If I had learned one thing during my most recent life, it was this - preparing for a battle ahead of time went a long way towards winning it. It was something that many bad-things didn’t seem to realize or take advantage of; they simply rushed in blindly, content to put their claws and jaws to the test against every enemy. And while I could have done that more easily than most, with the Great Core able to return me from the stupid deaths that rushing in blindly caused, it didn’t mean that I should.

Even if I was the only one to remember it, I wasn’t willing to become an embarrassment to my Creator.

So - preparation. Something that I was immediately thankful for as the corpse-things lunged in my direction. The thread-trap in front of me bulged with the bad-things’ weight, a few of the frayed threads already stretching beyond what they could handle. It was a far cry from the normal strength of my Darkweavers’ thread-traps, and a clear sign that my spore-puppets had been pushed far beyond what they could handle.

They were teetering on the brink of exhaustion and death, pushed to the edge by starvation and the Lesser Core’s aura.

Still, that didn’t mean that the trap failed - just that it didn’t last nearly as long as I’d hoped. Another corpse-thing smashed itself into the sticky threads, managing to tangle itself among its trapped brethren, and the thread-trap bulged a little more than before. Stretched. Frayed.

And then, finally, snapped as the Darkweaver corpse-thing reached the thread-trap and snipped its supports with a few quick bites of its fangs. The trap fell, a tangle of threads and limbs that somehow managed to only become more tangled with every moment; each jerk and shift of the thread-covered corpse-things only served to wrap them further, forming a snarling ball of limbs and fangs and claws and flesh.

Which wasn’t part of the plan, but it was good enough.

Looking at the ball of struggling bad-things, I went with the easiest, simplest option. I sent out a thought-hiss, warning my spore-puppets to stay back. I breathed in deep. Gathered the majority of my remaining mana. Released it in a wave of [Chrono Fire].

Blue flames licked across tangled threads and rotting limbs, racing along the black lines as if it had been touched by fire-water. Even the Darkweaver corpse-thing was quickly caught within its grasp and quickly covered in flames. The noxious scent-taste of burning flesh pressed against my tongue, momentarily overpowering the rot-scent of the corpse-things themselves.

I waited, watching as the Darkweaver - set aflame and not really seeming to care - clambered over the tangle of limbs, threads, and flames on its broken limbs. Stepping on the other corpse-things as it rushed towards me in a relentless display of singlemindedness.

I waited longer, and when it stumbled over the shifting bodies beneath it, I threw myself forward, soaring through the air as if I had gained wings. [Traveler] activated mid-flight, ensuring that I moved just a little faster than the slow-spot allowed my enemy to react.

In one smooth motion, I looped myself around the enemy Darkweaver’s flaming abdomen, pulling myself in close, and squeezed. With my size what it had become, the result was a far cry from what it had been the last time I fought against a Darkweaver.

Its abdomen audibly popped, letting loose a spray of fluids that sizzled against the flames of [Chrono Fire].

The bad-thing collapsed in a heap, and the thought-light immediately flickered.

---

Experi-

---

And then cut short as the defeated bad-thing somehow rose again, brought back from the dead yet again. I squeezed harder, this time twisting and pulling myself against the bad-thing’s body, using a combination of [Constriction] and [Razorflesh] to rend its body into shattered pieces.

The thought-light flickered.

---

Experience Gai-

---

And failed again, the Darkweaver corpse-thing trying to stand again despite being reduced to something that could never be called living. A few more attempts, and it finally stopped trying to live again. The thought-light flickered one last time, this time not cut short.

---

Experience Gained!

---

I turned towards the still-living tangle of corpse-things. It was only due to their own struggles that they hadn’t escaped; each thrash and jerk had done damage to the others nearby, leading to more severed and broken limbs than I could really believe.

And still, just like the now-dead corpse-thing of the Darkweaver, they tried to fight. To move.

Fortunately, between their heavily crippled bodies and the slow-spot that [Chrono Fire] was continuing to grow, I had time.

I was going to need it.

 

---

 

---

Experie-

 

Experience G-

 

Experience Gain-

 

Experience Gained!

 

Expe-

 

Experience Gaine-

 

Experience Gained!

 

Experience Gai-

 

Experience Gained!

 

Exp-

 

Experience Gaine-

 

Experience Gained!

 

Experience Gai-

 

Experience Gained!

 

Experience Gained!

---

By the time I had finished dealing with the corpse-things, I was more than thankful for the preparations I had made. If it hadn’t been for the combination of trapping threads and [Chrono Fire]’s slow-spot, I might have struggled to defeat all of them - not because they were particularly strong, though they weren’t exactly weak, but because they refused to stay dead.

In a more straightforward fight, they might have managed to kill my remaining spore-puppets, after which the Lesser Core could have turned them against me like it had the first. Even now, the fight had left me worried; many of my Darkweavers were hovering near death, and if that death would force them to turn against me…

With a regretful hiss, I forced my spore-puppets to line up one by one.

---

Experience Gai-

 

…

 

Experience Gained!

Level up!

1 Trait Point Gained.

---

When all was said and done, I was the only one left out of the dozen or so followers that had begun the search for the Lesser Core, with only pulped flesh and rivers of blood to mark where my spore-puppets had died. And died. And died. And died. And then, finally, died.

It was exhausting, and the weakness invading my scale-flesh only made things worse.

Turning away from their remains, I let my fangs sink down into flesh again - this time my own. The last of my mana-turned-life-essence formed a final [Life - Invigorating Bite], beating back the weakness of my scale-flesh and letting me continue onwards.

Without followers, this time, and without mana.

I hissed softly, giving voice to my annoyance, and slithered onwards. If I was lucky, I’d be able to find the Core before anything else went wrong.

 

---

 

I was not that lucky. As I followed the scent-taste of the Lesser Core down tunnel after tunnel, I began to encounter more of its corpse-things. Clearly, the lack of defenders previously had only been because the Core’s effect was weaker at the edges, likely to lure enemies closer so that the corpse-things could more easily deal with them - and so the Lesser Core could claim them afterwards.

I fought back a shudder at the thought, trying not to think about it. I needed to find the Core; there was no turning back now. My scale-flesh was too weak to make the journey. If I didn’t find it soon, I would die - and from there, only the Great Core’s mercy would allow me to escape servitude.

Moving on from the newest pile of corpses behind me, I tried to ignore the wounds in my side, sliding along the ground on slickened scale-flesh. A new drop of mana regenerated, and I immediately turned it into a drop of vitality, soothing the wounds as best I could.

It didn’t help that much.

 

---

 

Stone shifted around me, [The Golem’s Fading Heart] smoothing and pressing it to the side. My head pushed through the wall, finding open air, and my tongue flicked out. I caught the scent-taste of the Lesser Core, heavier than ever, before a corpse-thing threw itself in my direction. A line of fire cut across my head-scales, and I pulled backwards in a hurry.

With a lethargic twist, I cut through the stone again, [The Golem’s Fading Heart] letting me form a loop to reach my tail. I bit down, letting [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail] activate. It helped, at least a little - but not as much as it should have. The Lesser Core’s aura had grown to the point where I had to use [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail] every few minutes just to stay alive; I doubted that it was even possible to reach the Core without some way to heal. It was a depressingly effective form of defense.

Even avoiding its corpse-things in the way that I was, just getting close was quickly becoming the death of me.

Enough that I was realizing that I wouldn’t make it in this life. Defeating the Lesser Core would have to be done in another. I let a mournful hiss slip past my flesh-filled mouth, and tried to cheer myself up with the knowledge that I had other rewards that I had been planning to try anyway.

It didn’t help that much; losing…hurt.

Rather than continuing onwards, I decided to keep biting my tail for a while. It was comforting, and I was really needing that comfort in the midst of my defeat.

Failure was never enjoyable.

Wanting to distract myself from the thought, I turned something that had been pressing at the edges of my mind. A light stream of [curiosity] from one of my Coreless’ [Little Guardian’s Totem]s, slowly building over time - and now having reached a peak.

I pushed my thoughts towards it, sending my perspective down the link it provided.

 

---

 

“Which way do you think he went?” the-female-who-was-not-Needle asked as she stared into a cloud of darkness, light streaming in from behind her. The noises were just as incomprehensible as always, but tinged with a little bit of [worry]. “It’s been more than a week; even at his size, there’s no telling where he is now!”

My vision - not-Needle’s vision, really - shifted about as she turned, quickly settling on something I hadn’t quite expected to see - the [Little Guardian’s Focus] that I had created at the start of my newest life. I wasn’t sure how they made it down so far; I doubted they got down the same way I did. Still, it was good to know that they would be trying to make it to the [Little Guardian’s Focus] in the next life as well. Maybe I’d leave a few spore-puppets to wait for them.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Will said, stepping into not-Needle’s vision, his eyes locking on the statue of The Golem’s Core below the coils of the massive [Little Guardian’s Focus]. “We just need to figure out where to go. Are you seeing anything, Kala?”

Will turned to the side, and not-Needle’s eyes moved in the same direction, catching sight of Needle bent over and peering at the ground.

“Well, I’m definitely seeing a lot of blood. At least a week old, so it must have happened pretty quick after he got here.” Needle reached down and wiped at a fleck of blood, bringing it up to press against her tongue. She shook her head. “Not his, though. Doesn’t have the same kick to it.”

“You licked it? Kala, his blood is poisonous! You could have been poisoned!” not-Needle exclaimed, a bit of [shock] leaking through her [Little Guardian’s Totem].

Needle pointed at the nearby [Little Guardian’s Focus], [amused]. “I already connected it to my [Little Guardian’s Totem] while you were turned around. It would have healed me quick enough. His blood’s not that potent, last I checked. I’m sure you’d remember if it were.”

While the-female-who-was-not-Needle let out a little huff, I let my attention wander. Away from the cage of my dying scale-flesh, it was easier to think. Easier to plan, to decide what would be needed in my next life.

And, fortunately, I soon realized that the Great Core had offered me everything that would be necessary.

I let my perspective swap back to my own.

 

---

 

The weakness of my mind’s return hit me as if it were an actual blow; throwing myself into the perspective of my Coreless’ [Little Guardian’s Focus] had let the troubles of my flesh go ignored for a time, but leaving that perspective had brought it back in full force.

There was no real reason to delay any longer. Even the Coreless being near wouldn’t be enough to save this life. I would need to try again, even if letting myself die was a terrible risk. Whatever I tried, I wouldn’t be able to escape from the Lesser Core’s grasp. Its aura reached too far, and was far too strong.

Letting go of my tail and loosening my coils, I slithered out from the wall. The waiting corpse-things fell upon me. Weakened by the Lesser Core’s aura as I was, it wasn’t long before the thought-light began to flicker.

I could only watch on in horror, hoping that the end would eventually find me - and fearing the humiliation of what would come next.

---

Condition Met.

Core Skill - [The Endless Cycle] Interrupted.

Dungeon Core (Aspect: Death) Claiming Domain.

Applying Reanimation.

---

I could only hope that the Great Core would forgive me.

---

Reanimation Complete.

---

The snake shuddered, shedding broken scales, and slithered its way to join the ranks of the undead.