Chương 208: LOG-199.

I was already moving by the time the manic echo of light and heat masquerading as a Pearl lunged towards me, neatly sidestepping its assault in such a way that the folds of my dress just barely avoided contact with the fiery sizzling abomination. And yet I felt the heat regardless. Cloying. All consuming. Seeking to engulf my lightform with its uncanny madness. With one of my extra eyes, I noted Head rearing her entire body backwards, as if preparing to headbutt the entity that had gotten so close to us.

Positioning does not indicate high odds of physical contact, despite proximity. She is likely attempting to do something else. And whatever it was, keeping the ghost in our midst in one place could only assist, a thought that guided my movements as I twisted towards the false Pearl in a gliding pirouette, slamming a foot down to halt my momentum and thrusting a hand forward, claws splayed. It was both an attack and a probe, a test to see if I could confirm my suspicion as to the being's nature.

Quickly enough, that same hypothesis was proven correct as my talons slid into and through the excited creature, earning a wild grin from its translucent features. And then? Pain. Nonstandard lightform. Effect similar but adjacent to a destabilizer field present within the creature's projection. Gemstone is also holographic, and thus cannot generate or store power, true source unknown.

Moissanite Beta's experiment- Agony overrode my detached observation of what was happening to me, coursing up through my claws, my hand, my arm. Seeking to overwhelm me. My entire lightform twitched and jittered as the Pearl readily threw itself into my grasp, pressing its chest and head against my midsection, arms wrapping around my own as it cried out in a parody of song.

"Yes! A dance! Dance with me! Yes!" Lightform integrity falling, reinforcing external layers. Sectioning off afflicted areas.

Rerouting power to analysis suite, semi-permeable entity is composed of softened hardlight projection and gathered heat, employing countermeasures- As sacrificed layers of my form evaporated into light around me, I lifted a scalded hand and pressed it against my assailant's face, muffling her joyous cries, which quickly devolved into confused babbles as a pale green glow enveloped the limb, contesting her flames and shoving them back.

With a cry of shock, the Not-Pearl was sent falling backwards, practically rolling through the air before settling directly in front of Head's path… right as the overgrown Gem aimed her namesake directly at the bewildered spirit. For a moment, I almost failed to see it, but with a bit of focus… yes, there it was, a ripple in the air as some invisible source ripped through it… The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Laser beam outside of visible light spectrum? No, lack of energy detected. No material apparent either, so it cannot be the manipulation of fine grains. Telekinesis? She is using telekinesis- … and slammed into the ghost just as it righted itself, earning a mixture between a pained yelp and an outraged shriek as the light and heat that composed its form scattered into a thousand separate motes.

As the cinders all collectively fell to the ground and fizzled out within seconds, I turned my primary eyes back towards Head, if only for her benefit rather than my own, and immediately was confronted by a flurry of hand movements.

'Extraordinary! I scarcely know what to make of it! Never, even in my most optimistic imaginings, did I believe such a thing could be accomplished! You are proving yourself to be a most fascinating enigma indeed, and I suspect discovering the full extent of your capabilities shall be an immensely rewarding pursuit!'

Gracing the giant Pearl with a small smile as I slowly but surely purged the last remnants of the scalding corruption from my avatar, I turned to stare at several bright spots on the ceiling, eyes narrowing as hands and feet began to visibly melt through the material.

"And I'll have more than a few questions about that telekinetic strike of yours, but perhaps we should save the conversation for later." As the first head popped through rapidly melting material, and screams began to fill the air, I spread my arms outwards, welcoming the onrush of projections. I was in need of stress relief, after all. —'And the manner in which you seized them betwixt your talons! Positively astonishing!

To wield one foe as a weapon against another, only to then employ a third as little more than a stepping stone to reach the fourth… what delightfully unorthodox ingenuity! I have never witnessed anything quite like it! Inspiration abounds within my senses, fighting at your side is an experience altogether unlike accompanying Eyes or Horn during our hunts, dare I say that it is infinitely more exhilarating!'

There was a pleasant cloud of sorts that clung to my mood as I led Head down paths reminiscent of the ones I'd memorised within the Reef, searching for the signs of an entrance to where this Atoll's shell surely sat. Surprisingly, I hadn't needed to commit to the fighting retreat I'd been expecting. After the first few ghosts had fallen to our combined attacks, they'd seemingly either given up on gaining a 'dance' entirely or had been repulsed by something, though I couldn't be sure of that second part.

Which left my counterpart to gush about my fighting style to the point that I found myself having to resist the slight urge to blush at her rampant but seemingly genuine flattery, even as we finally settled to a stop in front of a door similar in construction and decoration as to the one back on the Reef. Leaving Head to her fangirling (fanpearling?) for a moment, I inspected the barrier depicting White Diamond's serene visage with a slight frown, noting the apparent reappearance of the unsettling sensation from before, even as I noted the presence of another surveillance visor with one of my extra eyes. … Burned, hm? Crack. My companion didn't flinch, but she did pause in her rapid fire gesturing as I slammed a reinforced fist into the inert doorway, watching a few plates fall away in response to the strike.

The feeling of unwelcomeness increased, and I grinned a savage grin before rearing my arm back for another punch. Crack. Crack. Cra-Crunch. Taking careful note of my progress, I considered the hole roughly the size of my head for a few seconds, before turning to glance at my counterpart with a questioning expression.

"Do you think you could remove this for me?" The smile that overtook the massive Pearl's face (what was left of it, anyway) proved infectious, and I stood by, arms clasped behind my back and legs politely pressed together as she lowered her gemstone, that same ripple travelling through the air before it impacted with the door. Telekinetic force met crystalline alloy and won, leaving me to step through the now cleared path while Head got down on all fours, squeezing her way through behind me.

And up ahead, practically radiating warning at my approach… was a burned clam, its scorched form closed and seemingly inert. Each step propelled me faster, leaving me all but running until I was right in front of and grappling the damnable thing, wrenching it open like I had its Reef variant so long ago, triumph upon my lips.

"Got you! N o more hiding you little-" Triumph that fell away to exist as little more than ash on my tongue, as I beheld the shards and charred layers of an almost completely burnt out gemstone, just barely holding together while lingering embers somehow continued to dance between its separated fragments.

"…Ah. Hm." Well…shit.