Dreamer's Throne

As his words echoed in the air, Garrett tossed the mask he held into the air in front of him. The rainbow-colored flower emblazoned on it shimmered, and the mask broke into a thousand pieces, transforming into millions of petals that swirled into a large flower pattern before they flew towards Agma-Yoth. The skeletal smile on Agma-Yoth's face grew disdainful, and power surged around him as thousands of grinning skulls manifested, cackling as they flew out to meet the incoming petals.

The two powers clashed against each other, shaking the dream space as each sought to overpower the other. Garrett could feel that he was outclassed even from the first engagement, but he clenched his teeth and unleashed as much power as he possibly could, filling the air with innumerable brilliant flower petals. Like a sea of glittering color, the petals surged toward Agma-Yoth, but a moment later, Garrett felt them vanishing in droves as the grinning skeletons chomped their way through the petals with surprising speed. Gritting his teeth, Garrett didn't seem to care, and instead poured more power into the flowers.

They seemed to be evenly matched at first but a surge of power spread from the obsidian coffin and the skulls glowed green, increasing their attacking speed until they tore through the flowers faster than Garrett could replenish them. What had been an even fight quickly swung in Agma-Yoth’s favor and the skulls began to move across the throne room toward Garrett and the replica of the Dreamer’s Throne he sat on. Closer and closer the skeletons got as they ate their way through the sea of petals that separated Agma-Yoth from Garrett. Agma-Yoth let out a sneering laugh as the skulls crossed the three quarters mark.

"You're strong for a mortal," he said, "but your strength will do you no good here. You are outclassed in every respect."

Silently, Garrett simply ignored his enemy as he continued to pour power into his attack, summoning flowers as fast as he could. This complete disregard set Agma-Yoth on edge, and caused him to look for what could be giving Garrett his confidence. The change was subtle, and at first, Agma-Yoth, assured of his victory, missed it. It wasn't until one of the skeleton skulls hesitated slightly, its eyes glowing with a rainbow of colors, that he noticed something was wrong. Before he could react, however, the skull turned to the side, biting deep into one of the other skulls nearby, causing it to crack apart with a wretched scream.

As the shards of bone scattered they faded, transforming into ether, and more and more of the skulls began to turn on each other, falling under Garrett's control. A faint smile crossed Garrett’s lips, but his eyes were ice cold and he continued to summon a new wave of petals, sending them surging forward to smother the remaining skulls. Soon, nearly all of the skulls were changed, their white bone gleaming with a shimmer of rainbow color as they joined the petals in flying toward the obsidian coffin.

"A cute trick," Agma-Yoth said, his voice causing the entire space to rumble and shake as he sent out a tremendous amount of mental energy.

In front of him, the world of the dream tore and twisted as three large monsters began to materialize in front of the coffin. No longer just skulls, each of the undead monsters were complete, with entire bodies, and the sight of them caused a thread of fear to appear in Garrett's mind. He quickly quenched it, sending his flower petals and the newly captured skulls shooting towards Agma-Yoth. The three large undead creatures Agma-Yoth summoned were giant skeletons that looked like the statues that the team had faced outside the entrance to the first tomb, with the heads of jackals and armor on their chests. Each wielded two massive blades that burned with fierce white flame. That same flame coated their bones, granting them incredible resilience as they charged forward, and Garrett winced as each swing of their swords burned away hundreds of petals. The skulls he had seized from Agma-Yoth lurched forward, biting down on the jackal-headed skeletons, but even as they did, the white flames burned them to ash.

"Utter foolishness," Agma-Yoth declared. "There is nothing that you can do to stop me."

In the world outside the dream, as Garrett had attacked Agma-Yoth, Viper hadn't been still either. With a burst of speed that surpassed anything he had shown so far, he appeared in front of Cynen, blocking the skeletal hand that reached out to touch her. His sword rose to intercept the skeletal finger but as soon as the finger and sword collided, the silver blade he held shattered like glass. With unbelievable strength the finger pressed forward, past his broken defenses and into the center of his chest. A garbled scream burst from his lips and his body shuddered as the finger sank deep into his chest, intending to pass straight through him and into Cynen, who was still trapped in Agma-Yoth’s mental chains.

White flame erupted from the wound on his chest where the finger pressed in, burning at him fiercely, as the guardian flower he carried abruptly manifested above him. Its petals reached down, wrapping around the skeletal hand, desperately trying to slow it, even as his body shuddered and he coughed up blood and bile that coated his chin and chest in gore. The damage to his body was tremendous, but his efforts were rewarded as the hand slowed to a stop and then, with a puff, dissipated. White flame licked at him, burning his chest and igniting the petals that fluttered above his head as he collapsed at Cynen's feet.

The mental chains that bound her began to fade as Garrett took Agma-Yoth's attention in the dream world, and with a tremendous effort, Cynen broke free, swiftly crouching to check on Viper. The attack he had blocked was more powerful than either of them had anticipated, and even as she watched, Viper's body twitched as his life force rapidly bled out.

"No, no," Cynen moaned, fear, anger, and rage filling her eyes.

It was followed closely by despair as she looked up at Agma-Yoth in his obsidian casket. He seemed to grin down at her mercilessly, his smile mocking. Yet even as she sank into the depths of despair, she saw Gale rushing forward, throwing himself at Agma-Yoth to attack. Once more, a solid wave of energy slammed into him, casting him across the room, where he slammed into a pillar. Hearing the crack of his skull hitting the stone, something seemed to snap inside of Cynen, and the despair in her eyes was transformed into a sort of determined madness.

Viper was dying at her feet. Her command of death's flame allowed her to understand life force in a way that few could, and she knew for a fact that he was on his way out. Half of his heart had been destroyed by the strike and the brilliant flower that waved above his head was likewise burning, its petals and roots trembling wildly as they attempted to shake themselves free of the flame. The only reason Viper hadn't already died was the power streaming through the guardian flower into his body. But the damage was too great, and even if he were to be healed, the flames licking at his flesh would never cease until he died. Just as her flame destroyed the undead, the white flame of life destroyed the living.

"I know you're watching," Cynen rasped, speaking into the air, her voice subdued. "I don't care what I have to give up, but lend me your strength."

The conviction in her voice was so intense, it was nearly tangible, spilling into the intense mental energy that surrounded her. Miles away, Garrett sat on the dreamer's throne, his face scrunched in intense concentration as he fought a losing battle against Agma-Yoth with all his might. A faint shiver ran through him as Cynen’s words resonated in his mind and chest, sinking into the throne below him. Unbidden, as if they came from a place deeper than he knew existed, words rose to his lips.

"Let it be so."

In the first tomb, the Guardian Flower shivered, facing Agma-Yoth's fierce flame. One of its roots stretched out, wrapping around Cynen's outstretched hand, and with a tearing sound, it ripped itself free from Viper's corpse, cutting off the energy supply it had been desperately pumping into him. His body stilled as his broken heart stopped struggling, and Viper died. Still shaking with pain as the white flames burned it, the Guardian Flower climbed from Cynen’s outstretched arm onto Cynen's chest, burrowing its roots into her soul spark.

A scream ripped from her lips as the white flame that danced along its petals began to scorch her flesh. Despite the intense agony, she didn't attempt to stop or fight against the Guardian Flower. Instead, she welcomed it with open arms and an open mind. She had one single wish—the destruction of the undead menace that had cursed her, her family, and her loved ones, and she intended to see it through, no matter the cost.

As the still-burning Dream Flower took root, power surged through her. Already a Shaper level awakened, the addition of the Guardian Flower was like adding wings to a tiger. The pale green death flame she carried in her soul spark surged to meet Agma-Yoth's white flame that now licked at her body. Death and life burned together, producing the most terrible pain, but her eyes stayed open, and she stood to her feet, charging up the stairs two at a time. The two flames battled wildly for domination as she moved and the more they fought, the harder it was to control her green death flame. The same was true for Agma-Yoth's white life flame, and by the time Cynen’s foot hit the top stair, they had transformed into an uncontrollable bonfire that surged around her with enough heat to melt the stone under her feet.

The two flames were fiercely attracted to each other, and the more they entangled, the stronger they grew. Her clothing had been completely burned away and her flesh was blackened, but she pressed forward, burning through Agma-Yoth's mental energy as she tore a path straight towards him. At the last moment, his eyes seemed to flicker, a faint sense of horror appearing, but it was too late and a moment later, Cynen reached into the obsidian coffin, wrapping her arms around Agma-Yoth's skeletal body. Her head only came up to the bottom of his bony ribs, but she let out a fierce shout and poured all of her energy into the flame, feeling it eat away at his bones.

In the mental world Garrett had created, he had been fighting fiercely against the skeletons summoned by Agma-Yoth. The skeletal necromancer didn't seem to be in any sort of rush as he sent his skeletons to destroy Garrett and no matter what sorts of tricks Garrett tried to pull, it appeared as if his demise was marching closer. He tried to manipulate the space itself, preventing the skeletons from getting close to his throne, but they simply cut through his mental energy as if it was nothing, forcing their way toward him.

They were only a few dozen feet away when suddenly Garrett shivered, his eyes which had been cold and concentrated seeming to gleam with a golden light. A few seconds later, a small smile appeared on his lips, breaking the look of intense concentration on his face. The skeletons stopped and Agma-Yoth stared at him across the distance. A few seconds passed and suddenly a look of horror appeared on Agma-Yoth's face as smoke began to rise from his body. His pale skin turning black and beginning to char, ashes drifted from his body as he stared at Garrett in horror.

"What have you done?!" Agma-Yoth cried.

His voice, entirely devoid of the calm confidence it had carried before, rose to a shriek as the skeletons surged forward. Before they could bring their blades down, golden light spread around Garrett, filling the air with light that dyed the skeletons' bones with a golden hue.

“Kneel.”

Garrett's voice was calm, holding the confidence that Agma-Yoth's lacked. Immediately the three skeletons stopped and dropped to one knee, their blades falling down to their sides. Though he looked like he was at ease, it was all Garrett could do to maintain his composure as he stared at Agma-Yoth across the throne room. The skeletal man's body continued to burn, large chunks of his skin sloughing off and vanishing into the ether as fierce white and green flames appeared in the holes burned in his skin. The mental energy that created his body was being incinerated before Garrett’s eyes, but he didn’t dare relax his concentration.

Desperately, Agma-Yoth tried to jerk and twist, almost as if he wished to step out of the coffin he was in, but no matter how he moved, he couldn’t break free. At the same time, Garrett poured every ounce of his concentration and mental energy into expressing the power of the Dreamer's Throne. The Dreamer's Throne carried a naturally suppressive aura superior to any mental energy he had ever come across, and now, that power surged through him, filling the space around him and locking down the three skeletons. This served two purposes, first in preventing them from carrying out Agma-Yoth's order to kill him, and second, in trapping a considerable amount of his enemy's mental energy, preventing Agma-Yoth from using it to save himself.

"How?"