My first sight was dust falling from the rocky ceiling of the cave I reside in. It was newly formed, as young as I was. The following new experience occurred not physically but mentally, as I felt something integrated within me. Unfiltered, untouched, and unread, an entire world of knowledge had made itself known to me. It was all so confusing, so I put it off later to understand once I knew what I was. But, as I look around at what is me, I now know what I am.
I am a dungeon core, as youthful as a newborn. I am this cave, and I am this crystal ball that lies within the cave, but I am not the insects that dig around nor the sunlight that peers inward. And as time passed, I learned how to influence the walls of the cave and move the crystal ball that is my core, and that is I.
Like the insects that live within me, I dug into myself to make a hiding place for my crystal ball. The reasoning for this is because of what I have learned so far from the connection to knowledge that I have, coupled with instincts of being what I am, which is a dungeon core.
Soon enough, I had remodeled the caves I lived in, which is also me. I organized my thoughts and analyzed the connection I had. It is a collection of various tidbits like an extensive library and even the concept of libraries; I learned from this connection.
I see the light fade and rise several times as I form my mental state and learn from my connection. Soon enough, a creature far more giant than an insect appeared, a wounded rabbit leaping is chased by a wolf. The wolf caught and consumed the rabbit, and I formed another connection as I watched the wild beast finish its meal. This connection was one with the wolf, similar to how my stone walls are connected to my crystal ball.
The wolf, satiated by its meal, had claimed me as its home. I do not fear this wolf, as it is connected to me now, and I can probably create more of this creature if I am reading myself correctly. It is, however, exhilarating to be able to know deeper about the biology of a wolf. I did see flaws in the design, but I wish my inhabitants to be well and strong, so I modified it alongside my one wolf with little tweaks.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Soon enough, I had designed a wolf that I liked; the wolves I made and modified were creatures capable of defending me. Whereas the wolf that came in only was half the size of the crystal ball, these were just short of the crystal. I enlarged and serrated their fangs so they could feast more pleasantly while padding their fur to act as armor.
It was fascinating seeing the formation of my new wolves. Seeing the mist and ash arise from my crystal ball, clumping together and shaping themselves into a rough wolf shape, only for the creature inside to twist and turn, breaking off bits and pieces of their cocoon. And the remnants of that process reabsorb themselves into the ground.
The pack of wolves was lively and playful; I loved watching their antics daily. However, they are dangerous, as the first of many would enter me. A creature about the height of my crystal core, with fur stripped from other animals tied around its waist and shoulders, wielding a stone spear. The being seems to lack a brain, as this primitive man went in without a care. My beloved wolves had hidden within the shadows of the caves according to the original one’s orders, and they circled the unknowing prey like stalking vultures. Once the intruder had ventured within me enough that the wolves could see his back but not his face, the original struck and lept upon the human like a snake.
The blood stains my floor as I absorb the corpse’s magic, and I feel my crystal grows by a pebble’s height. I now know from my connection that names have importance and meaning, and it might not be polite not to give the one who came into my caves and led the pack a name. From the connection, I know of a title who conquered lands far more extensive than my caves and commanded the respect of beings far more than the ones I have living with me, so out of expectation and pride, I named my wolf who leads Caesar.
The first thing I noticed shortly afterward was Caesar’s eyes shining. Then he grew bigger, however not by much, and his coat of fur went from complete greyish rock to shiny rock. After that, Caesar’s habits changed from playing with the other wolves to overseeing them and guarding my core, with the other wolves slightly revering Caesar a bit more than before.