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Fighting alongside each other after so long was... a very unique challenge. One that the Watcher had not anticipated to be so difficult. She was prepared for a lot of things upon reuniting with her previous companions from thousands of years ago, loss of memory being one of them, but she had neglected to consider how much the lack of muscle memory would impair her.
Her companions were much different this time around. The Silent was much more slippery than before, her knives sharper and her poisons more potent, her movement much faster than before despite her illness. The Defect was much stronger, its reliance on its orbs and claws diminishing in favor of a much more controlled and varied move set. And the Ironclad, his moves were so similar yet so different. He was larger now, stronger, and had the option to stand in front of his companions to protect them from further damage should the need arise. They were all incredibly different from how the Watcher once knew them, even without the newly acquired duo to the team that had opted to stay behind this time around for their ascent.
The Watcher, despite all her time staying the same, was no different though. She had changed. Her mastery over viewing the future had been honed, her control over her states of being had grown, and her ability to tear the veil between divinity and mortality was never the same after she stole from the Spire all those years ago. They all had to find a new rhythm around each other, figure out how they work, when to wait, when to breathe, when to slash.
And now, those lessons were coming to fruition.
The Silent had weakened the threat before them, a sand worm that threatened to swallow them all whole if not dealt with now. The Defect had done what it could, chipping away at the hide at the expense of its own vitality. And the Ironclad was prepared, his body between all of them and the beast to take the brunt of the blow before being swallowed whole, never to be seen again if they didn't end this now.
She couldn't let that happen. The Watcher still had so much to learn, so much to do, so much to improve on with everyone here. She still had much to learn about the threads that bound her to these five people, and she couldn't do that if she died carelessly and lost her memories in Neow's embrace. And it was her turn. She needed to handle this, now.
[ Blasphemy ]
A crack of lighting, a blast of sand, raw power that felt as if it emenated with the heat of a burning star. She was impossible to stop like this, energy from further within her core burning with a desire to erupt. She needed to let it out, to let her fury erupt with the rage only the Divine had been allotted until now. Her next movements were a blur, a mess of blues and purples, of blood coating her hands while staining her face and hair. She was a missle of pure destruction, and the beast was gone before she could calm herself, the battle coming to an end as it sunk below its own makeshift trap in the sand below.
It was enough for her to calm, for her to breathe, spin her staff back behind her being as she turned to face her companions. The sand made what little vision she had miserable, but thankfully the Defect's constant buzzing core made it much easier to find them all.
They have an ascent to continue, yes?
... why were none of them moving? Why were none of them saying anything?
A hand on her arm, a warm one, a familiar one she knew by now. One that helped her ascend the stairs to the next Ancient that would greet them on their ascent. She was used to the Ironclad helping her climb, but she wasn't used to his hand being so... secure? Tight? Something about it felt off, and yet- "Is everything alright?"
His hand tightened slightly at the question, and she heard him clear his throat... before a sound of metal shifting. A nod? Yes. A nod. He always made his distaste verbal, though he tended to be silent directly after a battle as his bloodlust settled from a boil to a soft simmer.
Very well then. She supposed the two of them could continue this conversation at a later time.
"53 6f 20 61 62 6f 75 74 20 74 68 65 20 77 61 74 63 68 65 72 2d "
"I do not want to talk about it automaton."
"42 75 74 20 79 6f 75 20 68 61 76 65 20 6e 6f 74 20 6c 6f 6f 6b 65 64 20 61 74 20 61 6e 79 6f 6e 65 20 6c 69 6b 65 20 74 68 61 74 2e 20 59 6f 75 20 6c 6f 6f 6b 65 64 20 6c 69 6b 65 20 79 6f 75 20 77 61 6e 74 65 64 20 74 6f 20 62 69 74 65 2d -"
"I said I do not want to talk about it." He was already trying to ignore the fact his heart was racing in a way he had not felt since he was a younger, much more naive warrior. This automaton unintentionally teasing him was not helping. He supposed he should only be thankful the Regent and Necrobinder were not here to make his torment much worse.