that was you.

Of course Ghost didn't stay still or even remotely quiet. Of course Ghost actually went on to pet the monstrous wolf while Catharsis' heart hammered away in his chest while he stared out of the corner of his eye. Only in a nice, good world, would things have actually gone alright. Given that this was a world meticulously designed by a gigantic asshole who probably held values over millions of lives, they were not in a nice, good world.

When the wolf began to stir, Catharsis felt his heart actually stop right then and there, fully expecting to watch himself burst into pixels on the spot as he ceased to be able to breathe. Instead, he was thrown off of the creatures back, and the memory of how to breath was knocked back into him as he hit the ground. "The fuck did I say?" He nearly howled now that there was no point in silence, before he scrambled and grabbed the faywood spirit on his way towards escape. Escape was, of course, a funny word when there was only one exit out of the wolf's den.

The thought of escape was even funnier when all of those exits seemed very narrow, and labyrinth like, and they probably hadn't walked in through the front entrance like normal people were supposed to do. They were so, so, so dead. Catharsis didn't have the faintest clue who might be around either corner, or even where Scar might be, as he broke into a wider path - that held options into more twists and turns. He panted, hard, turning around briefly to see if Ghost had made it behind him before turning again - more sharply on his heel - when he heard a growl. But from which narrow cave entrance?

The echo made it hard to tell, let alone know if it had even come from Scar himself.

LuM_d7cO
ghost
EASYMODE 2/4

that was you.

Catharsis didn't think twice when Ghost tugged on his sleeve, having far more urgent matters on his mind even as it still sent a hint of discomfort up his arm. There were more important things to deal with, such as not dying. When Ghost tugged on him and suggested going right instead in the maze, Catharsis didn't protest just as long as they didn't stop moving, and didn't go back.

Everything seemed fine, at first, as they broke out into a clearing with some kind of icy pond. It seemed colder in here, and he could see the tracks leading back and forth - likely where the wolves were supposed to drink from, or something else on a lore end of things that Cat had absolutely no interest in reading up on in the codex. It was at the sound of a growl that he whipped around, pulling Ghost back with him as he turned to see Scar himself, crouched as he moved forward.

What Cat did next was instinctive, summoning up a barrier to try to block the incoming leap from Scar. The auric barrier did not rise in time, the great wolf leaping over it before it could be drawn. Even as Catharsis tried to dodge to the side, however, he saw wolves follow and bash into the auric wall that were smaller than the great beast but still far larger than he would have liked. They were trapped, and if they wanted to get out of this, they would need to take down the beast before they were swarmed. "We have to fight him." He snapped. "Just- Don't let him pin you down." He turned, frowning as his mind raced and he turned to see the lip pulled back all the way over the wolf's teeth.

He didn't want to get close enough to that thing to need to use cathartic grasp.

Cat brought out the pangolin pet from his pocket, having saved it in case he needed more charge from Ghost, and chucked the thing - hard - at Scar. After all, it had worked before. The creature curled into a tight ball ... but missed the wolf entirely before it hit the icy wall. It seemed to have a strange effect, propelling the icy pangolin harder and sending it bouncing back and forth between the wolf and the walls like they were in the middle of some kind of ping pong tournament that had gone awry.

"I'll make it up to you!" He shouted, fully expecting Ghost to start screaming at him again as he put away the faywood spirit. "Just attack it already!" If Ghost could take down an ice worm, surely he had a chance at this thing.

79aGqf_g
ghost
EASYMODE 3/4

that was you.

Catharsis winced as the pangolin bounced off of the ice and the wolf again and again, more focused on the wolf. If any damage was being done, he wouldn't be able to recognize it versus the chances that the thing was just getting angrier. Hopefully, the wolf wouldn't straight up eat the pangolin. The thing wasn't able to be damaged, but he wasn't sure that meant he couldn't lose it. What was really raising his anxiety, though, was the fact that Ghost wasn't attacking - and, perhaps, couldn't.

He frowned over at the man, heart racing in his chest, but all of that nearly stopped as he saw the portal. The Empath turned his head in a way that wasn't quite shaking it but shared perhaps more of a lack of enthusiasm for the idea Ghost was hinting at. Oh, no. Fuck, no, he'd mouthed, clearly tempted to even go on a rant so as to remind Ghost exactly why that wasn't going to happen. He'd trusted this man and his damn portals before, and-

There wasn't time for that now. Catharsis winced, breath shuddering for a moment before he raced for it while the wolf was distracted, going through the portal and-

He snapped his eyes shut and held his breath as he went through, wishing for the best. If the Phantom had delivered him straight into the maw of Scar, he wouldn't know it until the pain began to surge through his senses. Moments later, he finally did open his eyes and straighten, to find himself across on the other side of the room. His brow furrowed as he tried to figure out just what, exactly, it could be that Ghost was planning, given that from a distance he was useless on everything but healing.


BOSS:
jp85|g6t

LOOT:


ghost
EASYMODE 4/4