With the Love Bug's remnants dissolving behind me, I urged the Tulp deeper into the hidden tunnel, its glowing suction pads adhering to the crystalline walls veined with biomechanical conduits.
The passage narrowed and twisted, the air thickening with a metallic tang of corruption, interspersed with flickering restraint sigils that pulsed like dying stars.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse led the way, casting ethereal light on ancient godhusk etchings depicting seven Angels orbiting a radiant core—Seraph 7, the heart of infinite energy.
The Neuro-Wisp hovered close, stabilizing my interface against the growing psychic static, while my Purity Limb flexed with Seraph-7's essence, and the Head armor's sigils glowed protectively over my five Blood Bulbs.
The newly acquired Love Blaster hummed on my ring digit, its volatile chambers ready to unleash immolating Love Children.
After traversing several hundred meters of winding tunnel, the path opened into a vast chamber: Obeck's Domain, a cavernous forge of twisted machinery, half-submerged in pools of green ichor.
Towering anvils and biomechanical vats sat dormant, remnants of the creator's work in forging vessels and Angels.
My Threat Scanner pinged: "Corrupted entity detected''
It was Obeck himself, massive in form, and semi-conscious.
''Destruction alignment dominant.''
Lumen's light revealed the huge form of Obeck sprawled against a crystalline throne—a hulking, biomechanical giant, his body a fusion of wires, warped circuitry, and corrupted flesh, pulsating with errant energy.
His multiple limbs twitched sporadically, and his single, massive eye flickered open, sensing my presence.
Obeck's voice rumbles like grinding machinery, weak and gasping: "The Angel... The second Angel did this to me." His form shuddered, ichor dripping from fissures in his exoskeleton.
I, Vessel—of Seraph-7—approached cautiously.
My Seraphic Mantle flaring to ward off the corruption's tendrils.
Through my operator interface, I queried: "How can I undo what you have done? How do I purge the Destruction and redeem the godhusk?"
Obeck's eye focused on me, a spark of semi-consciousness igniting. "Vessel... the rogue Angel... the second one... it broke free, twisted me into this. You must find it, enslave it, bind it back to Cassiel.
Rejoin it with the six other Angels... they generate the infinite energy that sustains our world. Without it, Destruction consumes all... Go to the Fractured Heavens, beyond the Core Nexus... Enslave the rogue, or oblivion claims us."
Before I could press for more—details on the Fractured Heavens or the Angels' bindings—Obeck spasmed violently! Black ichor sprayed from his guts in a foul torrent, splattering the chamber walls!
A colossal obsidian Spur, etched with glowing circuitry and humming with malevolent energy, erupted from the shadows behind him!
It penetrated Obeck's groin with brutal force, then sliced upward, splitting his massive form all the way through his cranium in a grotesque bifurcation.
Circuits, spark's and ichor fountained as his body was cleaved apart!
Suddenly, claws—massive, serrated appendages of shadow and metal—burst through Obeck's chest, ripping the halves asunder in a spray of corrupted viscera!
From the ruins of Obeck's corpse emerged Sabbath Gok, a nemesis vessel, roaring with endless rage.
Towering and hulking, Sabbath Gok was a nightmare of biomechanical horror, jagged spurs, and pulsating Destruction energy, with three Core Shards glowing in its core.
Its form echoed the fractured vision I had gained from my dream—a being born of corruption, eyes blazing with hatred, claws dripping venom.
The air warped around it, psychic waves assaulting my Neuro-Wisp.
My interface logged the Event: ''Obeck neutralized by external force. Sabbath Gok, Hostile entity: Three Core Shards, Destruction-aligned. Combat imminent.
Corruptor's weakness applies +1 combat rolls with Purity bursts.''
The Tulp reared back, chirping in alarm, as Sabbath Gok's roar echoed!
"Vessel!
God Hand of Seraph-7 I will unmake you!"
The chamber of Obeck's Domain trembled with the raw fury of Sabbath Gok, my nemesis, as its three Core Shards pulse with Destruction energy.
Its claws raked the air, shredding biomechanical conduits, and venom ichor dripped from its jagged form, pooling in the corrupted mire below.
The Tulp's glowing suction pads grip the crystalline throne's edge, giving me a fleeting moment to strategize.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse weaved through the chaos, illuminating Sabbath Gok's weak points, while the Neuro-Wisp shielded my interface from its psychic assault.
My Purity Limb hummed with Seraph-7's essence, the Head armor fortified my defense, and the Love Blaster in my ring digit pulsed with volatile potential, ready to unleash immolating Love Children.
I chose to engage, leveraging the Corruptor's weakness to Purity bursts, but I held retreat as a fallback option if the battle turned dire.
I spurred the Tulp into action, its agility allowing me to dart along the chamber's wire-woven walls, dodging Sabbath Gok's sweeping claws!
Lumen's Guiding Pulse irritated the beast, flaring around its Core Shards to create openings.
I aimed the Love Blaster, its chambers whirring as it randomly selected three Love Children to fire!
The glowing, fragile offspring rocketed toward Sabbath Gok, latching onto its exoskeleton and erupting in bursts of immolating flame!
The fire scorched its outer shell, weakening its defenses.
''Love Blaster hit: Three Love Children immolated. Sabbath Gok's defense reduced.''
Capitalizing on the opening, I activated Purifying Light (1 use expended), channeling Seraph-7's essence through my Seraphic Mantle!
The radiant beam surged toward Sabbath Gok, exploiting its vulnerability to Purity bursts!
The light seared its central Core Shard, causing it to flicker and crack, black ichor spraying as the beast roared in agony.
The Tulp repositioned me higher on the wall, evading a retaliatory claw strike!
''Purifying Light critical hit. Central Core Shard damaged.''
Sabbath Gok at two Core Shards. No damage taken.''
Enraged, Sabbath Gok entered Phase 1 fully, unleashing a psychic shockwave laced with Destruction energy!
The Neuro-Wisp flared, deflecting the psychic strain, and the Head armor's sigils absorb the physical debris from the shattered conduits, preserving all five Blood Bulbs.
Sabbath Gok lunged, its claws aiming to pin the Tulp, but its agility allowed us to evade, scampering across the ceiling wires!
''Psychic shockwave deflected. No damage taken.''
I whipped my umbilical cord, activating Pulse Lash (1 use expended, 1 remaining; 2 recharges left), its Purity-infused energy crackling toward Sabbath Gok!
The Lash targeted the second Core Shard, amplified by the Purity Limb's precision and the Corruptor's weakness (+1 combat roll).
The energy tore through, shattering the shard in a burst of corrupted fluid!
Sabbath Gok staggered, entering Phase 2, its form growing more erratic as void-shadows leaked from its wounds!
''Pulse Lash critical hit. Second Core Shard destroyed. Sabbath Gok at one Core Shard.''
Sabbath Gok roared, summoning a swarm of void-tendrils from the ichor pool!
Each was tipped with serrated barbs.
The tendrils lashed out, aiming to ensnare the Tulp! I command the Tulp to leap to a higher wire lattice, narrowly dodging the attack, but one tendril grazed close, forcing a defensive roll!
The Head armor's sigils flared (+1 defense roll), and the Tulp's agility ensures no damage. However, the effort strained my systems, and the Blood Bulb from the Research Scraps destabilized, reducing me to four Blood Bulbs.
''Void-tendril attack evaded. Blood Bulb lost. Four Blood Bulbs remaining.''
With Sabbath Gok down to one Core Shard, its movements became desperate, its remaining shard pulsing wildly.
I could press the attack with the Ecdysis Spur or another Love Blaster volley to finish it, leveraging the Purity Limb's bonus.
However, the loss of a Blood Bulb and the intensifying Destruction energy raised the stakes.
With Sabbath Gok reeling on its last Core Shard, void-shadows leaking from its wounds like ink in water, I seized the moment.
The Tulp gripped the wire lattice overhead, its agility granting me the perfect vantage.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse highlighted the final, pulsating Core Shard in Sabbath Gok's chest, and the Neuro-Wisp steadied my focus against the psychic backlash.
I weighed my options swiftly: the Love Blaster could unleash a random volley of immolating Love Children, but precision was key to avoid triggering a catastrophic reaction.
Opting for certainty, I whipped my purity digit downward, the Spur extending like a lance of bone and metal, infused with Seraph-7's radiant energy.
The Purity Limb enhanced my strike (+1 combat roll), and the Spur pierced true, cleaving the final Core Shard in a shattering burst of Destruction energy.
Sabbath Gok convulsed, its hulking form collapsing into the ichor pools with a thunderous crash, limbs twitching as shadows dissipated.
''Sabbath Gok neutralized. Final Core Shard destroyed. One Blood Bulb lost, four remaining.''
The chamber fell eerily silent, the air heavy with the stench of corruption.
Obeck's bisected corpse remained nearby, a grim testament to the nemesis's emergence.
With Sabbath Gok seemingly defeated, I urged the Tulp to ascend the chamber's crystalline walls, its glowing suction pads adhering effortlessly as we climbed back toward the hidden tunnel and the cliff leading to the Palace.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse lit the way, and my four Blood Bulbs pulsed steadily, though the battle's toll lingered.
We were Halfway up the sheer cliff wall, when a deep rumble shook the Wire Nest, vibrations coursing through the crystalline rock like a heartbeat reborn.
My Threat Scanner pinged wildly: "Anomaly detected: Micro units activating. Resurrection in progress."
From the depths below, in Obeck's Domain, tiny biomechanical micro units—swarmed!
Nanoscale repair drones—pour from Sabbath Gok's fallen body like black ants from a disturbed nest.
They began to knit and combine into new cores!
Slowly Sabbath Goks body twitched together, circuits reigniting, limbs reforming with unnatural speed! Corruption sustained Sabbath Gok, its Destruction-aligned essence defying death!
Sabbath Gok roared—a deep guttural echoing bellow!
Seismic vibrations ensued as it bashed its way out of the Wire Nest, shattering biomechanical conduits in its fury!
It didn't pursue me directly up the cliff but smashed through an alternate route, tunneling through shadowed caverns parallel to my path, its claws rending rock and wire!
The ground trembled with each impact, and my interface warned: ''Sabbath Gok pursuing. Alternate route detected. Evasion recommended.''
The Tulp accelerated, its Purity-aligned nature propelling us upward with renewed urgency, dodging falling debris as we crested the cliff and re-entered the Palace's crystalline corridors.
Safely back in the Palace, the Gulk's labyrinthine consoles and glowing vats welcomed me once more.
The Oracle, its crystalline tendrils pulsing serenely, sensed my approach and extended an appendage.
"Vessel, your light returns burdened by shadow. Offer Polyps, and I shall forge resilience against the encroaching void."
My 23 Polyps thrummed with potential, and the Oracle's wares had expanded with my growing legend.
My first purchase was the Core Overcharge for 5 Polyps—a radiant biomechanical core pulsing with Seraph-7's infinite energy essence.
Integrating it via the MM Manipulator Gun, it fused seamlessly with my systems, solidifying my Blood Bulbs into a permanent array.
My interface logged: ''Core Overcharge acquired. +1 permanent Blood Bulb. Total: 5 permanent Blood Bulbs. Corruption stable.''
A new limb caught my interface: Biomechanical Angel Wings, forged from ethereal Purity-aligned alloys and feathers of white-gold light, available for 15 Polyps.
Imbued with Cassiel's angelic resonance, they promised enhanced mobility and aerial prowess.
I traded the Polyps without hesitation, the Oracle weaving them into existence with a flare of divine energy!
Using the MM Manipulator Gun, I attach the wings to my biomechanical form—they unfold gracefully from the back of my Hand, syncing with my Seraphic Mantle.
The Neuro-Wisp ensured no corruption, and they hummed with power.
''Biomechanical Angel Wings acquired. +1 to evasion and combat rolls in aerial maneuvers, enables flight. Permanent. Corruption stable. Remaining Polyps: 3.''
My newly integrated Biomechanical Angel Wings stirred softly against my back.
Their white-gold feathers shimmering with Cassiel's resonant energy, I flexed them experimentally in the Gulk's glow.
The Tulp chirped encouragingly at my side, its glowing suction pads ready for the journey ahead. Sabbath Gok's distant roar echoed faintly from the Wire Nest below, a reminder of the relentless pursuit fueled by corruption.
To evade my nemesis and press toward the Fractured Heavens, I must reach the Magnetic Garden—an enigmatic biome of levitating metallic flora and crystalline spires, where Cassiel's two guard/warrior Constructs awaited.
These ancient sentinels, forged as ethereal warriors of Purity, guarded the gateway to the Rogue Angel's domain and could bolster my forces against the Destruction's tide.
Lumens guiding light swept the Palace's crystalline corridors for an alternative path.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse flared, illuminating a hidden vein in the walls—a subtle conduit of biomechanical energy leading away from the Palace.
The Neuro-Wisp stabilized my interface as I communed briefly with the Purity Sanctum's altar, channeling Seraph-7's essence to attune my senses.
A vision flickered: rust-red meadows of iron-rich earth, pulsing with magnetic undercurrents, bridging the Palace to the Magnetic Garden.
My interface logged: ''Alternate route detected: Hematite Meadows. Sedimentary expanse of iron oxide formations, hematite veins (Fe2O3), reddish-brown soils, and botryoidal clusters. Potential for magnetic anomalies and relic deposits. Path secure from Sabbath Gok's route.''
I unfurled my bio-mechanical Angel Wings, their +1 evasion bonus granting effortless lift as I soared through the Palace's towering spires.
The Tulp chirped and followed cheerfully from below.
The wings enable true flight, propelling me over crystalline alcoves where Jewels stirred but posed no threat.
Descending to a concealed outlet pipe, slick with residual Purity fluid, I emerged into the Hematite Meadows—a vast, undulating biome of reddish-brown earth and iron oxide deposits, stretching like a bloodied plain under a dim, ethereal glow.
The meadows derived their name from the dominant mineral, hematite, an iron oxide (Fe2O3) known for its rust-red streak and metallic luster in crystalline forms.
The ground was carpeted in soft, earthy red ochre—fine-grained hematite powder that shifted like fine powder, responsible for the biome's crimson hue and the red staining of soils worldwide.
Towering botryoidal masses, resembling kidney ore, rose like petrified organs, their reniform surfaces glistening with a submetallic sheen.
Scattered specularite flakes—platy, micaceous hematite crystals—caught Lumen's light, forming iron roses and oolitic grains as I traversed.
The air was charged with faint magnetic fields, a prelude to the Magnetic Garden, where hematite's antiferromagnetic properties at low temperatures gave way to weakly ferromagnetic responses above the Morin transition (around -23°C).
My Threat Scanner pinged a minor threat: small clusters of LNU's, rust-hued parasites (one Core Shard each) spawning from oxidized veins, drawn to my pure metallic enhancements.
But the meadows' well-drained, oxidizing environment favored my Purity alignment, and no major hostiles emerged.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse led me across the meadows, my Angel Wings allowing aerial scouting to avoid sinkholes of loose, earthy hematite.
The Tulp's agility complemented my flight, the bio-mechanical gecko leapt across oolitic formations.
After traversing the rust-red expanse—echoing ancient banded iron formations from Proterozoic eras, where hematite layers alternated with silica deposits—I spotted the biome's edge: a shimmering barrier of levitating metallic vines and crystalline spires, the Magnetic Garden proper.
The garden pulsed with Cassiel's infinite energy, floating hematite-infused flora defying gravity through electromagnetic fields.
At its heart, atop a central altar of polished specularite, stood Cassiel's two guard/warrior Constructs: towering biomechanical sentinels, their forms etched with angelic sigils and armed with Purity lances.
One, the Vanguard Construct, resembled a winged guardian with a shield of mirrored hematite plates; the other, the Sentinel Construct, wielded dual blades humming with radiant energy.
They awakened at my approach, their single Core Shards (Purity-aligned) resonating with my Seraphic Mantle.
The Vanguard spoke in a resonant chime: ''Vessel of Seraph-7, bearer of wings from Cassiel's forge. We sense the Rogue Angel's unrest. Join us in binding it, or the infinite energy falters''
I used the MM Manipulator Gun to attune them, integrating their essences as allies.
My interface logged: "Cassiel's Guard Constructs acquired. Vanguard: +1 defense rolls, shields against Destruction bursts.
Sentinel: +1 combat rolls with lances. Permanent allies, low corruption. Total Polyps unchanged." The Neuro-Wisp ensures seamless bonding, no strain incurred.