Kobo hugged the core tightly. The surface of the ancient contraption continued to buzz. Subtle shocks shuddered down the length of her body. They felt like millions of tiny needles prodding at her skin.
It stings.
The thought passed her. Her eyes remained close as she focused on channeling mana through her body. The buzzing from the core began to intensify. Steadily, they grew. A rising crescendo. It got stronger. Faster.
More painful.
The hidden innards of the core seemed to whirl into life.
Then, without warning—
It hurts.
It was bearable at first. But then it kept going. It kept getting worse. Just when Kobo thought it would finally reach the apex, the agony only continued to surge.
ItHurtsItHurtsItHurtsItHurts!
The mana that had been carefully coursing through her body suddenly poured out like a massive torrent. Desperate, she tried to hold it back, wanting to slow down the ravenous outflow. But she couldn't. Bit by bit, her control over the flood of mana began to slip. The ethereal energy continued to rage as if her body was no longer hers.
It was the core. It was forcefully siphoning mana out of her body. She had been rendered into a vessel. A supply. A mere source of sustenance for the core's machinations as it greedily gouged itself for the first time in years.
It hurts!
Kobo screamed.
The tiny needles prodding her skin suddenly turned into scalding, molten steel. Her body felt like it was on fire. Everywhere burned. Her skin. Her arms. Her insides. They throbbed. They ached. Like tiny teeth, it gnawed and bit voraciously, threatening to devour her completely.
Please!
Her instincts to survive kicked in. Kobo tried to free herself from the vicinity of the core. But it was futile. Her body was no longer hers. Drawn by the core's pull, she clung onto the device against her will.
Make it stop!
***
"A-Ahh..."
At first, they were simply whimpers. Faint. Quiet. Then they quickly turned into death-curdling screams.
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
Marine grimaced as Kobo's wails filled the room. The princess's harrowing cries were heart-wrenching to hear. She watched as mana erupted out of her tiny body, suffused into the ambient surroundings, before being greedily devoured by the core.
Marine held her hand over her left eye. The socket of her skull was burning with a caustic itch. A natural response to the heightened concentration of mana around her.
Kobo continued to scream.
I can't watch this anymore.
She knew this might have been the wrong decision. Kobo had been adamant about saving her kingdom. To pry her away from the core was to rob her of her agency and her decision. It went against everything that Marine stood for.
But even so.
A life was worth infinitely more than one's ideals.
Marine holstered her pistol and stepped towards Kobo. With an outstretched arm, she reached for the tiny girl's grasp on the core.
YOU ARE READING
A Distant Reverie
Fanfiction"Careful now. Try not to move too suddenly, alright?" Vesper Noir wakes up one day in a foreign land with gaps in his memories...and a sharp blade pressed against his throat. His assailant? A beautiful, self-proclaimed female pirate with a sweet voi...
