96: Spear to Diamond to Lone Wolf Formation

Words : 764 Updated : Sep 26th, 2025

96: Spear to Diamond to Lone Wolf Formation After a brief debate—where everyone proposed the exact same idea to Celeste—they settled on a plan. Celeste formed the head of a spear-like formation and they began inching towards the center of the room where the transforming Nyssa sat. The sound of their breathing felt louder than ever. Their hearts pounded as their ears began to feel stuffy. “Is this a symptom of nervousness or is she inducing a heart attack within us all?” Ryker asked while rubbing a hand against his chest. “My regeneration factor isn’t doing anything so I assume not but... what about you all, feeling anything being stimulated?” “Nope, everything is fine,” Albion whispered back as a mist of cold air left his mouth. “My powers are instinctively acting up though. I think it's some sort of subconscious danger response.” “Understandable,” Electra patted Albion on the back. The moment her hand came in contact with Albion though, she recoiled, hissing under her breath as frost spread across her fingertips. One exhale later, an arc of electricity cleared the frost, but her fingers had already reddened. “Oh you were not joking about that, my bad.” “No, it’s my fault too,” Albion apologized as they refocused on the task at hand. They followed behind Celeste who took slow steps forward. Each time she lifted her foot, her leg quivered a little as she made slug-like progress. Her fingers stayed glued in a crossed position as sweat began covering her body. A faint pounding sound filled the air as her heart elevated to near-unsafe levels. Heat came wafting off her body as she felt feverish. A messy array of thoughts marched through her mind as she tried to keep a steady, but wary pace. Just be okay, and... go back to being human... please... As they made progress towards the center of the gymnasium though, a heavy feeling settled on their shoulders. Each step became heavier as the air seemed to quake and shimmer. Everyone began squinting as visual hallucinations appeared in the corners of their vision. A snake here. A crawling black... whatever... there. A claw reaching out. The moment they turned to look, it disappeared as fast as it came. “N-Nyssa! Calm down, it’s just us!” Celeste called out with a shaky voice after a wave of jitter-inducing hallucinations where ghost-like fire accompanied every shadow of a transformation. “Hm...?” “Yes?” “Who?” “Oh?” “Wait... what?” “You?” “Why... are you?” Unsure as to how to approach now, the team adjusted their formation into a diamond shape, sticking together like glue as they began another slow march forward. Step-by-step, they advanced forward, those at the front mapped out safe areas to walk with light taps before they shifted their full weight forward and those in the back followed by placing their feet in the exact same locations. Only failure greeted them though. They managed to get closer, but once they passed a certain invisible threshold, Nyssa had another outburst, lashing out with indiscriminate attacks as if annoyed at the mere smell of those who neared her. “Back up! Retreat!” Electra shouted, shocking away some of the tendrils as they scrambled backward. Their formation, now in shambles, regrouped near their original starting spot. “Alright, I think we need to change something,” Ryker sighed, both of his arms regrowing from stubs while he talked. “Is it us?” “What do you mean by that...?” Celeste, still out-of-breath, raised her eyebrow. A second later, her eyebrows furrowed as everyone else nodded in agreement. “You have a point with that Ryker.” “What a genius idea.” “Honestly, it really might just be us. We’re not that close to her.” Realization dawned on Celeste’s face, and she shook her head with a laugh. “Oh. I see now. It’s a little dangerous though, I feel like going alone isn’t the best idea. We could try with... yeah, I’m not sure.” “Alright, how about this...” --- Albion, Titus, and Conrad spread out in a triangle formation across the otherside of the room as Electra and Ryker stayed behind Celeste. From a bird’s eye view, the five of them formed a loose ring, as Celeste began moving back towards Nyssa. Everyone stayed in a crouch. Titus wreathed his hands in flames and Conrad had his sword drawn. “We’re ready to rush in at any time, Celeste, you’re safe, don’t worry,” Electra reassured as Celeste took shaky breaths. “Thank you.”

96: Spear to Diamond to Lone Wolf Formation

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