Human One

26. A Tombstone?

Max carries me through the forest, trying his hardest to go quickly but also smoothly as to not jostle my arm too much.

Luckily Cecil's Lightling power seems to still be in affect, since all I feel in my shoulder is a little pinch and not the searing pain it was before. 

"Do you think Cecil will be alright?" I ask Max loudly as the wind and leaves whoosh past us.

Gorilla Max lets out a grunt, which I choose to take as a 'yes', andI bite my lower lip, worrying over the real question I want to ask.

Do you think Lager will be alright?

Max doesn't quite remember the way to the Core, so I direct him to the cave, poitning out which way to go while also listening closely for any signs of pursuit.

We reach the cave, and Max sets me down on the ground.

"Are you going to transform back?" I ask when he shows no signs of shifting back into his original body.

He displays his hans, which have no clothes, and I nod in understanding. I've already seen more than enough to last me a lifetime when it comes to Max and his sporadic shifiting; I'm glad he decided to spare me this time around.

"If End shows up, hide." I tell Max, and he grunts in reply.

I make my way into the cave, leaving Max behind. As soon as I'm enveloped in darkness my necklace starts to glow, and I use that light to shuffle my way forward until I reach the end of the tunnel and see a familiar translucent looking barrier.

I look back one more time at where I had come from, praying End doesn't show up and Max stays safe, before stepping through the barrier.

I'm startled when I see that what's in front of me is not the usual scenery of the jungle that Core has displayed every time I've entered, but instead a dead, barren land, almost as if a fire had swept through and destroyed the entire jungle.

I'm starting to question Core's taste in interior design.

I take a few steps forward, ash and dust shifing beneath my feet as I make my way forward.

"Core!" I call, wondering why he hasn't come to greet me.

No response.

Oh no, a sense of dread builds up. What if Dalton has already awoken and it's too late?

I walk quicker, feeling like a rushing grandmother as I make my way further and further into Core' domain, and when there's still no sign of Core himself I grow all the more panicked.

I crest a small hill and freeze, looking at the figure standing some yards away, back turned to me and facing what looks like a giant boulder.

My feet automatically start to take a step back, but then I notice the familiar black suit donned by the person, and I instead take a few steps closer.

"Core?" I call out, not sure if I'm quite liking this atmosphere.

Core still doesn't respond, and I'm just about to start questioning if coming here was such a great idea, when suddenly he turns around and faces me, his expression somber.

"Took you long enough." He states.

I break out into a releived smile, feeling like a huge weight is now off my shoulders.

"I like waht you've done with the place," I say lightly while gesturing around and approaching the boulder, until I'm only a few feet away.

"I haven't done anything." Core replies, looking up at the giant rock with me. "This is the real appearance of my domain, what you've seen up until now are just my modifications."