Chương 121: Chapter 106 – The World Within

Richard's lifeless body hung limply from Cade's hand. The System notifications still hovered in his mind but he barely registered them. For the first time in his life, Cade had killed another human. He expected to feel... something. Some sort of guilt or remorse at his actions. Horror at what he had just done. But instead, he mostly felt uncertainty. Richard had tried to manipulate his mind. The moment Cade recognized that, he had acted without hesitation.

Any creature willing to tamper with another's thoughts crossed a line he refused to tolerate. He had made himself that promise within the Great Tree, and he kept it. But had there been another way? Richard had been so much weaker than Cade that the fight hadn't even resembled a fight. Cade had intended to destroy the man's Core but somewhere along the way, that plan had changed. Whether it was because of his own curiosity or inexperience with System Cores, he didn't know.

Earl had accused Richard of murdering dozens of people. Maybe even hundreds. If that was true, Cade couldn't honestly say he regretted the outcome. But accusations weren't proof. The only thing Cade knew for certain was that Richard had attacked him first and then attempted to influence his mind with a skill. He let out a slow sigh. The morality of his actions could wait. Right now, he had far more immediate questions to answer. Did I just rip out Richard's soul through his System Core?

The thought sent a chill racing down Cade's spine. The colorless, amorphous knot of energy certainly hadn't resembled any type of essence he had encountered before. It wasn't mana, life essence, or even the pure essence constantly flowing through his own channels. Instead, it reminded him of the strange, nearly invisible substance the System extracted from a corpse and funneled into his body whenever he killed a creature. Experience. But this wasn't the same.

He could still feel his ash and pure essence enveloping the strange knot as it moved through his channels. Rather than dispersing or being absorbed, the ash escorted it deeper into his body. The sensation felt deliberate, almost as though it had been given a destination and was simply following a path already laid before it.

"What the hell is happening?" he muttered. His grip loosened, and Richard's body dropped onto the stone platform with a dull thud. Cade barely spared it a glance, though he did flick a fragment of his will toward the Ashen Vortex, instructing it to consume the corpse. Richard was already dead. It wasn't as though he had any further use for his body. Besides, there was still life essence within it that could be converted into pure essence.

White particles immediately engulfed the corpse, reducing flesh, bone, and clothing alike into drifting wisps of pure essence. The essence flowed into Cade's channels almost unnoticed. It was little more than a trickle compared to the roaring torrent already coursing through him. Ever since connecting the Dungeon Core to his soul, the amount of essence he could draw had become almost absurd.

Maintaining the small Ashen Vortex required so little effort that he scarcely noticed the drain, so he allowed it to continue protecting his body while nearly all of his focus shifted toward the tiny bundle of ash winding through his channels. The sensation grew stronger, and he instinctively knew the ash wasn't wandering his channels aimlessly. It knew exactly where it was going and more importantly, it seemed to know exactly where it was taking the strange remnant taken from Richard.

Cade followed the feeling inward as it traveled through his torso before finally reaching the black-and-white Core nestled within his abdomen. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the bundle pass directly into his Core. Panic flared in his chest. What is going to happen if another soul even enters my Core? He had no idea. Vorduun and Varosk had explained how a Core connected the body, spirit, and soul, but neither had mentioned anything about what happened if another soul somehow entered that connection.

Not wanting to leave the answer to chance, Cade immediately pushed his consciousness inward. The world around him disappeared and moments later he found himself floating once more within his soul space. A growing root system stretched beneath him while his Law Sprout of Inviolable Self dominated the center of the endless darkness. Attached to one of its roots, his Core slowly rotated, its black-and-white halves circling one another in perfect balance.

He arrived just in time to see the tiny bundle of white ash containing the remnants of Richard move through the black and white roots. It climbed through the network before disappearing into the yin-yang sphere of Cade's Core. Cade stared in disbelief. He felt no pain or pressure as the remnant disappeared. If anything, his Core seemed to welcome the foreign presence. As if the Core itself was waiting for the remnants to enter.

Curiosity quickly replaced his concern and he knew there was only one way to find out what was happening. Cade focused on the slowly rotating Core and almost immediately, he felt the same strange pull he had experienced shortly after returning to the Tutorial. This time he didn't resist. Instead, Cade leaned into the sensation, willing his consciousness into the Core. His awareness was sucked into the black-and-white sphere as though it had its own gravitational field. Pressure enveloped him from every direction.

It felt as though his mind had been squeezed through a tunnel barely wide enough to contain it. Then, just as suddenly, the pressure vanished and space unfolded into darkness filled with streaks of dense green life essence all around him. Where am I? Cade tried to move but he quickly found that he had no body. As he tried to look around, a faint glow caught his attention. Far above him floated a small sphere of brilliant white light that he recognized immediately.

It was the pure essence escorting the colorless remains of Richard, and it was moving upward through the life-essence-filled darkness. Even though he had no body, he willed himself upwards, wanting to follow wherever his essence was going. His awareness surged effortlessly as his will took over. He felt no sensation of wind or movement, but he could tell that he was closing in on the light. The darkness gave way as he reached the orb and Cade saw that he was surrounded by roots.

Massive roots, each corresponding to a streak of dense green life essence. They stretched in every direction, weaving together into a seemingly endless subterranean labyrinth. The glowing orb continued climbing through the vast root system, and Cade's consciousness followed close behind. A moment later, they both burst through the surface and brilliant light flooded his vision. He instinctively recoiled before remembering he didn't possess eyes in this form.

As his awareness adjusted, the landscape came into focus and his breath caught in his throat. Towering above him stood the Great Tree. His Great Tree. The one he grew after burning the original down. He had emerged right beside the combined root pillar, where black and white roots spiraled together beneath shimmering veins of every color, their boundaries blending into a flowing band of gray. His Great Tree was much smaller than the original, perhaps only a hundred meters tall.

To his left, he could see the gleaming ash white root pillar covered in overlapping scute-like plates. To his right was the deep black root pillar intertwined with shimmering rainbow veins. The trunk itself was a rich hardwood streaked with light-devouring black that reminded him of his Law Sprout of Inviolable Self. A wave of relief settled over Cade. Whatever had happened when he made the Dungeon Core his own, it hadn't erased everything.

The Great Tree still stood exactly where he had left it, and if it had survived the transition, then perhaps the rest of Cynthia's Legacy had as well. Cade slowly turned his awareness toward himself. Or at least, toward where he thought he should have been. Just as he thought, he had no form to speak of. The realization should have unsettled him, yet it didn't. This wasn't the first time he had existed as little more than a consciousness floating in space.

After Sildraxa's attack, he had found himself watching the birth of the System from a similarly bodiless perspective. The difference was that then, he had merely been an observer. He had drifted where the vision carried him, unable to alter his course. But now he felt as though he could go anywhere. It wasn't movement in the conventional sense. Rather, it felt like this space was part of him. If he wished to look out the top of the Great Tree, he somehow knew he could.

If he wished to bury himself beneath its roots once more, all he had to do was will for it to happen. Wherever he was, the space answered to his will. That's a bit terrifying. Am I a god here? Fortunately, he didn't have time to spiral into existential questions as he had something that currently demanded his attention.

The glowing sphere of pure essence and the remnant taken from Richard continued its steady ascent through the trunk of the Great Tree and Cade's curiosity about where it was going outweighed everything else. Instead of experimenting with his newfound freedom, he simply willed himself to follow the glowing orb. One instant he hovered near the roots. The next he found himself within the trunk itself. Towering columns of living wood surrounded him on every side.

Vast channels carried streams of life essence through the heartwood, pulsing with a rhythm like veins and arteries through a colossal body. The glowing orb floated effortlessly upward within, never wavering from its destination. I could stop it, he realized. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

With nothing more than a thought, he felt certain he could redirect the ash, separate Richard's remnant from it, or even send both hurtling back toward the roots if he wished. The temptation lingered for several moments before Cade pushed it aside. No. He wanted answers, and interfering now would only muddy the waters. For the moment, he would simply observe. If the strange bundle showed any sign of becoming a threat, or if something felt wrong, then he would intervene.

The glowing orb continued climbing through the immense trunk. The hardwood gradually narrowed around him as massive limbs split away in every direction and, eventually, the glowing sphere reached the very highest branch. It slowed and Cade drifted closer. The ash carrying Richard's remnant settled gently against the branch's very tip. The pure essence surrounding it seeped into the living wood first, disappearing beneath the bark like water soaking into thirsty soil.

The colorless remnant followed and for several long seconds nothing happened. Then a tiny bud emerged from its tip. It unfurled with graceful ease, each movement deliberate and almost reverent. Five pristine white petals curled outward one by one until they formed a perfect blossom no larger than Cade's outstretched hand would have been. The flower possessed an almost ethereal beauty. Its five petals shimmered with a faint pearlescent glow, each one so pure that they seemed almost unnatural.

Fine ivory veins branched gracefully from the flower's center to the edge of every petal, glowing softly with pure essence. Emerging from the blossom's heart stood a single pitch-black pistil, its surface threaded with vibrant rainbow veins that pulsed gently with life. The flower released no pollen. Instead, tiny motes of pure essence drifted lazily into the air. They rose from the flower's center before dissolving into the surrounding atmosphere like evaporating snow carried upon a gentle breeze.

Cade stared at it for a moment, mesmerized by its beauty. Well, I didn't expect that. He lingered there for several minutes, appreciating the beauty that could come from something so ugly. He watched the blossom release an endless trickle of pure essence into the sky. Aside from that gentle release, nothing else changed. The colorless remnant had completely disappeared, absorbed into the flower as though it had always belonged there. And more importantly, he felt no threat or hostility coming from the blossom.

No trace of Richard remained. No lurking consciousness. No malicious intent waiting for an opportunity to seize control. The last thing he needed was Richard somehow haunting his soul realm... or dungeon... or whatever this place was now. With his curiosity finally satisfied, Cade turned his attention back to the ground below. There was another question that had been nagging at him ever since binding the Dungeon Core to himself. Had the denizens of Cynthia's Legacy survived?

The Great Tree clearly had and, if the tree remained, surely the creatures within had survived as well. With that thought, Cade willed himself downward, his awareness sweeping across the landscape in search of the frogs, the tortoises, and his not-so-little gator buddy, Aquelion. The towering branches blurred together before giving way to the sprawling roots beneath the Great Tree. He swept his awareness across the landscape, searching for any sign of familiar faces. It didn't take long.

Off to one side of the Great Tree, gathered around the ash-white root pillar armored in overlapping scute-like plates, sat the frogs atop their walker lilies. Pearl rested near the front of the gathering on top of Varosk's old pad. Dozens of her kin clustered onto their own walker lilies around the immense root. Much to Cade's surprise, Vorduun stood among them, his pearlescent shell gleaming softly beneath the filtered light that drifted through the canopy overhead. Relief washed through him. They're alive.

Without hesitation, he willed himself closer. The world shifted around him and an instant later, he hovered only a few paces from the gathering. Pearl! No one reacted. Vorduun? He could see the ancient tortoise was speaking with the frogs but he couldn't make out what the Emperor was saying. The words themselves never reached him and it seemed like Cade's words didn't reach them either. Cade drifted even closer. Maybe I'm just a spirit. It certainly seemed possible.

He had no body, no voice, and no physical presence whatsoever. Then another thought occurred to him. If anyone could perceive him in this state, it should have been Vorduun. The old Emperor possessed [Essence Sight]. If a disembodied consciousness floating through the Great Tree couldn't be detected by that skill, Cade doubted anyone else here stood a chance. Determined to test the idea, he floated directly in front of Vorduun's face and willed imaginary hands to wave back and forth.

The old tortoise didn't even blink. Cade tried shouting next, then leaned forward until he was practically nose to nose with the Emperor. Nothing he did seemed to have any effect. Vorduun's attention never wavered from the frogs gathered around him. If Vorduun couldn't perceive him, then Varosk probably couldn't either. As far as he knew, the old toad didn't have [Essence Sight]. He didn't even know how the frogs sensed essence. Even so, Cade wasn't about to give up without checking.

With little more than a thought, the scenery shifted once again. The ash-white root pillar vanished, replaced by the massive black pillar entwined with shimmering rainbow-veined roots around its shaft. The tortoises had gathered around here. Brahm stood near the front while the few remaining tortoises surrounded the enormous golden form of Varosk. A smile tugged at Cade's non-existent lips. Good to see you, old man. I hope the tortoises enjoyed the taste of your mucus.

Just like before, Cade tried to interact with them but they didn't give the slightest reaction. He called out several times, waved his nonexistent arms through the air, and even attempted to move through Brahm. His incorporeal form passed harmlessly through the brazen young tortoise. Cade sighed. So much for that. What about Aquelion? He hadn't seen the giant gator anywhere in either pack and a knot formed in his chest. The frogs and tortoises were both here and seemed to be fine, but Aquelion…

he wasn't native to this realm. Had he been ejected when Cade claimed the Core as his own? He immediately began searching. A single thought carried him from place to place throughout the realm. He swept across the surrounding fields of desolate ash as well as the swampy jungle the frogs had left behind on their way to the Great Tree. Each destination appeared before him almost instantly, yet every search ended the same way. Nothing. Please don't tell me the System sent you somewhere else in the Tutorial.

He searched again, this time more methodically. Every clearing. Every hollow. Every place the oversized gator might have wandered. As he searched he realized the realm was considerably smaller than before, but that was a concern for another time. As he searched, another possibility occurred to him. The hollow under the Great Tree. The world shifted once more and Cade found himself beneath the Great Tree itself. The hollow still rested between the three colossal root pillars. A broad grin spread across his face.

There you are. Aquelion lay comfortably inside, lazily chewing on a thick, gnarled root jutting from the ground. His powerful jaws methodically crushed the wood into splinters. Then the gator froze. His bright aquamarine eyes lifted and locked directly onto Cade. The root slipped from his jaws as his eyes widened. His massive tail immediately began thumping excitedly against the ground. Wait... can he actually see me?

Before Cade could think another thought, Aquelion bounded forward with an excited chirp and enthusiastically tried to nuzzle him. The attempt failed spectacularly as the giant snout passed harmlessly through Cade's floating consciousness. Aquelion paused, tilted his head in confusion before letting out another questioning chirp. Cade laughed. You can see me! He immediately tried projecting his thoughts toward the Viscount, willing the intent behind his words toward the giant gator. Aquelion, can you understand me?

The gator stared at him for a long moment before cocking his head to the side like a confused dog. Clearly, something was getting through but maybe the Viscount didn't know how to respond. Thump your tail twice if you can understand me. Once if you can't. Another questioning chirp escaped Aquelion's throat. A heartbeat later, his massive tail pounded the ground twice in rapid succession. Cade's grin widened. That worked! Aquelion thumped his tail twice more, his excitement seemingly impossible to contain.

Encouraged, Cade projected another thought. I'm alright, and I'm glad to see you and everyone else survived. I'm glad you're all safe. Aquelion responded with another excited chirp before opening his mouth and letting his tongue loll happily to the side. Cade chuckled. I'll take that to mean you're glad I'm safe too. The Viscount thumped his tail against the ground twice more. Tell Vorduun and Varosk I'm alright. Tell them I'll come back and figure out a way to speak with them again.

I don't know when, or how, but I'll find a way. Cade hesitated before adding one final thought. I think I left my body back in the Tutorial, and I have no idea how time passes between the two realms. I should probably go. Aquelion remained perfectly still for several long seconds before giving one slow, deliberate thump of his tail. Cade didn't need words to understand that the Viscount didn't want him to leave. I'm sorry, buddy. I'll come back soon. I promise.

In the meantime, why don't you work on forming your Core? Aquelion responded by slamming his tail against the ground before letting out an indignant huff and turning his back on Cade. Aww, don't be mad little guy. Can you at least deliver my message to Vorduun and Varosk? The oversized gator ignored him completely and resumed chewing on the thick root protruding from the ground. Alright, alright. What if I try growing you another root? One sturdy enough to survive those mighty jaws.

Will you deliver the message then? Aquelion glanced back over his shoulder at Cade's floating consciousness for a long moment before lightly tapping the ground with his tail twice. I knew you'd come around. Focusing his attention on the Great Tree, he reached toward the vast root system beneath the soil. He gathered his will, intent, and even drew upon his Law Seed of Renewal, directing it into the living roots below. Immediately he felt a tremendous amount of essence rush from his Core.

The ground trembled as a thick, gnarled root slowly pushed its way through the earth beside Aquelion, broader and denser than the one the Viscount had been chewing before. That took way more essence than I expected. The fresh root settled into place with a soft groan. Now, before you start chewing on that one, go give Vorduun and Varosk my message. I'll be back soon. Hopefully with a body next time. Aquelion looked from Cade to the newly grown root, then back again before his tail gave another pair of lazy thumps.

Cade had the distinct feeling the oversized gator would have delivered the message all along. He had simply seen an opportunity to bargain for a better chew toy before Cade disappeared again. Aquelion chirped happily before padding over to the new root. He gave it an experimental bite, his eyes immediately brightening as his powerful jaws failed to leave more than a few shallow grooves in the dense wood.

Satisfied, the Viscount gave Cade one final, enthusiastic double-thump of his tail before proudly dragging his prize with him as he slowly plodded in the direction of Varosk and the ash tortoises. It seemed like his hypothesis was correct. By using the Dungeon Core to Cynthia's Legacy as his own Core, he allowed this realm to continue to exist when it otherwise would have been destroyed. He had kept everyone here safe and gave them more time.

And with time, they could all find a new purpose in life, one that resided outside simply training Cynthia's brood. Satisfied with the knowledge that at least part of the realm and everyone within had safely made the transition, Cade willed himself back toward his waiting body in the Tutorial. The world around him collapsed into darkness and he felt his mind become compressed again. A heartbeat later, the compression lifted and his eyes snapped open to see pearlescent white ash spiraling around him.

With a flick of his will he deactivated the Ashen Vortex and the particles flowed back into his mantle. Richard's body was gone, completely consumed by the Ashen Vortex during his absence. Cade looked around to see that Earl had remained exactly where he had left him. Only the bald man was staring with wide, unblinking eyes as though he couldn't decide whether Cade was real or a hallucination. Cade glanced down at himself and flexed his fingers once, reassuring himself that he was truly back in his body.

Then he looked over at Earl and offered the man an awkward smile.

"I think you and I need to have a nice, friendly chat."