Stepping through the portal, the first thing Jake was met with were ruins. Vines and roots seemed to crack and weave through the stonework, wrapping itself around the metal. It suddenly became heavier, with it pressing against his skin. He could feel his blood rushing through his veins, his heart beating against his ribcage like that of a drum. Letting out a small breath, he pushed those things to the back of his mind. He could think about it later.

bringing out his ax, He began to quickly cut through the vines and roots sealing the gate. As he hacked through the roots, he was met with a rather strange liquid pouring from the cuts. Dark and viscous, it carried a pungent yet paradoxical scent, mixing the scent of sweet sap and rotting meat. Hacking through the last of the plant life, he pushed the gate open to see an estate covered in various plants and trees. Roots weaved in and out of the buildings, forming what seemed to be new buildings. Flowers covered the ground, seeming to cover any patch of grass in the vibrant colors, which bled from one to another.

Walking through the flower-covered court, he couldn’t help but notice something strange. The roots seemed to pulse, the faint glow of something moving through them towards a singular point. Not only that, everything seemed to be so much more vibrant compared to what was out beyond the gates. Each plant, which was already at his knees, seemed to grow by the second, never bothering one another. Yet, as he walked around the area, he found it odd that there weren't any defenses. Nothing seemed to be made for any defensive uses, with the closest being the thorns brushing against his paints.

‘Might as well look around,’ he thought. There wasn’t anything stopping him and it had to have something that he could use.

Walking towards one of the buildings, he began hacking through the entrance, the same viscous and pungent sap seeping into the ground. As it did so, he saw the plants around where it fell seemed to vibrate, as if ecstatic.

Cutting through the last of the protective vines, he stepped into a rather bare room. There was hardly anything resembling products made by human hands laying around. Instead, large and desiccated flower heads seemed to pepper the walls, the petals rotten. As he stepped closer to one of them, he noted that something similar to sharpened teeth poked out of the flowerhead.

‘Must be a monster of some kind,’ he thought as he brought the axehead to touch against the teeth. As the sharpened edge pressed against its petals, he saw it twitch, as if he disturbed a sleeping animal. Yet, once he brought it away from the plant, the twitching came to a stop, as if going back to sleep. As he looked over the rest of the ‘plants’, he saw a somewhat rhythmic pattern that could only be found in something asleep. However, if that was the case, then they should have shown some type of response to him cutting open the entrance.

‘Something is keeping them docile,’ he thought as he continued to explore the building, watching his step. If there was something here that could keep such a large amount of creatures constantly sedated, it would be useful for his endeavors.

Eventually, he found the source responsible for keeping the monsters sedated. Around the size of a beach ball, the tangled mass of vines stood alone, atop of what could be described as an altar. As he stepped closer, he noticed that it seemed to pulsate, the glow both rising and dimming in a rhythmic pattern.

As he looked over the source of the sleeping monsters, he noticed something. In between the small gaps of the weaved mass, he saw a crimson glow emanate whenever it expanded.

Must be the actual source of the energy.

Shifting the grip on the ax, he slammed it down into the heart, nearly splitting it in half. Ripping the blade out from the heart, he suddenly heard a cacophonic noise echo throughout the building. Quickly grabbing the item, he shoved it into his bag before letting out a small breath.

Focus.

Suddenly, he felt the entire world come to a crawl. Gone was the vibrant green and dull brown, only to be replaced by an ever-silently graying. Making his way towards the corner of the hallway, he was met with what could only be described as a swarm barrelling towards his direction. Dozens of the beasts were in front of him, a mixture of both rage and desperation in what substituted for faces. As he began to hack through the creatures, he noticed something. Instead of the same semi-metallic smell that came from that of the freshly dead,the air became heavy with the noxious scent of sulfur.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Demons. Minor ones, considering their size.

‘Still, they seem different than what I know,’ he thought as he cut through the demonic beasts. Usually, they were around the size of wild dogs. Yet, here they were about the size of a direwolf.

Cutting down the last of the minor demons, he went over to one of the bloody carcasses before cutting it open. As he searched through the entrails, he eventually found it. Wrapping his hands around the pulsating core, he felt it bite into his palm, as if enraged at the idea of being taken away from its host body. Ignoring that feeling, he ripped the core out before giving it a look over. Instead of the cold and colorless light that was considered the norm, it was a deep navy blue, roiling within its crystalline prison.

‘Smaller than I expected,’ he thought before putting back it in his bag. Regardless, they’ll still be something worth holding onto.

He quickly got to work extracting the Demonic Cores, cutting through the plant-like meat. Yet, with each one he carved out, he couldn't help but feel…off. He felt his stomach knot with each core he extracted, a panging of what was-but also wasn't-hunger biting into him. Pushing that feeling aside, he put away the last core before stepping out of the nest. Looking at the rest of the buildings, he brought out the item he took from the center of the nest. About the size of his fist, it seemed similar to a heart, with it still beating within his grasp. Yet, with each beat, he felt the air around him become crisper and more full. Even that ‘hunger’ seemed to fade away the longer he held the false heart.

These would be very useful for his plans.

Putting the heart back into his bag, he shifted his grip on the ax before getting busy. With each nest he cut into, he silently searched for the heart of it before cutting it out. Once all of the demons within it were enraged, he quickly cut them down before extracting the Demonic Cores from the dead. However, as he went through each of the nests, the situation seemed to shift. Slowly, they seemed to be more agitated, with him eventually having to fight off the demons the second he began to hack through the vines.

‘So, they serve as beacons as well,’ he thought as he went through the motions of cutting down the demonic beasts. That would cause some difficulty, considering the increased aggression towards him. However, considering what he learned here, he didn’t really have any actual reason to stop. In fact, it only gave him further reason to continue on.

Wiping the sap-like blood from the blade, he followed what seemed to be a path, the flowers crushed underneath his boots. As he made his way towards the next area, he felt the air around him grow heavier, almost digging into his skin. Despite that, the air became thick with that same sweet yet rotted scent, almost flooding through his mask.

As he continued down the slowly narrowing path, he eventually found himself in what seemed to be an arena. Various vines and roots seemed to weave and warp themselves into a massive arch, each side flanked by images of various people carved into the wooden walls. As he examined the mural, he watched as the images of people feasting slowly shifted into that of gore and dismemberment as tendrils seemed to slaughter them. Suddenly, he felt the ground behind him shift. Twisting his body, Jake slammed his ax into a wooden tendril that was directed at him, splitting it in half. Suddenly, a loud screech echoed through the arena. The ground cracked as roots and vines weaved and twisted. Once the cracking finished, he was met with a wolf-like Demon looming over him, its body the size of a bear. As he felt its gaze land on him, the beast let out a screech before rushing towards him.

Reaffirming his grip on his ax, he dashed towards the Demon before dashing to its side. Twisting his body, he slammed his ax into its sternum, cutting through root-skin and vine-flesh. Ripping it out, he jumped back just as a tendril broke out from the ground. Pulling out his pistol, he fired off a barrage of rounds into its body, each one hitting its mark.

Letting out a roar of both rage and pain, the beast turned to face him, seeming to want nothing more than to rip him to shreds. However, its gaze suddenly seemed to change, resembling something more like curiosity.

“You show no fear or determination. Simply a cold and harsh soul,” it spoke, tilting its head. Turning around, it made its way towards the sealed arch. As it got closer and closer, the vines sealing the arch slowly began to unravel. Once it was fully opened, the demon's body began to unravel as well. Turning to face him, he saw what seemed to be amusement in the creature’s eyes.

“I wish to see that all laid bare,” it said as the last of the vines and roots unraveled, leaving nothing more than the opened pathway..

Walking over to the open arch, Jake felt something's gaze land on him. Yet, it didn’t seem to be hostile, but rather challenging him. As if it wanted to see what he could do against it. To see everything that he had.

‘Might as well,’ Jake thought as he stepped through the arch. It wasn’t like he had any real reason to stop.