Ahead of Cypher was a gaping carvernouse space large enough to fit the length of an entire city block. It was not it's size that left an impression on Cypher however.
The same light veins that pulsed with life traced and spread across almost every nook and crack, coalescing into random thick crystals protruding from the roof, walls , and floor. On beat they all glowed with an aura separate from the natural world as if they were never meant to be there in the first place.
The ground was covered in a thin coating of black viscous liquid. Barely enough to reach halfway up Cyphers boot yet clinging to his foot like glue each time he tried to take a step, it moved and bubled with an unsettling grotesque grace.
At the back of the cave, embedded into an unnaturally flat wall, was singular lonesome Diamond the size of a small marble and yet holding a natural atmosphere of something that should not be touched at any cost. The crystal was a black unlike any other, even Vanta wouldn't be enough to describe it -more like a black hole that could swallow up anything that could come too close.
The light veins stretching across the walls didn't dare to go near this black diamond like crystal but instead, created a circular web around it's radius.
Something about that crystal was wrong. Like seeing something that shouldn't be seen, or at least, it felt that way to Cypher felt a certain pull from the crystal.
This...is that the dragon core?" Even so far away, Cypher stretched out his hand to imatate a grasping motion.
As expected, when he closed his hands around the Crystal in the distance, nothing happened - But the feeling still remained.
With a step, the black water rippled , sticking to his feet in thin strings not strong enough to hold him down.
Strangely, when he moved away, his dark shadow stayed in the same place. In Cypher's past life, their was one phenomenon with a similar effect that he had the luxery of studying briefly in his attempts to further his experiments. That phenomenon was...
"Radiation? This dragon core is much more dangerous than I originally thought. I'm lucky, no, very lucky I have soul power. To produce a nuclear shadow so soon...I would be dead or dying within seconds without it."
The entire cavern was doused in enough radiation to rival that of an atomic bomb and yet, even so, it all seemed to originate from a small crystal barely the size of a child's palm.
The intense warmth and heat most likely was a bi-product of this environment as the high energy gamma rays penetrate living tissue creating a 'warmth' as a consequence. Nature, as if telling a joke it thought was funny, actually made this feel pleasant against the human skin and nerves.
Beneath the robe and mail armour, a layer of sand grains collided and combined, coating Cyphers body. Assuming soul power allowed him to resist this radiation without immediate effects, he came to the conclusion that his sand could also do the same since it was made from the same soul power manifested into reality. With it, the heat on his skin lessened greatly.
Cypher gradually and cautiously moved towards the powerful source of energy. The closer he got, tge more he noticed a rotting smell, akin to that of a corpse. The putrid nature of it made him unlatch his mask, draping it over his face to avoid permanently damaging his nose.
Jumping over a magenta crystal blocking his path, the dragon core was now only a small distance from him.
With caution, he stepped forward and, just as his finger was about to make contact, a splash of water alerted him of someone's presence.
"Your here."
"Did you think I would let you leave?" Elie's voice filled the cavern with new energy ,"I see you found the dragon core, good for you. Not that it matters."
Elie had been in this cave before. The environment barely even effected him let alone the radiation. He was a caliber three and , as a result, the conditions didn't faze him. With his healing factor combined it allowed him to essentially be immune.
"I would expect nothing less." Cypher paused his attempt to tear the crystal out of the wall. With a small movement he turned his head to look at Elie through the lenses of his mask ,"What is this place?"
The question was seemingly unimportant given the circumstances, however to Cypher who enjoyed learning, it was a serious request.
"Nobody knows...but all dragon cores terraform their environment like this." Elie was also interested in them. They were a complete mystery to everyone in both countries. All that was known was that they could produce powerful effects that proved too useful to let go.
"Now's not the time for a lesson. Get away from the core and surrender. I'll make your death painless." With a hand in his robe, Elie pulled out a dagger - Cyphers dagger.
"And if I refuse?" The boy backed away closer to the dragon core. Each small step heating his skin despite the protection.
"Nothing changes. Your fate is decided. You will die." Elie stared deep into the glowing eyes of Cyphers mask.
"My fate is decided? The fate of a man is decided when he is too weak to support his own will. My will is all I have. So long as my lungs still draw breath I'll never betray it." Cypher, with his bare hands, hit the wall the dragon core was embedded inside.
Cracks spread out, reaching across the flat surface until, like clockwork, the walk crumbled with debris. The black substance they walked on trembled violently and the floor shook with power.
Elie, without wasting another thought , rushed forward. His feet landed onto one of the falling rocks as he propelled himself at a speed almost after than sound. With a slash, he attempted to end Cyphers life in one motion aimed at his neck.
Cypher, ignoring the falling rubble behind him, raised his hand in the brief moment he had to react. He simply was not fast enough to move out of the way and so chose the next best option.
Slice!
A pale hands fell to the floor and splashed into the black substance. The skin around it hardened into a sand like substance before crumbling into a grain like texture that dissolved into the liquid it rested in.
Cypher staggered back, his hand now cleanly severed. He had successfully blocked the fatal strike at the cost of the limb.
"Your finished!" Elie, with the dagger transitioning into a smooth reverse grip, stabbed directly into his opponents knee cap. It wedged cleanly into Cyphers leg to create a wound that completely disabled the appendage, preventing any movement.
Cypher collapsed back. He could not move. He tried desperately to no avail and yet he still raised his hand in defiance. A white, bullet like spike condensed and spun in his hand and quickly gathered power to be propelled.
Ofcourse, Elie wasn't one to let him finish and with a balled up fist, he completely interrupted Cyphers attack and launched a straight punch that completely shattered the bullet into a mist before it connected with Cypher's face.
Boom!
In a brutal motion, Cypher flew back. His body collided with the cracked wall and the boys head struck the stone.
The fight was already over without any resistance.
Cypher slid down the wall with his head leaving a trail of crimson in it's wake. The lenses of his mask lost their yellow glow and flickered weakly. There he lay, limp and defeated. Heavy rocks fell and hit the ground beside him while his breathing grew rough.
'I...I can still...fight," Cypher weakly raised his arm, only to find no hand to act as a control conduit for soul power. Even so, the white grains of sand still materialised around him, even if they couldn't form a solid structure.
Beside him, the black crystal rolled to the floor, burning his flesh with it's proximity.
As if responding to the loss of connection, the light veins around the cave flickered off and on until, like a dying star they dissapeared leaving only a dark cavern without any of the previous light.