(Lifei, Cassandra, Melody, Wan Sin. Terra Worm)
The Forgotten Plains were aptly named. Cassandra and Wan Sin had scoured the library of the Academia for information about the Plains, and the only thing they had found was one word: Unmapped.
"Why isn't it mapped?" Wan Sin had asked Uro.
Uro had shrugged, "Dunno."
So that hadn't been very useful.
They had jumped in a car and zipped off. You might be thinking to yourself, "Four kids are driving a car?" But remember, the cars are voice controlled. And Uro had assured them that the Forgotten Plains wouldn't have people, so they wouldn't have to drive.
The car entered the grey, misty world. This time, when it emerged into the light, the light seemed dimmer and muted. Wan Sin looked around, wondering whether they really had left the grey world, because all around them, the ground was coated in fog.
"To the mine entrance," said Wan Sin. The car obliged, shooting across the ground. Here and there, mist rose in spires into the air, and when the car neared, the mist parted and trees could be seen. But when they looked back, the mist had closed over. The landscape was shifting. Hills formed out of heaps of grey mist, trees were consumed by the mist and melted into the ground. Wan Sin realized why no one could make a map out of this. Mist looked in front of them, then parted. It was a cave entrance. It was enormous.
"That is big," whispered Melody.
"Maybe you're just short," suggested Lifei, and Melody whacked her on the arm.
"Guys," warned Cassandra, pointing at the cave. Fog was slowly creeping up the sides of the cave.
"It's vanishing!" cried Wan Sin.
"Abandon the car! Go go go!" shouted Lifei.
The four children scrambled out of the car and dashed for the cave entrance. As they charged through the yawning mouth of the cave, cold mist crashed down over the entrance behind them, sealing them inside.
"Walk slowly," called Cassandra, eyeing the mist that crept along the ground and ceiling and walls, "You don't want to smack into a stalagmites." The mist wasn't as thick as it had been outside, but still, stalactites and stalagmites melted and reformed all over the place. The walls shifted, melting and solidifying.
Slowly, they walked through the passageway. The passageway was enormous, and Wan Sin knew that it had to be big enough for Obulan to travel through.
"This was the ancient home of the Terra Worms. They'd lived here do centuries when Exitium arrived in the first Nightmare War. Honoring the pact that they had made, the Terra Worms set out to battle the Nightmares. They travelled beneath the surface of the earth, and were able to reach Exitium's main camp. Exitium was there, and when the Terra Worms attacked, they were slaughtered," muttered Cassandra. Wan Sin knew the story too. They had read about it when researching about Terra Worms.
"So... Exitium is like, the strongest being ever, even compared to the other Firsts. So that doesn't tell us a whole lot about how strong the Terra Worms are. How strong is Obulan?" asked Lifei.
"Not sure," muttered Wan Sin, "Depends on what he's eaten in his lifetime. When he eats something-"
"He absorbs the DNA and changes. I know," said Lifei, "But how strong are Terra Worms on average?"
"They are generally non-violent creatures, but they have been known to be capable of leveling cities," said Wan Sin.
"Anyway," interrupted Cassandra, "The point of me telling you guys about the Terra Worms being killed is because this was their home. When the majority of the Terra Worms died, their home fell into disrepair. It became home for creatures that... I really don't want to meet."
"At least we'll be able to see them coming," said Melody. Despite how far into the cave they had walked, the light had not faded. It didn't come from any source that they could see, and it never wavered.
Cassandra must have sensed something, because she whirled, leaping at something, sword gleaming. An enormous creature that seemed to be made of stone snarled in anger, shifting away. The monster shifted the wards them, and Wan Sin saw that it was a hunchbacked, humanoid creature with smooth, grey skin and enormous eyes. Its mouth was filled with teeth sharper than stalactites. Long sharp claws tapped quietly on the ground. A long, whip like tail twitched.
The creature crawled towards them, snarling. A glistening string of drool hung from its lower jaw. A drop of cave water fell onto the ground in front of Wan Sin's foot.
But instinctively Wan Sin knew that something was wrong. The floor hadn't been wet before, as it should've been if cave water had been dripping there for centuries.
She looked up. Into the enormous, soulless eyes of another monster. And now that she knew what she was looking for, she could see another. And another.
"Above us! Run!" cried Wan Sin.
They ran. Melody barely escaped the gleaming claws of a monster as it fell from the ceiling. Wan Sin blasted a laser beam at one another that was jumping at them, incinerating it. Lifei fumbled for a seed in her pocket as she fled, but Cassandra shouted, "No! The roots will damage the cave! You'll cause a cave in!" Wan Sun was dimly aware of Cassandra tapping her earpiece, trying to get a signal.
And now, all around the children, monsters thundered toward them. On the walls, on the ceiling, behind them. Dozens and dozens of enormous shining eyes. The continuous clink of stone and claw meeting. The children ran as fast as their legs would carry them. But no matter how far they ran, it was obvious that they weren't going to make it. The creatures didn't seem to be tiring, and the children were already exhausted. Cassandra motioned, and they stopped.
"We're going to have to fight them, and I would rather fight them while I still have energy," said Cassandra. She pulled her sword out again, a thin band of shining metal against a horde of monsters. Wan Sin blasted a laser beam at them. Several monsters fell, but others replaced them. Cassandra prepared to charge, but then-
"FILTHY PESTS!" the roar echoed through the tunnel. An enormous tower of pinkish flesh rose from the ground, hit the ceiling, and tunneled right into it. The monsters screeched and fell back. One of them took a tentative step forward. The column of flesh made another pass through the passageway, hitting the monster and vanishing into the wall, taking the monster with it. The rest of the monsters fled, hissing and snarling. The enormous creature rose out of the ground once more. This time, it rose slowly, and its head could be seen more clearly. It's entire body was smooth and pink, with two pairs of pure black insect eyes protruding from the side of its head. Its mouth was an enormous circular hole with a ring of smooth white teeth.
"Obulan, I presume?" called Cassandra.
"That is indeed my name," boomed the worm. It drew closer, "Now, you know my name, and are apparently quite familiar with it. And I am confident that you came here seeking me, for you seem equal parts relieved and joyful to see me. However, I do not know you. Tell me, children, who are you? And which sadistic caretaker sorcerer sent you here? And why?"
The children introduced themselves to the massive creature, telling him about their mission.
"Ah. Exitium. One of the High Queen's troublesome children," sighed Obulan, "How terribly sad she would be if she knew what her own child had done to her world."
"Who...?" asked Cassandra, but Obulan cut her off.
"Who is the High Queen? I shall explain it all to you, though you must excuse me if I begin rambling. I haven't had company like this since... times untold. And I... I must admit that I miss it. Badly," murmured Obulan. Wan Sin felt a small surge of pity for this overgrown worm, all alone in these dark tunnels except for a bunch of monsters.
And so Obulan told the children the same story that Aida had told Ventus and Viribus and Animo. Of the Dawn of creation.
"And all this is... real?" asked Lifei.
"Oh, yes. Real as you and me," said Obulan. He was evidently enjoying his company, "The Kraken, the Phoenix, the Elder Golem, Samuel, they were all her consorts. And then there were her children. The spawn of the High Queen and a sorcerer. I do believe the sorcerer never knew her true identity. Now then. On to the matter of Exitium. I-"
Obulan whipped around.
"Ho there, Obulan!" called Uro.
