The space within the Dark Spire's sanctum became a chaotic furnace as Rune and Vorn clashed. Vorn, directly empowered by the Eternal Gate, wielded massive bone-and-flesh tentacles, unleashing barrages of concentrated purple energy beams. These were no longer individual attacks; they were a destructive energy storm, swirling around Rune from all directions.
Rune roared, the dark crystal armor on his body erupting with fierce blue and violet electrical currents. He didn't entirely dodge. Instead, he actively met the assault, using his Quartz Manipulation to generate temporary crystal shields, absorbing and dispersing the energy beams' power. When a purple lightning bolt struck his shield, Rune used his Electromagnetic Manipulation to absorb a small fraction of that energy, turning it into his own strength, then unleashing it as chaotic arcs of electricity back at Vorn.
Vorn sneered as Rune's electrical surges impacted his energy barrier, which was amplified by the Eternal Gate. "Weak! Is that all you've got, test subject?" He pressed his attack, intensifying the gravitational pull of the energy sphere, making Rune feel as if a giant hand was crushing him.
But Rune was no mere test subject. He was the apex of transformation. He let out a roar, his Chaotic Kinetics exploding. Rune stomped his foot, the air around him detonating, creating a physical shockwave powerful enough to momentarily disrupt Vorn's gravitational pull. He surged forward, his body a living blade, enveloped by sharp dark crystals and swirling electrical currents.
Vorn hadn't expected Rune to escape his gravitational pull so quickly. He lashed out with a massive bone-and-flesh tentacle to block Rune, but Rune was too fast. He weaved through, using his newfound electromagnetic speed. As he closed in on Vorn, Rune unleashed a volley of combined attacks.
An electromagnetically charged punch, creating a small explosion on impact. This was followed by slashes from the razor-sharp crystal spikes that erupted from his arm. Then a kick enhanced by kinetic force, leaving a deep crack in the stone floor.
Vorn was forced to recoil, showing a flicker of irritation for the first time. His pale skin began to ooze a dark fluid, and the purple light in his eyes flickered. He was wounded.
"Impossible!" Vorn roared, pushing harder into the energy sphere behind him. "I am the controller! You are merely a tool!"
A barrage of colossal purple energy streams erupted from the Eternal Gate, no longer focused javelins but raw, unformed energy currents, sweeping across the chamber. The air shrieked, and the remaining experimental equipment was pulverized to dust. Simultaneously, from cracks in the floor, gigantic biomass constructs emerged. These were powerful Awakened who had been assimilated and transformed by Vorn into mindless guardians, obeying only his command.
"You thought I was alone?" Vorn taunted, his voice filled with madness. "Face the might of those I have assimilated!"
Rune was surrounded. On one side, Vorn with infinite power from the Eternal Gate, on the other, colossal biomass constructs charging, each imbued with a twisted, deformed ability.
But Rune did not waver. He was the assimilator. He had devoured transformation. He had absorbed every pain, every power of those he faced. He was the pinnacle of corruption.
"You created me," Rune growled, his body radiating a blinding blue and purple light, and the crystals on his body sharper than ever. "And I will be the one to end you!"
The battle between the two apexes of transformation had just begun, in the chaotic crucible of the Eternal Gate.