As Jake walked through the dim hallway, his path only lit by the shards of crimson Lumniore, he felt…off. Cracked stone melted into wood, filth bled into moss, everything seemed to bleed into each other. Everything just felt older than time.

Eventually, the hallway seemed to expand, giving way to a room that was the size of a school gym. As his eyes traced the vein-like branches and vines, he noticed something. At the other end of the room, hidden by thick vines overlapping each other, he could feel something behind it. 

Something very old.

Something very hungry.

Taking his eyes off the woven vine door, he took notice of two smaller entrances on either side. 

Guess they hold the guardians.

'Let's check out the one on the left,' he thought.

Upon entering the left hall, he was met with what could be described as carnage. Blood and viscera painted all he could see, with some of it still being rather fresh. 

As he continued down the hall, ankle deep in gore, he paused as he heard something. Soft, ominous chittering seemed to permeate through the halls, each voice seemingly overlapping with another.

Focus.

Raising up his rifle, he took a silent breath before letting off a single out. Almost immediately, the chittering stopped, and he could feel dozens of eyes on him.

Hearing a loud screech, Jake saw something rush out towards him. Immediately turning his gun on it, Jake fired a round into its head. As it crumpled onto the ground, another two Skaava rushed towards him. Once again, two shots rang out, each bullet killing their target.

As one Skaava died, another rushed towards, seemingly replacing their dead comrade. Each time the magazine ran dry, he hopped back, quickly replacing it with a full one, pushing back any ground they gained.

Blowing open the heads of the last approaching Skaava, he let out a small breath as he slung the rifle over his shoulder. Pulling the dagger from its sheath, he walked over to the nearest corpse before cutting it open. Sticking his hand into its innards, he wrapped his hand around the Magos Core. However, he noticed that something was odd about it. 

Weird.

Ripping the core out, he took a quick glance at the item in his hand. Rather than the Core looking similar to a golf ball, it was much different. Rather than hardened flesh coating the Core, it still had a redness that'd be seen in fresh organs. 

'The game never covered something like this,' he thought, lightly squeezing it. All it said was that something about Abnormal Cores were odd.

Eh, not like it matters.

Throwing the core into his backpack, he quickly started to get to work on the other corpses, tossing each Core into his bag. After a while, he finally finished, throwing the last one into the already decent sized pile.

Time to get going.

Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he turned on his heel before going deeper into the tunnel. As he traversed towards the guardian, the sight around him started to change. Corpses started to appear in small piles, most of which had large chunks of flesh ripped out.

Whatever the Skaava were feeding must be massive.

As he arrived at the end of the hallway, he saw the guardian, a spider, eating another corpse. Around the size of a pickup truck, its fur was a deep crimson, minor splotches of black appearing on its body. Bone-like protrusions stuck out of its body, already adding a threatening aura in addition to its sheer size.

'A Bone Reaver for a guardian monster, huh,' he thought, tilting his head. He went against these things as they showed up as field bosses. They were rather simple to deal with, mainly just using a mix of melee and ranged attacks, with the occasional stat debuff here and there. The only real danger was the damage over time it inflicted with each attack.

However, something about it was different. It had a hunger in its beady, black eyes that seemed insatiable. Suddenly, the Bone Reaver stopped eating its snack and spat it out before towards him. It must’ve finally smelled the blood on him.

‘Let’s do this,’ he thought, pulling the ax from its sheath. Besides, it’ll be good practice.

Letting out an echoing screech, the monster rushed towards him, a murderous glint in its eyes.

Focus.

As the Reaver’s speed came to a lethargic crawl, Jake hopped out of the way before slamming his weapon into one of its legs. Twisting his body, he then ripped the ax out before hopping back. Just as he did, another leg slammed down where he did, as if to skewer him.

Now.

Shifting his momentum, he dashed forward like a bullet before slamming his boot into its leg, punching through the carapace and letting off a sickening crack. 

One leg down.

Wasting no time, he sheathed his weapon before making a beeline towards the other wounded leg.

Destroy.

Feeling the power course through his body, Jake slammed his fist into the wounded leg, causing it to snap as it struck by a sledge hammer.

Now to finish it.

Dashing towards the main head, he hopped onto it, using one of the mandibles as an anchor point. Pulling out his dagger, he jammed the blade into the head of the Reaver, causing it to screech in agony.

Wound.

Almost immediately, he saw the skin of the guardian start to rot. Tightening his grip on the mandible, he watched as the light in the beast's dozen eyes faded away, its thrashing and death throes growing ever so smaller. As cold green met with animalistic black, he saw an emotion he saw often in his work.

Fear.

However, that glimpse of emotion was short lived as its body finally collapsed, the last shred of life leaving its body. Yanking the blade out of the corpse, he hopped back onto the ground, turning around to see the same black tendrils quickly at work. As he watched the corpse of the guardian be crushed and consumed, he thought back to the fear he saw in its eyes. It wasn't like the fear he saw in people he had to kill, where they attempted to prevent their ends through talking to him. Instead, it seemed assured that it was dying.

But if it was able to understand its end, why was it scared? After all, it’s not like there’s anything to expect after it.

Death is just an end. Nothing more, nothing less.

‘I don't think I'll fully understand others,’ he thought before turning his attention to the thing at hand. 

In replace of the Bone Reaver corpse, a crimson flower bulb the size of a tire stood in front of him, seeming pulsating. Putting his hand upon the bulb, he gave it a light press, causing it to bloom. In the center of it lay his prizes; a ball woven silk the size of his fist, a Magos Protector Core about the size of a baseball, and a white stake with a stained tip. Throwing the pieces into his bag, he slung it over his shoulder before walking out.

Upon exiting the Reaver guardian’s dungeon, he noticed a change in the main door. Half of the vines blocking it seemed to have rotted away. Guess that means he’s making good progress.

Walking over to the other guardian dungeon, he paused as he felt something hit his foot. Looking down, he saw a small leather pouch, worn down by time.

‘Huh. That’s odd,’ he thought, tilting his head. Picking up the pouch, he opened it to see a Zippo lighter, a firebomb, and a folded up note. Taking out the note, he unfolded it before looking it over. Most of it seemed to be some type of last will, so it’s relatively unimportant.

Well, except for one piece of info.

{…Light the Torch and Burn the Wood…}

At first, it seemed like nonsense. However, something about it made sense to him.

Taking a glance at the molotov and lighter, he tossed the paper aside before pulling the two items out. As he walked over to the side entrance, he flicked open the lighter and sparked it, bringing out a small flame. Bringing the flame to the tied cloth, he watched as it caught fire before throwing it in front of the entrance. Once the glass bottle shattered, he brought his rifle to bear before taking count of his remaining ammo.

Less than a dozen magazines.

More than enough.

Hearing the sound of chattering teeth and curious squeaks, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand. Raising up his rifle, he took aim at the gleaming eyes in the dark, letting out a small breath as he saw numerous pairs of eyes start to appear. Seeing a fur-covered hand reach out, he let off a barrage of shots, each one hitting their mark. Once the magazine for the rifle ran dry, he brought out his pistol before unloading into the remaining Skaava.

Once the life from the last few Skaava left their eyes, he put away his weapons before taking out his dagger.

Time to get to work.

Cutting into each corpse, he was met with the same mutated Core as before.

However, it was different. Rather than feeling like a freshly removed heart, it was more he was holding a chunk of rotting wood.

Odd.

Just what exactly caused these mutations? More importantly, how are they so wildly different?

Feeling a minor headache oncoming, he pushed the question to the side before throwing the last remaining Core in his bag. It's probably better to just not think about it.

Letting out a small breath, Jake slung his bag over his shoulder before going deeper into the dungeon.

As he walked through the decrepit tunnels, he noticed a few changes. Cracked stone shifted to rotted wood. Crimson shifted to deep gray. Ankle-high filth shifted into moss and grass.

As he eventually reached the end of the tunnel, he was met with…nothing. 

No giant monster, no horde of creatures, it was just…empty.

‘...Something is off,’ he thought before pulling out his ax. Stepping forward, Jake felt two things rush towards him. 

Focus.

Feeling the world slow down, he noticed something. One of the presences seemed much more blurry, as if it was being transmitted from somewhere.

A fake.

Turning towards the more solid presence, he brought his ax down with a heavy swing. Hearing the sound of metal cutting into meat, he saw the monster clearly. A tiger-like creature, with fur the color of oak bark, glared at him, hunger clear in its eyes. 

Might as well end it quickly.

Pulling out his dagger, he quickly closed the distance before repeatedly stabbing it in the throat. With one final strike, he jammed the blade into its skull, causing it to collapse. Ripping the ax and blade out of the now-dead guardian, he put them away as he watched the corpse be consumed by the dungeon-at least, that is what he assumed. After a minute of listening to flesh tear and bone crack, he saw that same large flower bulb come from the wooden cocoon. Pressing his hand against the bulb, he watched as the flower bloomed and revealed his loot. A gray fang the size of a stake, the same Magos Guardian Core as before, and a wooden eye the size of a golf ball. Throwing the loot into his bag, he then turned on his heel before walking right out.

Upon exiting the guardian dungeon, Jake immediately made a beeline for the previously blocked doorway. As he walked through the stone hall, the lights around him seemed to shift in the walls and ceiling, like that of stars. 

He had to admit, it was nice looking aesthetically. It was just odd to look at.

Upon entering the boss, he was met with what could only be described as a monstrosity. The size of a small house, its skin was gaunt and leathery, with numerous patches of bone-like protrusions littering its centaur-like body. 

Silently pulling out his sword, Jake stepped forward, only to hear a light crack. Seeing the boss start to rouse, he wasted no time and bolted forward.

Focus and Wound.

As the world slowed down, black frost coated the sword as he jammed the blade deep into its neck. Twisting his body, he ripped the blade out of its neck, nearly decapitating it.

Sheathing the blade, he turned around to see the dungeon already at work consuming the corpse. After a small bit of waiting, Jake pressed his hand against the flower bulb. Watching the flower bloom, he quickly grabbed all the loot before throwing it into his bag.

‘Now, it's time to leave,’ he thought before walking out of the boss room.

He might as well relax for the rest of the day and replace some of his gear tomorrow.