The stone spirit was one that had split itself twenty-five times across the twenty-five entrance tunnels of the underground shelter. How it does so, as Yaga had previously analyzed, is by using its authority to absorb the memories of those hit by its club, then turning them into essence to make temporary 'false crystals' which would be used to power lifeless shells of rocks. Additionally, one hit from this spirit or its copies instantly teleports its target to the next copy to absorb more memories and remain active. It was especially formidable because of its ability to warp space within a particular area. However, it was not all-powerful.
The spirit could only warp space within a certain area wherein it could not move. Moreover, the main sustenance of this spirit was memories, not essence. So as the main body of the spirit itself absorbed those memories, it would make those temporary crystals in the same place as its actual essence crystals, unable to digest the temporary ones while they push the essence crystals to the surface of its chest.
Now the plan to deal with the spirit was quite straight forward: Equinox would give a false name and force the spirit into a few seconds worth of trance as it verifies his answer; then use those bought seconds to stab through the chest of the original spirit and rip out one of its three crystals, destabilizing its powers before finally running past the line outside the spirit's assigned domain.
Although the process of making this plan was complicated, the steps were not as hard to apply. Yet... yet... The stubborn prophet had ruined it all at the first step!
"Nox!" Yaga exclaimed.
The spirit slowly rose its stone club in the air as it repeated, "Equinox Summers."
"You can still take its crystal—" Yaga was going to urge him again, however with what Equinox was now doing, she knew she'd just be wasting her breath.
"When I heard about the Mortal Fears, I was frightened. What if I didn't just encounter one of them in my first Ordeal, but two? The way you spoke in that cave change a lot after revealing your form to me, so what if you're not my Augur spirit? What if you took hold of her, contaminated and manipulated her like a parasite? What does that make me, an easy victim? My whole life I've been trying to live just on the edge of the rules... just enough to live. A few jump scares in the alleys to make the children leave snack crumbs on the ground, laying still on the floor and playing dead while the passers-by in Nocturni take my— me for their own pathetic amusement! I was hung like an exhibition in the middle of the roads as all came to take a poke at the Accursed prince! Yet despite that, I lived off the hardened bread and rotten tomatoes they threw at me and never took their life! ...Never even fought back or made so much as a scratch on their 'precious flesh'. Then the Ordeal came... Twenty-eight people I pushed to their deaths just for a few seconds of time. Do people become murderers that fast?"
"Where is all of this coming from?!" Yaga asked, the urgency still audible in her voice.
"I don't know what I'm doing, so I know I can fall victim to your cunning. So, answer me, Yaga, "Are you here to make me kill again?"
By now, the tunnel had turned fully dark, cold night essence shrouding everything in between the walls with an uncanny darkness. Not even the light of the spirit's glowing chest was able to penetrate even a micrometer of the spilled essence. The spirit could no longer sense its target, however, raising its club and dropping it where the target's shoulder was before it all went dark, it was able to feel an impact. The man was still there.
"What is... ?" It was going to ask.
Nox was woken to the feeling of a heavy object pushing down on him. He looked up and found a statue-like spirit with an open chest and a glowing orb within it. On his left hand was a bent kitchen knife, and on the right, an essence crystal. He had followed through with the plan in the end, albeit with his own addition of spilling blinding essence everywhere.
He fell on his knees, gasping for air.
"What was the point? For what reason did you do any of this?" Yaga asked.
Nox laughed. "Well, Yaga, I figured, since The Nightborn Sun most likely comes from me, the Night Chant must be from my other half, Equinox. And because my powers fit well with the nickname: Accursed Prince, Equinox's must fit with his nickname: Sole Sinner of Heaven."
"Did you hear me the first time?"
"I'm getting there." Nox took a big gulp of night mist to keep himself conscious, as not even the air could penetrate through the thick mist.
"The Sole Sinner of Heaven must surely have traits similar to the creatures the Lokahs set out to extinguish. If I were to even know about that, I would be marked for death."
"Your mind has already been infiltrated, and the Believer Astrid has seen parts of what you are. She will kill you if— when she has the chance. Prophets enjoy many privileges, but your psyche and minds are easy to break into." Yaga exposed. "Even now, the 'lords' from above are trying to find out every single detail about the prophets in this realm, every ability and every drawback. Talking to you at all is a risk, because they will hear..."
"Not here." Nox said. "I do not believe any gaze can pierce through this mist, nor that any noise can escape it. So please, Yaga, let us be free from the lies."
"... Very well." Yaga gave in to his request and patched Nox's brain back together— the parts she had removed after he had discovered the Night Chant in Izel's forge.
———
In a few minutes, the night mist began to shrink and flow right towards Nox's body. He could not absorb essence he had already let out, but he could now control it with microscopic precision. The essence was compressed greatly to fit around Nox's whole body, enshrouding him in night which soon turned deep red and black, then a strange golden color before night again and finally transparent.
Equinox moved his fingers over his own skin then let out an exhausted sigh. "That was close! If I hadn't become Nox at that time, the golem would have probably wiped me off the face of the planet!" He placed his hand on his chin and thought, "Why the heck did that even happen?...Yaga?"
"Don't talk to me."
———
Deeper into the underground shelter, prophets had suddenly begun to come to their senses. More precisely, they were becoming their other selves, pushing their contaminated halves into their bodies. But it was clear that before long, they would again fall victim to the same screams and lose their minds.
However, with the accumulation of so many prophets all with distinct powers, abilities and now, knowledge of the spirit's abilities and minions, it did not take long to figure out how to conquer the calamity spirit that had plagued the place. A water spirit rose out of the stream, but was no match, while the calamity spirit itself, a ghost was soon found and eased by Aoibh's wind feather ability, before being sent away.
With one single move from the Concept totem wielder of the Omens of Order, both the calamity spirit problem and even the hierodule problems had all been resolved. And all it took was inverting the position of the persons inhabiting the being of the prophet.
But those who had already been cast to the water before the inverting could not be brought back. And every prophet that had been led to murder would forever live with that guilt.
"The Muen is one of 'hell's' age-worn demons. Tormented by immortality without relief, it seeks to carry out rituals on souls within its domain, in hopes that after setting enough anguished souls free, the karma will turn to it to grant its own release. Is that not what your goal is? So, where are you going?"
The ghostly spirit was sprawled all over the floor, her enormous, white-cloaked figure covering nearly a thousand three hundred acres of the forest. Aoibh's feathers were still swirling around its translucent head. But due to a sudden interference, they burst apart, the colossal ghost now reminded of its misfortune and the burning scars carved all over its form. It screamed at the top of its lungs as new red essence flowed into those burning scars, invading its system and forcefully enhancing its abilities. Out of its mouth, back and head, three spirits dug their way out, one made of fire, the other of stone, and the last of water. These monsters were all familiar looking, yet at the same time, entities on a much inflated level.