The massive door stood before them, its surface covered in intricate carvings and glowing sigils that pulsed faintly with residual energy. The pull in Kain’s chest was almost unbearable now, a relentless tug that drew him forward like a moth to a flame.
He exchanged a glance with Serena, who nodded silently and together, they pushed the heavy door open. With a loud groan, its long-unused hinges protested the movement.
The chamber beyond was large, its walls lined with more of the glowing sigils that seemed to pulse in time with Kain the throbbing in Kain’s chest. But what caught his attention was the object at the center of the room—a massive, crystalline structure that glowed faintly with a dull purple light.
It was unmistakably the fragment of the Earth’s core depicted in the ancient carvings and the vision Kain had seen in the crystal previously. But unlike the vibrant, pulsating energy he had witnessed in those images, the fragment before him was dim, its light flickering weakly as if on the verge of fading entirely.
Kain’s breath caught in his throat as he approached the fragment, his steps slow and deliberate. The pull in his chest grew stronger with every step, a gnawing hunger that seemed to emanate from deep within him. He could feel the energy radiating from the fragment, a raw, untamed power that called to him in a way he couldn’t explain.
“Kain,” Serena said, her voice cautious. “Be careful. We don’t know what that thing is capable of.”
Kain barely heard her. His focus was entirely on the fragment, his hand reaching out almost instinctively. As his fingers brushed against the crystalline surface, a surge of energy shot through him, coursing through his veins like a tidal wave. The sigils on the walls flickered wildly, their light dimming as the energy from the fragment flowed into Kain.
For a moment, everything was still. Kain’s vision blurred, and he felt as though he were floating, weightless, in a sea of light and sound. The energy filled him, revitalizing his body and mind, but, more importantly, it had a substantial beneficial effect on Pangea. As the majority of the energy automatically headed towards the desolate planet, many new plants began to spring up to replace the old decaying ones. And the ominously quiet planet began to sound with activity once again. Although most creatures above the equivalent of green-grade were still ‘asleep.’
Back in the ruins, the ground beneath Kain and Serena began to shake violently, the walls groaning as if they could cave in at any time.
Kain stumbled back, his hand slipping from the fragment as the energy surge subsided. The sigils on the walls flickered erratically, their light fading in and out as the room was plunged into chaos.
“What did you do?” Serena shouted, her voice barely audible over the noise.
Before Kain could respond, a deafening roar echoed through the chamber. The ground shook with the force of it, and the air grew thick with tension. From the shadows emerged a massive figure—a towering humanoid creature, its body a familiar blend of flesh and machinery. The pressure it emitted was the strongest they’d come across so far—likely equivalent to a violet-grade spiritual creature at its peak. However, it appeared to be missing an arm as purple ‘blood’ and wires were exposed from its left shoulder and so its gait was a little unbalanced. Thankfully due to the passage of time and likely being unable to fully restore its energy reserves or heal itself, it didn’t seem as powerful as even some of the peak indigo-grade spiritual creatures they’ve met since joining the Order.
Its glowing purple eyes burned with rage, and its voice boomed through the chamber like thunder.
“Extraterrestrial invader!” it roared, its words laced with fury. “You dare consume the planet’s source energy? You shall pay the price for daring to leave the Abyss!”
Kain’s eyes widened in shock. “What are you talking about? I’m not—”
The creature didn’t let him finish. It charged forward, its massive fists slamming into the ground with enough force to crack the stone beneath it. Kain and Serena barely had time to dodge, their movements frantic as they scrambled to avoid the creature’s attacks.
“Invader?” Serena murmured; her voice filled with puzzlement. “Why is it comparing him to the Abyss?”
Kain’s mind raced as he dodged another blow. The creature’s words echoed in his head, and a chilling realization began to take shape. Perhaps the Abyss—wasn’t just a mindless force of destruction. Perhaps it was an alien entity, with the goal of consuming the planet’s energy to strengthen itself. And as the owner of Pangea, Kain was perceived as a threat, a rival invader.
‘Well it might not be completely wrong to perceive me as a threat…’ Kain thought while recalling the intoxicating feeling that came from absorbing the energy from the core fragment.
Unfortunately, Kain had no time to dwell on the similarities and differences between himself and the Abyss. The creature was relentless, its attacks growing more ferocious with every passing second. Kain’s contracts joined the fray, their attacks lighting up the chamber with bursts of energy, but the creature shrugged them off as if they were nothing. Unfortunately, although it clearly couldn’t exert its full power due to a lack of energy, significantly reducing its threat-level, it still possessed an innate body equivalent to a violet-grade spiritual creature.
However, Kain noted that the creature had the same black-purple energy, a fusion of what Kain suspected to be Abyssal and the planet’s core energy, that some of the previous attackers had. However, this one was so powerful that the weakened Aegis couldn’t grip onto it for even a second without its regrown limb crumbling.
“Serena! Use Balens to restore Aegis to his peak condition.” Kain hoped that restoring Aegis to his peak would be enough, and the backlash would be more manageable than directly asking for something as crazy as to increase Aegis’ strength to that of a high-grade spiritual creature.
Fortunately, Balens seemed able to grant this request easily. Unfortunately, unlike the previous wish whose consequence still either hadn’t been triggered or didn’t land on them, the backlash for this wish was immediate.
‘I can’t move!’ Kain tried to scream out but found that even his mouth wouldn’t open to warn the others. Even worse, there was a massive creature barreling like a tank straight toward his frozen body.
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