Gaia's Plague (Dawn of Madness Mini-Event Series)

G A I A

In bulk the creations of Gaia were dispatched and destroyed. Whether by magic, brute force, or the cutting edge of steel, they were destroyed as quickly as they were created. It seemed things would be an easy victory for the assortment of protagonists, wanderers, and followers alike, were it not for an unknown factor taking place during their assaults. As pieces of the destroyed plants fell to the ground, the crimson veins that adorned them glowed with a nefarious light. Likely overlooked a midst the chaos of the short battle, the force of everything that took place had been absorbed by the destroyed pieces of vine that the group worked to defeat. The countless physical strikes, the energy of the blade's cutting edge and the crushing force of the tendrils of earth especially, all these culminated together into the system of the entity. The energy coursed through the veins of Gaia, returning to the shield just as the final pieces of everything came together.

The green gem in the heart of Gaia glowed even brighter, immense amounts of energy coursing through it, despite the destruction of the constructs it created not long ago. Despite the damages, it had accomplished its goal. Using this new energy, it could further push for draining the power and life force of the collective to oppose it. It operated purely by sensing energy, the storm of dust doing little to hinder it as of yet, but it also lacked the intelligence to prepare for whatever greater plan was set in motion with the techniques in play. Its focus once again was directed at the frozen soul of Cirno, her fast approaching power inciting further reaction from the instinctual Advocate. As the blade approached, the vines closely knit to the shield sprung into action. They looked darker than those before, thicker and with immensely greater speed, strength, and power than the quantity prior. Three vines formed together directly in the sword's path, creating a small wall of sorts slightly larger than the size of the blade. Red veins pulsated along the structure, ready to drain all the more energy from the force of the attack the angel put so much determination and piercing power into.

Any alteration of the blade's path would result in the amalgamation of plant-like material following it. If the attack carried through, then the blade would find it much more difficult to break through these more unique creations. They acted much more like spiritually reinforced metal, catching the stab between them and taking the full force of the attack. The force of the attack not only cut into the material, but had adverse effects on the terrain. The blocked force crashed against the vines, but also scattered around it. Bits of bark were torn away from the tree and the ground near by was sundered by the collision. Multiple sets of these more durable creations could be seen in the ground and in the new openings of the tree. They were the core system of the Advocate, the base that covered its surface and created all else they had dealt with thus far. The explosion of force died down, the shield's defenses cracked and wavering, but still holding against the blade's power.

The damage didn't last long. All the kinetic energy the vines absorbed was soon used to repair the very damages it caused. The cracks and tears slowly faded, the strength of the material being reinforced even further to deal with such higher-caliber attacks in the future. By rerouting all that energy to defend, the creation paid little attention to the attack of the second heroine. Were she to attack in close proximity to the frozen Iramasha, her attack would strike dead on. The combined power of the strike, wind, and augmented energy of her own artifact caused substantial damage to the withering tree around the Advocate, more pieces of the shell breaking off and being torn asunder to reveal the network of veins coursing through it and the ground below. Were it a direct strike, the culmination of energy would even cause a single crack to form across the object's surface. Where it succeeded in causing some form of damage, it also allowed Gaia to absorb even more power from the impact.

Soon after the twin attacks, the Advocated acted once again. Multiple larger vine broke through the ground, rising up toward Cirno and the retreating Zero. Though not as fast or durable as the main system that inhabited the tree, these bulky creations were much faster and stronger than the previous sets that assaulted the group. The immense amounts of energy absorbed by Gaia was used to improve them immensely, progressively making them more dangerous as things progressed. They aimed to ensnare both the Angel of Ice and the exceptionally energy-filled battery. In the midst of the attack a moment ago, the creature was able to feel out the stores of power at the girl's disposal. This increased the ravenous nature of the beast toward her much like the power of the Iramasha had before. The vines aimed to wrap around their legs and feet first to halt their movement, then progress around them until they could hold the two in place. Much like before, the red veins around them acted to draw in energy on contact and draw in as much power as possible to the core of Gaia.

While Minerva remained mostly an afterthought due to a lack of involvement, the energy readings from a third vessel did garner the attention of the Advocate as well. During the time it sent a new wave of tendrils toward its attackers, new plant life ripped through the underground to get closer to Lex. It took a few seconds longer due to the distance, but the outcome wasn't much different. Numerous vines broke through the altered earth around the spell caster. They became visible a moment sooner due to the displaced terrain, but only for a split second. The vine bolted to the surface, darting toward Lex from multiple directions with the same goal in mind. They intended to ensnare the man from the neck down and drain as much energy as possible from their body. They acted in unison, attacking from every angle to avoid being struck down all at once. Several even raised directly from under their feet, shooting upwards to grab them if they attempted to leap away and drag the Human back into the wave of plant life.