No matter how far away Ocelia was, Forus had never averted his attention from her. Although he could not see her emotionless yet warming face, his heart could achieve harmony by the feeling of her touches and the warmth of her body.
Despite exhausted and full of injuries, not a single thought about retreating entered his mind. Even when his face deformed, and his body rotted, he held his body up. With his love and affection, Forus trod the path between life and death.
Step by step, their distant gap continued to lessen ever so slightly.
Lord Phasma watched as he gripped onto the beating heart, tightening his fist as he frowned at his discomfort. At first, he was going to enjoy the fruitless struggle and sent the two off in their despair. However, he had witnessed the height of love, borderline insanity.
"Young lady, you should be proud that you got yourself such a wonderful person. However, it is also because of him that causes your demise." Looking into the pair of unwavering eyes, Lord Phasma sighed as he watched the drama unfolded.
As Ocelia shifted her focused onto the approaching figure, her eyes turned watery. At that moment, visions flashed before her mind, recounting their unfinished story, from enemies to allies, and somewhere along their intertwined path, their relationship changed.
"Don't give up!" Witnessing Forus' corpse-like appearance, Ocelia suddenly felt numb from all the heart-gripping pain. A single drop of pure emotion manifested on her face as her mouth uttered in the ever so softly voice.
Looking at the two, Lord Phasma fell into silence. Instead of consuming the pulsating heart, he waited and watched.
Without any intention to halt, Forus dragged his rotten body across the pool of blood, traversing the swamp of crimson hands. The bloodstains ate away his skin, revealing the white bones underneath the flesh. Despite the suffering akin to death, he had always fixed his gaze onto Ocelia and Lord Phasma.
In the absence of sound, the echoes of his footsteps became the centre of attention. After an undetermined period, the half-rot Forus arrive in front of Lord Phasma. Because of his manipulation, the crimson hands had never pierced Forus' vital organs, making it possible for Forus to stand before Ocelia again.
"I suddenly don't feel like torturing you anymore, and instead, just one word, I'll let you whisper it to her." Lord Phasma spoke as he locked his gaze at Forus, waiting for the final emotional release that usually followed after the long-awaited reunion.
Nodding his head, Forus fixed his pair of the bottomless abyss at the two-coloured pupils. As nature quieted down for their conversation, Forus could hear the faint breathing noise of his maiden, playing at a fixed rhythm.
"Wait." Using his will and the remaining strength, Forus leapt towards Lord Phasma, ignoring the deadly grips of the crimson hands. Although they grazed onto his rotten flesh and cracked bones, they failed to reduce his momentum.
Lord Phasma snapped out of his emotional trance and channelled his sorcery energy, commanding the bloody formation to annihilate Forus. His hand tightened its grip, trying to crush the heart of the lady into pieces.
However, as Ocelia reached her limit, a faint silhouette of a pale mask manifested on her face, covering her expression of pain and enhancing her cold attitude. As the mask touched her face, it merged with her skin and turned her fleshly body into a smooth marble-like covering.
As her body began its conversion, the pulsating heart also showed sights of changing. Its surface hardened as it resisted the crushing force from the grip. However, as time passed, the frequency of the pulsation began to decrease.
"To think that an Elemental Conversion would suddenly start. I wonder what have you been hiding?" Lord Phasma could only think about the strange turn of the event for a moment before shifting his focus towards Forus again.
A crimson hand manifested in front of Lord Phasma, floating before him as it moved closer towards his hand that held the crystalized heart. The bloody nails caressed it as they pinched its surface, creating small cracks all over the exterior.
The unfolding scene left Forus desperate. His face turned emotionless as the frown caused by pain and suffering ceased to display his expression. Although Lord Phasma could not read the man's look, he knew that inside that expressionless mask, the boiling anger and hatred was blooming.
The deformed skin cracked as burning black flame started to spread from the tiny rifts, covering his rotten bones and flesh with the power of destruction that brought forth the end of all things.
As the black flame wiped away every corrupting blood on his body, the all-consuming power of the grey tendrils also rampaged within his body, rapidly absorbing every bit of the degradation power.
From a deformed corpse into a tentacle-covered monstrosity, Forus continued to advance without any care for his expanding injuries. Although his regeneration was superior to ordinary sorcerers, he could not regrow fleshes and skin as quickly as the rotten speed of the black flame.
"Ahh, the aroma of Death Aura. It became purer than the first time we met." A hint of madness appeared in the pair of ghostly pupils. Lord Phasma forced all his strength into that crimson hand, exerting his might to crush the heart-shaped crystal.
Before Forus could reach Lord Phasma, a gigantic eye crawled out from the blood pool at the centre of the sinister formation. It locked its gaze onto him and moved towards him, blocking the pathway between him and Lord Phasma.
The pupil of the eye is crimson in colour, leaking out blood every time it shifted its focus. Around the edge of the eye, tentacles twisted as they extended and shortened randomly. They would grab hold of anything they touched and devour them to satisfy their inner hunger.
As Forus reached the arm-length with it, the pupil contracted into a point, then expanded to cover all of the white space in the eye. The crimson colour twisted and formed a black line that cut through the centre. Suddenly, the two parts separated, turning from the eye into the upper and lower lip of a mouth.
Forus disregarded the obstacle and punched his burning fist forwards, meeting the creepy mouth head-on. As the saliva touched his skin, it melted him, revealing his pale bones, before evaporated by the black flame.
A noisy impact echoed as Forus forced his way forwards, charging into the sharp teeth and the stinging saliva, puncturing the eye until it exposed a hole inside its interior, revealing the pathway towards Ocelia once more.
The skin of the hand had already turned to ashes, exposing the naked bones. The bloodstains on the pale surface implied the dangerous crash that happened within the creepy mouth. Although Forus had just experienced the pain of getting his flesh ripped apart from his hand, he did not pause to weep and instead increased his momentum.
"What a destructive usage of Death Aura." Despite sounding relaxed, Lord Phasma frowned and continued to pressure the crystal in his hand. Even though cracks had manifested and spread all over the surface, none could penetrate deep into its inner structure.
As the one-sided offence continued between Forus and Lord Phasma, a subtle whistle and chant seeped into the surrounding, swaying the blood-stained trees and flowers to move their branches. From behind Lord Phasma and Ocelia, a tiny, glowing snake hissed and shot towards him at an alarming rate.
Its slippery nature and blinding light caused the crimson hands that guarded Lord Phasma to miss their target, getting entangled with one another. Although they could disintegrate and reform back, the gap had allowed the playful snake to sneak by.
Despite having the total control over the bloody formation, Lord Phasma needed to maintain a distinct focus at Forus and Ocelia at all time, draining his mental ability to remain clear of the surrounding. After witnessing the insanity of love, as well as the suicidal advance of Forus, Lord Phasma had lost himself within the intense battle and let the snake come close to him.
Although its outer appearance remained ordinary, the glowing aspect, as well as the fluctuation of sorcery energy, indicated that its explosive power was extraordinary. Once Lord Phasma noticed the sneaky one, it was too late for him to dodge.
The magical snake opened its mouth and sank its fangs into the man's neck, draining his sorcery energy while injecting venomous fluid into his bloodstream.
In his shock, Lord Phasma clutched his fist in pain, causing the crystal heart to slip off and drop onto the ground. Because of the continuous pressure exerted by the crimson hands, the collision with the ground caused the heart to crack open, leaking out the transparent liquid.
Pulling the snake away from his neck, Lord Phasma disregarded the poisonous property of the snake's hide and let his hand burn. Although the burning scent on his skin was nauseous, the pain from having his blood disintegrated from the venom had occupied all his focus.
"Die then." Hardening his will, Lord Phasma lifted his foot and slammed it onto the crystal heart. As his foot descended, flows of Elements converged and revolved around it, covering his skin with their sorcery property.
The trees around Abicel swayed as they trembled in fright, alerting her of the danger that came from below. Although she disregarded the consequence and used the flute, she still valued her life more than her appearance and species.
Without any time to familiarize with her newfound power and nature, the nature fairy sang her calming song and commanded the roots of the wildness to cover her. The leaves and flowers danced as they connected and formed a platform devoid of the corrupting blood.
The crimson hands and mouths emerged from the formation, rushing at their limit to tear her flesh and consume her mind. However, with the increase in affection with Wood Element, Abicel was able to defend against their endless assault.
As the black flame was too powerful, it burned both Forus and the blood around him, making a certain distance from him devoid of any blood to summon the hands.
Using the moment of distraction provided by Abicel, Forus closed in and lifted his burning fist, punching towards Lord Phasma. The rotten fragrance permeated the air as the tendrils coiled around Forus, waiting to devour everything that came into contact.
With the intense heat of death coming towards him, Lord Phasma did not dare to disregard it and twist his body to avoid the point of impact. Although he could withstand the strike, it would damage him grievously, affecting his fragile balance.
Covering his hand with crimson blood, Lord Phasma swiped his hand onto Forus, clashing with the burning rotten arm. The tendrils violently reacted as they clutched onto Lord Phasma, seeping his life force and the corrupting blood.
The impact transmitted onto Forus, propelling him to straggled backwards. A soft crack echoed as Forus felt a piercing pain from the broken arm. Although his fist impaled into Lord Phasma, Forus traded that blow with his entire arm.
A sense of disgust rose inside Lord Phasma as the tendrils rushed into his bloodstream, wiggling inside his veins. His open wounds turned grey as the tentacles drained the life force, degrading his body as time passed.
Looking inside the empty, hollow eye sockets, Lord Phasma suddenly felt small and powerless. The darkness inside the depthless abyss had gazed back. For the first time, he experienced the emotions long forgotten.
Terror came gushing into his mind. As a sorcerer who placed his hope inside countless treasures, he was notably afraid of death. Although time had dulled his sense, the threat of soul annihilation had awakened his desire to live again.
Lord Phasma resumed an expressionless face, deserting the external, useless feature that he had experienced a while ago. As the air around him changed, he extended his hand and grabbed onto Forus' neck, squeezing it with all his might.
By exerting himself to the limit, open wounds began to rip themselves apart on his body, leaking blood and black tentacles. However, despite the pain, Lord Phasma did not utter anything and used the increasing strength to lift Forus.
