The Great Core's Paradox

Chapter 154: The Fall

Valera could hear Rowan swearing under his breath as he tried to hold onto the steadily-collapsing bridge. It swayed underneath him, nearly sending the man tumbling as it seemed to buck and writhe.

It wasnt actually writhing, but it was a close thing.

The bridge swayed again, bits and pieces collapsing as it continued its unsteady lean downward.

Run! Get back up! Valera shouted, her boots almost slipping on the trembling surface as she turned and tried to start moving away. The others went with her, frantically trying to outpace a falling bridge. It was doomed from the start.

When she glanced back, she couldnt find Rowan anymore.

She kept running, desperately hoping that the mans recent joke about having a hidden desire to plummet to his doom hadnt been some sort of horrible prophecy. He would be okay, she told herself.

As long as he only broke his legs.

She almost shuddered, but kept her feet moving alongside Doran, both of them trailing behind Elara, Erik, and Kala.

The bridge shook and shuddered below Valeras feet, shards chipping away and plunging down into the depths. She threw out a hand to the side, catching herself on the bridges edge - until that, too, shook and shuddered. Crumbled.

Fell; a single broken shard that eagerly sought the ground below.

She fell with it, though far less eagerly, a shout coming from somewhere above her.

A living vine, still hanging to the shuddering bridge, reached out from the midst of its far-less-living fellows until it wrapped around her neck. Stretching tight, taut. Dangerously so.

With a speed born more of desperation than mana, one hand scrabbled for a blade; the other tucked itself underneath the vines, frantically pulling it away from her throat. It fought back, holding tighter and leaving what Valera knew would have been deep bruises if it werent for the [Little Guardians Totem] that pressed against her chest.

The blade pulled free with a snick of metal against leather; the sound, almost lost to that of blood pumping furiously in her ears, would have brought Valera to her knees with relief if only she had still been standing - and if it hadnt the next surely would have.

The vine tore, sliced through with a rapid upward swing that came perilously close to her face, leaving its remains wrapped around her like a once-deadly collar. She desperately reached for the remnant with her free hand as it - ripped and tattered - started to swing back away again.

Her hand caught, and then her arm turned to fire as it ripped itself from its socket. Still, she held on. Somehow. The [Little Guardians Totem] sent little shocks down her arm, fruitlessly attempting to fix the arm that Valera was unable to push back into place.

Still, it sent them again and again - until her fingers spasmed, grip losing its strength for a terrible moment.

She fell again, gasping into the mists, her mouth opened in an empty scream.

The mists were more than happy to fill it.

Val! Doran shouted, nearly throwing himself over the bridges edge as he lunged after the excitable, beautiful, falling woman. His hands closed around empty air, coming a hairs breadth away from their goal - just like they always seemed to.

She dropped.

The snake hissed loudly nearby, a sharp sound that only barely made its way past the shaking of the ruined tower and bridge.

A few forgotten seconds later, his hands were burning as they slid down a bundle of vines. A few snapped under his weight, unable to hold against his armored bulk - but that was important.

Valera wasnt there anymore; all he saw was the mists, roiling and twisting in an ephemeral mimicry of human shapes.

Val! he shouted again, a few short moments away from slipping into the mists himself.

There was no answer. He slipped a little further.

Doran tried not to breathe as he frantically searched, but found that he couldnt stop. Not once he realized that the woman he had followed down was nowhere to be found. He just couldnt stop.

Green filled his vision and body, only barely kept at bay by the snakes magic necklace. Enough for him to keep looking for just that little bit longer. Enough for him to try.

His mind was filled with only one thought, even as his muscles started to twitch and writhe against his will.

Be okay.

Be okay.

Please, just be okay.

Something stabbed into his leg, pushing its way in.

He could have sworn he could feel more spores start to take root within as he tumbled, rolling against the spore-covered ground. The air was thick and heavy. Wet, almost dripping with moisture. And far, far too quiet.

Val! he shouted again, well aware that it would allow more of the mist to feel his lungs.

He couldnt find it in himself to care.

The mist swallowed his scream, all but mute even in his own ears.

Doran limped along, still searching.

Hoping desperately that he wouldnt find a body, even if that meant he might find something else - because death couldnt be fixed. Other things could. The snake had proven that time and time again.

Doran kept limping along with single-minded focus. His body struggled against him. He ignored it.

Be okay.

Be okay.

Please, just be okay.

He kept searching, chasing shadows in the mist.

She found him first, as wondrously quick as she ever was. He bared his teeth in a relief-filled rictus, his weapon sheathed and limbs quivering. She bared her teeth too, and then bit down fiercely.

It was painful, but that was fine.

Itll be okay, Doran whispered softly, hand gently running through grimy hair. Valera didnt answer, but he knew that she was in there. She could hear him. That was enough.

Itll be okay, he whispered again, trying not to flinch away as she bit down particularly hard. Your Little Guardian will fix this. Itll be okay, Val.

Every new breath brought fresh spores into his lungs, and every new bite brought the same into his flesh.

He didnt care.

He found her.

She could still be okay again - and that was really all that mattered.

One by one, the Coreless seemed to fall into the mist until, finally, there were only two left.

Elara, Will huffed, hanging onto the bridge with shaking limbs. It had ceased to be flat a while before, ruining the Coreless attempts to run back to safety. Somewhere in the midst of that, Needle had managed to fall - though I could still sense her [Little Guardians Totem] moving somewhere down below. Looks like were going to have to wait on letting you practice fighting with us.

There was a crunch from above, sending a wave of debris towards the Coreless. He lost his handholds under the onslaught, dropping a little further before finding new ones.

Aah! he shouted, panting again as he tried to recover. Or, he huffed, still trying to catch his breath, I guess itll just be a different way of fighting with us.

Will looked down, staring into the roiling mist below. His hands kept shaking. Against us. The others are probably already taken by the mists. You wont be.

The Grateful One, clinging to the bridge as well, listened with a dawning [horror] to each and every new noise that Will made. I - I - but you -

Will bared his teeth, the expression looking far more [calm] than I knew he actually was. Ill be fine. Just have to survive the fall and, he looked down again, the possibility of that isnt looking quite so bad anymore. I think.

The Grateful One kept trying to talk, but even I could tell that it didnt mean much of anything. Her mind was running too fast, flitting from one emotion to the next.

Elara, Will said again, the noise more firm this time. You can do this. Youve prepared for this. Sort of. Get rid of the mist, and everyone should come out okay.

I didnt have to fight Seekers before, just clumsy puppets! The Grateful One shrieked, seeming to be anything but grateful. I would have been more upset if it werent for everything else that was going wrong. Wills grip was clearly trembling, and I didnt think that The Grateful Ones would last much longer either. The bridge was continuing to crumble, pieces dropping down on us from above.

There was no way back up; even [Clinging Grasp] wouldnt be enough for that.

I would have to hold out against the Lesser Cores spores for the first time. With my tiny body, it might be harder than I would like. Still, there was nothing for it. There was no way out. I would just have to push through somehow.

Good thing well be more puppet than Seeker, then, Will grunted, veins popping out of his neck. You wont be, Miss Seeker. Youre not a puppet. Remember that?

Finally, he bared his teeth again and his hands started to relax.

Still, dont think that you can take us all at once.

He slid down the collapsed bridge, ore-flesh shrieking all the while, and then he was gone.

The Grateful One fell soon after, taking me with her.