The courtyard erupted into chaos as the dark form of the Dream Patriarch lunged at the intruders. Long met the attack head-on, his sword clashing against a shadowy, talon-like hand that the patriarch's apparition had formed. The force of the blow reverberated through the dream, sending out shockwaves in the air like ripples on water.
Elder Lin unfurled the ribbons of light from her palms, lashing them at the encroaching phantoms. Each ribbon struck true, slicing through two, three figures at a time, causing them to dissipate with ghostly wails. Gan and Zhou Wei stood back-to-back; Gan produced a short metal rod which, with a thought, he extended into a spear, jabbing at any phantom that came close, while Zhou Wei guarded his other side with swift sword strikes.
Long gritted his teeth as the patriarch entity bore down on him. Up close, he could see the thing's face clearly—a twisted version of Patriarch Suli's visage, eyes now black pits leaking inky smoke. It snarled and pressed forward, strength immense. Long slid backward across the marble dais from the force, boots scraping against the stone. He redirected the momentum, twisting and letting the creature's swipe carry forward into empty space. With an opening created, Long slashed across the patriarch's midsection. His blade bit into the form, cutting it in two… but the halves simply flowed and rejoined, the wound knitting as if the shadow-flesh were liquid.
A cold laugh echoed from the patriarch. "You cannot cut what isn't flesh, boy." It swung again, and Long had to throw himself to the side. The clawed hand smashed into the ground where he'd been, cracking the marble. That gave Long pause—if the environment could be damaged, perhaps they could use that.
Elder Lin seemed to think similarly. She sidestepped a phantom and leapt onto the dais near one of the stone lanterns. Chanting under her breath, she placed her hand on the lantern's surface. With a burst of effort, she poured her spiritual energy into it. The flame within flickered violently, then extinguished. One of the three beams of light forming the dome vanished. The dome shimmered and shrank slightly.
The patriarch's apparition hissed in anger. "No!" It disengaged from Long, rushing toward Elder Lin, arms elongating into spear-like tendrils. Lin whirled to block, but the tendrils knocked her from the dais. She fell hard onto the courtyard floor with a cry, though she quickly rolled back to her feet, clutching a bruised shoulder.
Zhou Wei sprang up to take her place on the dais, guarding the now dark lantern. "Senior Lin, are you alright?" he shouted.
"I'm fine!" she grimaced. "That's one down. Two to go!"
Gan was panting, having fended off multiple phantoms. The specters were endless; each one they dissipated seemed to reform or be replaced by another from the dark edges of the courtyard. "At this rate, we'll collapse from exhaustion before we break this formation," he barked, skewering another phantom which then melted off his spear.
Long realized he had to change tactics. Fighting the patriarch directly was like fighting the ocean. Instead, they needed to disrupt the dream itself. Elder Lin had the right idea focusing on the lanterns.
He dodged another lunge from the patriarch, then called out, "Cover me!" With a burst of speed fueled by willpower, he dashed towards the dais and the central crystal lotus between the lanterns. Perhaps striking at the heart of it might weaken Clarity's hold.
The patriarch figure saw his intent and shrieked in rage. A wave of darkness emanated from it, buffeting Long like a storm wind. He slid to a halt, digging in his heels. The other phantoms converged toward Long now, sensing what he intended.
But his allies moved to shield him. Zhou Wei jumped down beside Long, slashing a path clear. Gan hurled a talisman that erupted into a flash of light, scattering a cluster of specters. Elder Lin rejoined the fray with renewed vigor, her face set with fierce determination, conjuring a lattice of light that acted like a temporary shield against the onslaught.
Long pushed forward, step by step, until he reached the pedestal with the crystal lotus. Up close, the lotus glowed with hypnotic beauty. Within its translucent petals swirled the colors of dawn and dusk, and faint images flickered—visions of memories or desires maybe. It was captivating; he almost felt himself drawn in.
A warning growl echoed in his mind—whether it was his own inner voice or a distant impression of the wolf cub he couldn't tell. He shook off the trance and raised his sword. With a focused shout, he brought the blade down on the lotus, channeling all his intent to shatter it.
There was a resounding crack. A web of fractures spread across the crystal lotus... but it did not break completely. Instead, a pulse of energy burst from it at the moment of impact, a shockwave of raw dream-force.
Long was blasted backward off the dais, sprawling across the ground. His sword flew from his grip. Gan and Zhou Wei were also thrown down by the ripple, and even Elder Lin stumbled. The remaining two lantern flames guttered wildly but did not go out. The dome of light flickered, the sleeping souls within flickering too, as if they might blink out—then the structure re-stabilized, though weaker and uneven.
The patriarch's form wavered like a disturbed reflection. For a moment, the dark apparition faltered; Long thought he glimpsed a different expression, almost of pain, cross its face. It quickly contorted back into fury.
"You… dare," it growled. The entire environment responded to its anger—the sky above darkened to a bruise-purple, the ground trembling. The myriad whispering voices turned to anguished moans emanating from nowhere and everywhere.
Long's head rang from the fall. He struggled to stand, looking around for his sword. Before he could retrieve it, a new wave of assault hit—not physical this time, but mental.
Clarity changed its tactic. Instead of sending more phantoms, the shadows around them began to writhe and stretch across the ground, forming a circle that enclosed the dais and those upon it. Tendrils of darkness snaked up like vines, and from them emanated a cloying mist that blanketed the area.