Twenty-three minutes in an elevator reduces my excitement to embers. We stop our leisurely descent, the ding sounds again, and the embers flare. The doors retract, revealing the sprawling forest cavern of the first floor. Gigantic pillars covered in moss and vines dominate the cavern. Unlike the surface the plants are mostly green, with various hues of red and orange here and there. Large crystals hang from the ceiling and the columns, illuminating everything with a blue-white light.
Small creatures spiral up and down the pillars, sometimes leaping off and soaring to neighboring ones, long whip tails flailing. They chitter and squeak like squirrels, loud and insistent, announcing our arrival. Their limbs are long and thin. They are called Chippers, or Chips, and they are present on every floor of the dungeon, usually causing mischief of some sort.
My HUD tracks the gangly things, populating my 3D minimap with tiny dots. Other, smaller creatures are moving around the underbrush, and I only get glimpses of fur or scales in the dense foliage. Nothing here should be aggressive, but we do not let our guard down. Even Chips and other mini beasts can be dangerous if they all attack at once.
Kyrios leads us to a clearing between two pillars. I watch my section, and keep an eye on my map. Nothing larger than a chipper is in the area.
“Spread out here and form a circle on me, at least 15 meters apart.“
When we have formed a circle Kyrios continues speaking. “The armor you are wearing is designed to protect you from the different forms of Geia, and physical attacks. Geia will slide off the Repulsite metal scales like water off an oiled surface. This works both ways, and your own Geia will only be able to get through the palms of your hands, and the soles of your feet. Quint, you are first. Through your feet, I want you to saturate as much of the ground around you with Geia as you are able.”
I can almost feel it happen. A ripple of energy flowing outward with Quint at the center.
“Good, now, everyone else keep your composure.”
On the last word he stomps the ground, and a flurry of critters scatter away from us. Without warning each of us sink to our armpits into the ground, all except Quint, who is standing on a circular island. The sound is horrific, like sandpaper scraping against metal it makes me shiver involuntarily.
The dirt and stone I had been standing on is like liquid now. It even ripples like water, but calms far quicker. The area Kyrios is able to affect is massive.
“As you can see, despite me being much stronger, I cannot take strength from a Geo source that is already saturated with the Geia of another. Quint, recall your Geia.”
Quint does so, and joins the rest of us in the limp stone pond, creating a small wave.
“Limp stone can be manipulated even if another currently holds the strength. Do this now, and lift yourself out.”
As the Geia leaves my body through my feet and into the liquid stone it hardens again. I know the theory. The more of my Geia I force into it the harder it gets. It is easy, intuitive, and doesn’t take much. The stone responds to my will eagerly. I create a disk of stone beneath my feet, and force it to rise. The limp stone slides off my armor cleanly as I lift myself out.
The chattering of the chippers around us battle the terrible cries of limp stone as we all rise.
“Good, hold yourselves above the ground.” The stone around him and under us regains its strength with a shudder and groan. “You all know the properties of Geo. Spread out some more and spend the next hour practicing. Manipulate the stones and dirt through all its forms, from limp liquid to ultra dense. Test how quickly the stone moves in each form. Measure your maximum distance of manipulation and report to me. Be careful to not injure any of the chips, I don’t feel like having to murder them all if they swarm us.”
I step off my platform onto the now solid ground. My connection to the disk is immediately severed, and it falls with a thump. I have to be touching it to manipulate it. The metal on the bottom of my feet and palms of my hand are enough of a connection.
The floor opens beneath me suddenly and silently, swallowing me completely. A scream escapes as I plummet straight down into darkness.
The lights, now above me, are cut off abruptly, and I see the floor close as I fall helplessly. My HUD notifies me that my connection to the squad has been lost.
I land on a slick surface. It’s a slide, and I continue picking up speed as the chute winds downward corkscrew style.
This would be fun if I wasn’t so terrified. After a full minute of falling, the slide evens out and I am dumped into another cavern. This one is covered in bushy, colorful moss that cushions my fall. The moss is every shade of color, cold, incredibly soft, and slightly damp.
It’s hard to get up in the bed of rainbow moss like standing on a massive waterbed.
Then I notice the signs. They are everywhere, flashing in colors that remind me of spilled oil. This room hurts my eyes. Triumphant music plays softly from everywhere at once. A chorus of angelic throaty voices harmonize.
The signs all point the same direction, and have different messages. One says congratulations, another says this way, and others say final prize, or winner, winner!
I make my way to the obvious prize which sits on a pillar, just tall enough that I am face to face with a truly massive core. Its colors match the moss, crystals, and signs. It’s all of the colors, shiny and dark at the same time. The swirling colors within shudder in a heartbeat like rhythm. Another sign sits next to the core, which reads simply “absorb me.”
That can’t be a good idea.
The room I am in is very small, and I can tell there's no way out. I stumble to the nearest wall, just a couple steps away. I am unable to saturate any Geo sources through the moss that covers the walls, so I can’t manipulate anything to make my own way out. I can’t even rip through the moss to make contact with the ground. The fibers are like very stretchy metal, and contract back to their starting size no matter how hard I try to rip.
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I sit/lay and contemplate, gazing around. The music rises and falls, reminding me of epic movie music from my previous life. This is unlike anything I have ever been trained for regarding the dungeon.
The “prize” is most certainly not a Beast core. It looks similar, but it’s gigantic compared to any core I’ve ever seen. The color of a core signifies its Geia type, and this one appears to be a mix of everything. That shouldn’t be possible. Pneuma and Geo for instance, don’t synergize. Like lux and hydro, they don’t work well together and shouldn’t be stable.
I examine every inch of the room. The glowing signs are made of crystal, and the words are floating within, tendrils of the same mix of colors as the “core”, forming words. I can’t manipulate the crystal, or break it.
The music continues.
Could this be the dungeon itself? Has to be. This is the beating heart of the dungeon itself. I am looking at a dungeon core. Every dungeon has one, and breaking it will kill the dungeon itself. That would be a bad idea, I think.
I approach the pillar presenting the core again like it’s a treasure from an Indiana jones movie. I don’t even have a bag of sand.
It’s shines brightly, pulsing slowly and evenly, like it’s breathing in and out. Every source of light in the room pulses in time with the core.
I move to grab the core, to physically hold it and examine it thoroughly. The music gets louder as I reach for it, causing me to pause, hands almost touching the core. The volume stops increasing as I stop.
I have to laugh at the absurdity. It’s playing with me.
I’ve never heard of someone absorbing a Dungeon core, only destroying them. They can’t even be removed, it will shatter if I try to leave the dungeon with it. I wonder if I should try to destroy this one. According to what I’ve been taught, absorbing it will most definitely kill me.
Would the dungeon really go through all of this trouble just to watch me die trying to absorb its core? That would probably destroy the core too. If it wanted me dead I’m sure it could have just dropped me in here with nothing but the moss and let me dehydrate and starve to death.
Fuck it. Absorbing the Core will possibly result in my horrific death, but I really don’t have anything to lose. I’ll just take my time, and enjoy some solitude in this beautiful room, on this spongy moss bed
Now I just have to decide which open angos I would absorb the pulsing core into. Nouse angos would increase my ability to externally manipulate whatever new Geia form the core synergized my Geia into. Pneuma dominant synergists use the Nouse angos for this reason.
The Cardia Angos would increase my ability to modify and manipulate my Geia internally, including condensation.
I decide to absorb the massive core into my Nouse Angos in the hopes that being able to manipulate Geia externally will be more beneficial than improved condensation and mixing of Geia within my body. I can only hope. I remove my helmet and prepare my body thoroughly, condensing my mana multiple times. I’m going to need the space. I slow the production of Geia from my foundation core, also slowing the flow considerably.
Hours pass as I make the preparations. The ebb and flow of the music continues in time with the lights.
When I am ready, I make one more pass around the room filled with nervous excitement.
I match my breathing with the pulsing of the lights and music, and grab the core. The music crashes to a crescendo, then drops to a relaxing, beautiful soft melody. I lay back and put the core against my head. I get comfortable and close my eyes. I shut my Nouse Angos off from the rest of my body, entering the mental state of Iroi.
The core, in contact with my head, vibrates in anticipation. I can feel it, the presence within calls to me.
Thoughts flow faster than I can catch them and when I do they wriggle free even faster. The absorption begins without my help or direct consent.
Terror.
Mental anguish.
I am trapped in a mental prison. I should be in control here, in my own mind. This is my space, this is my time. This is my Iroi.
The core flows into my Nouse angos forcefully, and without mercy. An alien consciousness is trying to soothe me. It’s definitely making things worse. Why can’t I fight back? Can it hear me screaming? CAN I SCREAM LOUDER?
I am alone against whatever this thing is, and I am fighting a battle in my own head. I cannot stop the core that is pouring itself into me. It’s not even an option, I have no control right now. The Geia fills my head, threatening to explode.
I have to condense or I will tear open my Nouse, maybe even my skull. I will die. My training saves me. My life of misery and the skills I have created to deal with torture. I take everything that isn’t necessary and create a partition in my mind. My mind numbing fear, and confusion, pain, and questions are thrown in like laundry into a closet. I close the door. Lock it.
My Nouse contracts evenly. The flow continues. The presence calms with me, becoming silent. I know it is there. I don’t think it means to harm me. It seemed just as scared as I was.
We exist for a time, getting to know each other on a primal level that transcends space and time. I have to condense my throbbing Angos many times while the entirety of the core is absorbed. Soon we are condensing together.
I notice that the presence has been forcibly keeping us separate during this whole ordeal. It shows me how to help this process. It's a necessary step. It’s another way to partition. We can meld, and synergize, without sacrificing our individuality. Interwoven strands creating a single rope.
Where before I was beating the Geia with a stick forcing it to conform, I understand better how to condense my Geia, sculpting it like pottery on a wheel.
Emotion doesn’t exist in this place anymore. It’s like I’m back at that place, with the voice. My Geia settles over time, intertwining with another.
We condense the Geia together until the last of the core is gone.
My eyes open slowly. My clock displays the time. 9 hours have passed. The room is dim now. Dead Silent. The colors still flow through everything but they are muted, decayed.
My hold upon my Nouse loosens, allowing the Geia within to rejoin my bodies network. A single, impossibly small strand of the foreign Geia also snakes out, then branches out like a tree, those branches also split, and then again and again until it runs through my entire Geia network.
My emotions are banging on the door of their prison, begging to be let out. I ignore them for now. My attention is on the foreign Geia coursing through me. It winds through, and around every Geia artery, parasitic, while the majority of it is a pulsating mass in my Nouse angos.
I can feel the presence just outside my own consciousness. Eager, but politely waiting for me to engage.
I direct my thoughts at the partition we created together. Almost like a knock on a door. It knocks back.
The voice is gleeful, neither feminine or masculine, almost childlike.
“My name is Zeteo! It’s nice to meet you.”