The Great Core's Paradox Chapter 9: Rot-Flesh War

I hissed at the thought-light. A greater being? What greater being? The fla-gaze bad-thing?

I was betrayed. Even worse, the Great Core was betrayed. I had assud that the thought-light understood that there was no greater being than the Great Core; as the Great Cores creation, surely I was greater than the fla-gaze bad-thing. I would need to show the thought-light that it was mistaken.

The fla-gaze bad-thing slowly pulled its giant head from the boiling water, its thirst slaked at last. I jolted, my flesh-scales trembling as I slithered away to hide behind the nearest glow-cap stalk.

I decided to prove my greatness later. Soday, though, I would bring the fla-gaze bad-thing to its knees and prove the thought-light wrong. For now, we would be allies of circumstances, brought together under the banner of the Great Cores war against the blasphemous Aridae.

I could feel a strange tingling on my head-scales, nestled just behind the Great Cores likeness that rested upon my scale-flesh. It swirled and eddied, shifting like the mana-water itself. With a brief mont of concentration, I forced it to twist around with greater speed, growing in intensity. A mont later, I stopped, already growing weary.

The trembling of stone pulled my attention away from the minor mana core that I had gained. The fla-gaze bad-thing was retreating from the pool of mana-water, on its way back to the tunnel from which it had erged. I followed behind it, slithering in its shadow. All the while, I could hear the Aridae above , skittering and chittering as they clambered across the network of shimring threads above . I forced myself to ignore them, focusing instead on the strange feeling on my head-scales. With my earlier weariness in mind, I kept my efforts to a minimum, mostly just watching as the mana within swirled on its own.

I couldnt afford to tire myself out with the hated Aridae so close by.

Soon, the forest of glow-caps was behind us, their purple light growing slightly dimr from the distance. Even so, the orange light of the fla-gaze bad-things eye was more than enough to see by, allowing to slither away into a nearby small-tunnel just as we reached the edge of the cavern.

I followed its twists and turns, searching for a safe area in which to practice my newfound skill. My tongue flicked in the air; the taste of old blood pushed towards a passage to my right, away from the warning scents on the other side. Soon, the small-tunnel emptied out into a new room - though calling it a room was a bit of a stretch.

It was closer to a tiny space to the side of the small-tunnel, connected by a faint wall-crack that I squeezed my scale-flesh through laboriously. A few twists and writhes later, and I was in. It was dark, inside. The faint glow of the small-tunnel beca even fainter, slipping through the tiny wall-crack in tiny slits that only barely broke the blackness.

It was a far slither from the room of my birth, the greatest of all rooms: the room of the Great Cores domain. There, it was light. There, it was bright. There, it was ho.

This was not light. It was not bright. Nor was it ho.

Still, it was enough for now.

I coiled upon myself, lightly chewing upon my tail to soothe the burns created by the boiling mana-water. My insides tingled lightly, itching as the burns began to ease and disappear. It wasnt an instant process, but it was far from slow.

Of course it was. I was the greatest of the Great Cores creations. Greater than the Aridae. Greater than the fla-gaze bad-thing. Greater than the blasphemous thought-light.

I hissed angrily at the thought, letting go of my tail as my tongue flicked out lightly.

I froze.

There was sothing outside.

I coiled upon myself, both making myself smaller and continuing to soothe my injuries. If it ca down to a fight, I would need to be in the best of conditions. It wasnt long before I could hear a steady snuffling from the small-tunnel, mixed with the scrambling gaits of nurous bad-things.

I recognized the scent, now.

It was a horde of rot-flesh bad-things.

It wasnt a scent that I could forget. They tasted of rotting corpses, of decaying flesh and decomposing at. I had tried to eat one, once. It had been left behind by the other bad-things. I had been curious.

The rest of the day had been spent slumped over and hallucinating.

It was awful.

Despite that, I was curious. I still rembered what the thought-light had shown when I consud the infant Aridae.

Blooded Trait Acquisition Progress: 1/5.

I wasnt sure what it ant, yet. I was eager to find out - maybe even eager enough to eat a rot-flesh bad-thing. Maybe.

I would try, at least.

Still, it wasnt as simple as that. Individually, the rot-flesh bad-things were not terribly dangerous. At least, not compared to other bad-things. Despite that, they had their advantages. They moved in swarms, falling upon enemies with their small teeth and tiny claws. The rot-flesh itself also helped, weakening the bad-things that made the mistake of consuming one of the mbers of the swarm. It was a strange thod, sacrificing one of their own to take down an enemy.

It was surprisingly effective.

With that in mind, I was doubtful of my plan to consu one of the rot-flesh bad-things. I wanted to beco stronger. I needed to beco stronger if I was going to punish the blasphemous Aridae.

I didnt want to be eaten by rot-flesh bad-things.

I waited for the noise to die down before I moved. They had scurried down the small-tunnel, headed in the direction of the mana-water cavern. I was in luck; whether or not I chose to eat one, their presence might give the chance to ambush one of the smaller of the Aridae. Unlike the fla-gaze bad-thing, they werent enough of a threat to keep the Aridae confined to the ceiling. They would attack the invaders. I would be ready.

I slithered through the small-tunnel, trailing the stink of rot-flesh that moved towards the cavern ahead. Soon, the light of the cavern grew brighter.

I saw sothing familiar; sothing that I had seen many tis while guarding the Great Core.

I saw a war raging on.

The rot-flesh bad-things had clustered together, swarming over one another in a mindless frenzy. Nurous Aridae perched at the tops of the glow-cap heads, looking down at the disgusting beasts. Each of them threatened and postured, trying to intimidate the other group into submission.

Despite that, I was sure the Aridae were nervous. Rot-flesh bad-things were a mindless breed, from what I had seen. They didnt care about the others of the swarm; they would easily throw away a life if it ant that the remaining swarm could consu the enemy. For the Aridae, that might have been the worst sort of enemy, barring one with overwhelming strength like the fla-gaze bad-thing.

Their slow-venom was effective, I would admit. Yet, an Aridae could only sink its fangs into one enemy at a ti. Each ti that it did so, it would risk the swarm of rot-flesh bad-things falling upon it. They would rend and tear, reducing the Aridae to scraps of flesh in monts.

Of course, that only applied to the smaller of the Aridae.

The Aridae mother slowly descended from the ceiling, dropping down on a shimring white thread. Her presence seed to boost the resolve of her children, in much the sa way that presence of the Great Core boosted my own. She was their champion, their protector. Their creator.

The Aridae mother touched down, her many legs piercing the head of the giant glow-cap upon which she stood. Below her, the rot-flesh bad-things continued to swarm. They clambered and climbed over one another, creating a flowing ladder of flesh and fur.

One of them reached the top.

Then another.

Another.

They sward atop the canopy of the glow-cap forest, falling upon the nearest Aridae. It was small; it was young. It stood little chance. The young Aridae sunk its fangs into the nearest rot-flesh bad-thing. It stabbed a foreleg into another. Then, it was over.

The swarm pulled away. Little was left behind.

The mother Aridae rubbed her fangs together. They rustled. Her children did the sa.

They charged.

The war had begun.