Elaryan and Malak are returned to the battle with the iron golems and apocalypse locusts as time resumes its normal flow. A moment later, Arthas appears, resplendent in his new plate armor. He has been sent by Iomedae to aid his companions. The battle is fierce. Both Malak and Elaryan are weary from their earlier battles (and from their side drip to Groetus's dungeon). Elaryan is completely sapped of mythic power, though Malak has fortunately been hoarding his own energy. Arthas is fully refreshed from his time spent in Iomedae's White Citadel, but the two teams seem evenly matched. Then the odds take a turn for the worse. A colossal mythic phoenix enters the fray, flying in from a side chamber. Arthas recognizes her as Pyralisia, who is also known as the Rain of Embers. Pyralisia first rose to prominence around the time of the Cataclysm, as a powerful servant of Iomedae. She disappeared around that time, however, and has not been seen since. Now the heroes know why... she was captured by the forces of evil, and has been kept here as a plaything, pet, and guardian by Aponavicius! The phoenix swiftly moves to attack the companions. Overwhelmed by the ferocity of her attack, the adventurers fall, one by one. First, Arthas is slain, then Malak. Elaryan tries to hold his own against the mythic beast in single combat, but he eventually is overpowered. As the sorcerer loses consciousness, he feels the savage heat of the Rain of Embers upon his face. Elaryan regains consciousness a few days later. He has been stripped of all his equipment in locked in a small cell. Fortunately, the rest has restored his mythic power, so he is able to dimension door himself out of the cell and explore. He finds the bodies of his companions in a nearby room, along with the party's equipment, He raises Arthas from the dead, and the paladin summons an explanar ally to revive Malak. As the party is gathering their things, their captor slithers into the room. Aponavicius wields six different exotic weapons, one in each of her six arms. She towers over the heroes, striking with surprising speed and ferocity, and she poisons her weapons by licking the blades. Backed into a corner, the party has no choice but to fight. This battle goes better than the previous one, thanks in part to the adventurers' restored powers. Though the marilith general is a powerful foe, the three mythic heroes manage to defeat her. Malak strikes the killing blow, the companions grab their belongings, and Elaryan plane shifts them back to the Prime Material Plane. Everyone who played gains 100,000 XP. Defeating Aponavicius counts as a mythic trial.
