Chương 23: The Beast

Aaron plunged deep into the swirling mass of energy, feeling it batter him from all sides. Pressing onwards, it felt like standing at the wing of a sandstorm, each grain slowly tearing him apart. The harder he fought to walk forward, the harsher the winds blew. And, at the center of it all, he saw the hovering form of a dandelion, bursting at the seams with power. Crouching low and bracing himself against the winds, he was still buffeted away with a force unmatched. It felt unreachable…

Bearing his teeth at it, he placed one foot in front of the other, feeling himself slide back a half-step… but only by half, before he defiantly advanced again. The air seemed to roil with power, the agitation of his Primary causing the force bearing down on him to explode. The gale overwhelmed him, and he was sent flying, fully ejected from the Primary's zone of control. Agony filled his being as it felt like all the blood was torn out from him. He nearly collapsed, little more than a desiccated corpse.

The Primary seemed to relax partially. He threw himself back in again, slamming into the wall of power once more. He made it three steps before Onward Evermore realized what was happening, and concentrated its energy again, and he once more found himself flailing through the air, skin flayed by a grainy sandpaper running over it. He didn't even wait until he was fully upright, instead stumbling into the zone- and getting sent back twice as far, feeling like he had half as many limbs.

He put his head down, got a running start, and put his hands in front of him as if to ward off the power that refused him purchase. Pain could not dissuade him. He made it four steps and felt himself slide; he went lower, tilted further, pushed harder; the wind buffeted him once more, attempting to throw him off balance, he refused to surrender, taking yet another step.

The hurricane of power screamed in outrage, pitting its entire existence against him, and he felt as though he were being wrested from a mountain by a ram. No matter what he did, the dandelion's power was always greater. Yet, for some reason… he didn't crawl. Despite knowing it would provide stability to his march, that it would improve his grip and make it harder to cast him out fully, he refused to lower himself. If he would win this, he would not do so wallowing in the mud. He would stand tall.

When he once more was forced out of Onward Evermore's presence, he closed his eyes, feeling that fleeting spark of something more within him- a strange energy that felt so very familiar… yet, so much more personal. Clutching it tight within his chest, he stepped up to the field again; this time, he did not crouch, he did not try to balance himself, he did not even squint against the force of his screeching Primary.

And, of course, he barely made it two steps before a powerful blow made him skid backwards, out once more. But, unlike the first few times he'd stood against the winds without bracing himself, he wasn't sent through the air. His Primary forced him out, yes, but it felt less like a leaf trembling on the branch, fighting against the rising heat of a nearby wildfire, and more like a stone tumbling across the bottom of a river: there was a certain solidity that there hadn't been moments before.

His next attempt, he did little more than tense his muscles, walking face-first into the borderline solid wall of power that continued to reject him even now. The flicker cultivated within him flared- just barely- and, for a moment, the winds slid over him, allowing him to take yet another step. Moments later its power was exhausted, and he was ejected again. But he didn't let that dissuade him, no. He clutched onto the flaring strength, and entered the fray once more.

* Seconds, minutes, maybe even hours went by as he continued to nurture that tiny spark within him, feeding into its power and learning what it meant to have it. He initially worried that he was taking too long to save the humans, but a simple glimpse outside with his Sensitivity told him that not only were the humans fine- and fleeing- but his Primary was emanating fraying waves of emotion every time he made an attempt. Win or lose, every time he tried, it stunned his Primary.

The growing spark suffused his mind and body, fuelling and consuming his emotions in equal measure. A harmony. He sensed as it slowly empowered everything that he was, encouraging him to grow, to become whoever he wanted to be. It was… everything that his Primary should have been. A power that was made for him. If he hadn't been corrupted and deprived of access to his Primary, he never would've known, but this was what Underworld residents were supposed to use.

In overstepping, trying to craft a power for Aaron to use, the System had made something close to what he needed, but it wasn't perfect. The System was attempting to recreate the Mona Lisa; it could spend years painting, and would never get something exactly like the original, only close. Smaller details such as how each color melded beneath the surface, or the peaks of the paint on the surface, could never be perfectly copied.

And the more he realized this, the more he fed into his power and became the best version of himself that he could, the more he found himself imbued with that precious energy that would not be denied. Hundreds of attempts went by, and every time his Primary pulled him apart in a new way, disassembling him piece by piece, meticulously frying every nerve ending, one by one. At times, he was left screaming until he ran out of breath, wheezing his pain.

And every time, he would not even wait until the echo of his suffering abated before pressing forward once more. Madness threatened to overtake him, but if he became a babbling mess, he would never repay his Primary for the betrayal. He would never learn and advance. He would never live as he wanted to, exploring, growing as a person. Rather than quiver in weakness, his mind hardened fractionally with each burst of ravenous energy that consumed him.

Every time, his Primary believed it'd drained him of the last bit of strength, but only moments later, he would dig deeper, find more. And each time he did, he unearthed another fragment of his own power, the insatiable ambition within. A greedy, wanting desire to be, to have it all without losing any part of himself along the way. The gale continued to roar, whipping around him with a strength that would uproot an oak tree. Yet, it could not even make him bend the knee.

Onward Evermore's glow swirled around it, coalescing behind the tiny flower to form a roaring figure of power, a screaming face that continuously threw itself at Aaron. But his own grew to match it, coating him in a thin layer of rejecting energy that beat his Primary's power back. The closer he got to the center, the more his Primary drew from its reserves, the green-yellow glow intensifying until the blinding light scorched his retinas.

All he could see was the silhouette of a flower, its form burning into his eyes, but he didn't even consider turning away for even a moment. His hand reached out to the frantic Primary, and the agonizing light finally revealed something he hadn't even realized before, having not been able to see his own body. He was coated in dandelions, a woven cocoon that entrapped him fully.

As his body finally grasped towards the light, they withered and cracked, turning to dust and being sent away; beneath, pristine, undamaged skin revealed itself. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. He felt a surge of power, and finally his torture ceased as the hidden parasites were incinerated in a purifying light.

Mere inches from the dandelion, a feverish heat gripped him, the intensity causing even more of the dandelions coating him to wilt and break apart, the light climbing his arm. His fingers slowly wrapped around the base of the flower, the skin on them rippling as the firestorm resisted him to the bitter end until, finally, he squeezed and felt the waxy, smooth texture of the stem in his grip.

The entire space went still as the energy from the dandelion ceased, an eerie silence replacing his Primary's roar of frustration. Then, the flower exploded, and every parasite coating him was vaporized. * POV: Julio"Where is it?!" Celina screamed.

"Where do you think? On our ass!!" Freddy responded, and Julio ignored them, putting his entire focus into the action of putting one foot in front of the other. Maybe he could've outpaced them because of their shouting, if he weren't the least athletic of the group, as-is, he only led the pack because they wouldn't stop bickering and wasting breath. He didn't know how they did it, he was already panting, flagging despite having only run for a minute or two.

'Mom was right, I really did need to lay off the beef! Now I'm going to fucking die and turn into a plant monster and not even get to use my FUCKING magic that I JUST got.' They'd all discovered a little bit about their magic, but not enough to fight a horde of plant things. The tunnel split up ahead into three paths, so they'd need to- Out from all three, more monsters spilled forth. They all stumbled to a stop, realizing they were trapped.

"Fuuuck!" Julio finally spoke.

"What do we do?! Celina said fearfully, clinging to her brother's shoulder as Freddy held a grim look. The monsters encircled them, stopping a short distance away and watching as they bunched up together. Looking closely at each of their massive forms, Julio knew they'd be torn to shreds the moment the monsters deigned to break whatever truce was keeping them at bay. All of them were, at minimum, eight feet tall, a few with something resembling wings made of leaves being ten or twelve feet tall.

They hadn't killed Julio and his friends yet, but who knew when that would change.

"Look, something's changing over there! Celina said, pointing back the way they'd come. From the swarm they'd been running from the entire time, Julio watched the flowery monsters part to reveal a rather small figure- well, smaller than all the others. This one wasn't deformed or warped, but generally human shaped down to even tightly wound plants forming fingers, its right hand wielding a glowing feather with yellow glowing veins running through it.

Not only that, but through the greenery, Julio could just barely make out the color of something navy blue around its legs.

'It's wearing jeans beneath all that… which means it was once human,' he realized with a shiver, foreseeing their own fate beneath the surface.

"Join," it said in a strangely human voice.

"Join?" Freddy asked, being the first one to process its request.

"Join. Stronger. Protect. Survive forever."

'It's inviting us to its monstrous menagerie,' Julio realized.

'Wel… at least it's asking.' It took another step forward, and he fought his body to back away; not like it would help.

"Human. Fragile. I-" A white rope with a seed on top burst from the thing's side, and at first, they thought it was about to kill them, flinching back. Then, it wrapped around the monster's neck, and the monster's hands quickly went to it, trying to pull away the binding while making choking noises. The spell of dread was broken, leaving behind three bewildered humans. The white cord exploded into golden flames, and in a few moments, broke apart and fell away.

"What…?" the monster asked questioningly, and three more of the same vines burst from its chest and back. Two tied its legs together, while the last again wrapped its neck up- then shot for the ceiling. The monster was hoisted up, thrashing as it hung in place, the noose tightening around it; More powerful light burst forth, and all three bindings disintegrated. The vines multiplied again, and mid-air, eight appeared, making things even worse for the creature.

Humans and monsters alike watched as the boss was slammed into the wall by its own body, thrown into the air and across the ground, then swung in an arc, repeatedly smashing into the ground over, and over, and over. Its golden light flared- then sputtered out for a moment.

"NO!" it screamed in two voices, and the light kicked to life again, damaging the tethers, but more endlessly replaced it.

"KILL THEM!" it said, and they were shaken free from their confusion as they turned around to see the wall of monsters break into a sprint, calling out in several calls. They shambled away, but there wasn't truly anywhere to- The boss monster's body flung into the monster's it'd just walked through, and they watched the fines wrap around the arm wielding its feather, forcing the arm to swing. Despite how flimsy it looked, they watched the feather mince the other monsters, sending green liquid in all directions.

The monster pulled against the vines trying to make it do that, but the vines appeared stronger. One of the white whips extended out to Julio and the others, and they watched it beckon them forward. Glancing back at the significantly higher concentration of monsters, they could only take the lifeline they were given. Even if they didn't know why, it was obvious something… or perhaps some one inside the boss monster was rebelling, trying to save them. They'd have to trust it.

Running after the whip as it retracted itself, they saw multiple go for the surrounding monsters, picking them up with ease and throwing them behind Julio and his group, giving them an opening; but not all were easy to cast away, and apparently the slender ones without wings were too heavy to simply move. These were cut down with vicious efficiency, the ropes hooking around the boss' body, puppeteering it to cut through its own people.

The boss screeched furiously, the hatred in its voice obvious, but the vines held an overwhelming power compared to the force it could exert. It was like watching Doc Ock fight against his mechanical tentacles for the first time. They ran through the tunnel, struggling to keep their footing as they moved through the sea of corpses, doing their best to not look down- lest they see a face or other indication that these, too, had once been people.

When one grabbed Julio's ankle, he wasn't afraid to say he screamed as he went down. On the ground, he was actually able to see that the monsters around him that'd been cut apart were actually slowly piecing themselves back together, regenerating. His friends hesitated, and so did he. He didn't want to be left behind, but multiple monsters started to stitch themselves up, grabbing him as they did. The vines made it easy.

Three shot out, wrapping around Julio and tearing him free from the monsters, casting him forward and down the tunnel. Rolling to a stop, he glanced back, wide-eyed, as Freddy and Celina forced their way forward, weary of the monsters lying in wait now; any plant beast close to them was killed brutally, the vines paving their way until, eventually, they were past all else, only the boss standing in the way of his friends and freedom. And when the vines tossed itself over their heads, they too, were home free.

Julio looked past his friends, watching as the boss faced down against its former army, standing tall even as those it'd "Killed" soon stood up once more, ready to fight and kill. Despite that, despite being outnumbered and against an immortal enemy, it was obvious to Julio which would come out on top, and they were left questioning just who or what the vines along this thing were.

Unwilling to stick around for an answer though, they backtracked along the path they'd come, not seeing the tiny seeds that'd slipped into their pockets. * Though they ran for as long as they could, they had to constantly keep moving as the wave of monsters was only slowed by the white cords, not fully stopped. They didn't have to constantly sprint, but eventually, hour after hour of jogging and walking took its toll.

Another glance behind them revealed that the vines still continued to cut and throw with just the same ferocity it had before, the only silver lining being that none of the monsters tried to circle around it. Perhaps the boss was responsible for organizing such an ambush?

He'd realized a while back that the boss' body stopped thrashing as much, slowly going limp and giving more control to the vines; it was the greatest reason Julio hadn't lost hope, because he could see that the one protecting them was slowly overtaking the one trying to kill them. The vines cut one more monster down, then flipped the body much further back than usual, landing just a few feet behind them, stiff as a board.

A powerful thrum rolled out, and the ground beneath them shook, knocking Julio and his friends to their feet. Beneath his hands, he watched the black glass of the tunnel ripple like water, making him nervous he might fall in. All the walls did, the entire cave system appeared to be covered in gently rolling waves. Even the chasing monsters had paused, staring at their former boss, as if waiting for some cue.

Julio watched the grass monster reach up to its face, running its fingers over the shape of the leaves for a few seconds. Its hand gripped its face harshly… then tore it off. A handful of plants came away with a series of loud snapping. Its other hand joining the first on its head, and, grabbing the facial covering, pulling layer after layer away. The monster tore itself to shreds, leaving piles of flowers and leaves to either side, gradually revealing the visage hiding beneath.

After one last, particularly dense layer of roots came free, Julio heard a loud gasp, a man breaking the surface of the water and taking in lungfulls of air. The boss' form sagged a bit, breathing heavily, and Julio saw the horde of monsters wobbling uneasily. The grassy person straightened themselves, looking out, and shouting a single command.

"Sit!" His voice reverberated slightly with something else, and every grass monster dropped to the ground, doing their best impression of sitting. Reaching into his pocket, Julio watched the man shakily pull out a dented metal case, flipping it open and revealing what looked like a cigar and lighter. He and his friends were frozen, wide-eyed, as the man took a puff, releasing it slowly. When the tremor in his hand finally abated, the man turned around to reveal brown eyes peeking out behind the cover of leaves.

"Sup?"