Five months had drifted past in a blend of rigorous effort and marked progress.
As Lassim approached his 14th birthday, the thoughts of celebration were far from his mind. Instead, his focus was sharpened on the monumental task at hand—cleansing the realm of its deep-seated corruption.
The giant, looming shard that pierced the void remained an ominous fixture in the sky, a stark reminder.
Under Lassim’s relentless dedication over the last few months with little rest, the transformation of the area near the shard was undeniable.
The vast expanse of barren land that had been mainly just a blizzard once choked by corruption now relaxed. The ground, once veiled in a sinister red snow, now showed signs of returning to its natural state, with patches of green peeking through the receding blanket of snow.
The air was clearer, the oppressive weight of corruption lifting more each day, replaced by a crispness that sparked hope instead of the spicy bitterness he tasted with each breath when he started.
However, this progress came with its own set of challenges. As each significant portion of corruption was cleared, the realm responded with increasing unrest.
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The earthquakes, once sporadic and mild, had become a daily occurrence. Though they had not grown in intensity, their regularity was a constant reminder that every bit of progress he made was affecting the entire plane. He had only hoped that the Drow community was faring well during this work.
Lassim stood at the edge of the mostly cleansed area, gazing up at the dark shard that seemed to pulse with a malevolent life of its own.
The shard’s presence was overbearing everytime he glanced at it. The strong will contained within frequently gave him headaches to his enhanced senses and spiritual sense.
A new tremor began to occur as the ground shook beneath his feet. He maintained his posture with practiced sturdiness that didn’t affect him, but he furrowed his eyebrows. That was the second earthquake in one day.
With each quake, Lassim felt a twinge of urgency, a push to continue his mission with even greater determination.
He turned his gaze back to the shard, its edges sharp against the void, the center of corruption that he needed to confront. Its red glow seeking to pierce his mind.
The next steps were clear. He needed to intensify his efforts, to push harder against the stubborn walls of corruption that held the realm captive. The sooner he dealt with the shard, the sooner the likelihood of the quakes stopping increased. It might get more difficult before then, but it would be worth it in the end.
Each day brought them closer to a tipping point, and Lassim was ready to tip the scales in their favor with today’s plan.
Together with Zaphy and Mari, he prepared to delve deeper into the heart of corruption. Today, he would make his first attempt cleansing the actual shard itself.
The plan was fraught with unknowns, but retreat was not an option. They would face whatever challenges arose, supported by the bond that had only grown stronger with each passing day.
As Lassim set his sights on the next phase of their mission, he released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding as he sat down in his meditation position with his halberd across his lap as usual.
He rotated his cultivation deep within his meditative stance, the clouds above mirrored his internal tumult, gathering into the usual formidable mass of electric fury.
The energy within the clouds coalesced, forming a dense, roiling sphere of lightning with thick streaks of energy coursing over its surface like serpentine dragons.
He checked in mentally with Zaphy and Mari, ensuring their readiness. Both companions braced themselves, their energies augmenting the storm’s potential.
The plan was clear and cautiously set: they would first address the corruption leaking from the shard, cleansing it from the environment before attempting any direct interaction with the shard itself.
With a collective mental nod, they initiated their strategy.
As the first bolts of lightning went out, the corruption near the shard presented an unprecedented challenge; it was denser than anything Lassim had encountered before.
If previous efforts felt like chiseling stone with a spoon, this was akin to carving through a gem with a toothpick. The resistance was formidable, almost impossible to break through in its intensity.
Undeterred, Lassim intensified his focus. He directed the charged lightning from the cloud, channeling it towards the corruption for more sustained and longer bursts rather than the quick short destructive intervals he had done up until now.
At first, the corruption seemed to absorb the lightning, the eerie glow of the shard intensifying slightly as if feeding off the energy. But Lassim, fueled by a mix of determination and the potent mana coursing through him, continued with his adjusted his tactics.
This adjustment eventually showed progress and allowed the lightning to begin breaking down the corruption’s structure as if it was dissolving it. The process was painstaking and slow, but with each pulse of cleansing energy, the dense corruption began to gradually dissolve.
Zaphy and Mari contributed their powers subtly. Zaphy’s lightning enhanced the sharpness of each strike, making the energy more piercing, while Mari’s control over water mana provided a soothing and cooling sensation across his body to give a bit of mental relief..
The trio worked in perfect harmony, their combined efforts slowly eroding the corruption’s hold near the shard.
The task required immense concentration and energy, drawing deeply from Lassim’s reserves.
However, the sight of the corruption slowly yielding was a powerful motivator as the days passed. His 14th birthday came and went.
Another month went by during these concentrated efforts.
As the corruption started to break down, the air around them grew incrementally clearer, the oppressive weight of the corruption lifting bit by bit.
The shard itself, however, remained a formidable presence, its sinister glow always exuding a slow release of corruption; a constant problem.
With each fragment of corruption they dismantled, the challenge was maintained, but so was their resolve.
Lassim felt the growth of power within him. With every burst of lightning, every wave of mana. He was becoming more and more prepared for the inevitable confrontation with the source of the plane’s pain.
As the days pressed on and the corruption ebbed away under their relentless assault, the air around them vibrated with tension.
The earthquakes had increased dramatically, now shaking the ground five times a day, a rumbling and destabilizing.
It was finally time for Lassim to address the source of this pervasive blight—the ominous shard itself.
Positioning himself strategically, Lassim felt a mixture of anticipation and dread. This was the culmination of all their efforts, the point of no return.
With a deep breath, he gathered his power, the lightning and water mana swirling around him like a typhoon, commanded into a fierce, targeted strike.
Zaphy and Mari flanked him, their energies synced to his, ready to support or retreat at a moment’s notice.
The first strike was tentative, a probing jab into the heart of the corruption. The lightning bolt intertwined with a surge of water this time, magnified by Zaphy’s fervor and guided by Mari’s precision, lanced out and struck the shard.
The impact resonated like a bell through the realm, a sound so profound and alarming that it seemed to pause the very essence of time.
What followed was not the shattering or crumbling of the shard, but a reaction far more catastrophic.
It was something that would alter the fate of the entire universe itself at an unprecedented level.
The shard pulsed once, ominously, its red glow intensifying into an almost blinding scarlet.
The air around them thickened, charged with a pressure and tension that made the hair on the back of Lassim’s neck stand up.
Yet, it was an oddly familiar sensation… something exceedingly powerful took a moment to look at him.
Then, without warning, reality itself seemed to warp and twist. The ground beneath their feet buckled, the sky roared, and a massive force, like the hand of a cosmic giant, swept across their position.
Lassim, Zaphy, and Mari, caught in the unfathomable power unleashed, felt themselves being pulled—ripped away from their physical anchorage of existence in space.
Their surroundings blurred, the colors and sounds of the world melding into a vortex of chaotic energy.
It was as if the very fabric of space around them was being cut away, a portal or rift forced open by the shard’s violent reaction and their efforts.
In a moment that felt both eternal and fleeting, Lassim could see the worried faces of Zaphy and Mari, their forms distorting as if being stretched across dimensions.
He reached out, trying to grasp them, but his hands found no purchase. It was as if they were both directly next to him and also extremely far away.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, there was a profound silence, an emptiness that felt devoid of light, sound, or sensation.
Lassim and his companions, once firmly rooted in their mission to cleanse the plane, were now nowhere to be seen.
The spot where they had stood moments before was empty, a gaping absence in the world that felt as if something essential had been excised from the fabric of reality itself.