Star slid down the crimson slope at terrifying speed, the wind whipping against his face as he gathered momentum. Then, just as he reached the bottom, he made the slide curve upward.
The crimson slide bent sharply towards the Skarthrax, launching Star upward and directly towards the creature’s chest.
Mid-air, Star stretched both hands forward.
CRIMSON MATTER ERUPTED AROUND HIS FISTS.
Two enormous crimson blades pulsing ominously formed in his hands.
The Skarthrax’s frost torrent was still roaring above him, its enormous mouth wide open as it continued releasing the attack, while Star flew directly beneath it, aimed straight at the glowing blue core hidden beneath the beast’s neck.
"YAAAH!"
He roared as he cocked both arms backwards, then thrust them forward with every ounce of strength he possessed.
’Gotcha!’
The tip of one blade touched the beast’s skin.
Then...
Nothing.
For a moment, it was as though time stood still.
Star’s huge crimson blades immediately turned black and vanished.
The pulsing blue glow beneath the Skarthrax’s hide vanished as though someone had snuffed out a flame. So also, the luminous cracks and ridges running across its massive body darkened one after another, spreading outward until every trace of blue had been swallowed by blackness. Even its four glowing eyes turned completely black.
Star’s eyes widened.
"WHAT—?!"
THOOM!
One of the beast’s massive legs suddenly swung forward and struck Star with brutal force.
A sickening crack ran through his body as the impact sent him flying like a missile. He crashed through several jagged pillars of ice that the beast had breathed earlier before smashing directly into a nearby house already buried beneath frost.
Star smashed through the wall. The entire house groaned before collapsing over him, sending chunks of ice, wood, and broken stone crashing down in a deafening roar.
"No!"
Sarah’s voice tore through the ruins. She and Zuru were helping each other out of the damaged building they had crashed into when she saw Star vanish beneath the collapsing structure.
"No..."
She staggered forward, one leg dragging behind her. Blood dripped from her temple and ran down her face, while cuts along her arm left it soaked in red.
Zuru was no better. He was barely keeping himself upright, one of his hand pressed against the wreckage for support.
Yet, despite all the pain, Sarah bent down, grabbed a sharp piece of splintered wood from the wreckage, and drove it into her palm.
She dragged it down, blood bubbling from the cut, then switched hands and did the same to the other before letting the wood fall back to the ground. Her face tightened from the pain, but she didn’t even look at the wounds. Star was still under that rubble, and it was going to pay.
Zuru saw the determination in her eyes. "Sarah, stop. That thing is more dangerous than you—" His breath caught.
Sarah had already spread both arms. She didn’t even pay him any attention. Her dark hair whipped around her face as her green eyes turned dark.
From her palms, blood began rising, twisting upwards in thick streams. More flowed from her wounds, draining the color from her skin, but she refused to stop.
The crimson streams continued climbing until they gathered above her like a massive sea suspended over the ruins, churning and twisting as though it had a life of its own. Sarah’s knees trembled beneath her, and her breathing grew thinner with every second, but she forced herself to remain standing. She was already giving the attack more than her body could comfortably afford and she knew it.
Zuru’s expression immediately changed when he noticed how pale she was becoming.
"Sarah, please... stop!"
But she ignored him. The blood continued gathering until the entire mass suddenly twisted inward, compressing into an enormous fist that hung above her like a crimson mountain. Sarah raised her head toward the darkened beast, then thrust both hands forward.
The enormous fist shot towards the Skarthrax with terrifying speed. It slammed into the beast’s jaw with such force that the impact seemed to bend the air around it.
"BOOOOOOM!"
A violent shockwave erupted from the point of impact, tearing through the ruins and sending debris flying in every direction. The Skarthrax was hurled backwards, its massive body ploughing through several houses and pulverizing everything in its path. Walls burst apart, roofs collapsed beneath its weight, and shattered timber and stone scattered through the air as the beast carved a deep, jagged trench through the earth. The ground buckled beneath its body before the force finally bled away and brought its momentum to a halt.
Sarah released her power, and the blood rushed back into her body from every direction. Some color returned to her face, but she still remained deathly pale. She gasped, nearly losing her balance as exhaustion washed over her all at once.
Zuru stared at the devastation, then slowly looked back at his sister. His battered face lit up with disbelief and pride. ’Wow. She... she actually landed a blow.’
Sarah turned towards the enormous trench the Skarthrax had carved through the village. For one brief second, relief flickered across her exhausted face. Maybe... maybe that had actually been enough.
Then she turned towards Zuru anxiously. "Are you... are you okay?" she asked.
Zuru managed a smile despite his astonishment. He raised his hand to give a thumbs-up but then froze.
His eyes suddenly widened in horror.
"No..." His entire body trembled, his words barely a whisper.
"Sa-Sarah..."
Sarah’s brows furrowed at first, but then she noticed he wasn’t staring at her, but rather behind her.
That was, however, when she felt it... That suffocating presence.
It was so thick that it immediately overwhelmed her senses, sending a tremor through her entire body.
Trembling, she slowly turned her head, and there, only inches away from her, stood the beast, its four dark eyes burning into hers.
Zuru’s heart was already pounding inside his throat. ’She had used one of her most powerful abilities, yet it didn’t even cause the slightest weakness.’ His breath caught.
The beast had already raised a massive hand.
Sarah’s eyes widened in terror as she saw it.
"Sarah!" Zuru yelled as he rushed forward towards her, his mind fixed on one thing: saving his sister.
Sarah, however, had reacted on pure instinct, blood beginning to seep from her palm again, but as she saw Zuru running towards her, she stretched her other hand towards him.
"Zuru, don’t...." She cried.
But to her utmost confusion, a very dark red card landed on his face and immediately dissolved into tiny embers. At once, Zuru became very, very slow.
"Wha..." The gasp didn’t get to finish when a sudden feeling washed over her. It was as though every ounce of energy had been drawn away from her. The last thing she noticed was a tiny ember drifting from her face, and then she, too, became very slow.
She fought against it, forcing her muscles to move, but every attempt only seemed to make her slower. Even breathing suddenly felt like work.
She barely managed to turn her irises towards the beast, and her heart nearly stopped when she saw its massive hand sweeping towards her in a brutal arc.
"No..."
But just before it would make contact, the same red card fell onto the huge arm and burst into embers, and immediately, the arm became insanely slow.
She could barely move her eyes, yet she watched the enormous limb crawl towards her with agonizing slowness. The difference between life and death had suddenly become a matter of inches.
That was when she heard the voice.
"Laziness...
Idle Aspect: Sluggishness...
Three-Card Puppetry"