A thought entered Noble's head. Mae always wanted Syrce's attention, even now that they were at odds. The comment about Noble being pathetic was meant for Syrce's ears.
Maelys had no way of knowing the other Saint couldn't hear in her Transcendant form, or maybe she didn't care. The act of addressing Syrce was enough.
Noble got an idea.
At that moment, a tentacle shot out of the lake in search of the carnage. Noble pushed the dead spiders lying underneath Maelys toward the water. More thread flew into the air, and the mist once again parted as it passed.
The tentacle raked the shoreline, looking for the source of the movement. Maelys screamed, only drawing more attention to herself from the corrupted being.
'That should keep her busy for a moment.'
Noble waved at Syrce, who was already soaring into the air to avoid the long-armed monster.
After a moment of pantomiming, the Saint returned to her human form.
Noble lifted her in the air and passed her a small device. With Noble's guidance, she slipped it behind her ear.
'I know you don't like having voices in your head,' Noble began, 'but I don't want them to overhear us.'
Syrce smiled brightly, a sad humor dancing in her eyes, 'Are you kidding? By now it's the most natural thing in the world! And this earpiece is far more comfortable than the necklace, almost like it was made for me!'
The corners of Noble's mouth turned up slightly. 'In a way, it was, but that's not what's important right now. We have to beat Mae.'
Syrce's smile faded.
'She keeps fixing herself. The only way to stop her would be to kill all the Others and then her.'
Noble had already considered that possibility, but she shook her head. 'That will take too long, and giving Mae that much power will be too much for any of us to handle.'
On the shore, the tentacle had wrapped tightly around one of Maelys's legs, yet she seemed intent on gnawing it off rather than going in the water. They needed to form a plan quickly.
'What are you thinking?' Syrce could see her friend's mind was racing.
'I think you need to ignore her.' Noble might have sounded like she was joking, but her face was deadly serious.
Syrce furrowed her brow. 'What do you mean? You want to leave her here?'
'Yes, but first we need to finish what we came to do.' Noble nodded firmly.
The Nightmare would not be over until they had dealt with the Others and settled the conflict. One way or another, things would end tonight.
'I need you to deny that Mae's existence. Not just with your words, but with all of you. I need you to will her out of existence.' Noble realized the words sounded ridiculous.
The bear was right there. They could both see her. But Syrce had helped bring this particular Other into existence, and Noble couldn't help but feel that the Saint still had some control over them.
'You think that will be enough to stop her?' The Saint's skepticism was obvious. Even she knew her limitations.
'Not on its own, but look.'
Another crash on the shore sent more debris flying. More of the mysterious silk was thrown into the air yet again.
'The black mist...' Syrce squinted.
'It cannot pass through the silk. If I can make a wall with it, I can cut her off from the rest.'
Noble could see the myriad of doubts flash across her friend's face. Was it even possible to do what she just proposed? Was there enough thread? Would the thread behave the way Noble thought?
But the worry disappeared a heartbeat later as Syrce smiled confidently.
'You can do it, Lady Bel!'
Noble nodded. 'I guess we will find out. Are you ready?'
The question was moot. For at that moment, Maelys successfully separated herself from the monster of the deep. She limped away, calling on the black mist around her to heal her mangled paw.
Syrce couldn't let the opportunity pass. She returned to her Transcendant form and left to renew her assault on the polar bear.
Noble's eyes opened wide. She hadn't dismissed her Memory! Had it been destroyed by the balls of energy?
'Are you coming!' Syrce's voice filled Noble's head.
The sound was a relief. They could still communicate.
'I'll work from here. Keep fighting until I am ready.'
'Hurry!' Syrce's reenergized balls pelted the bear, slowing the healing process only slightly.
While the Saints renewed their battle, Noble went to work herself. Thanks to her recent move to the Dream Realm, Noble knew the rudimentary skills of sewing. But nothing could have prepared her for this.
She could not mull over what could have been. She had to act.
The Entwined had strewn its thread all over the battlefield, spreading its influence far and wide. Countless stones had been erased from the hillside, and likely some creatures with them. But now they sat piled lifeless on the ground, ready to be made into something new.
Noble took a deep breath and focused.
The silk became lighter than air, floating around the two Saints and mixing with the hovering black mist.
Or rather, the mist parted ways to let the thread through.
'Good…good.' Noble was very glad to see that her assumption was correct. For whatever reason, the thread from the monsters and the mist from the Others did not get along.
So the silk would make a barrier, as she thought. Now she just had to figure out how to construct it.
The easiest answer would be to pile it up like laundry until a wall was formed, but even with the enormous amount of thread, it wouldn't be enough.
Noble would have to untangle it and build something more reasonable.
Thankfully, the first task was easy. As soon as she found the end of the silk and pulled on it, the rest of the string came out in a flawless line. Shining in the moonlight, it seemed more suited for a divine garment than a weapon from a lying spider, but that only made Noble more determined to make it work.
She leaned into her Clarity and Quick Study attributes as she began manipulating the thread with her levitation.
Her hands moved subtly as her mind envisioned the thing she was trying to create. The silk began to lie on itself, switching back and forth in a line about ten meters long. Then a second thread flew up and down the creation, led by an invisible needle that only existed in Noble's mind.
The two Saints came too close to her work, and she was forced to lift it to let them pass. It made her drop the stitch.
Blowing out her cheeks, Noble refused to give up. She had slain countless opponents. A little embroidery was not going to be the end of her.
At last, the two interlocking sets of threads were finished.
The resulting structure was not pretty or strong, but Noble was satisfied that it was pliable enough for the job. She waved it through the air, chasing back the black mist to buy herself more time.
Then, with a deep sigh, she levitated the next pile.
'Two more should do it…I hope!'