The mist thinned as Revyn pressed on, though the oppressive weight of the Expanse never lifted. His chest burned with every breath, each inhale dragging in air that reeked of rot and something older, something that didn't belong in lungs made for the living.
The sound of chains had faded, but he knew the Pursuer hadn't truly gone. It never left. It simply waited, lurking in the fog until the right moment.
Revyn's red eye pulsed faintly, sweeping across the jagged horizon. A broken path stretched downward, twisted into a spiral that descended into the hollow heart of the land. Along its edge, veins of pale light seeped out of the stone, pulsing slowly like the heartbeat of a corpse.
At the bottom, he saw it.
A tree.
Or what remained of one.
Its trunk was enormous, petrified and split open by wounds older than time. Its roots stretched across the entire basin, curling into bridges and tunnels. And at the core of its hollow, something writhed. A mass of flesh and eyes and teeth — a colossal worm, swollen and half-dead, yet still moving. Its pale body pulsed with a sick rhythm, and from its crown, black ichor dripped into the waters below.
The System flared.
{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}
[SYSTEM ALERT – BOSS ENTITY DETECTED]
["WORMFATHER OF THE HOLLOW TREE"]
[Threat Level: High]
[Warning: Entity is an Ancient Spawn. Extreme caution is advised.]
Revyn's grip tightened around the Godcleaver. His arm trembled—not from fear, but anticipation. Hunger twisted in his gut, not his own, but the gnawing ache of the curse inside him.
"Another god's carcass…" he muttered under his breath. "Let's see if you can scream aswell."
The Wormfather stirred, sensing him. Its body slammed against the hollow trunk, shaking the entire basin. Fragments of stone rained down, smashing into the bone-spiral. The ground beneath Revyn cracked as if refusing to carry him into the monster's den.
Still, he leapt forward.
The descent was chaos — bridges collapsing, roots writhing, stone groaning under his steps. Every few seconds, the Wormfather's bulk surged upward, snapping with rows of jagged teeth that could swallow a man whole.
Revyn barely rolled aside as one massive bite shattered the platform beneath him. His Hollow Tendons stretched unnaturally, letting him cling to the splintered edge before vaulting to another path.
Chains rattled.
Revyn had felt the hair on his arms stand up instinctively, just as his eyes widened.
'No way.' He thought.
The Pursuer's silhouette emerged from the mist above, watching. Not attacking, not chasing — watching.
Revyn grit his teeth. "Tch. Figures you'd enjoy the show."
The Wormfather screamed, a sound like grinding stone and tearing flesh. Its head crashed down, nearly flattening him. Revyn activated his Grave Pulse.
The wave rippled outward, slowing the beast's lunge just long enough for him to dive beneath its shadow. He slashed upward, Godcleaver carving into its flesh. Black ichor erupted, hissing as it touched the stone.
The Wormfather recoiled but did not fall. Instead, it split — its flesh rupturing as smaller worm-spawn poured from its body, squirming across the roots. Their teeth gnashed, their eyeless heads twisting toward him.
{Ding!}{Ding!}
[SYSTEM NOTICE: MINION ENTITIES SPAWNED]
["HOLLOW BROOD" – Threat Level: Low]
Revyn exhaled sharply, raising his blade. "Fine then, I'll just carve my way through. With the only thing this godforsaken place has taught me, to kill or be killed." And with that he rushed forward with the intent to kill.
The brood swarmed, but they were fragile. One swing split them in halves. Another shattered them to dust. Still, every kill sent the hunger gnawing deeper into him.
Voices spoke in his mind in broken speech, 'Fe-d -s, F-ed u-, -e-d us..."
'Shut up' Revyn said in a mental command to try to snuff out the broken voices.
{Ding!}{Ding!}
[Devour Eligible]
[Entity Consumed: Hollow Brood ×3]
[+3 Essence Acquired]
The surge filled him, twisting through his bones. He staggered, vision burning red as the System whispered.
[Essence Threshold Approached]
[Mutation Available…]
"Not yet," Revyn hissed, clutching his head. He forced the hunger back, keeping his eye locked on the Wormfather.
It lunged again.
Revyn leapt, Hollow Tendons propelling him higher than flesh should allow. He landed on the creature's back, driving the Godcleaver down with both hands. The blade sank deep, black ichor exploding upward.
The Wormfather screamed again, thrashing violently. Revyn clung desperately to the hilt, teeth clenched, body shuddering under the force. His red eye flared — and then he saw it.
A weak point.
Behind its crown, near a jagged split in its flesh, something pulsed. A fragment, crystalline and beating faintly like a heart.
"The core."
He tore the blade free and drove it down into the wound. The Wormfather convulsed, its massive body slamming into the hollow tree walls, cracking them open further. Revyn twisted the blade deeper, and the core shattered.
The beast shrieked one final time before collapsing. Its flesh sagged, bursting into motes of black light that drifted away into the fog.
{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}
[BOSS DEFEATED – "WORMFATHER OF THE HOLLOW TREE"]
[Essence Acquired: +30]
[New Trait Gained – BURROW PULSE (Active)]
[Ability: Emit a shockwave that destabilizes enemy footing and weakens underground structures. 25 Stamina Cost each use.]
Revyn dropped to the ground, panting, drenched in ichor. His body shook from both exhaustion and hunger.
{Ding!}{Ding!}
[STAT UPDATE]
Health: 620/850
Stamina: 180/400
Sanity: 74/150
Essence: 48/100
He looked at his trembling hands. His red eye reflected the fragments of light fading into the mist. Somewhere above, the Pursuer's chains rattled softly before falling silent again.
Revyn exhaled. "Still watching, huh? Then keep watching."
He sheathed the Godcleaver, eyes fixed on the path downward. The Black Lake waited.
And so did whatever came after hunger.
'Your kidding me right?, Another bone spiral but his time its a spine?!'