The Hunt

Ra’azel ran through the forest. And he saw more than he had ever seen before. He could see through this dark forest realm that surrounded him. Could see the planes of Essences, his eyes burned with power. But it was more than just that. His memories seemed clearer, he remembered rune strings faster than ever before. Complicated interactions were there just at the tip of his fingers. The flesh of this body augmented his Soul, made it better in every conceivable way.

He heard his constructs exploding in the distance, and he knew that he didn’t have much time. Another rune was finished and he saw it fade into the plane of Space.

This dark forest was covering it, keeping other Essence planes out, but tiny threads were still connected to it. He could see them now. Rushing toward him, hunting him.

It both angered and frightened him in equal measure. One that someone like him could be hunted, and second that he was facing some facet of True Death. The end of his reality was supposed to be the end of such absolutes. It was in many ways what he was trying to defy, the laws, the absolutes that he abhorred. They were alive, they were given thought and free will. They should always have been able to change fate, alter the designs of the Heavens themselves if they attained enough power.

And Ra’azel had done it, only to be betrayed. Never again. His new body sensed more than he had ever been able to before. He was aware of the attack, and turned to meet it head on, power flowing through his body.

Ryun, Selia, and Erdania, sped through the forest, knowing where their prey was exactly. Ryun ran ahead, with her following. The ground beneath his feet exploded outward, something hidden beneath it rose and energies lashed out at him.

They hit him head on, and Ryun was paralyzed. Selia arrived and her scythe cut through the construct on the left, while the other imploded, crushed to a tiny sphere of scrap by an outside force—Erdania.

Ryun continued forward, speeding across the ground, the world shifting around him as he made the distance between himself and his target lesser.

He reached him and pounced.

Zenker’s body turned swiftly, and a fist lashed out faster surprising Ryun. It smashed into the side of his snout with enough force to crack mountains. He felt the echo of its true power as he was thrown back, sent flying through the trees and hitting the ground hard. He stood back up and stumbled, the strike shook him more than he expected.

He looked ahead and saw Selia attacking, her scythe whirling around her as she pressed Ra’azel, and yet he kept up, despite her power. Despite being weakened in this place. Or at least as much as possible.

Ryun knew what this place should do, but he was unsure if it was working properly, or at least as it should be.

Any being whose True Death was near found itself in this forest.Losing connection to their Aspects. In the previous Iteration of reality that was one of the ways that they gained power, by being granted it from the Aspects. It meant that all came to this world naked in a sense. They also lost physical power, a weakening effect that slowed them down, in the same way that the Presence of the Eternal Hunters did, or exactly as it did—since that was where that power came from.

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But this iteration of the Framework didn’t rely solely on the Aspects. Ra’azel had his constructs which obviously worked. He had his runes. And worst of all, he had Zenker’s body.

Even here, Ryun could feel the power it radiated. He remembered first finding it at the Dome, what felt like it was so long ago, when he looked upon it on that stone slab. It was terrifying to think that what it was capable of was just a remnant of the real thing.

Ryun shook his head and turned his attention back to Ra’azel, then charged again. His body was physically stronger than he ever was. He could sense everyone around him, everyone inside of the forest. He could feel the way that the forest cut off the rest of the world. But powers, that was more complicated. He remembered what he was capable before, he just didn’t know if it was possible here and now.

The True Death had changed when he had taken up the mantle. They were not as powerful as they once were. Still, he tried. He reached deep within himself.

His body fell away, and he surged forward as a phantom. He crossed the distance in an instant, and reached his foe. He dodged a swipe of Selia’s scythe, his feet creating a large distance between them. Ryun arrived next to him, reformed and swiped with his clawed paw.

Ra’azel didn’t see him, didn’t sense him, he had barely enough time to raise a hand and attempt to block.

Ryun’s power sent him to his knees, but light flashed across the scales on his body, formations triggering. A faint sheen of white light shrouded Ra’azel as if he was wearing an armor of light. His eyes widened, it was something Eratemus had added, Ryun realized immediately.

Before Ryun could attack again, Ra’azel carved a rune, his hand blurring with speed. A blast of force hit Ryun and sent him flying back, giving Ra’azel room once more.

Selia saw Ryun use one of their old abilities, and realized that perhaps she could use hers too. She didn’t know if it would work, but as she sought the power she remembered having, she found most of it missing.

Still, she continued, searching, until finally she found something. She took a step and the world expanded then snapped back into focus as that step took her across the space and to her foe.

Ra’azel blasted Ryun away, and she cut from above, her scythe coming down straight on his arm. She put all of her power in the attack, the meaning of True Death. A white armor intercepted her scythe, but it did not hold for long. It failed, and her blade of bone cut straight through his forearm.

Ra’azel screamed, fell back, and lashed out with his tail. The world around him trembled, and for just a moment they were no longer in the forest, but somewhere high in the air. The loss of ground beneath her made her disoriented, then the tail smashed into her torso, sending her flying back. The forest came into being and she smashed through a tree.

Erdania saw both Ryun and Selia get thrown back. She was slower than them, it took her a while to reach the battle. She could feel this place, but she knew that she didn’t feel it in the same way that the two of them did. She didn’t know what it was, and she knew that they did. The bond that linked all three of them together was a raging river flowing in all directions, sharing thoughts, emotions, ideas, even impressions of what they perceived. It was all so overwhelming. Still, she advanced.

She saw Ra’azel scream and scramble to recover his sliced off arm, and she attacked. She targeted him and increased gravity around him. He stumbled, but didn’t fall. He raised his head and glared at her. He wedged his arm underneath his armpit, then placed his stump against it. With his other arm he carved a rune in the air.

Erdania pulled back her arm, holding her staff. Her Qi pulsed through her body and into her weapon, and then she took a step forward before twisting her hips and throwing it like a spear.

Ra’azel’s arm sizzled, a bright yellow light surrounded his injured arm, presumably reattaching it. Her staff reached him just as he managed to carve another rune in the air. Her staff hit a shield, and her technique triggered.

{Pulsing Breaking Strike} rippled out, shattering his shield and letting the staff continue. It hit the surprised Ra’azel in the head and sent him falling to the ground, disoriented.

She ran forward, but Ryun and Selia had recovered, and were already on him.

She arrived just in time to see a dark red sphere of energy rip out of Ra’azel, breaking everything in its path.