Rune lunged at Kael, not with a conventional punch, but with an arm transformed into a chaotic mass of flesh and bone, with jagged spikes and claws protruding. The fever within him screamed, demanding assimilation. Kael, though wounded and surprised, did not yield. He roared, his crystalline armor glowing brightly, razor-sharp quartz shards erupting from his body, turning him into a deadly, spiky sphere.
"You think I'm Thanos, monster?!" Kael snarled, his voice echoing like breaking stone. He charged, the crystal spikes on his shoulders and elbows slashing at Rune.
Rune took the blows head-on. His bone armor clashed against the quartz, creating jarring sounds and scattering sparks. Kael's spikes dug deep into Rune's flesh but failed to completely penetrate his new, tougher hide. The pain was intense, but Rune transcended it. He wasn't just enduring; he was sensing Kael's crystalline structure.
Every wound Kael inflicted was like an open door. Rune perceived the hardness, the molecular arrangement, and even the flow of quartz energy within Kael's body. He focused, not on destruction, but on replication.
When Kael threw a punch with his crystal fist, Rune didn't dodge. He raised his arm, and beneath the shifting skin, a horrifying transformation occurred. Rune's bone armor began to change, no longer mere bone and flesh, but dark, obsidian-like crystals, hard as quartz, yet sharper and more ferocious, absorbing the surrounding light. These crystals erupted, forming a new, jagged, and terrifying armor.
CLANG!
Kael's crystal fist collided with Rune's newly crystal-covered arm. The sound was a dry, shattering crack, and this time, it wasn't Rune's armor cracking. It was the crystal shards on Kael's own fist crumbling apart.
Kael's eyes widened in horror. "You... what are you doing?!"
Rune offered no reply. He pushed forward, his strength now amplified by the very essence of the quartz he was assimilating. He seized Kael's crystal-covered arm, and with a guttural growl, Rune didn't just break it. He began to dismantle the crystals on Kael's body, not through brute force, but by breaking the internal bonds within them.
Kael groaned in agony as chunks of protective crystal armor peeled away from him, exposing the soft flesh beneath. He became weaker than ever, stripped bare before the predator. Rune absorbed the shattering crystals, feeling Kael's Quartz Manipulation ability flow into him, merging with his Flesh Manipulation and chaotic kinetic powers.
Rune was now a terrifying amalgamation of power. He could manipulate flesh and bone, unleash kinetic shockwaves, and now, he could create and control crystals. The armor on his body continuously shifted, sometimes dark bone, sometimes jagged, ominous crystals, emanating a dark light.
"Impossible... I am the Wall..." Kael stammered, utterly terrified as he felt his ability being stripped away.
"You... are just a stone," Rune growled, now towering over Kael, with crystal shards protruding from various parts of his body. He extended a crystal-encrusted hand, not to kill, but to control. He plunged his fingers deep into Kael's body.
A piercing scream echoed across the plaza. Kael, once an impenetrable fortress, was now under Rune's absolute command. The remaining crystal shards on Kael's body twisted and shattered under Rune's influence, reducing him to a mass of crushed flesh and bone from within, leaving no resistance.
Rune absorbed Kael completely. The chaotic fever subsided, but the new energy flowing through his veins was more potent than ever. He felt absolute control over the power of crystal, of flesh and bone, and of kinetic force. He had truly become a Flesh and Ability Weaver.
Rune looked up. He had shattered the wall. Now, there was only one path left leading to the Dark Spire.