The beasts closed in, their lumi forms pulsating with aetheriergy. Their distorted, humanoid shapes moved unnaturally, limbs jerking and twisting as though the energy c through them barely held them together.
Vivienne ducked low, slippiween their swiping cws and darting toward the wall. Her cws raked across the stone as she unched herself upward, twisting mid-air to avoid anlowing mass lunging for her. From the elevated vantage, she struck out, slig through one of the beasts’ necks with an arc of her cws. Its head dissolved into aether, and its body colpsed in on itself, leaving only a faint shimmer in the air.
But they were endless. For every beast she destroyed, awo took its pce, surging from the glowing breach that shimmered ominously at the far side of the room.
“Persistent little things, aren’t they?” Vivienne spat, nding lightly on the balls of her feet. Her dress was streaked with faint smears of aether, the glowing substance evaporating like mist.
Renzia remai the ter of the room, a storm of precision and efficy. With each fluid strike, one of her colossal sewing needles smmed into a beast’s chest, pinning it against the floor. In a smooth, practiced motion, she wrehe on free, leaving behind a sptter of aetheric mist as the creature dissolved into vapor. Her movements were almost meical in their perfe, each strike calcuted, the already in motion before the st had even fully settled. Her figure blurred with speed and purpose, her tall form a ghost among the chaos.
Vivienne observed, her eyes narrowing. Renzia was doing her job, yes, but the sheer volume of creatures was overwhelming. She could already feel the strain creeping up her limbs as the tide of beasts kept ing, oer another, no end in sight.
With a sigh, Vivienne’s form shifted, melting into her base form, her tattered dress falling to the ground. It wasn’t the most powerful of her shapes, not by far, but these creatures were hardly the stro. They were numerous, not formidable—yet in suumbers, they posed a problem. The tight space was not in her favor either, and her rger, more imposing forms would only hinder her ability to maneuver.
This form, smaller and more fluid, gave her the mobility she needed. She could shift and adapt with ease, her body reshaping itself into an ever-ging mass that could evade the beasts' relentless attacks. Her cws retracted into her amorphous form, repced with multiple tendrils that stretched and slithered like serpents, ready to sh out at the hreat.
Tharon, who had been cirg with his on held ahead of him, saw the shift in Vivienne’s form and lu her with his cleaver. The bde swung through her mass with little resistance, passing harmlessly through the liquid-like substance she had bee.
Vivieendrils whipped out like striking vipers, shing at him with speed and force. She sprung them into his midse with enough force to send him back. He stumbled, the air knocked from his lungs as she sent him crashing to the floor, his cleaver cttering from his hand. For a moment, he struggled tain his footing, but Vivienne was already gone, retreating into the shadows of the room, her form dissolving as she moved to another er of the battlefield.
In her absehe aether beasts tie forward, relentless and eager to finish what their masters had started. Vivieendrils erupted from the darkness, grabbing hold of several of the creatures. With a powerful tug, she pulled them toward her. Dozens of hungry mouths, spread across her shifting mass, opened wide to e the beasts whole. The creatures struggled against her, but their efforts were futile as she devoured them in one swift motion.
Vivienne’s form pulsed with rerength as the st of the beasts vanished into her, their aether swirling in her many mouths, fueling her. She could feel the power of each creature—some warm with the dusk aether, others searing with the iy of dawher—intermingling, adding trowing energy. It was a delicious, addictive sensation, but it wasn’t enough. She needed more, something bigger, something that would tip the ban her favor.
Her tendrils shed out once more, pulling in another wave of the humanoid aetherbeasts. Each creature, though vaguely human in shape, was no match for the voracious huhat drove her. They fought and cwed, but as they were dragged into her many maws, their resistance crumbled into nothing. Every bite sent a rush of energy surging through her, fueling her mass as it grew rger and more substantial. The echoes of her low, rumbling satisfa reverberated through the room, a haunting reminder of her insatiable nature.
The tide of aetherbeasts slowed. Their numbers, once seemingly endless, dwindled until only a siraggler remained. It hesitated at the threshold, as though aware of its impending doom. Before it could make aep, Vivienne, now a massive, shiftiy that filled over half the room, extended a tendril to snatch it. The beast filed uselessly as she hoisted it into the air and tossed it effortlessly into one of her waiting maws. It disappeared with a siing gulp, leaving nothing but silen its wake.
Vivienne paused, the haze of her feeding frenzy clearing as she retracted her tendrils and began to pull her mass bato a more manageable form. Her shifting, amorphous body shrank, the tless mouths and tendrils disappearing as she reformed into her more human-like shape. She surveyed the room, her bck eyes gleaming in the dim light.
The dipidated chamber, oeeming with chaos, was now eerily still. Only Renzia remained, standing in the ter of the room with her colossal sewing needles in hand, their metallic sheen dulled by the ichor of the beasts she had dispatched. Her cloth-ed frame was as posed as ever, though her head tilted slightly as though awaiting further instrus.
Vivienne’s gaze swept the space, but there was no sign of the hooded lekine or Tharon. They had slipped away in the chaos, leaving only the faint, lingering trace of their aether in the air. Vivie out a low growl of frustration and shifted into her prime form with an annoyed expression, though the fai smile tugged at her lips.
Most importantly, she had their st now. Aether had its own unique fvor, and theirs was distine she wouldn’t fet anytime soon.
“Renzia, my dear,” Vivienne said, her voice smooth and dripping with i. “We’re taking a small break... to hunt.”
Renzia tilted her head slightly at Vivienne’s words, the motion slow and deliberate. Her stitched face gave nothing away, but the faint creak of her wooden frame betrayed her readiness. With practiced precision, she wiped the ichor from one of her colossal sewing needles, the dark fluid pooling on the ruined floor. She slid it bato her hollow neck with a metallig, leaving the other still in her hand, poised for whatever came .
Vivieretched, her body rippling as the st remnants of her monstrous form folded away, giving her a more humanoid appearahe bck eyes glinted with sharp focus, and her lips curved into a smile that promised retribution. “They think they’ve escaped,” she murmured, her tone ced with amusement. “But the thing about running... it always leaves a trail.”
She stepped forward, the pads of her bare feet silent against the cold stohe air was thick with residual energy, faint but unmistakable. Vivienne crouched low near a shattered n, her cws brushing against the surface where a faint scorch mark stood out against the aged stone. She drew her hand to her face, tasting the remnants of aether that g to the air like invisible smoke.
“Rushing,” she whispered, more to herself than Renzia. “Careless. Desperate.”
Behind her, Renzia shifted, her movements unnervingly fluid for a frame that seemed sid. Her shadow stretched long and jagged against the uneven walls, her silhouette blending seamlessly with the gloom.
“e,” Vivienne said as she straightened, gesturing forward. “They run, but they ’t hide.”
The two made their way deeper into the ruins. The corridors twisted and narrowed, the once-proud architecture reduced to a jagged maze of decay. Shadows danced unnaturally along the walls, their movements almost alive, as though the ruin itself sought to obscure the path.
Vivienne moved with purpose, her steps soundless against the crumbling stohe air thied as they desded further, the remnants of aether leaving a trail that only she could follow. It was faint but distinct, a tantalizing thread of energy ced with desperation.
“They’re trying to mislead us,” she muttered, croug near a patch of disturbed dust. The faint scuffs of hurried footsteps betrayed their path. “Clumsy.”
Behind her, Renzia glided silently, her wooden frame moving with an uling grace. The faint scrape of her remaining needle against the stone walls punctuated the otherwise oppressive quiet.
The pair reached a fork ih, ounnel desding into a faint glow of aetheric light, the other veering into plete darkness. Vivienne paused, tilting her head as though listening. She crouched low, her cwed hand brushing against the ground.
“They split up,” she murmured, her tone almost amused. “The hooded o left. Tharon took the right.”
Renzia tilted her head, the creak of her neck joints sharp in the silence. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, the needle in her hand shifting slightly.
“Don’t worry,” Vivienne said, a grin spreading across her face. “We’ll catch them both. But let’s make the game fair, shall we? You take the brute. I’ll hahe sly one.”
Renzia’s head tilted once more in aowledgment before she turoward the right tunnel, her steps soundless as she vanished into the dark.
Vivieraightened, her eyes gleaming. “Now then,” she whispered, stepping into the glowing corridor.
The light grew stronger as she moved, the air shimmering faintly with residual energy. The hooded figure had left more than just a trail—stray tendrils of aether g to the walls, faint and flickering like dying embers. Vivienne’s cws flexed as she absorbed the se, her predatory instincts sharp.
“You’re scared,” she said softly, her voice carrying through the tunnel. “I taste it. You’re clever, but not clever enough.”
A faint scuffling echoed ahead, barely audible, and Vivienne’s smirk widened. She didn’t rush. Instead, she slowed her pace, her movements deliberate and unnerving. She let her presence seep into the air, a suffog reminder of the predator closing in.
The corridor opened into a vast chamber, its ter dominated by an a fountain long dried and crumbling. The hooded figure stood he far wall, their breathing bored, one hand braced against the stone.
“Caught you,” Vivienne purred, stepping into the light.
The figure turheir glowing eyes narrowih the hood. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” they hissed, their voice sharp with desperation.
“Oh, but I do,” Vivienne replied, her form shifting slightly, tendrils rippling just beh her skin. “I’m hunting.”
She stalked forward, her movements fluid, predatory, every step a deliberate remihat she was in trol. The hooded lekine braced themselves against the crumbling stoheir glowing eyes darting toward the other exits in the chamber.
"You're ered," Vivienne said, her voice smooth, almost teasing. "But please, try to run. It’s much more fuhey struggle."
The lekiraightened, drawing their rapier. Its bde gleamed with an inteheriergy, casting long, dang shadows across the walls. “If you think I’m just another mark,” they began, their voice steadyie their bored breathing, “you’re sorely mistaken.”
Vivieilted her head, her bck eyes narrowing in amusement. “Oh, good,” she purred. “I was worried this would be over too quickly.”
In a blink, she surged forward, her tendrils snapping out like whips toward her prey. The lekine ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding the shing appehey tered with a precise thrust of their rapier, its glowing edge slig through one of her tendrils. Vivienne hissed, recoiling slightly, but her grin only widened.
“You’ve got some fight in you. Good,” she said, her voice low and dangerous. “Let’s see how long you st.”
The lekine darted toward the ter of the room, their movements quid calcuted. They sshed at the air, sending arcs of aether energy hurtling toward her. Vivienne’s form rippled, the bsts passing through her shapeless mass with little effect.
“Really?” she drawled. “Yoing to make me work for this?”
The lekine’s only response was another flurry of strikes, eae aimed with deadly precision. Vivienne dodged and weaved, her cws shing out ialiation. Oalon caught the lekine’s arm, wreng the rapier from their grip and sending it skittering across the chamber floor.
The lekiumbled, their breathing ragged as they pressed their back to the wall. Vivienne loomed before them, her form t and shifting, her many eyes gleaming with hunger.
“This is the part where you beg,” she said softly, her voice dripping with malice.
The lekine gred up at her, their glowing eyes defiant even in the face of certai. “You don’t uand what’s ing,” they spat.
Vivienne paused, her tendrils hesitating mid-strike. “Oh? Enlighten me,” she said, though her tone made it clear she wasn’t expeg a satisfying answer.
The lekine smirked, blood trig from the er of their mouth. “You’re not the only hunter down here.”
From the shadows, a low, guttural growl echoed through the chamber. Vivienne’s grin faltered, her attention snapping to the darkness beyond the crumbling fountain.
“Iing,” she muttered, flexing her cws as she prepared for whatever came . "Let's see if they taste as good as you do."
The growl deepened, vibrating through the a stone chamber as a monstrous shape slithered forward from the shadows. Its body was an amalgamation of jagged obsidian ptes and raw, pulsatiher, glowing fissures splitting its form like molten veins. Behind it, simir smaller beasts prowled into view, their crystal-like eyes fixed on Vivienne.
She didn’t flinch. Instead, she smiled—a sharp, dangerous thing that matched the gleam of her cws.
“I was worried you’d be b,” she murmured, rolling her shoulders. Aether flickered over her skin, her humanoid form now in its full, predatlory. Her dark eyes gleamed, aance radiated effortless power, like a hu the peak of her hunt.
The rgest beast charged, its massive legs crag the stone floor beh it. It lunged with a roar, jaing wide to swallow her whole.
Vivienne sidestepped with uny speed, cws raking across its fnk in one fluid motion. The beast howled, its momentum carrying it past her as she spun on her heel a. Her cws pierced its glowing core, and with a brutal twist, she tore it free. Aether spilled from the creature like blood, and it colpsed, dissolving into shimmering mist.
The pack surged, their feral snarls eg as they moved to surround her. Vivienne crouched low, her muscles taut, ready t.
O from the side, cws outstretched. She caught it mid-air, her hand log around its throat. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled it into another approag beast, both shattering intments on impact.
Another lunged from behind, but Vivienne pivoted smoothly, her movements precise and trolled. Her cws shed out, severing its limbs before she drove her hand through its chest, crushing the core within.
The air grew thick with the metallig of aether. The pack hesitated, their numbers dwindling as Viviealked forward.
“e on,” she taunted, her voice low and mog. “You were all so eager a moment ago.”
O, slightly rger thahers, snarled and pounced. Vivie its charge head-on, her cws g against its crystallih. For a brief moment, they were locked in a deadly grapple, her strength matched against its raw ferocity. Thewisted, using the beast’s own momentum to sm it into the ground. She drove her cws into its core, tearing it apart with a satisfying ch.
A soft sound caught her attention. She turned her head sharply to see the hooded lekine slipping toward the far exit, their movement careful but quick.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Vivienne growled.
In one fluid motion, she unched herself forward, cws sparking against the stone as she closed the distan seds. The lekine spun, their hand darting toward something hiddeh their cloak, but Vivienne’s cw was already at their throat, pinning them against the wall.
“Trying to deny me a meal?” she asked, her tone almost pyful, though her grip was anything but.
The lekine’s glowing eyes met hers, defiance flickering within them despite their helpless position. “You have no idea what you’re meddling with,” they hissed, their voice trembling as much with frustration as fear.
Vivieilted her head, her lips curling into a sly smirk. “Oh, you keep saying that, and quite frankly, darling, I don’t think I care.” She shifted her weight, her tail whipping around behind her like a serpent poised to strike. With a quick, decisive movement, it shed out at the final crystalli as it lunged for her, shattering the creature into glittering shards that scattered across the chamber floor. She didn’t even gnce back at her handiwork, her full attention locked on her prey.
Her cws clicked lightly as she crouched, leaning closer to the lekine. “Let me expin how this is going to work,” she begaone sweet yet dripping with menace. “Option one: you tell me everything I want to knht now, no games. Or,” her tail curled around the lekine’s legs like a steel vice, squeezing just enough to make them flinch, “option two: you don’t. And I promise you’ll wish you had.”
The lekine shuddered as the room seemed to grow colder. Their glowing eyes widened slightly, betraying the fear they were desperately trying to suppress. Vivienne’s grin widened, revealing rows of sharp teeth. Her tongue, unnaturally long and serpentine, slithered out to taste the air zily, her bck eyes narrowing in delight.
“Oh, I see it now,” she purred, her voice low and resonant. “I taste it on you. Feel it in your aether.” Her cws flexed around their throat, sharp tips catg the dim light. “Fear.” She leaned closer, her breath brushing against the lekine’s face. “So, what will it be?”
The lekiruggled against her grip, their breaths ing in short, panicked bursts. They goward the shattered remains of the crystallis scattered across the room, as if seeking salvation from their obliterated allies. None would e.
“You… you don’t uand what you’re interfering with,” they rasped, their voice trembling. Despite the words, Vivienne could feel their aether shiftiic, wild, teetering on the edge of colpse.
Vivienne chuckled, a low, throaty sound that sent a shiver through the chamber. “And you don’t seem to uand,” she murmured, her tail tightening around their legs with a slow, deliberate squeeze, “how little I care about your warnings.” Her cws pressed just enough to draw the smallest droplets of blood, crimson against their pale skin. “This is your st ce. Talk, or you’ll wish for a fate kihan me.”
The lekine's head turned sharply to the side as if searg for an unseen ally or a fleeting escape route. Their voice cracked as they spoke. “Fine! Fine… I’ll talk.”
Vivienne eased her grip, though her cws remained poised and ready. “That’s better,” she said, her tone sweetened with mock approval. “Start at the beginning, darling. Who sent you? Why are you here?”
The lekine swallowed hard, their glowing eyes flickering with hesitation. “It’s… Rathik,” they admitted, their voice barely above a whisper. “We’re under his and.”
Vivienne’s expression shifted, her grin tightening into something sharper, more predatory. “Rathik.” she repeated, sav the name as though it were a delicacy. “And what does that slimy creature want with this pce? Speak clearly. I’ve little patience for stammering.”
The lekine’s gaze darted to the side again, but Vivienne’s cws flexed, a silent reminder of her proximity to their throat. They flinched, tinuing hurriedly. “Laiken and Drevaris… their deaths put everyone on edge. Rathik’s goo high alert. He sent us to guard the entrao the Uy.”
“Uy?” Vivieilted her head, her bck eyes narrowing. “What’s he doing down there?”
“I don’t know!” the lekine blurted, desperation g their words. “Only his inner circle knows the full pn. We’re just soldiers, told where to stand and who to kill.”
Vivienne hummed, tapping her cws idly against the lekine’s neck. “How very dull,” she mused. “But surely you’ve seen something—overheard a whisper or two?”
They hesitated, their aether trembling in her grasp. “I’ve… I’ve seen Rathik meet with clergy. Snty of Aegis. They’ve been ing and going from the Uy.”
Vivienne’s griurned, wicked and gleaming. “The Snty? Now that’s iing. But why would they stoop to meeting with a creature like Rathik?”
The lekine shook their head weakly. “I don’t know. I swear, I don’t know anything more. I’m not privy to their discussions.”
Vivienne sighed theatrically, her tail flig behind her. “What a pity. You’re almost as useless as those beasts of yours.” Her eyes gleamed suddenly, her grip tightening. “Speaking of which, how are you trolling them?”
The lekine flinched again, their glowing eyes wide. “I—I don’t know that either! They’re given to us already trained. Someone higher up hahat. We just… use them.”
Vivienne leaned closer, her voice a low, dangerous whisper. “ve,” she drawled. “But hardly satisfying.”
The lekine’s glowing eyes darted wildly, their voice trembling as they stammered, “S-so… I leave?”
Vivienne chuckled softly, her ugh carrying an almost musical quality. It might have been soothing were it not for the predatleam in her bck eyes. She tilted her head, her voice as sweet as honey. “Leave? Oh, darling, you’ve misuood entirely.” Her cws flexed, glinting faintly in the dim light. “You’ve been so helpful, so I’ll be nice... and make it quick.”
“Wha—” The word barely left their lips before Vivienne’s face twisted unnaturally. Her jaw split apart with a wet crack, revealing rows of jagged, glistenih within a maw that seemed to stretch impossibly wide.
The lekine’s scream pierced the air as she lunged, her teeth sinking into their shoulder with savage force. Flesh aher alike tore beh her jaws, their essence spilling forth in a torrent of raw energy that she devoured hungrily.
The screams didn’t st long.
SupernovaSymphony
