Ihosha resisted the urge to rub their eyes with messy hands as stars danced in their vision. Breathing unsteadily as it looked down at the fresh corpse, the third eye slowly cracked open and Ihosha’s head tilted as something seemed to catch their attention. Nudging the briar covered body over onto its back with the end of their staff, the silvered weapon was raised and poised to slam down on the torso when they stopped for a moment and turned to look at the others that were the closest. 

“Dwyn triggered something. It followed her down the e-“ Whatever else they might have said was cut off by the scream that came from the Eastern passage, interrupting and making their point at the same time. Figuring things were clear enough at that point, Ihosha still flinched as more gunfire filled the chamber and returned the ringing in their ears to painful levels. 

Scrunching up with a wince as stone was pulverized underneath the firepower brought the stairs crumbling down at the center, Ihosha finally drove the narrow end of their staff down into the corpse’s torso. Their third eye had to squeeze shut tightly with the flash of gunfire lighting up the room, but again the mark on the void within the corpse seemed to linger for a moment; long enough for Ihosha to try and strike at the physical spot it appeared upon within the body.

[quote]Striking the engorged spot caused a bunch of black puss to splatter out, releasing a foul smell in the air. More rancid than usual. Maybe a leak of some intestinal gas? But other than that, it did not seem to cause any other effect other than make a mess. 

The strange Mark and parasitic nature of the vaccuous 'Blight' seemed seperate from one another though, seeing as the inkling lines began to quickly fade with the passing seconds, while the dark essence remained. In that case, was the Mark more of a brand? But the Blight seemed to destory any semblence of essence, as suggested by the lack of their soul while they themselves possessed such a thing. So how could a spell like that exist in collation with it? It was one big mystery. 

But what was clear from this informal prodding, is that the Blight and the condition of its vessel were not intrinsic. As the death of zombified human did not cause the dark disease to expire outright, appearing to continue to swirl viciously within. It was like a creature trapped within its shell. Was this how their unique revival magic worked, by somehow tapping into this vile [i]thing[/i]? That also brought up the question of what will happen if the main blighted nucleus were to be severed from their host. Maybe Ihosha might be on the course onto finding some sort of weakness by which to exploit these ungodly abominations than swinging wildly and hoping to rely on the strength of their weapons.

But it was hard to affirm that claim without proper testing. Maybe if she were more given time to examine the other corpses, she might find conclusive evidence?[/quote]
Gagging a bit as some of their robes were stained by some of the disgusting fluid, Ihosha ignored how their eyes watered at the stench. Instead, focusing on what laid beyond the physical, their head titlted at the curiosity beneath them. It seemed the Mark had been placed on after these individuals had been Blighted? Hard to be certain, but it definitely didn't seem that the brand was somehow shining through the void that continued to linger within, even after its death.

Yet how were they supposed to draw out this darkness? Nera had mentioned their stigma was supposed to assist in the burden of absorbing the darkness, but it currently seemed quite intent on clinging to the dead corpse. Could it be revived even now? The mark had faded, but there was nothing that hinted it could not be replaced if a lantern bearer had some time to work on the battered corpse. The commotion drew even closer and Ihosha spared a glance at one of others... Ezain who'd returned. Clicking their tongue at the thought of giving another mark-bearer to the mad and lost coming for them, they turned their attention towards the corpse again.

Only moments left before they had to run. Better make them count. Breathing deeply and filling their lungs with the sickly scent of decay and rot, the silvered staff faded from existence and left only an entry wound into the corpse's torso. The third eye burned with power as they searched for even the faintest strand with which to grasp and tear the darkness from its place within the corpse. 

[quote]Spotting the central place where most of the darkness collected, they reached down. When their hand pushed into the fleshy chasm, something stirred slightly, and writhed as she pulled forth a black-gushed root of sorts. And she would notice soon after, the body she extracted the Blight would begin to rot and decay rapidly, becoming nothing but a pile of mush and metal pieces. With this, it might be safe to assume that doing so to a 'living' speciment would yield a similar result. 

What was left is the thing in her hands. The nasty little core was covered in grassy fur that shivered in the air and smaller veins that seemed to... try and bore into their skin. But with its attempts to try and consume her, were stopped by the Stigma Nera insrcibed in their very beings. The foul things attempts were met with tiny zaps and sparks, but it continued on regardless, mindlessly trying to reach its new host. However, something strange happened. Her third eye started spinning upon realizing the contact with the thing, glowing bright as gurgling voice filling her head. Closing shut and dripping with blood again, the root then managed to bypass the warding magic and sink deep into her flesh. 

It felt painful as it merged with her flesh, but the root did not stray any further. As though scared of something deep within Ihosha. Somehow, she felt she can control the thing. But how and to what extent, she had no idea. That also begged the question of whether it can do the same in return, given enough mass. A troubling notion indeed.[/quote]
Stumbling in surprise as their foot sank into the pile of rotten matter, Ihosha stared at the writhing mass of darkness they now held. While it had destroyed the body with startling effectiveness, the act of tearing the Blight free was probably even more difficult than beating them down with brute force. Squeezing the root within their hand, the light show of sparks only intensified as it seemed to redouble its efforts to try and burrow into their skin. Did it somehow fear dea-

Hunching over as pain flared in their forehead again, a purplish light bathed over the writhing darkness as their third eye stared at it with interest and... hunger? Going still under the scrutiny of the alien eye, a few drops of blood that splattered onto it seemed to stir it back into a frenzy and this time it sank beneath their skin with startling ease. Clutching their hand with a choked gasp of pain, Ihosha stared as the bulging mass wormed its way up the forearm before finally stopping, sliding backwards, and then settling. 

Curious and concerning. Would it be able to draw the Blight from within others to itself? It was not a possibility they wished to test before they had strengthened themselves further. Allowing their robe to fall down and fully cover the Blighted arm, Ihosha called their staff to their other hand and planted it against the floor even as another salvo of gunshots rocked the chamber. Clicking their tongue again, it felt like such a waste to simply allow Ezain to sacrifice himself, and the feeling was... stronger this time? "Focus," they murmured before shaking their head to clear away such thoughts.

"Careful!" Calling out to the two that had gone ahead, Ihosha hurried after them as well. "Something already gave chase after Dwyn!"