Chapter 123:  Chapter 123: Veins of Green and Black

I recoiled at the sight, horrified. The green-black veins, small though they were, formed a tangled mass at the nape of my Coreless’ neck, centered around a light scratch on the surface of her skin-flesh. A deep crimson held fast to the edges of those disgusting veins, as if my Coreless’ very body was trying its hardest to hold back the colors of the Great Core’s enemies. It was an admirable effort, one that revealed the depth of her loyalty - that her very flesh was so devoted to the Great Core.

I was proud of that loyalty; she had come a long way. She was far from the Coreless that had once assaulted the Great Core. Different from who she had once been.

Better.

Even so, I could tell that she was fighting a losing battle.

As I watched, the green-black veins pulsed, forcing her to twitch again with a near-silent cry. The horrible colors spread a little further, almost imperceptibly pushing back the crimson that fought against it.

That same flesh was slick with dripping liquid, drops collecting where her hair grew from her head and dripping down in a set of constant, tiny rivulets. The Unrepentant One peered closer, seeming hesitant to touch the corrupted skin-flesh with his own.

That was good.

I doubted that he would hold the same unconscious hatred for the Great Core’s enemies that the-female-who-was-not-Needle did. His body might have succumbed. No, The Unrepentant One was the last Coreless that I wanted touching her corrupted flesh, even if he was the one I was most willing to lose - not that I was really willing to lose any of them. They had been chosen to serve the Great Core; they were not a Lesser Core’s to take.

I tried to think for a moment, fighting against my urge to strike at the disgusting mass of green and black. Not-Needle’s body was still fighting against the corruption; there was time. The veins grew again, but only slightly. Hardly at all.

There was time, I told myself. She was fighting against the Lesser Core’s rule, unlike the many other Coreless that it now controlled. That loyalty would be rewarded. She would be saved.

I just needed to figure out how.

While I was thinking, The Unrepentant One began to speak. “Everyone, you need to come see this.”

They gathered, called by the noises that he shaped, and met the horrible corruption for themselves. The [HORROR/DISGUST/WORRY] that quickly followed was less than surprising.

“What’s wrong?” the-female-who-was-not-Needle made noises of her own, voice lilting upwards questioningly and tinged with [anxiety/curiosity].

For the moment, [guilt] was pushed to the side.

“You’ve been infected,” The Unrepentant One replied. The noises he made were grim. Clipped and cut short, shorn off by the worry that pinched his brows. Possibly. If he would just touch his [Little Guardian’s Totem], I could be more sure. Instead, I was just forced to assume that he was feeling the same emotions my other Coreless were - an extreme amount of [WORRY]. “Looks like whatever happened to all of those people can be transferred even without walking into the mists. It’s still small, but...” he trailed off.

The-female-who-was-not-Needle let out a heavy breath. “Guess a pulled muscle was being too optimistic, then. Damn,” she responded. “Just...be careful. I’m not feeling any urges to attack any of you, but we don’t know how this thing works. Clearly it does something, though - and whatever that something is, it’s enough that the infected are able to walk around without being attacked by the Core’s monsters. On the bright side, I still got attacked a few times when we were wandering around earlier, so whatever’s supposed to happen hasn’t quite happened yet. Still, like I said...be careful.”

Whatever she said, it seemed to bother the other Coreless. There was a brief flash of [anger], but warped somehow, mixed with a great deal of [protectiveness].

Needle made noises next. I swept my fangs through our connection, finding a great degree of [encouragement/support] pointed towards her counterpart. I was sure that she was trying to shore up her counterpart’s loyalty to the Great Core, ensuring that she continued to fight against the Lesser Core’s corruption. I could always count on Needle to know what to do. There was a reason she was the Great Core’s highest disciple.

“You’re not going to hurt us, Valera. We’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. We just need to figure this out. Right now it’s just a small spot on your neck, and whatever it is isn't growing that fast. There’s time.”

Will chimed in next. “She’s right. I’d bet that you didn’t get much of the stuff in you; not nearly as bad as if you had been hurt a little more - though even that probably wouldn’t have progressed terribly fast. Not compared to walking into the mist, at least. Right now, it seems like your body is still fighting against it, what with the fever and inflammation around your neck. That might mean that...”

“You think that the snake can just heal the problem away?” Needle cut in. The [anxiety] that the-female-who-was-not-Needle was feeling slightly increased. Curiously, her [guilt] spiked as well. Maybe she was ashamed about being so affected by the creation of a Lesser Core?

Will shrugged. “Maybe? My main concern is that we don’t know how our Little Guardian’s healing actually works. For all I know, whatever it does could end up healing whatever’s trying to grow inside Valera’s neck. Might make things worse. Then again, it could also be something more conceptual and be exactly what she needs to fight it off. There’s really only one way to know.”

The Coreless - except for the injured not-Needle - looked at me expectantly. Some were [grim], some [hopeful]. All were waiting.

With that in mind, I decided to just do one of the only things I could do. I had been thinking about whether I could attack the Lesser Core’s growth directly, sinking my fangs into the tangled mass of green and black, but it was probably a bad idea. For all I knew, the life essence would end up healing that instead of not-Needle. I couldn’t be sure; I still didn’t know how everything that I could do worked. More than that, it could end with me infected as well; while I knew that I would fight against any control over me, I still remembered the brief moments when Tiamat had made me forget my Creator.

I couldn’t risk that again.

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Instead, I sunk my fangs elsewhere, piercing through the crimson battlefield where the injured Coreless’ body was fighting against the advance of the corruption. Deep within my mana core, drops of blue became gold. They spilled through my fangs, joining crimson in the war against green and black.

Not-Needle twitched as green and black flinched, nearly pulling my fangs from her flesh. I held on, still dripping gold. Green and black shrank back. Crimson followed after them, still fighting.

“It’s working!” I heard The Unrepentant One say. He sounded terribly excited. “It's going away!”

[guilt]

Two more drops of gold.

“He’s right,” Needle said. “I think you’re going to be okay. It’ll be alright.”

[guilt]

The tangled mass was small now; victory was at hand. It would only be a little bit longer.

I heard one of my Coreless laughing. Even without checking the Totems, I could tell that they were excited. Happy. “Guess you don’t have to worry about any urges to hurt us now, Valera. It’s already almost gone at this point.”

[GUILT]

I released a final few drops of gold. The green and black disappeared. Crimson faded with it, the battle finally won.

“It’s gone,” The Unrepentant One breathed. “Thank the Skies.”

[GUILT/GRIEF/HORROR]

The-female-who-was-not-Needle fell to her knees, her chest heaving. Something was wrong. What did I miss?

“We-” she choked out.

[GUILT/GRIEF/HORROR]

I coiled myself around, slipping slightly across her still-slick flesh.

“We could have-” the sounds choked off again.

[GUILT/GRIEF/HORROR]

[Clinging Grasp] fixed the problem, and I started to pull myself around as not-Needle began to speak once more, her voice still shuddering and shaking.

This time, though, she managed to do it. The words came out in a pained hiss, raspy and indistinct, just as I saw her face. Her eyes were red and dripping.

“We could have saved her. She didn’t have to die. Oh Skies Above, I really murdered a child.”

[GUILT/GRIEF/HORROR]

She heaved violently, emptying her stomach, and then heaved again.