The Great Core's Paradox

Chapter 169: Sharp As An Arrow Can Be

Previously

Kala stumbled as the ground beneath her feet rocked, groaning with a sound that she was sure would be found again in her dreams. Fighting the urge to do so and ultimately losing the battle, she looked back towards where Rowan had fallen. The man had disappeared in what had seemed to be only a blink, there one moment and gone the next.

The bridge shook again, and Kala knew that she would be next.

She took a brief moment to curse the giant root that had caused the current situation. From what she had noticed, it didnt seem particularly intelligent. Most likely, it hadnt even known that they were there. Skies above, most likely it hadnt even known the tower had been there. She cursed it anyway.

Meanwhile, her eyes flicked to the side, staring through the gaps in the bridge and down into the mist down below. It roiled like a malevolent being, eager for flesh. The bridge shook again, throwing Kala to the side and almost sending her bow tumbling over. She clenched it with a white-knuckled grip, her pale hands stark against the dark bow. Her eyes roved over the edge, peering through the gaps in the vines.

Kala saw it.

That Skies-damned root.

Kalas vision had always been exemplary, even before she had become a Seeker. It had been one of the things that had pushed her towards the bow; while a bow wasnt always the best option in the sometimes winding tunnels of the World Dungeon, it was the one that used her natural abilities to the fullest. And now, having been enhanced through mana in her bid to become a Seeker, Kalas vision was more than that.

In the dimmest of light, where others were blind, Kala could see. And when there was more than that

Well, she simply saw more - and in that moment, she saw both the source of her troubles and her potential salvation.

That Skies-damned root.

It was still moving along on its path, oblivious to the destruction that it had wreaked so nonchalantly. Kala wasnt surprised; though the shifting roots would sometimes react to attacks, given one strong enough, she doubted they could see or hear. Even then, the reactions seemed focused on destroying whatever had attacked it with blind swings and twitches rather than something more focused. It had her doubting that they - and the tree from which they sprouted - had much in the way of intelligence. Kala supposed she was thankful for that; if there had been, they would have been pulped under its overwhelming mass long ago.

Her hand drifted towards the quiver at her side, quickly securing it as best she could. If the arrows fell loose, it would be a long time before she was able to retrieve them. One, however, she pulled free.

Unlike some of the others, the chosen arrow was - besides the fletching - made entirely of metal. More importantly, that same design choice allowed for the arrow to be enhanced beyond others; from end to end, it glowed with a radiant light. Even the arrowhead design itself was changed, flared out in a way to make sure whatever it pierced stayed pierced. The only way it would come out was shredding its way back through.

Placing the mana-infused shaft safely between her teeth, she shoved her free hand back towards her pack, pulling something else free without looking. It was easy enough to find.

Coiled spidersilk had a very distinctive texture.

She looped it through the slot in the arrow in a hurry, ignored the nagging thought that the knot she hurriedly made might not have been tight enough, nocked it and sent it flying. A glowing arrow pierced the mist. The coiled bits of spidersilk floated behind the arrow like a trailing ribbon, its dangling end disappearing into the mist just as fast as its metal counterpart.

Kala watched it go, following the manas glow with her eyes.

The bridge shook again, more pieces starting to fall.

Kala fell with them, desperately trying to catch herself on the nearest hanging vine.

===

Her lungs burned, an animal part of her screaming with the need to breathe as Kala continued to stumble forward. Already, she could feel a twinging in her eyes, tears dripping from the corners as her body desperately tried to remove the spores beginning to infest them. One hand held onto her bow, still in the same white-knuckled grip as before, while the other hung limp at the shoulder.

The way down had been less than kind.

Despite the tears, her eyes remained fixed in place - focused on a single spot. A dim glow, just barely visible through the dense mist. Even with her vision as sharp as it was, Kala could hardly make it out. She didnt dare look away; she might not find it again.

Finally, when her lungs couldnt take it anymore, she was forced to breathe. The spores flooded in, eagerly hooking into vulnerable flesh. They found her lungs quickly, forcing her to breathe again. Time was running out, each breath coming faster than the last.

Then, finally, she found it.

Her arrow, light shining forth from where it had buried itself above her. A long coil of spidersilk spilled from its end, knotted into a slot in the shaft, dangling down and reaching Kalas feet. She let her bow drop onto the ground in a puff of dead spores, freeing both hands to knot the length securely to the bow as well as herself. Even with her dislocated shoulder nearly entirely recovered due to the healing of the necklace around her neck, it took more time than shed have liked, Kalas fingers already starting to twitch erratically as they fought against their rightful owners control. Before they could mutiny further, the injured archer took the coil in hand again, starting to climb. The coil pulled taut, Kalas weight bearing down on the glowing metal shaft it was attached to. Had it been a normal arrow, it would have snapped. It was not; instead, it simply bore the weight, digging harder into its target.

The root started to lift, reacting to the touch - but more concerned with the arrow digging into its top than the feet pressed against its side. Just as she had hoped. Dangling from the rope, breathing in again and again, Kala was lifted free from the mists.

The [Little Guardians Totem] around her neck immediately made its presence known, slowly but surely healing Kala of her spore infestation. Her hands twitched, nearly losing their grip on the coiled silk, but she managed to hold - and even had she not, she was already tied securely. There would be no falling.

Still, it was good that she hadnt. Kala still had to keep going; it would have been a pain to be forced to pull herself all the way up unassisted. It already would be either way.

She looked up and took in another breath, sighing, and then got to work. Though the root didnt seem to have much in the way of intelligence, it did seem as if it eventually realized that simply rising upwards wasnt enough to end the piercing pain that the arrow caused. It started to shake and sway, as if trying to dislodge something standing atop it. Kala shook with it, taking blow after blow as she bounced off the roots side.

By the time that she had made it up to the top of the root, it had lifted much higher than she expected. With Kalas weight no longer pulling down on the obscenely sharp arrow, the root ceased most of its struggles, giving her a moment to catch her breath again. As far as she could tell, it was beginning to adjust to her standing atop it as well, treating her continued presence as something more and more natural with each moment. She understood why; if she hadnt been tied down, there was no way that she could have remained atop it through its struggles. Still, she tried to move as little as possible just in case. She would need to get off eventually, though not before making sure the root set itself somewhere free of the mist.

From where she rested, she could see the entirety of Verdant Grove barring the spots where crop-towers and the giant darkwood tree rose high enough to obstruct her view. With her vision, even the edges of the cavern itself werent terribly difficult to make out, the illumination of faraway glow-caps enough that a portion of the details came through.

One particular section, however, drew her eye - not due to the presence of illumination, but rather due to the lack of it. A zone of darkness where there shouldnt have been any, where Kala knew that hadnt been any. That area had been brighter before. She recognized it.

It was where Tiamats monsters had been gathering. She was certain that there had been more than enough glow-caps there before. They were gone for some reason, and she doubted that reason was good. Not all monsters were as stupid as the root on which she was standing; some, like humanitys own Little Guardian, could think.

Kala squinted, trying her best to pierce the darkness. Slowly, surely, more details came into focus. Ruptured glow-caps, just barely managing to cast their dying light. Upturned earth and broken stone, strewn about the area like forgotten detritus. A tunnel, descending downwards at a steep angle where only smooth ground had existed before.

A flicker of movement, the faint hint of almost nonexistent light glinting off of many bladed limbs, caught her eye. They disappeared into the tunnel, reflected light winking out as the darkness swallowed it. Kalas throat went dry.

She looked down at Verdant Grove, the former city of green built atop an island of stone. Protected by null-water at its edges, but directly below

Directly below there was only stone.

And something had made that tunnel. With the visible size and how quickly - far, far too quickly - it had been made, it might not be long until one was made that came up. Depending on where it did, it could easily avoid the protective null-water entirely.

The city wasnt safe anymore - not that it ever really had been.

She needed to find the others again before it was too late.

Kala looked to the side, where the root was slowly drifting closer to a nearby crop-tower outside of the mists; close, but not close enough. She decided to give it a subtle nudge.

Moments later, an arrow pierced the roots side. It swerved towards the threat in an unthinking retaliation, meeting the nearby tower in a battle of silent giants. By the time that it won, Kala was already sprinting down ruined streets.

It might take a while, but shed eventually find a safe path back to the others.

Hopefully she wouldnt be too late.