29. Eye of the Storm

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The world around Skylar exploded. She no longer looked with her own two eyes. Now she was everywhere at once. The wave of visions flooding her mind was so overwhelming she screamed. But the sound of her voice and her body seemed to be hundreds of miles away from her. Also, not only did her perception change. The myriads of thoughts passing through her consciousness was no longer her own.

She could feel every blade of the grass reaching steadily toward the sun, bathing in its warm rays. She could sense the worms wriggling their way slowly through the ground, working relentlessly. She heard the song of the birds she never knew existed. But there was one persisting thought, louder than everything else.

To give life and preserve it.

After a few excruciating seconds, her vision focused. She was looking down at the world from an incredible height. She recognised the topography of her homeland - the spiky mountains, rolling hills, and great forests. But this beautiful picture was marred by the dark mass marching forwards like an unstoppable tidal wave. Skylar gasped, or would have if she could still feel her mouth. The army of the Blighted Lands that had already crossed the border was barely a vanguard of the force still gathering on the other side of the mountains.

"I told you they still haven't gone far enough," the voice said, and it might or might not sound like her own. "We can't reach them all."

"It doesn't matter! We have to stop it, right now!" she protested. Her voice sounded the same in her mind, but it was full of emotions, unlike the Spirit's.

"Then let us begin."

Their joined consciousness dived down with breath-taking speed, through the horde of dark soldiers and hideous monsters and then deep into the ground, where no sun rays ever reached. And then, the very roots of the mountains trembled when the power that flowed inside the earth surged to focus in one place and started to tear the ground apart, layer after layer.

The rumbling sound like thunder echoed through the valleys and forests when the crack appeared at the foot of the mountains and then started spreading. The ground trembled, and the trees shook. The loose stones began rolling down the mountain slopes. 

The crack became a tear, and the tear started to widen, swallowing the dark army that had the misfortune of passing the mountains at that exact moment. The monsters and soldiers alike disappeared in the seemingly bottomless chasm separating the Blighted Lands from Lamyria. It was hundreds of meters wide, making any attempt of crossing impossible.

When the dust fell, Skylar saw that most of the Dark Ones' army was gone. Those who haven't crossed yet scattered in panic, fleeing to avoid the cataclysm that buried their brethren. But those already in Shawcross' lands were unharmed and still pressed the poor remnants of the defence force.

"We have to help them!" she urged.

"Let nature fends itself,"  the Spirit said.

And so, it did. The land itself came to life. The trees ripped their roots from the ground and struck at the invaders. The swarms of insects gathered and flew at the monsters, making them howl and shriek in pain. The herds of wild predators raced from the farthest parts of the local forests to chase the attackers with the ferociousness of the cornered animals. Even the ground itself rippled and swayed as if it tried to shake the offending presence off its surface.

Skylar watched everything in awe from the vantage point high above. No one had ever seen anything like this. Of this, she was sure. The defenders, first startled and scared, now realised what was happening and, with cheers and renewed vigour, started to chase after the fleeing horde. But with the chasm now separating them from the Blighted Lands, they had nowhere to run. Together with the land itself, the soldiers ensured that all the foul creatures were either killed or pushed down the bottomless ravine.

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