The second goblin didn’t last very long after Ren showed up. The poor beast tried its best, but with my flames constantly distracting it and Ren’s blade constantly drawing wounds that severed muscles and tendons, the single goblin didn’t stand a chance.

The teamwork between Ren and I had only gotten better and better as time went on, especially as we began to specialize further in our own paths. Our styles complimented each other far more than I had thought that they would, and I couldn’t wait for what our duo would look like as the both of us got stronger.

As the massive goblin finally fell to the ground, cuts and burns marking almost every inch of his skin, Ren and I simultaneously let loose a breath of exhaustion. Wide grins split our faces, the euphoria of a satisfying battle running in our blood like a drug unlike anything else in the universe.

I let myself fall to the ground as the adrenaline of the battle slowly faded, still breathing hard. “Alright then," I said eventually, after a moment. "Let’s see what those Flux Cores are all about.”

Ren nodded, a smile still lingering on his face. “Let’s,” he said in agreement as he made his way over to where he’d left his makeshift bag. The bulging sack let loose all of its contents the moment Ren untied the top of it, letting glowing blue orbs freely roll around the space.

I studied the orbs curiously, having never seen anything quite like them. They were about the size of a cantaloupe, with swirling blue streams of smoke within them. Even with all the technology of Earth, I’d never seen such a peculiar, mesmerizing object. It was like someone had filled a glass sphere with glowing blue smoke.

Seeing the mess of orbs rolling in every direction, Ren shrugged to himself and simply picked up one of the orbs at his feet. “Now then,” he said. “Let’s see what these guys can do.”

With a grin, I reached over to the closest Core to me and picked it up as well, studying it from up close. It was hard to the touch, smooth like glass, with an unnaturally perfect exterior. As I ran my hand along the surface of the Core, I felt no dents or cracks or even any rougher patches. The thing also radiated a pleasant warmth that was not unlike the feeling I got when I enveloped my hands in my own fire.

Trying to figure out what to do with the strange objects, I remembered that Ren had mentioned that the goblins were sitting cross-legged with the Cores in between their legs and their hands on top of it. Ren had already gotten in that pose, his brow furrowed as he concentrated on the Core.

Copying his position, I placed the Core between my legs and closed my eyes as I placed my hands on top of it. I waited for a second, excitement bubbling in me as I wondered what would happen, but I was quickly disappointed. The seconds ticked by, and absolutely nothing happened.

I quickly realized that whatever was supposed to happen wasn’t going to happen without me doing something. But what? I thought to myself. What is the key to unlocking Cores?

I was sure that Leonard and Anabella would have known, but they obviously assumed that we’d learn about it all when we got to the school. But going to that university was out of the question now, so I was left to figure everything out on my own. But I didn’t mind; I’d learnt almost everything I knew about Flux – and fighting in general – through sheer trial and error, intuition, and a little deduction. I had enough faith in myself to believe that I would figure it out eventually.

My first thought was to use my newest advancement in Flux to help me. Focusing on the sphere of Flux that I could sense around me, I aimed to try and direct the Flux into the Core. I figured if I could get Flux into the Core, I’d get at least a hint on how to get the Flux out of the Core. But, I was stalled for a moment as soon as I focused on the Flux around me, because the moment I did, I realized just how shocking the amount of Flux within the Core in front of me was. I’d known that there was Flux stored in it, since I could feel it even without needing to try and focus on the Flux, but I had no idea how much it would be.

After calming my fluttering heart, I realized that it kind of made sense. After all, it stored all the Flux that the animal had gained throughout its life.

My eyes shone with greed as I wondered if it was possible to make all the Flux at my fingertips into my own. My limited pool of Flux had always been a headache for me, but as far as I’d known, the only way to expand it was to continually spend it and wait for my body to naturally replenish it by diffusion. But that process was incredibly slow and gradual, and progress was hardly noticeable on a day-to-day or even week-to-week scale.

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But now, if I could harness the Flux in the Core and make it mine, my Flux pool would finally take a sizable jump forward. It wouldn’t double or anything – the Flux in the Core of the animal couldn't hope to rival the Flux in mine – but it would definitely give me an incredible boost in strength. After all, the more Flux I had running through my veins, the stronger I could make my body. I would no longer have to rely on the insanely painful method of Revives, nor be bound by the snail-like pace of improvement for my strength.

But, unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, I could not figure out a way to get the Flux of the atmosphere to penetrate through the solid surface of the Core. I pushed the Flux down onto the Core, enveloped it and tried from every angle, but the Core stubbornly refused to let anything in.

Eventually, I gave up on that idea and tried pushing my own Flux into the Core. I gathered the Flux from my own Core at my fingertips before pushing it out into the Core. But instead of breaking through the surface, the Flux simply dispersed as black smoke that swirled and danced on its way up to the sky.

Letting loose a frustrated breath, I opened my eyes and stared at the Core with the hungry eyes of a starving woman gazing upon a feast she wasn’t allowed to touch. The Core was testing me, and I would be damned if I was going to let it win.

Taking in a deep breath to calm myself, I quieted my mind and absentmindedly let the Flux within me circulate through my body. It was a relaxing exercise I’d gotten into the habit of doing when I needed to think. The warm feeling of the strange liquid power running through my body was soothing in a way I couldn’t quite explain, like a river running through my veins.

However, today, as I sat scraping my mind to find another way of accessing the treasure locked within the Core, the exercise did far more than comfort me. As the Flux within me revolved around my body, from my own Core to everywhere else and back, the Core in my lap suddenly opened up, the Flux locked within pouring out and in through my fingertips like water out of a broken dam.

I didn’t even notice at first, so lost in my mind that I missed the sudden increase of the Flux within me. By the time I did realize, the volume of the liquid that flowed within my veins had gotten noticeably larger, and I could already feel the extra strength in my body.

With a glee so euphoric it felt blinding to every other sense, I greedily sucked in as much Flux as I could from the Core. The secret, I soon realized, lay in the revolving of my own Flux. With every cycle through my body, I drew in more Flux through my fingertips and into my ever-increasing pool. With every rotation of Flux through me, I could feel my muscles and bones get stronger and stronger, the difference minuscule but far greater than any other progress I’d ever made before.

More! I roared in my own head, the greed twisting my own voice into a violent echo I barely recognized. I want more! More! More! More! Mo-

Suddenly, the Flux in the Core ran out, leaving me with a gaping hollowness at my fingertips that ached every time my Flux cycled without siphoning off more. In an almost enraged desperation, I threw the hollow Core aside and reached to grab another one, my frenzied fingers scrabbling at the dirt as they searched for the closest Core.

As the black soil dirtied my fingers, the cool sensation of the ground rubbing against the raging warmth that had taken over my body, Leonard’s words suddenly floated through my mind.

My body instantly froze, holding still like a statue hunched over the ground. Shame washed over me as I realized how desperate I looked, and I quickly sat up and straightened myself out, trying to salvage as much of my dignity as I could. Mercifully, a glance over to where Ren sat told me that he hadn’t moved a muscle since he’d started, which meant that he’d likely not seen me go crazy.

I smoothed out my hair as I gathered myself, reflecting on what had just happened. It was scary how blinding the euphoria had been, how utterly under its influence I’d been. In that moment, had Leonard’s words not come to me, I wasn’t sure if I would have even paused for a second if taking an innocent life had been the only way to get my hands on another Core. For the first time, I finally understood why Lenoard had warned me of the allure of strength. I wasn’t about to walk it any time soon, but I could finally see the path that a person would walk to end up like the Insect Monarch. And worse, I could see why someone would choose to walk that path.

I blew out a breath from my mouth as I cleared my head. I wasn’t about to turn into some kind of genocidal maniac. I was still me, still Ruby. No allure, nor temptation or euphoria would ever change that. I would fight for myself and my people, and I would kill if necessary, but I wasn’t going to murder for no reason.

With that thought in mind, I walked over to the nearest Core and sat down beside it, a determined light in my eyes. The temptation may have made a fool of me once, but never again would anything make me act like that. Never again would I so desperately, so thoughtlessly, serve at the altar of another. Even if that other was my own emotion.

Setting my fingers atop the glassy surface of the Core, I took in another deep breath and began once again, slowly beginning to revolve the Flux in my body again.

And then, just as I started, the pain hit.