Bastet ducked under the shard and staggered forwards, snarling at Aphrodite as she flew through the air and towards the orb.
"GET HER!" she screamed, raising her right hand up.
The ground directly beneath the orb tore open to reveal a swirling, black void that seemed fathomless. A gigantic, scaly tentacle shot out from the hole and twisted upwards, wrapping itself around Aphrodite's ankle. It was not long before it was joined by multiple other tentacles that snaked through the air and wrapped themselves around Aphrodite's entire body, holding her up like an otherworldly cocoon.
With one downwards swoop of her hand, the entire cocoon came hurtling towards the ground. The tentacles slammed her to the cobbled stones with such force that they were left as broken as Aphrodite's body. With the damage dealt, the tentacles receded back into the void they came from and the ground instantly came back together.
Ivy, watching in horror, gasped as the telekinetic orb gave way and the trio fell towards the earth. Before the moment of impact, Ivy formed a platform of ice underneath their feet and maneuvered it skilfully over towards Aphrodite's body, dropping down to check on her pulse.
"Well, I'm disappointed." said Bastet with a mocking pout on her face. "So fragile. Aren't you going to defend your friend's honour?"
"You're dead." threatened Ivy coldly, leaving Jade and Mei with Aphrodite, an ominous look in her eyes as she walked towards Bastet.

---

#17

"You don't know her?" Carolyn asked, completely crestfallen. The only other student who had such an ambiguous history was Ashlynn and, given the similarity of their attire, it was simply too big of a coincidence to ignore. "You're practically twins."