Ana hurtled forward into the nest of writhing tubules that was the core. Dozens of glass tendrils lashed out at her, morphing in mid-flight into barbed stingers - but all were burned away by the blazing flames wreathing her form. The beating heart of the thing, resonating nothing but pure malice, lay before her, and her gathered strike smashed into it with all the force she could muster - causing it to rattle, letting out a distinct chime like nothing else ever heard in the world, as a wave of reality-bending energy passed out from it. Miles away, moths turned to butterflies, blue cars turned red, and at least one unfortunate individual awoke to discover they now lived in a fast food restaurant, as ripples spread far and wide, ricocheting off chunks of reality, spreading chaos as they went.
Outside, the Scorpion suddenly halted as it's limbs began to regrow, freezing in place. There was a loud groan, and a crackling, as the Sphere's power suddenly vanished - and the weight that had been propping up its brute-force changes to the world went with it. All around the group, there was gentle tinkling, then a roar of broken glass as the crystal forest collapsed in on itself, a tidal wave of crushed glass whirling around them. The Scorpion itself crumbled into dust, it's limbs fading from view, it's hulking carapace crackling and breaking apart, its jeweled eyes turning dull before disintegrating themselves.
At length, all that remained was the Sphere.
It hung in the air momentarily, suspended by the last vestiges of its power... And then clattered to the ground, inert at last - or at least, stunned into submission for the time being, it's malefic, toxic aura now having faded completely. Who could tell where such a thing had come from? Had it been expelled from the heavens, propelled from the Moon like a pearl formed among the folds of dimensions? Or was it an artifact of something else, something sinister? Only time would tell. For the moment... The battle was won, and the truth... revealed.
All around them, nestled where the roots of the trees had once laid, were piles of bones and skulls - presumably those that had once lived in this great valley, pockmarking the now grey, listless landscape with craters full of grim remains. In the distance, the fields of Dimensional Energy Crystal still loomed bright, still a very real reminder that the challenges facing the Earth... had just begun in earnest.
Outside, the Scorpion suddenly halted as it's limbs began to regrow, freezing in place. There was a loud groan, and a crackling, as the Sphere's power suddenly vanished - and the weight that had been propping up its brute-force changes to the world went with it. All around the group, there was gentle tinkling, then a roar of broken glass as the crystal forest collapsed in on itself, a tidal wave of crushed glass whirling around them. The Scorpion itself crumbled into dust, it's limbs fading from view, it's hulking carapace crackling and breaking apart, its jeweled eyes turning dull before disintegrating themselves.
At length, all that remained was the Sphere.
It hung in the air momentarily, suspended by the last vestiges of its power... And then clattered to the ground, inert at last - or at least, stunned into submission for the time being, it's malefic, toxic aura now having faded completely. Who could tell where such a thing had come from? Had it been expelled from the heavens, propelled from the Moon like a pearl formed among the folds of dimensions? Or was it an artifact of something else, something sinister? Only time would tell. For the moment... The battle was won, and the truth... revealed.
All around them, nestled where the roots of the trees had once laid, were piles of bones and skulls - presumably those that had once lived in this great valley, pockmarking the now grey, listless landscape with craters full of grim remains. In the distance, the fields of Dimensional Energy Crystal still loomed bright, still a very real reminder that the challenges facing the Earth... had just begun in earnest.
