The Universe Of Tomorrow

Roots of Ruin: The Last Sanctuary

life has been a relentless rollercoaster. First, we met a drone who could've helped us, if not for Valeria and Korr's quick trigger fingers. We lost Gron to a plant-dog that exploded, of all things. Then, we encountered Alex, a rather enigmatic guy who told us about a 'core' that keeps moving. 

Last night, though, was something else. Korr disappeared, and when we found her this morning, she was asleep, surrounded by the carcasses of a dozen plant creatures. We inspected the hole where Korr had been, and that's when I noticed: the creatures had lime-green, glowing liquid oozing from their mouths. 

"One of those things bit me," Korr nonchalantly said. "Whatever's in their spit made me a bit tired, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Valeria asked her, looking genuinely concerned.

"As alright as you can be on this godforsaken planet," Korr replied, brushing off the dirt from her armor. "Let's go find that 'Cory thingy,' smash it, and get out of this mess of a city."

Valeria's heart surged with energy, emitting a warm, radiant glow. "Let's find this core then," she declared, leaping into the hole. "I assume these creatures came from it, so if we follow this tunnel, we'll find what we're after."

Korr shrugged and jumped in after her, a look of absolute indifference on her face. I hesitated for a moment, my mind a jumble of worries and what-ifs. But time was of the essence, so I gathered my courage and took the plunge, joining them in the dark, underground passage.

As we trekked deeper, the gadgets Alex had given us began to signal our proximity to the core. Beeps turned to steady pings as we drew closer. But then, something alarming happened. The tunnel started to tremor, and the red dot on our gadgets accelerated its pace toward us at an alarming rate.

"Something's coming, and fast!" I warned, gripping my weapon tighter. 

Valeria and Korr readied themselves, eyes focused and alert. In that narrow, dim tunnel, we braced for whatever was hurtling our way.

The earth-shaking vibration intensified as a colossal plant-based snake surged past us, just missing us by a hair's breadth. Its body seemed endless, a flowing river of vines and leaves intertwined with scales, tunneling through the earth as if it were water.

Korr's eyes lit up with an almost childlike excitement. "Well, that looks like a shortcut!" she exclaimed. Without a moment's hesitation, she leapt into the dark abyss where the snake had disappeared, her joyful yell echoing back at us.

Valeria and I exchanged glances. "Should we...?" I started.

"With Korr, it's always better to follow. We don't want her having all the fun now, do we?" Valeria responded with a smirk.

Taking a deep breath to steel myself, I jumped in after Korr, Valeria following close behind. The descent was like a roller coaster, the walls of the tunnel whizzing by in a dizzying blur. Finally, we landed, somewhat gracefully, next to Korr who was already standing and scouting the area.

"So, this is where that giant plant snake was heading," Korr mused, looking around at the massive underground chamber we found ourselves in. "Looks like we're getting closer to that core thingy."

Our gadgets started beeping frantically, confirming Korr's suspicion. We were indeed closer to the core than ever before, but what dangers lay ahead, we could only guess.

As we continued our exploration, a guttural rumble reverberated through the cavern. Before we knew it, the colossal plant snake lunged at us. In one swift motion, Korr was swallowed whole, her laughter echoing from within the beast. Valeria and I shared a brief, wide-eyed glance before we too were engulfed.