Without even understanding the situation, Amy's body moved first. She grabbed Emily's hand and dragged her away.
Spores tasted more bitter, screams got louder and the ground felt softer.
She kept running.
The sound became fainter and fainter.
She kept running until her legs gave up.
The spongy ground rushed to meet her. Its softness embraced her for a moment.
Hufff... pufff... They gasped for air.
Using her hands she lifted herself up to a sitting position.
Only if I-
Her gaze shifted to Emily, curled into a ball, softly crying.
Amy put a hand on Emily's back.
"What's wrong?"
"Hic.. hic... it's all my fault! I shouldn't have gone out..."
Emily raised her head, and turned her head to Amy.
"...I'm sorry, I dragged you into this."
Amy pulled her hand back and put it on her lap.
"You're just confused, that's all. Now tell me what happened."
Emily wiped her own tears away.
"Ruin-walkers..." Emily said with a steady voice. "Carry spores from spore-bearers."
"...which injects other mushrooms to turn into more spore-bearers."
Amy reached for Emily's head and petted her slowly.
"What are you..."
"It felt like this is the right thing to do." Amy answered.
She withdrew her hand.
...
None of them continued to talk, and the air grew heavier. Shivers ran down Amy's spine as the spores raised by her rush danced around.
She opened her mouth, then closed it without any words leaving her lips.
Amy shifted her gaze away from Emily. Reaching for her backpack
The smoothness of the orb danced across her palm, as she rotated it slowly.
There is no ambient mana, just small quantities of raw mana dripping...
She put her hand on the dirt, feeling its porous and soft texture.
No raw mana lakes either.
Amy raised her head to the ceiling, looking at it for a few seconds.
Sigh
The spore-bearer probably has some leftover mana.
She rose from the ground, offering her hand.
That's my best bet either way.
Emily grabbed her hand and got up from the ground.
"We need to go back to the city."
Emily's back tensed. She started rubbing her forearms.
"A-Amy... We carry spores, we shouldn't even be near a mushroom..."
"Even if you find a way to cure it..." She avoided Amy's gaze. "They'll blame us for what happened."
Amy gripped onto her sphere, and a sigh escaped from her lips.
Without turning back she said "Running away won't change anything, will it?"
She closed her eyes for a moment.
"I have a plan, trust me." She added.
"O-okay.. what's the plan?"
Amy turned to meet Emily's gaze.
"The orb can extract and absorb mana from the spore-bearer, which should weaken it."
"Amy... What is mana?"
Amy sighed, putting her orb back in the backpack.
It'll be hard to explain all the theories..
"We don't know, yet." Amy started walking back at the city.
Emily followed her silently.
The monotony of the Mushroom Forest reintroduced itself. Emily scanned every nearby mushroom, periodically rubbing her forearms along the way.
"What if the orb... doesn't work?" she asked.
Amy didn't answer immediately.
"I have some reserve mana." She said softly.
They continued on their way. White resins dropped from the mushrooms as gray spores raised from deep in the soil with every step. First the screams then the city itself rose between the mushrooms. They went in.
Amy scanned the ruined buildings, destroyed pavements and the blood stains one by one. A robe that had fallen off the road, dirty and blood soaked drew her attention away. She grabbed the robe and put it on.
"Emily, get a robe as well." she said, her voice softer than usual.
Emily stood in her place for a second.
"O-okay."
Emily looked around, finding herself in a dark gray robe just like the one Amy was wearing. She put it on in one fluid motion.
They quickly walked towards the screams, they turned the corner.
The metallic scent filled their lungs.
Before them stood a beast as big as a house. A bundle of sharp teeth filled its throat, visible through a large slit where its face should have been. Sickly white skin coated its humanoid frame as it tore a civilian apart against its faceless head, bathing in blood.
Amy instinctively covered Emily's mouth.
The spore-bearer turned its head. It slowly walked away from the group with an uncoordinated motion, twitching and releasing spores every step along the way.
Disgusting.
Amy slowly pulled her hands back. Emily gasped for air, her legs weakening. Amy met her eyes and, with a sigh, pulled the orb out of her backpack.
"Stay here and take care of it." She threw the backpack at Emily.
Without waiting, Amy followed the beast in silent steps. Orange and azure lights escaped from Amy's hands and gathered around the orb, giving it enough mana to wake it up.
Exhale.
Amy tightened her grip on the sphere, sweat beaded on her forehead. She stopped walking and threw the sphere aiming at the beast's head. The orb cut through the air, colliding with its target.
A shriek erupted from the beast.
Azure and orange orbs gushed over the beast's head, wandering in the air before snapping back to the sphere. The thing reached for the orb, but it wasn't there.
First, the beast's head then its body slowly turned back.
The beast whipped its hand forward to crush Amy. With the orb in her hand Amy raised strings of orange and azure mana into the air. She jerked her hand away, sending the strings into the air. The strings wove themselves into a wall, compressing into a jelly-like wall of fire. Her face got warmer from the heat.
The thing's hand pierced through the wall, its spores burned into ash, finding nothing.
Before the beast could snap out its hand back. Amy, using her palm, raised a plane of mana from the orb and swept it through the air. A cluster of wind carried the fire-wall to the beast, burning its mushroom-made skin.
Inhale.
Amy's tremoring hand clenched into place. She peeked out of the corner.
Not much damage.
She sighed.
They are all resistant to different elements...
Amy dipped her hand into the surface of the orb lengthwise. Fluid-like mana danced around her hand. She agitated the air, warping the mana to sharp currents. With a chopping motion she sent the air-blades flying toward the beast.
The air slit the beast along its back. White resin-like fluid spilled onto the ground.
Without reacting, the beast turned its head fully back, staring directly at Amy.
Her limbs lost all power in a heartbeat, her eyes dilated.
The beast whipped both of its arms, stretching like rubber.
Amy tried to move herself, not even a budge.
Too close.
She closed her eyes.
Not like this...
Steps rushed in closer.
The world shook.
Air rushed back into Amy's lungs, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Emily stood in front of her like a broken shield.
Blood spilled from her lips.