Chrysalis

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, even the most basic spell forms in this world are hard work, masterpieces that require thousands of individual strokes of the brush to get right. In some ways, the gravity bomb is the simplest of all my spells, since all I have to do is shove a bunch of mana into a small space and squish it, but what it lacks in complexity, it makes up for with the sheer effort required.

This new spell is like doing both at the same time. I have to paint an incomparable masterpiece, while simultaneously straining my brains to the point of bursting.

Which is a nice twist. Thanks, Gandalf.

The spell form is an ungodly thing, requiring such absurd precision, control and focus that it even puts the Omni-Elemental Construct to shame. My sub-brains have spent every spare moment puzzling, testing and working on mastering this spell, and to be honest, I'm only fully confident with about half of it.

At least I've been able to work out in a vague sort of way what the spell should do. I didn't know what to expect from a new gravity spell, given that I have a limited understanding of how it works. It pulls stuff in, right? The Gravity Well already lets me do that in pretty much every way that matters. I can pull stuff into the well, I can even reverse it and push stuff away from the well. What else is there to do?

Something, apparently. All I've been able to figure out is that the spell should send some sort of force blasting in a forwards direction, like I'm shooting something from an elaborate magic cannon.

So… great!

edges of my senses

Omni-Elemental construct fade to nothing. I can't afford to have anything else taking up my mental resources while I work on this

of me and shaping it expertly. Dozens of minds manipulate the mana, condensing it, folding it, twisting and curving and looping, forming the thousands upon thousands of intricate shapes that need to fit

mana. It's a thirsty beast, this spell. I'll have to spend pretty much every drop of gravity mana I have in me to cast it a single time.

of the first one. However, inside each of those three loops in an absurd amount of dense detail. Spiraling coils that twist in and around themselves like those infinite shapes are everywhere, making the internal structure of the spell like an

less familiar territory. At this point, the strain doubles, since I have to hold the entire thing together while

friend makes their presence known. As suspected, it certainly is a big chap. It's a snail, which is

over the other monsters nearby, a testament to its large spend in Might. Unusual for a snail, it has an enormous maw, with hideous, spongy-looking teeth that undulate inside its perpetually open

a good look at it.

towering thing, and from the centre on either side extends a gelatinous arm that smokes from

get up close and personal with this thing. And, thankfully, I shouldn't have to, if this all works

involved in the process now, since it's better at handling Gravity Mana than the constructs are, thanks to its mutations. More and more mana is dredged up to feed this beast as every one of my minds is

cleansed mana, a predictable thing happens. It opens its mouth absurdly wide, gets a mad look in its eyes and starts charging straight at us. Surprisingly

of the two horizontal loops now sits a hollow sphere, and if I'm understanding my own thoughts right, I'm supposed to fill them with an absurd amount of