Baldur's gate II_ throne of Bhaal - Drew Karpyshyn [99]
The clutching, grasping forest of living disease quickly became more than mere inconvenience. Abdel found himself struggling to maintain his balance beneath the heavy net of sickly, wet vines from above. The malevolent undergrowth became more insistent, tugging and yanking at his feet and ankles and quickly wrapping itself up as high as his knees if Abdel kept his foot in place for more than a few seconds.
The realm of Bhaal was opposing him, trying to prevent him from blazing through the jungle in his search for the door through which Melissan herself had passed. It was succeeding. Abdel became frantic, swatting and kicking furiously in his efforts to dislodge the aggressive plants, but no matter how much he struggled he could not break free.
Abdel reached down deep inside himself, trying to summon the Ravager once more. Balthazar might have bested the gigantic beast, but Abdel knew his demonic form could easily tear a savage path through the vegetation. The fires of his father's fury began to rise, and Abdel braced himself for the terrible transformation.
It never came. Abdel could feel the inferno blazing within his soul, but it had no effect on him. The jungle, however, responded emphatically. Like some enormous spider spinning a cocoon, the plant life wrapped itself in spirals around him. The trees bent down to entwine their branches around Abdel's limbs, caressing and clinging to him like a long-abandoned lover.
Abdel realized Bhaal's world was indeed alive, but it wasn't attacking him or impeding him. It was drawn to him. It recognized the immortal essence within Abdel, and it wanted to fawn and fondle him. In trying to summon the Ravager, Abdel had only intensified the yearning of the jungle.
With awareness came mastery. Abdel stopped resisting the plants and instead focused his will on shaping them. He imagined the thick vegetation retreating, drawing away like respectful servants retreating after their master had dismissed them. The vines, roots, and branches encasing his body receded in response to the will of one of Bhaal's children.
Abdel envisioned the jungle parting before him, clearing a path to the hidden door that led to Melissan, and again his mere desire made it so. The way before him was obvious now, a narrow corridor knifing through the dense growth that led straight to a single wooden door standing untouched by the forest.
The leaves rustled as he walked past, like subjects waving at the procession of a new king's coronation. Unimpeded, Abdel marched to the door and opened it without hesitating.
The realm of Bhaal vanished, and Abdel found himself in the void once again. But this void was already occupied. Melissan hovered in the emptiness, her body encased in a pillar of glowing power. The ends of the shining column stretched to infinity in every direction, but its width was barely enough for a single person.
At least, Abdel assumed it was Melissan in the light. The tall, attractive woman he remembered from previous meetings was gone. In her place floated a hairless, smooth skinned being who was neither male nor female. Melissan had become both ageless and sexless. She had shed all previous identities, and was in the process of being reborn, remade, and rebuilt as an immortal.
The new Melissan noticed Abdel hovering in the void beside her. When she spoke Abdel was not surprised to discover her voice had already begun to adopt the infinite depth of an immortal.
"So the Avatar of Bhaal has triumphed over Balthazar. I am impressed." Despite her words, Abdel knew she was mocking him.
"Have you come to stop me, Abdel? Come to strip me of my destiny?"
Abdel said nothing, but simply nodded. Melissan drifted free from the column of power, gasping slightly for air as if she had been taking a long drink.
"If you want