"What the fuck are you talking about?!" But Astrid was already gone.
"Rrrrrrgh..."
Cabot's Ultimate Barrage dealt a total of 1625 damage to the shield!
Mellow’s Tailwind sped up the party!
Bahamut’s Void Phantasms drained shadows from Saltriv and Dave!
Bahamut’s Umbral Gambit protected the party!
Bahamut’s Morning Sun healed and revitalized Starr, Dave, and Brisa!
Saltriv’s Void Acceptance soothed Dave, Vix, and Brisa!
Saltriv’s Pure Words reached Brisa, Dave, Bahamut, Starr, Astrid, and Vix!
Dave’s Shining Burden protected Starr!
Owen’s Aether protected Brisa, Vix, and Sword!
Vix’s Brilliant Justice drained corruption from Astrid and Starr!
Vix’s Umbral Ire powered up Brisa, Starr, and Icetales!
Icetales’s Aurora Veil protected the party!
Icetales’s Teatime let Starr restore stamina!
Icetales’s Heal Bell healed Diyem, Xernatus, Sword, and Starr!
Mellow’s Radiant Solar Beam dealt 118 damage to the Barrier!
Dave’s double Void Desperation dealt 454 damage to the Barrier!
Vix’s double Spirit Bomb dealt 69 damage to the Barrier!
Supported by Saltriv, Brisa’s Overcharged Titanic Bolt Strike dealt 415 damage to the Barrier!
Brisa’s Five-strike Extremespeed dealt 361 damage to the Barrier!
Starr’s Shining Renegade dealt 73 damage to the Barrier!
Supported by Saltriv, Starr’s Titanic Blue Flare dealt 408 damage to the Barrier!
Starr’s triple Insolent Power Trip dealt 1345 damage to the Barrier!
Inspired by Starr, Astrid’s Null Stored Power dealt 1119 damage to the Barrier!
Inspired by Brisa, Astrid’s Null Stored Power dealt 702 damage to the Barrier, destroying it!
Astrid’s Blacklight Z-Burst dealt 1248 damage to the creature within!
"Owen!" Diyem demanded.
"I--I can't tell yet. The distortion's... too strong. L-let's keep trying something!" Owen shouted.
The barrier had shattered, and the moment it did, a deluge of strange haze filled the atmosphere. It was thick despite not taking up any material space, and it made walking feel like the whole world was underwater. Thankfully, this haze thinned rapidly, but not enough to get a clear visual on the enemy.
Something was shifting inside the smoke, groaning. Thousands of groans in one unified voice. Whimpers of pain and fear, yet also malice and vengefulness. Hopelessness was contagious; Diyem felt right at home...
This was it. Finally, after peeling away at its protections and layers...
This was their foe, exposed.
"̷W̶h̶y̴ ̶w̵h̷y̶ ̴w̸h̶y̷ ̶w̸h̶y̸ ̶w̸h̶y̶?̵"̶
The voice--tone and identity impossible to discern--echoed from all directions. It was like the mist itself was talking to them in a thousand little whispers.
"̴S̵t̸o̴p̶ ̸h̵u̵r̵t̷i̴n̸g̵ ̵m̴e̶,̶ ̴s̷t̴o̶p̷ ̸s̴t̶o̷p̵ ̸s̷t̷o̸p̸ ̸s̵t̵o̶p̴.̵.̶.̸"̷
"You did this to yourself," Diyem snarled, humoring Astrid's instructions.
Diyem used Blinding Replica, Inspiring himself off of Astrid's attack!
"...Disgusting," Diyem growled.
"I'll allow it."
Diyem used Abyssal Onslaught against the hazy creature, dealing a total of 4366 and 600 fixed damage!
"Nngh..." Diyem growled.
"That... should have pummeled it into the ground. Yet I feel I hadn't done much at all..."
The swipe of something forced Diyem to fall back, spreading his wings for a more agile approach.
Eien used Eterna Stockpile, gaining +1 Valor!
Eien used Eternabeam, dealing a CRITICAL 406 damage and a fixed 2000 extra damage! The Stored Powers followed up, dealing a CRITICAL 1205 damage!
Eien used another Eterna Stockpile, and then Eternabeam for 455 damage!
"I'm... I'm sorry, but that's the best I can do for now. I need more power... Just a little more, I'm so close...!"
"Fuck this thing," Soda hissed. "Hey! Over here! I'm not gonna let you try to take out those idiots! I'M your real threat!" Soda knew he was going to regret this. He had a feeling it had a technique he couldn't dodge... But he had to do it. For them. He owed it to them.
Soda used Blinding Dazzle, gaining Follow Me and True Dodge for one turn!
"Starting to get my strength back, heh..." Soda shook his head.
"Looks like this thing has weak points, whatever it is! SWORD POWERRRRR!"
Sword used Swords Dance one last time!
Sword used Behemoth Blade against the hazy presence, dealing 755 damage!
"The
fuck?!" Sword, exasperated, said as she flipped back to being a Mew. "That was my best attack! You should be headless!"
"Does it even have a head? I--I can't see..." Owen was wheezing. Something about the haze was sapping his strength... Everyone would feel the same.
Sword looked up. Something was coming.
"Xernatus?" Owen called. "Are you okay?"
"I... c-can't move..."
Xernatus is unable to act!
The Cataclysm is falling! So far, 4 hits have fallen...!
Astrid: Guarded by Mellow!
Bahamut: Blocked and dodged!
Brisa: Blocked and dodged!
Dave: Blocked and dodged!
Icetales: A partial-grazing 156
Mellow 1315
Owen: Protect, then 47!
Saltriv: 88
Starr: Protect and dodge!
Vix: Protect!
Diyem: 25
Eien: 26
Ionys: Dodged!
Xernatus: 461
Sword: Protect, and then 331!
--
Bahamut looked at the approaching meteors. "... tch. What drivel." He floated toward Diyem, head tendrils twitching.
"It would appear... my emptiness can serve a purpose after all." The necrozma had his usual stoicism. "How fortuitous."
With a flap of his wings, Bahamut rose higher. His satchel jostled and Polaris poked its head out and waved a tiny piece of parchment. "Oh, oh, you've gotta read this!"
Bahamut's multicolored eyes narrowed. A begrudging growl rumbled in his crystalline beak as he faced down the oncoming meteors.
"Very well. You've forced me to use ten percent of my power."
With a jovial grin, Polaris pressed its pom-poms against Bahamut's crystalline leg. A distorted purple aura surrounded him. The meteors rained down, only to be trapped within the distortion and swallowed into Bahamut's body. His grayscale form pulsated with ripples of black, gold, and purple.
When the last meteor vanished, so to did the distortion. Bahamut drifted back toward the ground.
"Hmph. Real strength isn't a constant stream of showboating with bright lights and explosions.” Bahamut didn’t look at anyone in particular. “It's a single, definitive action.”
--
Bahamut's Eternal Spirit activated, canceling out the rest of the attack completely! He absorbed the attack and healed for 518 damage!
The Eternal Blacklight set its attention on Bahamut, but a flickering light seemed to draw it away on some primal level, if it even had such instincts. It faced Soda.
"̶B̷e̴t̸r̴a̸y̶e̷d̴.̸.̶.̷ ̷b̵e̴t̶r̴a̶y̵e̶d̵ ̸b̴e̸t̴r̴a̶y̵e̸d̷ ̵b̵e̸t̸r̴a̵y̴e̶d̸.̷.̷.̵"̶
"Yeah, what of it?!" Soda shouted. "You messed with my head! This is payback! You... aren't gonna survive against them, y'know that?! We're here to put an end to all this! So it'll... just..."
The fur on Soda's arms rose. There was a tingling sensation in the air. In this haze, he saw echoes of the five powers forming again, but not yet. But central to it all was something else... A power he recognized all too well.
With a morbid smirk, he could only find solace that it hadn't been aimed at them.
"Guess I deserve this one," he muttered. He braced, glancing to his left, and then shifted his weight to the right--
The Eternal Blacklight used Lunatic Cannon on Soda, dealing 5771 damage! Soda... was nowhere to be found!
Owen gasped, looking around frantically. "S-Soda?" he called. "SODA?!"
"What? Owen, focus!"
"I--I can't find Soda. He just--a-after that attack, he...!"
The Eternal Blacklight made another low rumble. Even if they covered their ears and tried to drown it out, this one was impossible to ignore. That thing in the haze shifted around, dark clouds obscuring it more, as they all drew in closer to the beast within.
Then, all became quiet. Muted, for a single instant.
They could scarcely breathe. It was like time had stopped.
A wave of crackling, five-powered energy exploded outward, unavoidable, as the haze reacted to it like a catalyst. Screams or grunts of pain and surprise from nearly the whole team followed, sending them flying hundreds of feet away before coming to a stop.
The power left them. It was hard to tell in the strange atmosphere, but everything suddenly seemed so much bigger, their powers dampened, like something had been locked around their spiritual chests and even more tugged away.
Worst of all, it felt like that connection they had with Cibus had suddenly become faint and tenuous, thinning and thinning until it was like a thread of silk.
It felt like the world had closed itself off. And with it, the Hope they had tried to smuggle in...
The Eternal Blacklight used Eternity's Beginning!
The team lost their Eterna boost, and their HP returned to normal!
Eterna powers have been suppressed!
Action count has been halved, rounding down, and Diyem, Eien, Xernatus, and Sword's actions have been locked to 1!
The Eternal Blacklight overhealed to 150,000 HP!
The Eternal Blacklight gained +1 Valor!
The Eternal Blacklight was the god of this world, and its only native resident. This was its domain. And now, they had no choice but to fight by its rules...
Was there anything they could do? Or... was this it?
The Eternal Blacklight: 150,000
Owen's insight: It'll just heal... no matter what we try. And it'll keep getting stronger. We can barely move. And it's about to attack again! And Soda's... He can't be...?
Do we run?
No... Pop warned us about this. There has to be something. But... but what was it? I can't remember...