The Great Core's Paradox

Chapter 46: A Snake Without A Tail

A line of fire-pain cut across my tail. My blood, blackened by [Poisonous Blood], began to empty out onto the stone behind me. For a moment, I didn't react. I just stared, fixated on the place where the lowest part of my tail had once been. It was just...gone.

A shard of stone, shattered and fragmented by the impact of its landing, rested in its place.

The moment passed, and I slithered sideways with an abrupt jerk. Another stone smashed into the ground where I had been, splintering into pieces that simultaneously dashed themselves against the walls and my scale-flesh. And another - this one even closer. A second line of fire-pain cut through my scale-flesh as a flying fragment from a near-miss buried itself into my side. The wall was close though, and I rushed towards it, diving into the closest wall-crack that I could find.

I didn't go far.

The wall-crack glowed with the heat of fire-water that lay just behind it; tiny little droplets of fire-water dripped from the narrow fissures in its surface, forcing me to bunch and coil my scale-flesh to avoid the fire-pain that it would bring with it. I let out a gout of flame, pushing it outwards and away from where I rested. The bad-thing that had attacked me - whatever it was - already knew where I was. There was no need for stealth, unlike when I had hidden from the Flame Formicans.

That was good, with the way that [Molten Bite] still tried its best to sear away at my insides, filling the reservoirs of my scale-flesh with every passing moment.

I tried to take a moment to think, curling upon myself and reaching for my tail.

I missed. Blood coated my head-scales as it ran from the new place that my tail found its end. I clamped down upon it, no longer just seeking comfort. I needed to heal - and quickly, at that. The fire-pain was being held back for the moment, but it would only get worse - and already I was beginning to feel delirious as my lifeblood spilled from my savaged tail, losing my careful grip on [Illusion Spark]. I couldn't lose focus, not with the heat-death so close by. Not with the bad-thing just outside. I paused, listening for the bad-thing.

Hearing nothing, I risked a look outside.

Another stone smashed against the edges of the wall-crack, fragmenting as it touched down. Another splinter lodged into my scale-flesh. I hid myself back within the wall-crack, touching what had become the end of my tail against my fangs.

And still, my scale-flesh did not heal.

[The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail] did not answer, and my mouth filled with flowing blood. I spit it out, letting go of my wounded tail, and tried again. The abrupt motion must have angered the bad-thing; another stone shattered against the wall-crack, causing me to flinch back and nearly brush against the dripping fire-water. My scale-flesh screamed, and my ever-draining blood stirred, forming strange bubbles on its surface. I desperately pulled at the fire-water's heat, pushing it away from the wall-crack the moment that it touched my reservoirs. And yet, there was always more.

I pulled at the light next, dimming my shelter and causing the shadows to wriggle against the wall. My light reservoirs slowly filled as the fire-water lost its glow; it was nothing compared to the way that heat constantly ran through me, forcing me to throw it violently from my scale-flesh, but it was something. It might be the only thing that would allow me to go on.

My blood sizzled as it dripped towards the tiny drops of fire-water, filling the air of the wall-crack with a disgusting scent-taste that lashed itself to my tongue and caused my mind to waver.

Or maybe that was just from the blood that still dripped from my wounds.

Through it all, [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail]still refused to answer.

Was this how it would end? Would I not find my way to the Core in this life, even after making my way past the horde of bad-things and the click-clack of their mandibles?

Again, [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail] refused to answer. My scale-flesh did not itch, and my wounds did not close. My blood flowed. My frustration grew. It was over, I realized - whether I made it out or not. The bad-thing's attack had crippled me, ruining one of my greatest strengths. [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail] was useless without a tail to rely on - only a worthless nub, a bleeding wound.

I would die today.

Or maybe the next. Either way, it would not be long.

The fire-pain continued to work its way through my scale-flesh, the heat of the fire-water and [Molten Bite]growing stronger as my concentration on [Illusion Spark] waned. Finally, I had enough. Enough to move forward, to see what lay beyond the relative safety of the wall-crack.

I uncurled myself, careful to stay as far from the heat of the fire-water in the meantime. With a flash of effort that was far harder than it should have been, I forcefully pulled against the light of the wall-crack, the newfound strength of [Illusion Spark]'s most recent upgrade plunging my surroundings into a cloudy darkness. Here and there, little bits of light managed to cut through, the light of the bits of fire-water that were further from my scale-flesh harder for me to influence. Despite that, the darkness directly around my scale-flesh was close to absolute, turning my form into a coiled mass of shadows - still noticeable, if only because of exactly how dark it was, but much less so.

I peeked outside.

Another stone shattered against the edges of the wall-crack, a few splinters careening past my vulnerable eyes.

Before a second could follow, I moved.

I pushed my head from the wall-crack, throwing my gaze upwards, following the path of the stone to find the bad-thing that had thrown it. There, hanging from the ceiling, strange tendrils plunging through the rock and glowing with a hidden fire-light, was the bad-thing that had destroyed my tail and ruined me. It was different from any other bad-thing that I had seen; I saw no legs, nor any way to move. Its body was a bulbous mass, a sphere that hung from the stone above by a series of tendrils.

It met my gaze with an eyeless one of its own, and one of its tendrils engorged. Something pushed its way underneath its flesh, traveling through the tendril from the stone above and finding a home in the bad-thing's bulbous flesh. I lurched backwards, narrowly avoiding the sharp stone that it spit at me, the fang-like rock shattering itself against the wall-crack where my head had been. A wave of dust pushed itself into my eyes, causing them to drip with fluid as I shook my head and fought to clear my vision. Before I succeeded, another stone came, and I retreated fully into the wall-crack in a bid for safety.

My inability to escape in any other way soon forced me to brave it again. The heat within the wall-crack was growing, and my scale-flesh cried out. The blood within my insides was draining, and my mind was failing. There was no other choice.

My tongue flicked from my mouth, catching the scent-taste of the air. There was something strange to it, something that I hadn't encountered before. The scent-taste of the nearby bad-thing I assumed, an unusual scent-taste that was acrid and burning on my tongue - or maybe that was [Molten Bite] again. I put away the thought, leaving it for later. Nothing there would help me defeat the stone-tendril bad-thing, or even pass it by.

I needed something different. Something more helpful.

I peeked out again, and was nearly bitten by a flying fang of stone for my effort. Rather than waiting again, I forced myself through my fears, throwing my form from the wall-crack and frantically leaving a poorly-made illusion of myself still hanging from the opening. I drank from the light around me greedily, both to plunge myself into the shadows of no-light and to retain enough light stores to maintain the illusion I had left behind. It flickered and wavered, blinking unsteadily, but the stone-tendril bad-thing didn't seem to notice.

It spit stone after stone at my flickering fake, almost seeming angered by my illusion's continued existence. Fragments shot around me; a fair few ricocheted and dug themselves into my scale-flesh; I stifled the hiss that almost slipped from my mouth. Its tendrils began to tear, ripped apart from the inside by the speed and frequency of the jagged stones that it pulled through their lengths.

Eventually though, my dwindling stores of light failed to maintain the deception.

The illusion disappeared.

And yet, the stone-tendril bad-thing only slumped, its body ruined by its own efforts.

I slumped too, a mixture of relief and blood loss bringing me to the floor.

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