Vorn's sanctum had become a living hell. Rune and Vorn, two Awakened at the pinnacle of transformation, engaged in a dance of annihilation, while the colossal biomass constructs created by Vorn roared and lunged, creating a chaotic and violent multi-front battle.
Vorn, directly empowered by the Eternal Gate, was the eye of the storm. He relentlessly unleashed concentrated purple energy beams and maintained his horrifying gravitational field. The bone-and-flesh tentacles from his back whipped and writhed, not just for attack but to control the biomass constructs. These were mindless fighting machines, imbued with raw power and deformed abilities.
Rune was a phantom of bone, crystal, and electromagnetism, moving with lightning speed, dodging Vorn's destructive energy blasts. He used his Electromagnetic Manipulation to generate arcs of blue and violet electricity, constantly barraging Vorn, but they were deflected or nullified by Vorn's energy shield. Simultaneously, Rune used his Quartz Manipulation to create crystal armor layers on his body, transforming them into temporary shields against the purple energy beams, which cracked but failed to fully penetrate him.
Meanwhile, the colossal biomass constructs began to encircle Rune. One monstrous creature with an arm transformed into a massive rock hammer swung down. Another spat corrosive liquid. Rune didn't evade every attack. He accepted their blows, letting them crash against his armor.
BOOM! CLANG! RIP!
Violent impacts echoed throughout the chamber. As the constructs' punches and claws struck Rune, he sensed their biomass. His hunger wasn't just for energy; it was a hunger to assimilate. He roared, and from his crystal armor, bone-and-flesh tentacles abruptly sprouted, plunging deep into the constructs' bodies.
"You think you can control them?" Rune growled, fighting Vorn even as he absorbed the biomass constructs. "They are mere matter. And I am the Flesh Weaver!"
A creature roared as Rune's tentacles burrowed into it. Its power began to flow into Rune, but not for Rune to control it. Rather, it was for him to completely assimilate it. The monster convulsed violently, its body rapidly drained, shriveling and disintegrating into dust before Vorn's eyes. Rune wasted no power. He had no time to turn Vorn's puppets into his own. He would turn them into a part of him, to become even stronger.
Vorn watched the scene, his face contorted with fury. "No! You're ruining them! They are my masterpieces!" He intensified his power, the energy sphere behind him flaring even more violently, purple and red energy currents swirling towards Rune with maximum intensity. Vorn was holding nothing back.
Rune felt the immense pressure from Vorn, but each time he absorbed a biomass construct, his power increased, his bone and crystal armor hardened further, and the electrical arcs he unleashed grew stronger. He was a combat machine continuously upgrading himself in the midst of battle.
Another biomass construct lunged, wielding the ability to spew fire. Rune met it head-on, his crystal armor absorbing the heat, and at the same time, he unleashed a concentrated lightning bolt from his palm. The lightning bolt pierced straight through the construct, causing it to explode into an electromagnetic inferno.
"Enough!" Vorn roared, suddenly recoiling slightly from the Eternal Gate, and from his palm, a colossal, dark purple energy sphere began to form, absorbing all surrounding light and energy. "Witness this, monster! The power of a true god!"
The energy sphere swelled, radiating a destructive pressure. Rune felt the mortal danger. This was Vorn's ultimate strike, something beyond anything he had ever witnessed.
Rune knew he couldn't absorb it. He had to face it head-on, with all the power he possessed. His body flared with a brilliant blue and purple light, the crystals on him elongated and sharpened, and electrical arcs swirled around him like a miniature storm.
The battle was about to reach its climax.