Chapter 311 REWRITE Chapter 306: 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%

I already knew where I needed to be.

A shriek, twisted and warped in a way that stabbed at my head-scales and blurred my vision, sounded out from somewhere above; despite the distance, it was loud enough - powerful enough - that I was forced to curl inwards, sinking life-attuned fangs into my own tail. [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail] and [Life - Vitality] began to heal the damage the sound had done, even as the grasping piece of plant-flesh finally reached me.

It wrapped tight, and I allowed it.

When it pulled, I allowed that too.

Curled inwards, I was passed from vine to vine. They carried me outwards and upwards, faster than I could ever hope to move on my own. In only a few moments, I was already hanging over open air, looking down the massive central opening of the tower-nest. In the rings below, I could make out a few faithful that were still recovering from the same terrible burst of sound that had damaged me, regaining their balance and bearing as their [Little Guardian’s Totem]s restored them from harm - a restoration that, I knew, would have appeared to happen much faster to anyone who wasn’t coiled tightly within [Windbound]s embrace.

The shriek came again.

As it approached, a wave of [pain] and [disorientation] came from those faithful that encountered it first. I bit down preemptively, twisting more of my mana-suffused blood into life mana as it dripped down my fangs.

Lesser Core Skill: [Life - Vitality XVII] Increased.

[Life - Vitality XVIII] Acquired.

I recovered even quicker than before. Quickly enough that, right on time, I watched ashining needle cut through the air.

Outside of [Windbound] and [Acceleration Gale], it was slow; slow enough that I could turn to watch the place where it had come from, and that where it was headed. I followed it from the end of Needle’s needle-spitter, where she stood atop a branch of the Darkwood Guardian’s offspring.

Then, with plant-flesh pulling me along, I followed it in truth. I slipped behind the needle as it passed through a thin mass of hanging plant-flesh that moved aside in deference, and watched it move directly towards the source of the terrible noise; an usurper that I had come to know as the loud one, whose shriek could cause even his own allies to falter.

Faithful lay around him, [disoriented] and gravely injured, but still alive. I knew that, if Needle and I had moved even a little slower, that might have changed.

The loudest of the usurpers started to make a noise again, a slow, mana-warped rumble building in his chest - and then the needle crashed directly into his head. It landed beautifully, right at the place where pieces of ore-flesh connected to one another, and knocked the covering loose.

Directly behind it, [Illusion Spark] already twisting light into the image of the great serpent once again for all the faithful nearby to see, was me.

I was on him before the falling ore-flesh hit the ground, fangs bared, and let myself slip directly through the loudest of the usurpers’ open mouth even as the illusion of the great serpent swallowed the usurper whole.

I bit down, directly onto his inner throat, and let loose enough power to end the usurper beneath me three times over. The thought-light flickered again as death-attuned venom spilled from my fangs.

Lesser Core Skill: [Death - Wither XII] Increased.

[Death - Wither XIII] Acquired.

I didn’t let up, though I did appreciate the small increase in strength that the thought-light’s message brought with it. It wasn’t often that my lesser core skills increased in strength, now that so many of them had come far beyond what they’d once been. It was surprising to have it happen twice in such a short span of time. The usurper’s flesh rotted away beneath me, and he let out an agonized attempt at a scream that sent shivers of pleasure and pain down my scale-flesh.

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

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

Requisite Experience Awarded. Reduced Due To Assistance Received.

Level up!

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

As I brought my will to bear against the remnants of the loud one’s soul, my scale-flesh hardened. My fangs sharpened. My venom intensified.

I allowed the illusion of the great serpent to disappear and camouflaged myself once again, leaving behind only the remnants of the once-loud usurper for my faithful to witness.

The thought-light flickered, moving a little faster than before.

Current Progress: ….38%

I hissed in satisfaction, allowing the sound to reverberate across the tower-nest in my victory. With the loudest of the usurpers dead, there was no other sound strong enough to challenge it. I let it warp in the same way that the loudest of the usurpers had, but better - [Sound Shaping] twisted it just the right way that it became reminiscent of the oddly important sounds of the dying faithful that had started this all.

It only seemed right.

The thought-light seemed to agree, because the progress it was making jumped forward yet again.

Current Progress: ….45%

Ten usurpers left.

I, once more, knew where I was needed next.

[Windbound] plant-flesh pulled me 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.

Nine.

The second usurper to pass through the dust, unfortunately, wasn’t stupid - and they were fast. Faster than even [Windbound] Coreless and plant-flesh, though not by much. It was enough, however, to run away. As soon as the speed-enhanced usurper could, they activated the power of their ore-flesh to pass directly through a solid wall.

I let them be, more focused on something else for the moment.

Current Progress: ….50%

[rage].

[hatred].

[excitement].

[grief].

Hidden within the corpse of the usurper, I let myself briefly become distracted again; somehow, despite the powerful emotions of so many faithful that I was now connected to, these particular emotions felt more important than the rest.

I already knew why.

I followed the emotions, slithering down a [Little Guardian’s Totem] connection.

I became one with the Grateful One, viewing the world through her eyes.

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 and I were 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: ….55%

Eight.

Seven.

I repeated the count to myself, keeping track of how many usurpers remained to be punished.

Even more, I went over their abilities in my head as best I could, gathered from the false-lives that I had spent preparing for their punishment.

Of the dead, there was the curious one, the first usurper, and his partner - speed of thought and durability. There was the loudest of the usurpers, whose shrieks could send any listening tumbling to the ground. There was the crushed usurper, defeated by the Unrepentant One and I, who had been unable to bring his mana-enhanced strength to bear against my far-faster disciple. Then, there were the two within the ore-flesh beast, one of which I knew from a previous false-life was another usurper with enhanced strength, and the other with speed.

Six dead.

Of the living, because I was certain none of the usurpers - with all of their advantages in ore-flesh and mana-enhancement - could have been defeated without me noticing, there were seven.

The cowardly usurper that had just run away, whose mana-enhancement was focused on speed.

The giant usurper, who was the final remaining usurper with a mana-enhancement solely aimed towards strength.

The agile usurper that reminded me of the Grateful One in his movements, without the extreme willingness to endure pain and injury for those movements.

The fat usurper, whose ore-flesh had become comically overlarge when I’d defeated him in that first terrible false-life. A mana-enhancement that devoured his own stores of flesh in return for healing. He had taken a long, long time to die.

The stealthy usurper, whose presence I struggled to find even when I knew exactly where to look. There was something about her mana-enhancement that made attention slide off of her, strong enough that she had been one of the more prominent reasons for the overlarge losses in previous false-lives. I still wasn’t sure where she was, and that bothered me.

The leaping usurper, whose mana-enhancement allowed him to release tremendous bursts of force with his legs. He could launch himself through the air, bouncing off the walls of the tower-nest with enough force to crush stone, and even push hard enough to alter his direction mid-flight. It was similar to a combination of speed and strength, if that speed and strength were only focused on the legs.

Then, at the end of it all, the leader of the usurpers.

There were six dead, but I knew that those had been the easiest. The rest, now that there was no more ambush to rely on, would be much, much harder. Especially because, 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 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.