The Threat Scanner, enhanced by Wisp Echo, located a Chimera in a shadowed alcove of the Palace, its patchwork form—stitched with biomechanical limbs—pulsating with two Core Shards.
This Chimera carried a rare Head armor, a sleek, Purity-aligned helm with glowing sigils, was prominently attached, capable of shielding my Blood Bulbs.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse illuminated the alcove, revealing the Chimera's erratic movements, indicating hostility.
I prepared to engage, aiming to detach the Head armor with the MM Manipulator Gun and defeat the Chimera with the Ecdysis Spur and Bile Irritant, leveraging Seraphic Strike.
I initiated combat, using the MM Manipulator Gun to target the Head armor, aiming to detach it safely.
The gun's field gently removed the Head, its low corruption level allowing safe attachment!
I integrated the Head armor, covering all five of my Blood Bulbs.
My interface logged: ''Rare Head armor acquired +1 to defense rolls, permanent. Grants user the ability to Dream.''
The Chimera, enraged, charged with a flurry of mismatched limbs!
I wielded the Bile Irritant Gun, targeting its exoskeleton-like patches, with Seraphic Strike enhancing my damage!
The spikes shattered one Core Shard, weakening the Chimera.
I followed whipping my wrist, sending out my spur tipped umbilical cord!
Cleaving the second Core Shard.
The Chimera's limbs lash out before falling!
The Neuro-Wisp and Head armor deflected the attack, preserving all five Blood Bulbs.
Radiant Aegis was consumed, and Seraphic Strike expired after this encounter.
The Chimera collapsed in a pile, its limbs twitching before dissolving into goo.
'Chimera neutralized.''
These critical successes secured the Head armor and defeated the Chimera without damage or corruption penalties.
The 2 Polyps, Bile Irritant, and MM Manipulator Gun remain ready, and the Neuro-Wisp ensured psychic clarity.
My Threat Scanner, enhanced by Wisp Echo, detected a cluster of Worm Breeders, writhing, segmented vessels with exoskeleton-like hides, each carrying one Core Shard and spawning lesser parasites.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse highlighted three Worm Breeders in a crystalline alcove, their egg sacs pulsing with potential Polyps.
I engaged, wielding the Bile Irritant Gun to target their exoskeletons, with Lumen creating openings.
The irradiated spikes pierced the first Worm Breeder's Core Shard, neutralizing it and yielding 1 Polyp.
The second Breeder spawned parasites, which I countered with the MM Manipulator Gun, detaching their exoskeleton plates to halve their defense.
The Ecdysis Spur slashed through, destroying the second Breeder's Core Shard, yielding 1 Polyp.
The third Breeder lashed with a corrosive tail, but my Head armor and Neural Pulse deflected the attack!
I struck with the Ecdysis Spur!
The parasites swarmed before the final Breeder fell!
However, Neuro-Wisp's light and the Head armor ensured no damage, preserving all five Blood Bulbs.
The MM Manipulator Gun's handling kept corruption stable.
This critical success secured 3 additional Polyps, bringing my total to 5 Polyps, sufficient for the Purity Limb (3 Polyps) or Core Overcharge (5 Polyps).
The Palace remained secure, with no new threats detected.
The Gulk, Oracle, and Purity Sanctum were accessible, and paths to the Flooded Research Facility, Flooded Repair Center, Magnetic Garden, and Core Nexus remained open.
I approached the Oracle in the Gulk, its crystalline tendrils pulsing as it accepted my 5 Polyps.
The Oracle processed the Polyps, forging two items: the Pulse Lash Recharge, a biomechanical battery that restored charge to the Proto-Vessel Shard for Pulse Lash, and the Purity Limb, a sixth digit imbued with Seraph-7's essence, attachable via the MM Manipulator Gun.
I integrated the battery, reactivating Pulse Lash!
Afterwards I used the MM Manipulator Gun to attach the Purity Limb.
The Limb formed a radiant sixth digit, enhancing my combat precision!
My interface logged: ''Pulse Lash Recharge acquired 2 uses per battery charge. Purity Limb acquired +1 to combat rolls, permanent, corruption stable.''
The Neuro-Wisp ensured no corruption from the attachment.
I traversed the Palace's crystalline corridors, the weight of my recent trades and enhancements settling into my biomechanical form.
The Purity Limb, my new sixth digit, flexed with radiant energy, its Seraph-7-infused structure, a permanent testament to the Oracle's craftsmanship.
The restored Pulse Lash with three uses and two recharges, hummed in my umbilical whip, ready for the trials ahead.
With 0 Polyps remaining, the Gulk's merchant allure fades, but the Purity Sanctum's glow and the Palace's serenity invited a moment of respite.
Guided by Lumen's Extended Guiding Pulse, I discovered a bio-luminescent leaf hammock, a natural cradle woven from the Palace's flora, suspended in a secluded alcove.
The leaves glowed softly, their light syncing with my Seraphic Mantle, creating a cocoon of calming energy.
I settled into the hammock, the rare Head armor—a sleek helm with glowing sigils—covering my previously exposed Blood Bulbs.
For the first time, the Head piece allowed me to "dream," its neural interface weaving fragments of the godhusk's memory into a vivid vision.
In the dream, I saw Seraph-7's heart in the Core Nexus, a pulsing core of white-gold light, guarded by Obeck's Corruptor, a hulking shadow of wires and void.
A voice—Seraph-7's—whispered: "The husk's redemption lies in your grasp, Vessel. Purify the Corruptor, or the Destruction will consume all."
The dream shifted to a fractured vision of a nemesis born from corruption, roaring with endless rage.
I awakened refreshed, the dream imparting lore: Obeck's Corruptor fed on Destruction energy, vulnerable to Purity bursts like Purifying Light or Seraphic Strike.
My interface logged: ''Corruptor's Weakness +1 to combat rolls against the Corruptor.''
The minor psychic strain from earlier was gone, my five Blood Bulbs pulsing at full strength.
Refreshed, I peeled out from the hammock, Lumen's Guiding Pulse flaring to illuminate a cliff-like area behind the Oracle's Gulk, a sheer wall of crystalline rock veiled by biomechanical vines.
The cliff descended into a shadowed ledge below, Lumen's light revealing a Tulp, a friendly creature resembling a biomechanical gecko with glowing suction pads and a single Core Shard.
The Tulp chirped softly, its Purity-aligned nature sensing my Seraphic Mantle, and scaled the cliff wall effortlessly.
I mounted onto the Tulp's back, and it carried me down the sheer wall.
The descent was smooth, Tulp's pads adhering to the crystal surface, leading to a new area: the Wire Nest, a tangled labyrinth of biomechanical wires, nests, and caverns below the Palace.