Beset by the sounds of his struggling allies, he dug his legs sharply into the stone below him. In a single powerful bound, he appeared before the Aarthriin Sufferer. At the same time, a wave of agony slammed into him.

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Life Is Suffering.

All lifeforms in the nearby vicinity are afflicted with agony that assaults the mind.

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With his perception of time stretched greatly by the effects of Spirit Overflow, Dharen suffered agony many times over, wrapped tightly within a single instant. His mind shook under the effect, lit aflame by an insidious anguish. In what took only a brief moment, and yet felt like far longer, he activated Miasmic Cloak. The shadows rose up, wrapping him in their cool and calming embrace.

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You have resisted a Mental Influence.

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With the same immediacy that it had appeared, the all-consuming agony faded away. Yet, in the short duration that he had frozen under the affliction of Life Is Suffering, the Aarthriin Sufferer had attacked.

It slashed out with one of its sharpened upper limbs, aiming for Dharen’s throat. Recovered from the shock, he bent backwards, pulling himself just out of range of the creature’s attack. At the same time, he twisted his back foot slightly, sending his upper body along with it and trailing the arc of the Sufferer’s slash. As his body turned sideways, two bladed tails stabbed forward, catapulted with high velocity by the flex of the creature’s tails.

They stabbed the air to either side of him, brushing him with the wind of their passage. Then, he threw himself into a roll to the side as the monster pulled upwards and kicked forward with its sharp front legs. The Aarthriin let out a shriek of frustration, gnashing its heavy mandibles.

Having recovered completely from the unexpected assault of agony, Dharen began his attack once more.

Though his Spirit was steadily drained by the activation of Miasmic Cloak, he was replenished by a constant supply of fear from his suffering allies. Based on the sounds of pain that spilled forth, the other Aarthriin Sufferers had the same abilities as the one that he was facing. As one approached closer to the creatures and entered within the relatively small range of Life Is Suffering, the ability would activate. Though it was not as severe for his allies as it was for him, due to the perception boost caused by Feast of Terror, their fear of the pain inflicted was still enough to keep his Spirit topped off.

He rushed inwards once more. The Sufferer stabbed outwards with a single bladed tail, piercing the air beside him as he shifted slightly. Due to his approach from the creature’s side, only the leftmost tail was able to attack, leaving the others blocked by poor positioning.

The monster attempted to turn, but its large mass made for an agility that was far too hindered. Dharen brought Restraint down, having already queued up its damage-boosting enchantment prior to attacking the Sufferer. It came down with crushing force, shattering the section of the body from which the three scorpion tails articulated.

The Aarthriin let out a pained shriek, its bladed tails falling limp to the floor as it lost the ability to properly control them. As it finished turning at last, it swiped outwards with its sharp-pincered arm once more. This time, it blurred in the air. Even to Dharen’s enhanced perception, the attack came inordinately fast.

Yet, with his combination of Strength and Agility, speed was an area that he did not expect to lose. He dropped to the floor and tucked into a roll, loosening his grip on Restraint in the process. With the enchanted warhammer left on the ground behind him, he came up crouched underneath the Sufferer’s body. Summoning his blades from within his Spatial Ring, he stabbed upwards, his enhanced perception allowing him the wherewithal to jam the blades in between joints in the plates.

He threw himself upwards behind the blades’ thrusts, pushing off from the stone floor with extreme effort, forming an improvised battering ram from below. The sudden impetus of the blow, combined with the imbalance caused by its now-limp tails, threw the creature off balance and sent it toppling to the side.

Its heavy frame slammed against the floor of the cavern, creating a booming echo and trapping one arm underneath its own body. The Sufferer keened in anguish, the poisons that coated Dharen’s blades beginning to corrode its inner organs. Its pointed legs and single free arm scrabbled at the floor, but their sharp nature worked against it now, slashing at the floor uselessly.

Dharen retrieved Restraint, and sent a heavy blow smashing into the base of the monster’s neck. And then another. And another. Until, finally, it fell limp. He activated To The Victor, The Spoils at the last moment, eager to obtain anything that he could to quickly finish off the other two Aarthriin Sufferers.

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To The Victor, The Spoils.

You have claimed your rightful reward.

Boon:

Endless Torment

Your Suffering is endless; your will is boundless.

Passively creates an aura of Suffering that inflicts pain upon the user.

When activated, amplifies the user's attributes for a short time based on the amount of Suffering withstood.

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The world flipped as it twisted with agony, with a suffering so intense that his mind blanked for a moment. He quickly brought himself back, registering the change. Once more, the perception-stretching effects of Spirit Overflow were enhancing the potency of pain inflicted by the Sufferer’s abilities. Yet, unlike in the case of Life Is Suffering, Miasmic Cloak was unable to protect him from Endless Torment’s passive.

He found himself down on one knee, temporarily brought low by the impact of the ability. The Spirit-draining effect caused by holding onto the ability attempted to reduce his Overflowed Spirit, yet he continued to keep Feast of Terror active. Despite the pain inflicted, he knew that it was necessary.

The anguish stretched onwards, ripping at his will. Then, he utilized Endless Torment’s active ability. Sudden clarity struck him, as the overwhelming pain dissipated. Overwhelming power filled him, the result of the pain-enhancing interaction of Endless Torment and Spirit Overflow creating an inordinate boost far beyond what should be expected for the scant time that it inflicted its damage. The pain amplified greatly, forcing the attribute-boosting effect to go into overdrive.

He burst forward, the stone below him fracturing slightly under the strain, appearing next to the closest Aarthriin Sufferer. The Nulzan that battled against it had done a number to it; acidic blood spilled from cracks within its plates, blades stuck out from its body like a heavily-needled pincushion.

Yet, they had paid for their efforts with blood. Multiple hunters’ corpses spread across the floor, large holes pierced through their bodies. Others were inflicted with various wounds, having been able to just barely avoid the Sufferer’s dangerous weapons.

Weakened as it was, it crumpled under Dharen’s momentarily-empowered assault. He rammed into it from below before it could register his presence, sending it spinning into the air. It flew up and over the surrounding Nulzan, clattering to the stone below with a deafening crash.

It cried out as it landed, its numerous legs mangled and crumpled, Dharen following beside it. He stepped inward, grasping a blunt portion of one of the monster’s bladed tails, and wrenched it off with a brutal twist. Blood spurted from the disarmed limb, splashing against Dharen’s frame. With his momentarily-enhanced Vitality, he simply ignored it.

He stepped forward, throwing the tail-blade with a twist of his hips. It hurtled through the air, piercing the beast’s throat with a force great enough to decapitate its head - ending the Sufferer’s suffering, and granting it a swift death.

The final Aarthriin Sufferer had been distracted by the Boons arrayed against it, searching for the apparitions that had attacked it, causing the monster to go into a frenzy against the Aarthriin drones and corpses around it. Remnants of the drones’ remains spread across the cavern, ripped and churned apart in its confusion.

It soon followed behind its brothers, ripped apart before it could react to the new threat.

As the active portion of Endless Torment ended, its passive effect kicked in once more. Dharen was assaulted by a wave of horrific agony, sending him collapsing to the floor. Were it not for the third Sufferer’s destruction of its drone allies, he might have been in fatal danger.

Instead, he desperately released his grip on To The Victor, The Spoils, returning his stolen Boon. Immediately, the agony vanished, leaving a mere memory of unimaginable pain.

I’m never taking an ability from one of those things again, he thought.