I couldn't tear my gaze away from Rissa. The magic danced across her skin, making her glow like a star. She was radiant, a goddess in her element, and I was lost in the face of her power.
"Rissa," I breathed, her name a prayer on my lips.
Her lips curved into a smile, but she didn't open her eyes. "Trust me, Luce."
"I do." The words came easily, a simple truth that resonated through every fiber of my being. "I trust you."
As we hovered high above the water, cocooned in Rissa's shimmering sphere of magic, my senses suddenly sharpened. It was like a veil had been lifted from my vision, allowing me to see far beyond the normal limits of perception.
That's when I saw them.
"Rissa, look!" I gasped, pointing toward the horizon. "The formless ones...they're coming!"
One by one, the cloud of them crested the curve of the earth, hurtling towards us from every direction. My enhanced vision allowed me to track their approach, even from this incredible distance.
But as they drew closer, I recoiled in horror. These were no ethereal ghosts or wispy clouds, as I had imagined them to be. No, the formless ones were something far more grotesque.
They looked like giant, bloody amoebas, their gelatinous bodies pulsing and undulating as they moved through the air. Gloopy tentacles trailed behind them, leaving a viscous residue in their wake.
"They're disgusting," I choked out, fighting back a wave of nausea. "I thought they'd be more...I don't know, ghostly? But this? This is just wrong."
Rissa's brow furrowed in concentration, her magic flaring even brighter around us. "I see them, Luce. Don't worry, they won't get through my wards."
But even as she spoke, the formless ones drew closer, their pulsating bodies growing larger and more detailed with each passing second. I could see the pustules dotting their surface, the sickly sheen of their skin.
"Are you sure?" I asked, hating the tremor in my words. "There's so many of them..."
Rissa's hand found mine, her fingers lacing through my own. "I'm sure," she said. “Also, it isn’t what they look like that makes them ugly. It’s what they do.”
I nodded, clinging to her hand like a lifeline as the formless ones descended upon us, their grotesque forms blotting out the sky.
The first formless one hit Rissa's wards with a sickening splat, its gelatinous body sizzling and popping as the magic fried it to a crisp. An acrid stench filled the air, making my stomach lurch.
"That's nasty," I gagged, covering my mouth with my free hand.
Rissa just smiled, a fierce, determined expression on her face as she watched her wards do their work. "One down," she murmured, "so many to go."
And then they were upon us, a writhing mass of pulsating flesh and grasping tentacles. They slammed into the wards one after another, their bodies bursting like overripe fruit as the magic incinerated them.
The sizzling and popping sounds were almost deafening, a cacophony of destruction that made my skin crawl. But through it all, Rissa remained steadfast, her magic never wavering.
I lost count of how many formless ones met their end against her wards. It felt like an eternity, trapped in that bubble with the stench of burning flesh and the constant, nauseating sounds of their demise.
But finally, mercifully, it was over. The last formless one disintegrated with a pitiful screech, its ashes scattering on the wind.
Silence fell, broken only by the gentle sound of the wind. The ethereal glow surrounding us gradually dissipated as we descended back onto the yacht's polished deck.
I let out a shaky breath, my heart pounding in my chest. "Is...is that it? Are they gone?"
Rissa turned to me, a triumphant smile spreading across her face. "The ones in this world are gone," she confirmed, her magic finally fading back to a soft glow around her body. "We did it. We won."
Relief crashed over me like a tidal wave, so intense it made my knees weak. I pulled Rissa into a fierce hug, burying my face in her hair as I clung to her. She wrapped her arms around me in return, her body warm and solid against mine.
"You were incredible," I murmured, my words muffled against her skin. "I've never seen anything like that before."
Rissa chuckled, the sound vibrating through her chest. "You weren't so bad yourself," she teased, pulling back just enough tomeet my gaze. "Not many people could handle seeing something like that and not lose their mind."
I grinned at her wryly. "Guess I'm just special like that."
