. Yrix would have to be proven wrong by someone else, it seemed.
"Come to me, my sweet lullaby of purpose." Imura sang, reaching up for the spindly fingers that floated down to her.
But the silent hand dissipated just before it could reach Imura, disturbed by the presence of another. Imura spun around angrily, clenching her fist and detonating her whirling cocophony into a wave of Psionic energy. But the tsunami of lethal force was cut short, enveloped by a power she had not expected.
Still, Lila was nearly shot off the edge of the Garth from the incomplete spell, her mind still reeling from the deafening howls. Fortunately for her, the Xenquar that pursued her failed to find its footing and careened off into the void. It was only then that she realized someone else was down there with her.
"Ivy?" Lila whimpered.
The heiress stepped forth with seething determination, staring deep into Imura's soul. She was the one who had interrupted the howling spell, using the projection of her own memory as a weapon. The darkness that exuded from her, it seemed, was a match for Imura.
"How?" Imura wondered to herself, seemingly annoyed at Ivy's superior usage of a power she didn't even understand. "What could have possibly driven you to wield the Harrow?"
Ivy's staff had returned to its normal state. But her eyes, redder than ever before, were surrounded by a haze of familiar images. Lila could practically feel them even from a distance.
It was the ballroom. Ivy's bed. Her home.
"Someone has to. For her." The heiress muttered in response.
The howling of the Xenquar died down, as if the terror they exuded had been replaced. No one had expected Ivy to be able to project something equally sinister, not even herself. But Imura understood enough.
"She's a worm. A primitive." Imura argued, as if disappointed in Ivy. "You would abandon your God for her?"
Ivy hadn't a clue what Imura was referring to. But it didn't matter to her. Someone had to hold that girl safe and warm. Someone had to rescue her from the storm.
"She once told me, our meeting felt nostalgic." Ivy almost smiled. "It's fate that brought us here."
The memories around her glimmered like shards of glass, reality cutting itself apart to project their images. And with a wave of her arms, she directed them towards Imura like a barrage of sharp edges. The mirrored images spiraled around the Garth, cutting apart a majority of the Xenquar.
Ivy wasn't afraid of them, even as she caught a proper glimpse of the moritifed faces that had been grafted on their bodies. Frankly, she found her own mother far more frightening. The very idea of loving someone like Lila disturbed her in an incomparable way.
"A flash of brilliance won't save you." Imura hissed, shattering one of the images with a firm elbow. "I am the Flayer."
"And I am my Father's Daughter." Ivy retorted.
Imura did well enough avoiding the heiress's spell, using her brute strength to shatter each piece before it began to dissipate. She seemed compelled by anger to spite Ivy, clearly offended by her actions. No Psion she had ever seen in days before had unlocked the power she sought merely for the sake of protecting another.
What else was the point of torment?
Imura closed the distance with a few nimble dashes, using her trident to slash at the heiress before transforming it back into a rifle. Ivy was hardly prepared to keep up, spinning her baton in front of her to deflect the shots, all the while parrying with her staff. But once Imura feinted a thrust with her trident, she made the fatal mistake of raising her guard.
It was premature.
Imura had hundreds of years of proper experience over the heiress, and after tucking her trident behind her back, she unleashed a spinning dropkick that struck high above Ivy's guard, smashing her into the ground. Ivy's face struck the earth, but she still had enough time to respond with an arrangement of hexagonal projections to try and contain Imura before she could follow up.
The Psion was unphased, however, using her skill to simply take control of the shapes and use them to box Ivy in.
"You will watch her die." Imura leered.
Lila found her footing and tried to run towards the heiress as she mounted whatever courage she had left. But to her horror, Imura was more than happy to turn her attention back towards the Earthling. She wanted to fight bravely and stand her ground.
But she was overcome by fear. Lila turned and ran as far as she could, leaping over a chasm before finding her footing on a small island of rock. Imura simply clenched her fist in response, disappearing into a purplish void before reappearing near the girl.
The outskirts of the Garth shone brightly with luminescence, giving Lila a clear view of just how far she would fall if she ran any further. All she could do was hide behind a small bush and cower in fear. In the meantime, Ivy struggled to release herself, smashing her projections with her bare fists.
"Lila!" The heiress screamed.
Imura cornered the Earthling, snickering with anticipation. "Long way down. Don't worry, I'm sure your face will survive."
The Psion plunged her trident into the earth, shattering the tiny island and sending Lila plunging into the depths below. But to her surprise, a delicate figure brushed against her from behind, diving headfirst after the Earthling. It was Ivy, who had come to her companion's aid with a newly sprouted pair of silver wings.
"Ivy!" Lila panted as time seemed to slow all around her, reaching out to the heiress as she plummeted.
Ivy's wings were pale and translucent, resembling a bird's wings as they elevated the speed of her descent. Tiny little symbols represented her family sigil, trailed behind her as the heiress's body began to glow with a silver hue. Her ambience was stronger than ever.
Lila was her mission.
Imura wasn't far behind, teleporting near the girls as she plunged with her trident. Ivy managed to grab hold of the Earthling just in time, using her free hand to block the attack with a Psionic barrier. Their fall didn't last long, as the bottom of Yrix's hollowed-out lair came crashing into them.
The heiress spread out her wings as a gust of both wind and Psionic energy shot out from her feet.
She broke her fall.
Cradling Lila, Ivy rolled onto the ground as the rest of her momentum bent her knees painfully. Her awkward landing provided her the space she needed; however, as Imura came down with her trident so hard that the dirt around her shuddered and erupted from the ground. The girls were left panting, trying to regain their footing as Imura loomed over them.
"If she matters so much to you-." Imura screamed as she threw her trident, aimed at Lila's throat.
The sharp trident turned into a purple spinning blade just before it slammed into Ivy's staff, which was similarly transformed into a whirling maelstrom of metal. The two attacks collided for quite some time, held in the air by both Psions. Sparks shot out from their clash, as Ivy refused to budge, pushing her staff into the trident as hard as she could manage.
"You couldn't possibly understand." Ivy retorted loudly, stretching out her hand as her legs began to quiver. "She means everything to me."
Lila couldn't quite hear that last part over the colliding metal. But she was well aware of what the heiress had sacrificed for her. In that moment, watching her knight come to her defense, she felt a pang in her heart.
Imura's singular eye narrowed with hate. "Then perish with her!"