Dust to Dust: Monster 09

Brink

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The final echoes of the deceased Alpha's howl rang through the forest until finally there was silence.

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No longer distracted by the otherworldly scene that played out before him, the golem took stock of his situation. The heat had grown far too strong, consuming everything. Molten copper was falling through his body, his core almost depleted, the remnants barely kept solid by streams of cool mud running over it. The impromptu maintenance wouldn't last long, as the residual heat from the outer regions of the golem's monstrous form was leaking back into the core. Fearing a meltdown, the golem frantically sloughed entire outer sections of his being, sloppily dragging his core out of the steaming remains.

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It was not enough. Too much energy had leaked back into his core, the rain wasn't enough to keep him cool without risking complete dissolution of his being. It was only a matter of time before the copper core would completely fail, rendering the golem into a pile of dirt and slag for the forest to reclaim.

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As if in answer to his dilemma, the forgotten Alpha's body burst into light, drawing the golem's attention once more. A fantastic light show played out as the corpse disappeared, ironic in its juxtaposition to the somber funeral the forest had given the creature just a minute earlier. The lights were mocking in their dazzling brilliance, and the trees rustled their anger at the affront.

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But nothing was done. The trees quieted, as if remembering their inanimate nature, and the wolf's corpse disappeared in its entirety. All that remained was pelt and a chunk of shining metal.

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New metal.

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Like lightning the golem was upon the glowing shard of lustrous ore, curious as to its properties and whether it could save him. Strands of wavering heat reached from the golem's liquidating core, and a clear response was given from the unknown metal. The response was decent, but far worse than the copper. Noting the chunk's uselessness, the golem dropped it to the ground.

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And there, soaking in a puddle of rainwater, the black tarnish was washed off, leaving a shining silver that reflected the moonlight all over the glade, giving the area a mystical presence.

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Excited by the change in properties, the golem once more tested the metal. It was perfect. Far more compliant to his wishes than the copper, it could send signals far clearer and faster than the old core. Unfortunately, it could barely withstand any heat, and would melt almost instantly.

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Unacceptable.

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A plan was hatched, a gambit that would leave the golem's existence hanging by the thread, but was the only method applicable in such dire straits. The golem drew the silver chunk into his body where the copper slag would melt onto it and waited.

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World dimming, body weakening, he believed in his plan, and then everything went dark.

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Waking from a deathlike slumber, the golem checked his consciousness. A silver core was at the center of his being, pulsing its precise heat to the tiny area it could. The silver couldn't handle near as much power as the copper, but it was far more precise and efficient. As the golem had learned by its experiments in self-modification, combinations of different materials often led to far better results than one simple material.

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And thus, the copper slag gathering at ground level in the golem's form ordered to gather into a hollow orb. A single silver thread, painstakingly extruded by the core, carried the signal to the molten ore. With mud and stones forming a mold, the copper was made into a hollow sphere with a hole on each side. One to import fuel, and one to export waste and energy. Testing the chamber with the green fuel, the golem found that this method was far more efficient than the old processing method of simply burning the fuel on the surface of the core.

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Fuel was pumped into the furnace by muscles of mud, and the golem's heart beat for the first time, sending waves of energy into the silver core.

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Using the energy from the heart, the golem send strands of silver out to all its current extremities, which was barely a ball of mud bigger than a rabbit. The improved signal gathered mud from the surroundings, and once again a dog began to take shape. The dog form had worked well, was very efficient, and wouldn't stand out too much. The abomination form had worked impeccably in battle, but was far too dangerous.

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The canine form slowly took shape, but a few changes were made. A general increase in size and bulk was applied since the energy could now be spared. Silver wires ran through the wooden and clay bones, allowing the creature to respond far faster and control its body in finer ways.

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Added to his current mud body were the copper coated stones that had killed the Alpha. They were used as claws, teeth, and strategic spikes on certain joints and surfaces to deter attackers. The largest was placed right on the forehead of the mud wolf, giving it a penetrating copper horn.

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The Alpha's pelt was used as the skin of the golem, protecting it from anything up to metal. No wood or stone could penetrate the tough exterior of the Alpha, and the same property would now guard the proud wolf's killer. The copper spikes adorning the golem broke through the wolf's fur as if to warn any potential foe of the unnatural foe contained within.

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Remembering the effectiveness of the stone armor, the false Alpha repeated the same process, coating his body in tested high quality stone. This time, however, the finer silver wires allowed him to use many smaller pieces of rock instead of large chunks. Thus his armor was far more flexible and would protect him much more effectively than the previous crude set that cracked and broke on its first major impact.

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On that day, mere feet from the grave of the Alpha, an armored wolf was born, and it wandered off into the deeper woods.

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The forest had failed to contain the aberration.

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End of the Forest section of the Monster Arc.

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Will release a chapter later tonight, the first of the next section.

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(Trying to learn how to draw, I very much want to draw up every evolution of the golem. Armored wolf sounds pretty goddamn terrifying. Imagine a massive black wolf running at you, little inch long copper spikes protruding from its joints, a copper horn a few inches long coming out of its forehead. Not to mention the stone armor that covers the majority of the fur. That is something of nightmares and GOD I LOVE IT)