Threads of the Soul

"That's right you big ugly bastard, Let's see what you've got. Or are those muscles just for show?"

Alexandra, having covered herself head to toe in concrete armour and fully assumed her giant, Rhino punching golem form, stared down the charging ogre without a hint of fear in her voice. Even if it was distorted from the stone plate she had covering her face, the fact it completely hid her expression was actually working to her advantage in this situation.

Although she spoke out loud, Alexandra doubted that her words were understood by the grotesque, mutated hob goblin, but it wasn't about the words. It was all about sending a message.

Letting it, and all those around her, know that she wasn't scared of this butt ugly ogre. That despite what it had just done, or perhaps because of it, she would pummel it into submission. Even if she wasn't actually confident in doing so herself.

After all, even the most fearless soldiers morale would take a blow after having their defences breached.

Bouncing back and forth on her toes, Alexandra held her concrete plated fists, which were bigger than most people's head in this form, in front of her face and readied herself for the brawl that was to come. But even if she was going to take care of this threat, it wasn't the only one making itself well known.

Then again, she had some back up of her own.

***

A pillar of azure flames descended from above, like the wrath of the heavens pouring forth, as it spilled across the battlefield. The endless stream of flames focusing themselves on the gap in the shield wall.

However, despite flowing over goblins, beasts, puppets and humans alike. It was only the former pair that were affected by the heavens wrath, being set ablaze and turned into a pile of smouldering cinders.

The humans and the puppets they fought alongside didn't seem to register it in the slightest, not even the ones utterly surrounded by a torrent of searing flames. Not a single hair was even singed, never mind set a blaze like the rest.

The wind whipped itself into a frenzy with every beat of the Wyvern's mighty wings, as Omelette kept himself suspended in the air over the breach. Azure flames pouring forth from his mouth, giving his fathers servants enough time to correct themselves and create a stable defensive wall once more.

When the servants had finally fixed their incompetent selves, Omelette cut off the stream of flames and took a few seconds to catch his breath. That was the one thing people never mentioned about breathing fire, it left you incredibly winded.

Once he had filled his lungs to an appropriate level, Omelette beat his wings once more and launched himself forward. He couldn't stay defending this part the entire time, after all. He had to show these useless little creatures why they should fear him!

They needed to learn the name that all of the blink rats feared. They too should fear the Roaming Shadow of Death, the Mighty Omelette. How could he display his majesty if they caught him panting like a fat man walking up a dozen flights of stairs? That would just be embarrassing.

No, such a thing wouldn't do. They needed to fear his flames. They would fear his flames.

***

Their figures illuminated by the periodic pillars of azure flames and sudden flashes of lightning streaking across the sky, Alexandra and the Abominable Ogre stared each other down. Neither moving as chaos erupted around them until, as if coming to some silent agreement, they both burst forward in the exact same moment.

Craters forming where they had once stood as their inhuman strength sent them flying towards each other.

The Ogre was first to strike, lashing out with its claws in an attempt to slash Alexandra's face into shreds even if it was hidden behind a stone mask. But she wasn't going to be taken out so easily.

Ducking under its grasping arm, she slipped to the outside of its reach and slammed her fist into its wretched face again. The beast was prepared for the blows this time, so it didn't get sent flying, but the spurt of blood against her knuckles as it crunched its nose into shrapnel was unmistakable.

Yet as the Ogre stumbled back, reeling from the blow, it yanked its arm backwards. The bone spurs on the side of its forearm racking against the side of her face, slicing apart Alexandra's face plate before she could properly move away.

The pair stumbled back, separating after their first proper collision. Blood gushing from the Ogre's nose, which was completely flattened against its face and more crooked than a politician. Alexandra was looking better, but her face plate had been cracked on one side, exposing the vulnerable eye hidden underneath.

An eye that was glaring at the Ogre with a mixture of hatred, and fear.

They didn't bother with a stare down this time, instead immediately charging towards each other after quickly catching their breath and beginning to trade blows once again.

Alexandra was quick on her feet, surprisingly so for an 8 foot tall stone golem that weighed a literal ton, as she weaved her gigantic, lumbering body between the wild, feral swings of the Abominable Ogre.

Floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bus, she kept just out of reach of those gut ripping claws, making sure not to get caught unaware by the bone spurs again, as she repeatedly pelted it with hammer fisted blows. Slamming her stone plated fists into its body over and over, from kidney shots, to gut punches and even a few upper cuts.

But no matter how fast she was, she was unable to completely avoid the feral and unpredictable swings of the Ogre's claws. Those formidable claws, which seemed like they were harder than steel despite being made out of bone, easily cleaved apart her stone carapace as if it was nothing more than paper.

It had the advantage at first, its wild mannerisms were so difficult to predict, and even harder to defend against without dodging, that it left Alexandra with a multitude of slashes across her forearms and torso. Most of her armour had been torn to shreds, but thankfully not deep enough to draw blood. At least not yet.

However as the fight progressed, she grew more and more used to its fighting style, took less slashes and managed to weave between its swings like a phantom. Although... She wasn't the only one who was learning, it seemed.

As Alexandra swung her fist, sending it flying towards the Ogre's jaw like a runaway freight train, yet instead of crunching against its skull all Alexandra actually hit was nothing but air. The Ogre ducked and weaved beneath her fist, just like she had done at the very start of their conflict, before burying its claws deep in her undefended gut.

Piercing through the armour, filling the stone carapace with a web of cracks, and stabbing just deep enough for it to feel the oh so familiar sensation of warm, life wine trickling down its fingers.

Digging its claws in deeper, eager to spill this stone woman's guts, it snaked its way around her until it was standing directly behind Alexandra. Without hesitation, it wrapped its meaty arm tight around her throat, locking her head in place and pressing against her throat with its magically enhanced, skin ripping muscles.

The stone carapace surrounding Alexandra's neck started to crack and fracture like an eggshell under the relentless pressure. Her singular visible eye clenching closed as she strained against the beast, not just at the ability to breath, but to stop it from gutting her with its claws.

With one hand on the claw digging into her abdomen, and the other clutching at the arm wrapped around her throat, Alexandra struggled with all her might yet barely managed to make either arm move more than an inch.

No matter how much strength she used, the Abomination holding her in place matched her completely. But when it came to the Ogre, it didn't have to beat her in terms of strength, so long as it just make sure to keep her in place, she would eventually fall.

He knew that, and Alexandra did too. It was a fact burrowing its way deeper and deeper into her mind the more her vision began to darken as her brain was being starved for oxygen.

Her hand clawed desperately and fruitlessly against the arm pressing against her airway, trying to pull it away just enough to get a single gulp of air, however when her hand landed on something rigid a final flash of brilliance lit up her darkening mind.

Gripping the sharpened bone spur, Alexandra yanked it with every fibre of strength left in her body, ripping the sharpened body from the arm and tearing the muscles apart. With the bone still held tight in her grasp, Alexandra swung her hand up and over her shoulder, plunging the Ogre's own natural weapons into its soft and tender eye.

The Ogre released its grip, more than enough for Alexandra to burst free of its grasp, as it let out a bloodcurdling roar. Yet this one wasn't out of triumph, but of the pain of having its eye popped like a grape.

It clawed tenderly at its face, unsure if it should remove the hard the white shard of bone sticking out of its ruined eyeball, it looked at the stone woman with sheer, unyielding hatred burning within its remaining eye.

Stumbling forward, finally free of the Ogre's grasp, Alexandra gulped down lungfuls of fresh air, as she turned to face the hateful beast. As it lunged at her, overflowing with hatred, Alexandra lashed out with a single, straight punch.

Her knuckles slammed into the Ogre, hitting it squarely in the face.

The Ogre stopped in its charge, standing unsteadily on its feet as it swayed back and forth, its remaining eye rolled into the back of its head as the anger melted away from its face. All of its expressions turning slack, as if it was dazed, before it finally fell flat on its face as the bone shard, now stained completely scarlet, erupted from the back of its head.