The flickering of the thought-light greeted me as I came to, its welcoming glow thrusting me into full awareness at last.

Gained Minor Title.

Minor Title: [Little Guardian]

Description: You have been marked by the beginnings of a Legend: the snake that guards the weak from terrors that hide in darkness. Gained the Lesser Core Skill: [Little Guardian’s Totem I].

I slowly uncoiled, forcing the knots from my scale-flesh and looking around as the thought-light left me. A small-nest of bundled skins, the non-ore-flesh ones that the Coreless tended to drape over their flesh, wrapped around me in a warm embrace. I let myself sink back into it for a moment, luxuriating in the sensations of my recovering scale-flesh; that not-quite-comfortable feeling of a well-worn body on the very edge of becoming whole again.

Eventually, though, I curled upon myself again and clamped down on my tail. Tingles sparked down my length as [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail] took effect, soothing damaged scale-flesh and working to bring me back to full health.

In the meantime, I called upon the thought-light, bringing it back into focus. [Little Guardian]’s information pressed against me again. Marked by the beginnings of a Legend, the thought-light told me. I had created something by proving myself worthy of being the Great Core’s Champion. The thought was exhilarating.

Just as my scale-flesh finished recovering and I released my tail, a loud noise jarred me into alertness again.

“You’re awake! Are you feeling better now, little guy?”

A giant shadow fell over me, followed by the soothing sensation of the-female-who-was-not-Needle’s fingers ghosting across my scale-flesh. I leaned into it this time; though I didn’t always allow it, the same touch had helped to ground me somewhat during my furious attempt to create my mind-nest defenses. There was no harm in accepting it, now. For once, not-Needle had done well.

Still, it would be better if she hissed a little more quietly. She babbled on and on, mouth moving at such a rapid pace that I had no hope of making fang or tail of any of it. Again though, it was something familiar.

It was nice to latch onto familiar things, after the way Tiamat had tried to rip away all that I was and knew. It made those things more enjoyable now, in a way. Easier to endure.

Despite that, I gave the-female-who-was-not-Needle a warning nip when I grew tired of it all, careful not to break her skin on my fangs. She had done well, but there were clear limits to my patience. She got the message.

With nothing better to do, I winded myself up her arm, taking up my perch on her shoulder. I was curious to see what was going on, after the battle with the Bloods of Tiamat. As far as I could tell, my struggles with Tiamat had lasted a while; it was lucky that I could survive entirely off of the mana that generated within my mana core, similarly to how the mana provided by the Great Core had provided sustenance when I was newly born.

I still remembered the extreme thirst of the days after I Ascended, before I had been blessed with my own mana core to keep me sustained. The desperation to reach the pool of mana-water that would guarantee my survival.

It felt distant. Long ago - and in a way it was, after the many false-lives of the Flame Dungeon.

I shook away the thought, focusing on the slowly approaching moving-wall that marked an exit into the many-nest of the Coreless. The-female-who-was-not-Needle pushed the poorly hidden obstacle aside, stepping out into the many-nest.

We were attacked immediately.

A small form smashed into my Coreless’ torso, pushing air from her lungs with an audible whump. Another went for her legs in a dangerous display of tactics, seeking to send her toppling in the brief moment of surprise. Another pulled at her arm, causing me to uncoil slightly as the tail that I had wrapped around it began to stretch out.

“I thought you brats would want to say hello to my friend, but I guess not…” not-Needle hissed loudly, stretching out the noise in a strange drawl.

Then, just like that, everything froze.

The chaos halted, I finally got a look at our attackers. Comically wide eyes stared back. I thought that I recognized that look.

Awe.

This...wasn’t an attack. I didn’t know what it was.

The tiny Coreless - because that’s what they were, I finally realized - mumbled and hissed a few words under their breaths, far too quiet for me to catch or interpret. The nearest of them fidgeted slightly, reaching grubby fingers up to fiddle with something around his neck. It caught my eye and, unconcerned by the crowd now, I slithered down from my perch to see what he had.

Something about it was calling to me.

The little Coreless reached out a hand with a soft gasp as I approached, teeth bared in a way that somehow didn’t feel threatening at all. It felt tentative, almost - but not fearful, either. Expectant, maybe? Hopeful? I couldn’t tell.

Either way, I took the path offered, winding my way upwards.

The other tiny Coreless had gathered themselves around the first, looking at me with the same eyes and the same bared teeth. I spared a glance for the-female-who-was-not-Needle; she brushed a hand against one of her eyes, staring at the small Coreless with a strange expression.

Finally, I reached the young Coreless’ shoulder and peeked down at what he held.

It was…

It was me.

It couldn’t capture the way that [Illusion Spark] had altered my scale-flesh. It couldn’t display the way that flames could gush from my open jaws. It couldn’t reveal the way that venoms ran from my fangs and poison from my blood. It wasn’t even the right size.

Despite that, I knew it was me.

I could see it in the way that the Great Core rested on the carving’s head-scales. I could find it in the way that the tiny Coreless swapped their gazes rapidly between the carving and myself, as if in awe or disbelief. Most importantly, I could feel it in the way that it called to me.

I reached down and flicked out a tongue, lightly touching the darkwood carving. Almost unbidden, my mana twisted itself into a convoluted shape, spilling outwards in a way that it had never done before. [Little Guardian’s Totem] activated itself, and I learned what it did at last.

The carving began to glow lightly, empowered by the touch of [Little Guardian’s Totem]. More and more mana slowly lost itself to the complicated pattern of the ability, sacrificed to sustain a creation of mana that should have been far beyond my ability to manipulate. And, in a way, I didn’t. The mana simply shaped itself, falling into a pattern that was gently overlaid on the tiny carving like the two were meant for one another.

Carving and mana, brought together and melded into a Totem.

As the Totem formed, a gradually-building sense of calm began to set in, and the constant thought-hisses of Tiamat that crashed against the walls of my mind-nest grew ever quieter. A new link formed in my mind, a small one that traveled from myself to the Totem, its signature pattern of mana marking the carving’s location for me. I knew that, should I ever need to, I would be able to find it again.

And then, after a surprisingly long time, it was done. My mana stores had taken a surprising hit, [Little Guardian’s Totem] having required far more than any other mana-related ability I had access to. A single use had taken most of what I had, all but running me dry.

The thought-light flickered.

Lesser Core Skill: [Little Guardian’s Totem I] Increased.

[Little Guardian’s Totem II] Acquired.

Perched on the tiny Coreless’ shoulder as I was, it was easy to feel the tension slip away from his form, knots in his flesh unwinding themselves as his shoulder began to slump. I heard his breath catch, stutter, and then start again. I saw a few drops of liquid spill from the corner of his eyes.

I witnessed his bared teeth spread even wider, and heard the incomprehensible sounds that poured from his lips.

“I think...I think the monsters are finally gone, Miss Valera.”

I looked back at the glowing darkwood carving - the totem - that had taken so much from me to create. I heard the group of tiny Coreless shuffle a little closer, their feet scuffing against the ground. I saw the-female-who-was-not-Needle begin to wipe at her eyes again.

For some reason, I couldn’t help but think creating the [Little Guardian’s Totem] had been worth the cost.