[Area] Blasted Zone - Dust and Ruin

Nora didn't go on the attack this time, blood scythe withdrawing into her body. She calmly supported the team with her powers of Blood. Thoren and Zwei would feel a large boost in energy from Nora, defense and healing should be boosted an incredible amount. She also focuses on Raz to try to protect him from the fatal blow.

Nora analyzes the battle for weaknesses in the Scourge's movements and attacks for when he does start moving.

Rid, still freaking out, notices the dark hands clawing their way out of the mysterious stone door. Not having even a moment to gather his wits, he panics and attempts to shoot at the emerging hands with his crossbow's ordinary arrows.

Help me...

A hacking cough dislodges a mouthful of blood, his body shaking. Shock... he's gone into shock, right? It's a dull numbness rather than searing pain settling into his body, along with coldness... he's staring blankly down at the bloody arm embedded in his chest for a moment that feels like a lifetime, as those words echo in his head. Then lightness, as the hand withdraws, calling up another splatter of red and the ground approaches.

It's all Kyana can do but resist the urge to throw up as horror makes itself more apparent on her face, and she clasps a hand to her mouth. Raz crumples forward with a gurgle and collapses on the ground, blood pooling below him snapping her thoughts to place. She can't... he can't... And she's running forward now, toward the Scourge and toward his prone form. And it takes a step back but its attention is squarely on that swirl in its blood-stained hand. Behind it, the door rises, and ahead the three rush forward, but the glint in its eyes remain as it smiles, and brings that swirl into its open mouth. Tilts its head back and swallows the ethereal bundle. And suddenly, an outburst of force sourced to the Heir, the likes of which sends Raz's body tumbling away and offsets Zwei and Thoren's respective charges.

"This is it... This is it!!! FINALLY!!!"

"No...!"

Kyana throws her hands out and braces herself but Raz's body collides with her and keeps going, knocking her off her feet as he continues a few more yards before landing it a heap. The heir arches his back, palms out and turned upward as swirls of color from the rubble below him rise and merge into him, quakes running through the area as rubble all around the area dislodges and shifts. Searing light traces a symbol on the front of his outfit, the all-too-familiar symbol of Heart, and his hood knocks back in the wind, messy white hair revealed and gaining a scattered gradient of black.

"What I'd been searching for all this time...! That old emptiness, gone now! Now...!"

A smile teases at the heir's lips before fading, head tilted back allowing him to catch the door in the corner of his eye. Eyes narrow with a scoff as he turns his head slightly and swings his arm back, a wall of sheer force buffeting the emerging arms back through the door. Chains emerge from the rubble around the door as he tightens his fist, looping the door and tightening to shut it with a mighty sound. And more chains spring up from the ground to tighten the bind keeping that boundary sealed as it drags the door back into the rubble with the sound of groaning metal, shudders running through the area as he turns his attention back ahead.

"The reality of this world isn't yours alone to change. Better get used to this, because this, right here, is the way things are and will be. Until it all ends, no alternate timelines, no reversion... the progression of all things will be constant until the very end! And that end, is almost here!"

The heir tightens his grip around the staff in his hand, his staff. And stands at full height with a smile, looking to the skies above. Fakery raindrops keep falling, the blood on his arm dripping in their wake or regardless of it. And beyond, in the wake of their spread. Reality is joined, as time marches steadily forward. And the heir... the heir's expression tightens, as he lifts his empty hand to his chest. The symbol there, the symbol of Heart, missing something near the tail of the hollow half of the symbol. And he's...

"...Damn stubborn. You're really damn persistent, aren't you... Holding out, even now."

Swinging his staff forward to point it directly at Raz's prone body he snarls.

"Persistent bastard."

A twitch. A cough of blood, and a hand bracing the ground to force him up. With no shortage of effort or exertion and another cough of blood Raz turns his gaze up, blood leaking the corner of his mouth. His head and vision are swimming... blood loss, soul loss. He's missing a lot right now. But one thing in his head sticks out... On at least one thing, he couldn't be more clear.

"..............Ah........ Gh..........."

"It's only going to hurt more if you fight it. Actually... You already made your bed. If you hadn't tied your soul to one that didn't belong to you ripping it out wouldn't hurt so bad... And even now, you're clinging to a piece of me. And now because of that tie... I'll have to hollow you out for the rest. Your persistence is only going to hurt."

".........You.... goddamn hopeless idiot...... But, I'm the same, I guess. For missing it....... until now."

"What are you prattling about, now? The last ravings of a man on the verge of death?" The heir begins walking forward now, following the trail of scattered blood as he approaches Raz.

"Yeah.... right. Ha. Sorry to disappoint, and for the other thing What you really wanted.... The words you wanted to say all this time... maybe the words you said and I didn't hear."

They were 'Help me', weren't they."

The heir stops dead in his tracks.

Zwei skids to a stop as she sees Raz topple over, with his partner catching hold.

The collective knows what they should probably do. Well, half of them. The other half is a little apprehensive and reluctant, but considering he's probably a possible key to stopping this crazy son of a bitch from tearing both Raz and all of existence a new one.

She floats on over and proceeds to try to heal off Raz's wounds, which hopefully is quick enough as that power is coming from a collective of hundreds of life players.

Despite his amazing speed and power, and not to mention Nora's assistance, Thoren is blasted off course by the sheer power exerted by the Scourge. He winds up striking at the ground with his scythe, fire whooshing off of it. Thoren turns to look towards the Scourge, who is standing with his staff. Seeing that the heir is taking a pause to speak, Thoren uses it to pull his scythe's blade out of the ground.
He also notices something else.

Raine is awake.
And she's on her way here.

Thoren looks away from the battlefield for just a moment and sees her approaching, mace in hand. The temporic retainers he appointed earlier appear to be trailing behind her.
It appears he chose her guards well.

At this point, Thoren remembers he's got more important things to worry about. Mainly, what the Scourge is going to do next. He turns to face the Scourge again. It appears he is stopped in his tracks.

Thoren runs a quick calculation of the situation. It seems to be somewhat more difficult to gauge now that the scourge appears to have even more control over the area.
It could be a trap.
He notices Zwei going over to heal Raz. That's at least something.

Thoren decides to pause and wait on guard, scythe still held tightly in his hands.

---

After having his arrow caught by the ominous hand, Rid is easily overpowered by the Scourge's blast and is sent flying back!

Rid doesn't seem to have very much energy on supply, almost being knocked to donetier by that blast alone.
But, it seems he's not willing to give up that easily.

It takes a moment for him to get back up, but soon enough, he finds the strength to get off the ground.
Rid quickly looks around, the air is thick and tense with the violent will of the Scoruge.
He notices somebody familiar appear in a not-quite as familiar outfit.
"...Charles."

Rid remembers back to the time that the charlesbunny swapped everyone around back on Koholint. That's what a rogue of heart does after all, right? Would that even have any effect now?

He nervously looks over towards the action and then back at the new rogue on the block, making sure that they aren't going to wind up getting attacked by surprise. The nervousness is masked partially by his sunglasses, which appear to be dark enough to obscure his blank eyes from outsider view.

"...You really chose either the worst time or the best time to show up. That fucking bitch heir over there is fucking everything up... He just fucking bec noir'd Raz over there!"

Zwei...just. Stops.

This was bullshit.
The collective knows this is absolutely bullshit.

They've been made useless by someone better. AGAIN.

"You know what, fuck this. Fuck everything. I say we let this fucker destroy it all. I quit. I quit I quit I FUCKING QUIT."

She speeds off, away from the battle. Away from everything.

Fuck this.