It was the sudden absence of cold that got to me, even in my near-senseless state. A change from the horrible, consuming chill that had invaded my body, one that was just barely held back by occasional surges of warmth - the touch of life essence against flesh, its golden radiance like a flame to beat back the cold. Each surge threatened to pull me back to alertness, the strength of the life essence that contained it enough to pull my head above the waters of my dreamless sleep - but only for a moment, as the bitter cold of death always returned, pulling me back under.

Trying to drown me.

Occasionally, I would notice other things in the brief instances where I was more alert; sounds, ones that told me the battle with the Lesser Core was still ongoing. Screams, ones that told me that it wasn’t going well. A wave of [worry] here, a morass of [misery] there. The occasional conflicting piece, a relentless [resolve] or undaunted [determination] from one of my Coreless, enough to give me a small measure of hope - or as much as I could really feel, with my thoughts so muddled. The interruptions from the world outside were few and far between, most of my time spent lost in the bitter chill of death that tried to consume me. It was lucky that my mouth was so firmly latched onto my tail, even in my weakness; that, combined with the now near-automatic transfer of mana into the life essence that I needed, was all that kept me alive as my body and mind froze over.

Until, suddenly, the chill of death wasn’t there anymore - and I woke up.

It wasn’t something that happened instantly. The chill might have retreated, but its effects had remained.

For a little while, at least.

And then the last drop of gold that I needed formed, rousing me from my slumber. The world came back; bright and loud, paired with an overwhelming torrent of [relief] from the [Little Guardian’s Totem]s of my Coreless, overjoyed at my return to consciousness.

“Oh thank the Skies, she’s still breathing. She’s still with us,” not-Needle praised in a series of senseless jabbers, almost choking and sputtering with the need to get the noises to spill free. Her [joy] was easy to see, even if it was in the confusing manner of the Coreless; little drops of salty fluid dribbled down her cheeks, falling onto upturned lips. Similar to [sadness], but ever-so-slightly different. Not for the first time, I thanked the Great Core for its gift of the [Little Guardian’s Totem]s; without them, I would have had a far more difficult time understanding its growing number of disciples.

As my body returned to normal, a powerful scent-taste pressed against my tongue. I twined around Needle’s shoulder, coils stretching down the distance between myself and the scent-taste’s source.

And then it was gone. Swallowed. Defeated. Just another Lesser Core that had fallen before the Great Core’s might. As it should be.

Though a part of me wished that I could have somehow made the experience more painful. The Lesser Core had wrested me away from the Great Core’s light, forced me to murder one of its disciples; the punishment for that sort of blasphemy should have been higher, something terrible enough that it would resonate through the World Dungeon and warn any would-be blasphemers of the consequences of their actions.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be; the Core died in near silence, its death marked only by the sudden agitation of its remaining bad-things. Meaty thwacks and skittering claws resounded through the cavern as the bad-things threw themselves about, breaking into a confused frenzy that did more damage to themselves than anything else. My Coreless had taken us far enough away that there was little they could do for the moment.

At the same time, the thought-light flickered, announcing the Great Core’s victory.

Dungeon Core (Aspect: Death) Integrated.

Core Skill Created: [Transient Reanimation].

I knew what was going to happen next; I also knew that I wanted to know something before then. With a call to the thought-light and a flicker of light, the answer to my question appeared, lasting for only a brief second before the thought-light flickered again.

Core Skill: [Transient Reanimation].

Description: Temporary Life, Bought By Death.

Condition Met.

Core Skill - [The Endless Cycle] Renewed.

Beginning New Cycle.

My scale-flesh itched. Tightened, clinging to my form in an inescapable grip. The world went black.

And then, just like every time it had happened before, I pulled free of glowing scale-flesh. It was harder than before; I was still weak. The strands of dead scale-flesh tore away slowly, my weakened wriggles only breaking through with extreme difficulty. A clamor of sound appeared from the world outside, a growing string of clashing ore-flesh and claws and teeth and shrieks.

I ripped free, fangs weakly bared.

I found a battlefield of ruined bad-things, only the dregs still remaining, my Coreless standing triumphantly over them - all except for The Grateful One, who stared down at one of her arms with a hint of [trepidation] flowing through her [Little Guardian’s Totem]. Dust and ash drifted down from the seams in her ore-flesh, falling in a constant stream.

There was more of it than I’d have thought possible, enough to form a growing pile of the stuff beneath her limply-hanging limb. I gave it a brief glance before moving on. Some of the bad-things were still living. Not-living?

Either way, they were still twitching, and I wasn’t far from my next upgrade. Warning the other Coreless back with a burst of [Illusion Spark]’s light, I slowly wound my way through the battered corpse-things, biting down each time I found one still moving. It took a while; most of the corpse-things were dead. Without the Lesser Core to bring them back, my Coreless had quickly turned them into piles of mulched and battered flesh.

There were enough, however, that I was able to get what I wanted. Eventually.

And this time, I wouldn’t be forced to pick an option that revolted me.

Experience Gained! Reduced Due To Assistance Received.

Level Up!

1 Trait Point Gained.

…

Experience Gained! Reduced Due To Assistance Received.

Level Up!

1 Trait Point Gained.

Level 70 Reached

Analyzing Potential Reward Choices…

Only One May Be Selected.

I slumped back, exhausted, and waited for the thought-light to wash over me. Not-Needle’s hand quickly found me, plucking me from the ground and placing me against her ore-flesh-covered shoulder. There was just enough time to let out a hiss of gratitude before the thought-light flickered again.

There were a few things that interested me. Some I had seen and tried before, like [The Golem’s Echo]. Others were new, or had simply gone ignored in my previous false-life. I pored over them, needing the reminder in my exhausted state. It was still hard to think.

Size: Your body mass increases greatly, with all of the increase in strength and health that comes with a greater size. (Provided by: Snake)

Hardened Scales: Your scales harden, strengthening far beyond their natural measure, becoming an armor that protects you in your every moment. (Provided by: Snake, [Piercing Resistance])

Enhanced Venom Capacity: Your venom production increases greatly, both innate and acquired. (Provided by: Snake, [Venomous], [Paralyzing Venom])

Illusory Camouflage: Your scales are not what they seem, automatically pulling from your light reservoirs and shifting to match any surrounding colors. (Provided by: Snake, [Illusion Spark])

Warm-Blooded: You have been Touched By Fire, and that has marked you as something new. You break free from the restrictions and perils of your cold-blooded nature, receiving great resistance to heat. (Provided by: Snake, [Touched By Fire])

Vibration Sense: You have become attuned to the vibrations of the world, allowing you to detect sound with far greater precision. (Provided by: Snake, [Sound Shaping])

Sticky Scales: Your scales become unnaturally adhesive, able to bind wounds closed with increased speed, reducing rate of blood loss. (Provided by: Snake, [Clinging Grasp])

Scales of Devotion: The scales shift as your devotion is altered further; provides powerful protection from the mental control of any being not connected to your Chains, while greatly increasing the mental and physical effects of [Chains of the Creator]. (Provided by: Snake, [Chains of the Creator])

Blood Serpent: Your blood is potent, but it can become more so. Drinking the blood of others will temporarily increase the potency of your own. (Provided by: Snake, [Poisonous Blood], [Anticoagulant])

Deadly Constrictor: Your scales sharpen, growing small spines to help rend the flesh of enemies trapped within your coils. (Provided by: Snake, [Constriction])

Sporesnake: Your spores are naturally attuned to enhance your own body. Self-puppeteering provides additional increases to strength. (Provided by: Snake, [Spore Puppeteer])

Serpent’s Scent: You have always been an ambush predator and, in many ways, still are. Wipe away the Ascended scent that clings to you, hiding your presence from other possessors of [Ascended Sense]. (Provided by: Snake, [Ascended Sense])

Infrasight: Your visual sense grows yet again, allowing you to visually detect the heat given off by your prey. (Provided by: Snake, [Ambusher’s Vision])

Shocking Venom: Your venom sparks with power, causing inflicted body parts to grow increasingly numb and weakened. (Provided by: Snake, [Sting], [Paralyzing Venom])

Sliding Grasp: Your scales are a thing of contradiction, sleek and smooth enough to cut through water, yet still able to temporarily cling to any surface. You learn to push this further contradiction in another direction, allowing for brief moments during which your smooth scales refuse to cling to any surface at all. (Provided by: Snake, [Clinging Grasp], [Streamlined Scales])

Venomshot: Your lungs have grown powerful, allowing you to spit needles of venom, inflicting their effects from a distance. (Provided by: Snake, [Enhanced Lungs], [Venomous], [Paralyzing Venom])

After I glanced over my options, the thought-light flickered again.

Revealing Possible Rewards Unlocked Through Species: Ouroboros And Its Interactions…

The first few were familiar, even if they weren’t any less important for it. Most of the upgrade options that were related to my Core skills were useful, unlike the ones that came from my Blooded Traits. Though there weren’t very many, since I had already picked [Life], [Death], and [Traveler]. They passed by in a flicker of thought-light, only remaining long enough to remind me of their continued existence.

Rebirth: You are a symbol of the eternal, just as you are of many other things. You are a symbol of rebirth. You shed your skin, marking the birth of a new cycle. (Provided by: Ouroboros, [The Endless Cycle])

Bloomhaste: You are intrinsically linked to Time itself, and have learned to direct its streams between plants that host them. You gain the passive ability to alter the streams of time further, tripling the rate of growth for plants in your vicinity in return for a period of halted growth after leaving your range. (Provided by: Ouroboros, [Verdure Parasite])

The Golem’s Echo: You have absorbed the last vestige of a defeated Ascended, taking its heart for your own. You gain the ability to temporarily return your defeated enemy to a semblance of life, materializing a fragile echo of The Golem to fight by your side. (Provided by: Ouroboros, [The Golem’s Fading Heart])

After all of the old options appeared, I perked up a little, curious at what option my newest Core skill would give me.

Life Hunter: You have reached for eternity, attempting to defy death. You gain the ability to imbue your temporarily reanimated self with the power to collect the life force of your defeated enemies, eventually allowing for a return to true life. (Provided by: Ouroboros, [Transient Reanimation])

I hissed lightly, and the thought-light flickered in response.