Chapter 310 Open Eyes And Terrified Hearts

I wasn’t sure that I’d ever felt so many powerful emotions coming from the Great Core’s faithful as I did now. I was inundated with the feelings of them all, each and every one of them attempting to fill my scale-flesh to bursting. I felt inflated and overgrown; [awe] and [wonder] and [confusion] and [delight] and [intrigue] and [vindication] and too many other sensations writhed within me, pulled from the connections I held to the [Little Guardian’s Totem]s of not just the nearby faithful, but of all of the Great Core’s chosen.

I could sense them, each and every one of them, responding to the change that [Windbound] had wrought - to the way that, in a single instant, the world around them had become slow, with only their fellow faithful keeping to the same pace.

Unable to help myself, I took a brief moment to witness them for myself. I slithered between connections, dipping in and out with the speed of a coiled strike; not long enough to truly experience the lives of the faithful whose connections I visited, but still long enough to taste.

“...something new,” I felt one of the ones whisper as I gave in and supped a little deeper, the corner of his lips turning upwards as he reached out to catch a droplet of liquid that had slowly dripped from a nearby stone-spike.

I moved to the next, already slithering towards a new and intriguing taste.

“...look, look! Look what I can do!” I watched a tiny one giggle in [amusement] as she danced between a splash of water, already ready to throw up another and dance between those drops, too.

Again, I slithered onwards, drawn towards another.

“...even time itself has become a gift to be bestowed,” I heard another faithful say, falling to his knees in [reverence], quickly followed by the thumping of many others nearby. “Prai—”

Current Progress: ….30%

As much as I wanted to stay, to bask even further in the admiration of the faithful for the most brilliant of Cores, I couldn’t allow it. I returned to my own scale-flesh, only a few scant moments lost, and refocused on the task at hand.

I slithered forward, winding around the small piece of the second usurper’s ore-flesh that still remained above the ground. It was a part of that ground now, in the very same way as his bones would be forever. With a hiss of relief, I finally allowed the image of a massive serpent that I’d created with [Illusion Spark] to fade, even as I turned a small portion of that same blessing towards hiding me away.

Distracted as the faithful were with the corpses of the usurpers, I was able to slip by without any delay. I sped past them, slithering as quickly as I could, with only a single glance backwards to ensure the previously dying faithful would be dying no longer.

There was no time to bask in their [adulation]. I was still needed. Two usurpers were dealt with, but there were still many more.

Current Progress: ….32%

I called to the nearest plant-flesh, and watched it stretch to meet me. It moved fast; it grew fast - and with each new movement, each new growth, the air twisted around it.

[Windbound].

Current Progress: ….34%

A shining needle cut through the air, slower than I had ever seen it. It crashed into the unsuspecting head of an usurper, right at the place where pieces of ore-flesh connected to one another, and knocked the covering loose. I was on him before the falling ore-flesh hit the ground, fangs bared.

Mana-Infused .̸̠̑/̷̧͖̮͚͐̕.̵͙̣͍̩̜͉̏/̸̩̖̐ͅ.̸̮̙̰̖̜̾̽͌̌̽͛̾͐/̸̛̗̘̼̳͕͔͕͚̈́̈̑̅̑̚.̴͉͉͌̃̊͆̈́̄͘.̶̱̔̌̓͊̚/̸̜̞͉͙͔͖̬̇͋͜.̵̘͔͇̘͇̄̓̃͜/̵̧̺̼͖̠̮̩͚̒͒̑̂̈̿̃͠ Defeated.

Calculating .̸̠̑/̷̧͖̮͚͐̕.̵͙̣͍̩̜͉̏/̸̩̖̐ͅ.̸̮̙̰̖̜̾̽͌̌̽͛̾͐/̸̛̗̘̼̳͕͔͕͚̈́̈̑̅̑̚.̴͉͉͌̃̊͆̈́̄͘.̶̱̔̌̓͊̚/̸̜̞͉͙͔͖̬̇͋͜.̵̘͔͇̘͇̄̓̃͜/̵̧̺̼͖̠̮̩͚̒͒̑̂̈̿̃͠ Strength.

Requisite Experience Awarded. Reduced Due To Assistance Received.

Level up!

Mana-Infused .̸̠̑/̷̧͖̮͚͐̕.̵͙̣͍̩̜͉̏/̸̩̖̐ͅ.̸̮̙̰̖̜̾̽͌̌̽͛̾͐/̸̛̗̘̼̳͕͔͕͚̈́̈̑̅̑̚.̴͉͉͌̃̊͆̈́̄͘.̶̱̔̌̓͊̚/̸̜̞͉͙͔͖̬̇͋͜.̵̘͔͇̘͇̄̓̃͜/̵̧̺̼͖̠̮̩͚̒͒̑̂̈̿̃͠ Soul Fragment Absorbed.

As I moved towards the next, my scale-flesh hardened. My fangs sharpened. My venom intensified.

Current Progress: ….38%

At the sensation of long-awaited [rage] finally released, I let myself briefly become distracted again; the one that it had come from was too important to ignore, even if I could hardly do anything but bear witness.

Still, I let my mind slither down yet another of the connections I held.

I became one with the Grateful One.

My disciple and I darted forward, one body and two minds. [Windbound] forced the air around us to stir, forming invisible eddies laden with time. Nearby, two usurpers stood, and I could feel the ore-flesh beneath our shared feet vibrate again and again - though, with [Windbound] now active and surrounding my disciple, those vibrations were both deeper and slower than they might have once been.

It vibrated again as another wave of plant-flesh crashed into the ore-flesh beast - and did nothing but force it to rock in place. I sensed, through [Spore Puppeteer] and [Verdure Parasite] both, that same wave of plant-flesh die as the ore-flesh beast ripped the water from each and every piece that formed that wave, desiccating it from the inside out.

One of the usurpers, a female, stared out through the ore-flesh beast’s false eyes and laughed. The other, a male, watched with less vigor.

Neither of the two were fully covered in ore-flesh, secure in the belly of the beast.

My disciple dashed forward, fang already extended, and the male’s head toppled. It landed with a burst of [vindication], a splash of [delight] that I was sure only my disciple was feeling.

Because the remaining usurper’s scream was anything but delighted.

“Marcus!” she screamed, hands whipping around to cover her head in ore-flesh before the Grateful One could remove it. The female usurper moved fast, even to the eyes of my [Windbound] disciple. She was still faster than my disciple - but not in the way that she should have been.

Not enough to be victorious. Not when my disciple was only a little slower - but could also heal through the [Little Guardian’s Totem] she carried, and do many other things besides.

As the two Coreless tested their fangs against one another, I caught sight of the ore-flesh beast’s heart - a strange thing of twisted ore-flesh, glowing with more mana-light than anything else I’d seen the Coreless create. I knew that it powered everything that the ore-flesh beast could do; from simple movements to the desiccation ability that carried the scent-taste of both water and flame.

My disciple, now that her true loyalties were no longer hidden by the ore-flesh that she shared with the usurpers, tossed a skin-mouth that she carried at her side. It exploded in a burst of greens and golds and blues, and I was more than ready to encourage it to grow.

I pulled harshly from the potential growth of each and every piece of plant-flesh in my range.

[Windbound] and [Verdure Parasite] worked together at a dizzying pace, and the skin-mouth birthed enough plant-flesh to begin the slow process of choking the life from the ore-flesh beast’s heart, even as my disciple continued to strike at her opponent with a ragged cry.

I ignored the strange mixture of [delight] and [grief] and [hatred] and [pride] that came with that cry; my disciples and faithful were sometimes too complicated to understand, even now. Instead of dwelling on it, I let my mind return to my scale-flesh once more, and was immediately greeted by another message from the thought-light.

Current Progress: ….43%

Moments later, I was pulled to the sound of cracking stone, oddly warped outside of the fast-spot that [Acceleration Gale]created. In the distance, shattered stone plumed into the air, a cloud of dust and debris that would have completely hidden its cause were it not for the connection I felt. Inside of the dust, the Unrepentant One stood, a new chasm forming at his feet.

A single usurper darted through the dust, slamming into the Unrepentant One with titanic force - or, they would have.

In the end, though, they moved too slowly. Compared to the Unrepentant One, coiled tightly within [Windbound]’s embrace, the usurper’s charge was closer to a crawl. He barely moved, and only the usurper’s fast reflexes and the power of his ore-flesh coverings saved him from an accelerated swing of my disciple’s overlarge ore-flesh claw.

In a different false-life, the Unrepentant One would have been crushed beneath the usurper’s strength.

In this one, he never had to feel it.

The usurper pushed through the dust, unable to return to a more solid form while still stuck inside - another weakness they carried. It didn’t hold the same danger as larger materials did, but even small motes of shattered stone could slow the usurpers down.

As the usurper reached the edge, he twisted to turn back towards my disciple, not seeing the danger creeping behind him.

I forced a tendril of plant-flesh into his shadowlike form just as it solidified, and he collapsed to his knees.

Current Progress: ….47%

Another usurper emerged from the dust, breaking through the obstacle that my disciple created with his mana-enhanced strength - but it was too late to save the one that had come before.

With a roar, my disciple crumpled the downed enemy’s ore-flesh. It crumpled beneath that single blow, and left an opening for me to wriggle in deeper after releasing the camouflage of [Illusion Spark] and revealing my presence to my disciple.

I took a single bite of flesh, and let venom spill from my fangs.

Mana-Infused .̸̠̑/̷̧͖̮͚͐̕.̵͙̣͍̩̜͉̏/̸̩̖̐ͅ.̸̮̙̰̖̜̾̽͌̌̽͛̾͐/̸̛̗̘̼̳͕͔͕͚̈́̈̑̅̑̚.̴͉͉͌̃̊͆̈́̄͘.̶̱̔̌̓͊̚/̸̜̞͉͙͔͖̬̇͋͜.̵̘͔͇̘͇̄̓̃͜/̵̧̺̼͖̠̮̩͚̒͒̑̂̈̿̃͠ Defeated.

Calculating .̸̠̑/̷̧͖̮͚͐̕.̵͙̣͍̩̜͉̏/̸̩̖̐ͅ.̸̮̙̰̖̜̾̽͌̌̽͛̾͐/̸̛̗̘̼̳͕͔͕͚̈́̈̑̅̑̚.̴͉͉͌̃̊͆̈́̄͘.̶̱̔̌̓͊̚/̸̜̞͉͙͔͖̬̇͋͜.̵̘͔͇̘͇̄̓̃͜/̵̧̺̼͖̠̮̩͚̒͒̑̂̈̿̃͠ Strength.

Requisite Experience Awarded. Reduced Due To Assistance Received.

Level up!

Mana-Infused .̸̠̑/̷̧͖̮͚͐̕.̵͙̣͍̩̜͉̏/̸̩̖̐ͅ.̸̮̙̰̖̜̾̽͌̌̽͛̾͐/̸̛̗̘̼̳͕͔͕͚̈́̈̑̅̑̚.̴͉͉͌̃̊͆̈́̄͘.̶̱̔̌̓͊̚/̸̜̞͉͙͔͖̬̇͋͜.̵̘͔͇̘͇̄̓̃͜/̵̧̺̼͖̠̮̩͚̒͒̑̂̈̿̃͠ Soul Fragment Absorbed.

“...I wasn’t going to eat that, I guess,” my disciple grunted, turning around to meet the newest usurper. “You can have it.” Around us, other faithful began to ready themselves as well, finally recovering from the shock of [Windbound]’s emergence enough to put up a proper fight.

With [Windbound], more than a proper fight.

The newest soul fragment writhed within me, but I had more than enough time to devote towards crushing its rebellion, even as its struggles became stronger than the one that came before, and the one that came before that.

My scale-flesh hardened. My fangs sharpened. My venom intensified.

I moved on to the next.

Current Progress: ….65%

With each new usurper that we defeated, I grew stronger. Though I wasn’t able to defeat many of them completely on my own, I still did my best to be there when they fell - to ensure that I was able to take that final bite, absorbing as much of their strength as the Great Core and the thought-light would allow. I passed myself from vine to vine, almost swimming through the air as I moved between battles. I joined the faithful as they warred against the usurpers in the name of the Great Core, and they began to cheer each time that I dropped [Illusion Spark] for those brief moments that I appeared.

Even the most recent faithful, those who had been future faithful until only a few short moments ago, began to feel the same things as their older kin - [hope], [faith], [celebration].

Victory.

It was hard not to, when the world seemed to move so slowly. The battle that would have normally been a death sentence became something far more manageable, sluggishly trudging along. It was a wonder that the usurpers could manage to fight back at all; it was a tragedy that, despite all of our advantages, many of the faithful still fell.

I mourned their loss, their inability to continue serving the Greatest of Cores, even as I did my best to avenge them.

Soon enough, though, the usurpers that remained had all adjusted to their disadvantage. They no longer threw themselves recklessly forward, enraged that those that had once been so weak were fighting back. They came together, finding one another amidst the chaos, and kept one another alive.

The tricks that I’d been using stopped working; together, I wasn’t able to sneak plant-flesh into any of the usurpers’ solidifying forms. There was always another watching, guarding their fellow usurper from injury and death. Especially so given the few among them with speed enhancements, each moving faster than not-Needle normally could. They, especially, had managed to survive through the surprise of [Windbound], not experiencing the same disadvantage in speed as the rest.

In a previous false-life, I’d hoped to set not-Needle against them. In this one, I knew that she had a more important task. There was one usurper that, above all others, couldn’t be allowed to regroup with and protect his fellows. Like the task that the Grateful One had to defeat the ore-flesh beast, the-female-who-was-not-Needle’s task was one of the ones required for victory.

If the normal usurpers were horrifyingly strong, the one that led them was something different entirely - closer to the ore-flesh beast itself than anything like the others.

If I had to describe it…

He was a force of nature.

Unbreakable.

Even now, with the souls of so many of his brethren trapped between my coils, I knew that my fangs would slide off his skin. Of all the usurpers, he needed the power of his ore-flesh the least - needed it so little, even, that he almost never used it.

Null-water was his only bane, and that, unfortunately, his ore-flesh could keep him temporarily protected from. In all of my false-lives, it had only been by submerging him in null-water while he slept that he’d died. A difficult task, and - maybe more importantly - an unsatisfying one.

For the Great Core, I knew that it wasn’t enough. Like his kin, the leader of the usurpers would die on his feet, and he would die afraid. There would be no peaceful, sleeping death.

Not this time. Not for him. Not for any of them.

The Great Core’s victory would be met with open eyes and terrified hearts.