Following the elderly man named "Morg," Reyn and Liana descended along the steep, narrow path carved into the pit wall, approaching the massive, pulsating flesh membrane at the bottom of the pit—the "Mother." With every step downward, the suffocating stench of corruption and the pressure on their sanity intensified.
The air was thick with a dense, sweet-and-bloody fog, making visibility extremely poor. The pit walls were coated with a thick layer of constantly oozing slime-like biological tissue, and the path beneath their feet was dangerously slippery, demanding extreme caution. In the huts on either side, they occasionally glimpsed the pale, numb faces of other survivors, who watched Reyn with their strange vertical pupils in awe, as if witnessing a miracle, yet trembled under the continuous, agonized moans of the "Mother."
Liana kept close behind Reyn. Her "Wither" power activated instinctively, forming an extremely thin protective layer that barely filtered the most lethal spiritual contamination, but the cold sweat on her forehead and her slightly pale complexion showed the immense pressure she was under. The long needle in her hand was always ready, her eyes vigilantly scanning everything around them.
Reyn fared slightly better. The innate resistance of the Seed of Life gave him higher tolerance to pure spiritual contamination, yet the vast, twisted life energy field emanating directly from the flesh membrane made him extremely uneasy, as if countless hands were tearing at his soul. The corrupt energy within his crystal right arm stirred even more violently, sending waves of craving-like pulses that he forcibly suppressed.
The closer they got to the bottom, the more terrifying the "Mother" became. It was no mere organ, but seemed more like a living catastrophe forcibly fused from countless twisted biological masses, rotting roots, shattered bones, and flickering corrupted crystals! Its surface was not smooth flesh, but covered in constantly opening and closing cracks, like countless mouths of pain, from which toxic mist and maddening wails erupted. Thick, pulsating blood vessels slithered across its surface like giant serpents, transporting dark red liquid that radiated intense energy fluctuations.
Elder Morg stopped when they were still a hundred meters away from the flesh membrane, collapsing to his knees, unable to go further. He pointed at a constantly twitching area on the surface of the membrane, where a large, complex rune emitted a dark red glow—precisely the spot Reyn had vaguely noticed before.
"Your Excellency… it's right there… the Pain Core of the 'Mother'…" The elder's voice trembled, filled with fear. "Every time the agony strikes, it starts from there… we cannot approach… anyone who tries to get close will be unconsciously devoured by the 'Mother'… or… become part of it!" He pointed to the mountain-like piles of twisted corpses below the flesh membrane, half-fused together.
Reyn's mechanical right eye focused on the center of the rune—a piece of silver-blue machinery clearly visible. It seemed forcibly embedded deep within the flesh membrane by some unknown force. The surrounding tissue displayed an unnatural mixture of crystallization and mechanization, constantly clashing with the membrane's biological matter, triggering violent, agonizing convulsions.
A fragment of γ! It seemed to be suppressing something, or perhaps… maintaining some extremely unstable balance?
"Why… do you call it Mother?" Liana couldn't help but ask, her voice trembling under the immense pressure around them.
Morg's face revealed a complex mixture of reverence and pain. "A very long time ago… the 'Mother' wasn't like this… she was once the 'Stomach of the Forest,' purifying filth, nourishing the land… the guardian of us, the Kana people… but ever since the 'Red Sore' appeared in the sky, the 'Mother' became sick, more and more pained, more and more insane… she began devouring everything, even our kin… but we cannot leave her, our lives have long been connected to hers… leaving here, we would rot even faster…"
Red Sore? It clearly referred to the Red Moon. Liana and Reyn exchanged a glance.
At that moment, the "Mother" convulsed violently once again—more violently than ever before! The entire pit trembled! The dark-red rune blazed with blinding light, and the γ fragment flickered violently, as if it could no longer hold!
An even more furious psychic shock and corruptive energy erupted like a tsunami!
"Ahhhh!" Morg and the distant survivors screamed in agony, clutching their heads, their scars glowing with a red light on the verge of shattering!
Liana groaned, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, almost collapsing to the ground!
Reyn also felt his mind struck as if by a hammer, but the Seed of Life in his left chest burst forth with a strong emerald glow, forcibly stabilizing his consciousness! He fixed his gaze on the Pain Core, and a frantic thought surged—he must touch that fragment! There was information left by γ! It might also be the only chance to stabilize or even save these survivors!
"Cover me!" Reyn shouted to Liana, no longer hesitating, and charged violently toward the violently convulsing core of the flesh membrane!
"You're insane!" Liana cried out, but seeing Reyn's resolute back, she gritted her teeth, crossing her long needles over her chest. The faint wither power within her erupted with unprecedented intensity!
[Life Forbidden Zone · Repulsion Field]
A twisted, gray-white hemispherical force field expanded around her, forcibly repelling the surging corruptive energy and psychic shock! But the field was extremely unstable; blood began seeping from Liana's seven orifices again, and her body wavered precariously!
Reyn seized this fleeting opportunity, pushing his speed to the extreme! Frost Whisper was drawn, not for a slash, but with the tip pressed to the ground, using momentum to constantly change direction, dodging the ground's sudden fissures and whip-like blood vessels lashing from the membrane!
The closer he got to the core, the stronger the resistance! The flesh membrane seemed to have awareness, frantically obstructing him! The viscous, highly corrosive fluid rained down like a torrential storm! Countless small [Shadows of Pain], composed purely of resentment and corruptive energy, shot out from the membrane's cracks, emitting shrill screams that bypassed physical barriers to assault his mind directly!
Reyn's left eye glowed molten gold again; the Dragon Might instinctively resisted the psychic attacks! His right eye's gear-shaped pupil frantically calculated the optimal path! His crystal right arm slammed forward—not an energy attack, but pure force, smashing through the massive blood vessels blocking his path! The power of the Seed of Life enveloped his whole body, resisting corrosion!
A mere hundred meters, yet it felt like crossing a mountain of blades and a sea of fire!
Finally, he reached the massive dark-red rune! The horrifying energy fluctuations almost tore him apart! He reached out his hand, grasping for the silver-blue fragment embedded in the writhing, chaotic tissue!
The moment his fingers were about to touch the fragment—
Hum!!!
A violent, fragmented memory pulse suddenly erupted from the fragment, rushing up his fingers and forcibly entering his mind!
γ's face filled most of Reyn's vision, marked by urgency and determination. Her mechanical eye flickered wildly, the background shaking violently—a horrifying landscape covered with fleshy tumors (clearly, this was here!).
"…No! Directly removing the active core will trigger a massive explosion! You have to use a reverse energy strike to temporarily immobilize it! Brother Reyn, listen! This fragment stores part of the 'Cradle' blueprint and… ah!"
Suddenly, she was attacked. The scene shook violently as a claw, composed entirely of corruptive crystal and flesh, pierced through her shoulder!
"…The Holy Alliance's 'Scavenger'?! How… puh…" She sprayed blood sparking with electricity, yet stubbornly protected the fragment that was actively uploading data.
"…The data… cannot be interrupted… for… the future…"
With her last strength, she slammed the fragment, now glowing with the final completed light, toward the boiling tumor core!
"…Tell Ravenna… the coordinates of the 'Cradle' are… a trap… its true purpose is… ugh!!"
The last image was swallowed by a blinding explosion and darkness.
The memory pulse ended!
Reyn had obtained the key information, but γ's final, crucial words had been cut off!
At the same time, due to his touch, the balance between the fragment and the flesh membrane core was completely broken!
Rumble——!!!
The entire "Mother" flesh membrane went completely berserk! It no longer merely twitched—it began violently contracting and expanding as if self-destructing! The dark-red runes shattered inch by inch! γ's fragment was violently ejected, and Reyn snatched it up in his hand!
Heaven and earth shook!
"Mother is going to explode!" Morg let out a despairing roar!
All the survivors plunged into absolute panic!
"Reyn!" Liana's force field shattered with a crash; she was violently thrown by the blast wave!
Reyn clutched the fragment, staring at the collapsing flesh membrane core, then at the desperate survivors and the flying Liana. His eyes sharpened instantly—
He could not let it explode! Otherwise, everyone would die!
γ's data mentioned… a reverse energy strike?
What kind of energy? How to strike?
There was no time to think!
Reyn made an unprecedented, reckless decision. He abandoned all defenses and channeled all his power—Seed of Life, Dragon Might, even every ounce of energy sealed within his crystal right arm—including the dangerous corruptive energy—directly and violently into Frost Whisper!
The sword let out a piercing, ultimate wail. The cracks along its blade instantly widened to the limit, as if it would shatter completely the next second! The entire sword erupted with an indescribable, chaotic, and unstable blaze of energy!
Then, gripping the sword with both hands, he drove it like a rivet—carrying every bit of his power, on the brink of disintegration—deep into the collapsing gap of the flesh membrane core!
[Withering of All Things · Reverse Flow Nail Strike]!
It was not destruction. It was not cutting. Instead, Reyn forcibly poured every ounce of his wildly different, uncontrollable energy into the core circulation system of the "Mother," in a near self-destructive manner.
Like dumping ice water into a boiling pot of oil—but this ice water was chaotic, dangerous, and volatile.
The flesh membrane core suddenly stiffened! Its destructive contractions and expansions stopped immediately. All the frenzied flows of energy seemed frozen in an instant.
Then, centered on the sword's entry point, a strange phenomenon occurred—the frenzied colors of the flesh membrane rapidly faded, turning gray-white, rigid, and lifeless. This "withering" effect spread like a plague, forcibly calming and solidifying the wild energies wherever it passed.
In just a few seconds, the enormous, near-exploding "Mother" flesh membrane was completely immobilized and silent. Its surface was coated in a gray-white, rock-like substance. It no longer moved or emitted corruptive energy.
It had not been healed—Reyn's chaotic, overwhelming power had forcibly "killed" its activity, plunging it into a kind of eternal slumber.
The explosive threat was neutralized.
But the cost was…
Crack!
Frost Whisper, Reyn's loyal and spiritual blade, could no longer withstand the overwhelming strain. From the point where Reyn had driven it in, it shattered inch by inch, turning into countless glittering fragments that scattered across the gray-white surface of the flesh membrane, finally fading into darkness.
Reyn himself was drained of all strength. Blood seeped from every pore as he fell backward, limp. In the last second before losing consciousness, he saw Liana staggering toward him, her face filled with shock and worry, and the survivors' expressions shifting from despair to confusion to an eerie, strange joy.
Morg, kneeling on the ground, whispered while staring at the now-silent "Mother":
"…Heart of the forest… the Messenger… has ended the Mother's suffering… brought… eternal peace?"
They seemed to interpret the cessation of the catastrophe as some miraculous salvation.
And Reyn, in his final grasp before darkness, clutched the silver-blue mechanical fragment left by γ, containing the trap structure of the "Cradle" and the incomplete information.
Truth is often far crueler than appearances.