Is this the end?

A dark shadow flew out of the hole faster than he could react, his wounded arm suddenly going limp at the shoulder. He twisted to try and follow the creature, but it seemed to blend in with the darker room. Kantan turned his head to the side, trying to use his peripheral vision to get a better sense for the movement. His grandfather had taught him how to fight in various environments, including darkness. As long as there was some light, it would be easier for general movement to watch from the corner of your eye.

He noticed the shadow shift just in time, rolling to the side as it flew through the air where he had been. Now that he knew what to look for he strained to track it as it shifted irregularly around the room. The demon was translucent, its body lacking any real structure. Black aura shifted around it, blending it in with its surroundings as it moved. Long thin needles of darkness floated around the demon threateningly, the last puzzle piece of the creature's identity sliding into place.

This was an Erthi Prowler, the second form for an Erthi who absorbed significant amounts of darkness chi. They were hard to spot without chi sight that reaching the base rank provided, and they were deadly assassins with their needles. Each needle would inject itself into the victim once tagged, and demonic chi would flood the victim's system. It would disrupt a person's cultivation, weakening them until they couldn't resist. Since an Erthi prowler also carried the darkness element, its victims would suffer other effects.

Things such as blindness, deafness, and other senses would either hallucinate or cease to function entirely. Their bodies had to be light and flexible, which cost them extremely in the defense department. Kantan remembered that they were supposed to be a hit and run type of attacker, comparable to an assassin with poison.

Kantan's heart began to race as he remembered more about the demon, the most important thing being that they were supposed to be on the second floor of the dungeon. He rolled again as the creature dove forward in an attempt to stick him with another needle, just barely dodging the demon's strike. It screeched in frustration, the sound seemed far away and close at the same time. If he couldn't already see where it was, it would have been disorienting to pinpoint its location.

The prowler was too close to him at the top of his roll, forcing him to jump to the side to avoid yet another strike. His numb arm impeded his movement so close to the ground, its weight throwing him off. Kantan suddenly lost all feeling in his right leg, lurching to that side and falling to the ground. The prowler screeched in triumph and quickly jabbed the rest of his limbs in rapid succession. Fear began to overtake him as the demon floated above him, swooping down and piercing his torso in four different points.

Numbness flooded his system, the fire in his channels being washed away by the demonic and darkness chi. He couldn't stop the scream from escaping his throat, and the inevitable creeping numbness flooded his body with the spreading of the tainted chi. Desperately he tried to move, pushing with his mind and commanding his body to move. When all he could manage was a slight shake of his head, anger began to form like magma in a volcano.

That man did this to me. His petty jealousy put me here. Fire began to burn in his chest once again, though this one did not cause him pain. It felt like something within him was trying to shift, trying to change. His only comparison was when one had something stuck on the tip of their tongue, unable to quite remember the word. Suddenly, the unspoken word seemed to vanish and the feeling along with it. The small hope that he had that he would escape this dire situation fled his mind, leaving only the wrathful anger in it splace.

He deserves to die. He abuses his powers, attacks unawoken. He deserves to die. The same series of phrases turned over in his head repeatedly like a broken record. His hatred spurred him to fight back against the creeping numbness, but he could not refute the power of the demonic chi. The numbness began to enter his mind, his thoughts becoming misshapen.

The prowler leaned in, smelling the prey before him on the verge of death. Its eyes were a glassy black color with a light grey pupil. Right as the darkness overtook him, the demon's eyes shone iridescent white. The Chi coursed through his consciousness, numbing him to everything, and putting him into a deep forced slumber.

Some amount of time later, a rough electrical sensation surged through Kantan starting at his mid chest and then exploding throughout the rest of his body. He awoke screaming, his eyes flashing open to find demonic creatures of nightmare with dark blazing eyes above him. They held weird blades to his chest, which was exposed to the elements. One of the demons was holding a pulsing sphere with a polished exterior, a dark nimbus circling around inside of it.

The sphere was pushing energy into his exposed chest, each pulse sending more electricity through his system. While the electricity hurt, there was also a dullness to it, like it was hurting him and soothing him at the same time. The pain was becoming unbearable and one of the demon's swiped a hand in his direction. Black energy shot from its fingers and connected with his head. Darkness overtook his mind instantly, the pain fading along with his awareness.

A soft prodding pushed at his mind, and Kantan found himself waking up for the second time. Awareness came to him instantly and he sat up quickly, completely alert. Energy was surging through his body, and he felt better than he ever had. "What the hell?" He examined his hands as he sat up, feeling strength within him. Dark black veins and ashen gray skin greeted him, his nails were elongated and sharp. A small yelp escaped his lips, and his heart began to beat rapidly.

"Easy now, we don't know how much of a toll the transition took on you." A female voice resounded in his head, and an odd calming sensation washed over him. His anxiety ebbed immediately as something pressed on his mind.

"Who's there?" A quick turn of his head to each side revealed only stone walls and no exit. He was completely alone in the room.

"Me, obviously. Who else would be talking to you in my dungeon?" Again the feminine voice pervaded his thoughts.

"I must be going crazy, hearing voices is not a good sign Kantan. The hunger is definitely getting to me." As he said it though, he realized that he wasn't hungry. Well, not in the traditional sense. Kantan could recognize that he craved food, but he could also feel something else sustaining him.

"I hope you're not crazy, or that means I am going to be in for a long lifetime." Kantan jumped again at the voice in his head. "Would it help if I explained what happened?" The voice sounded soothing, and he found himself nodding along with it.

"I am this dungeon's core, the mystical rock that controls this dungeon and all of its denizens." The core spoke animatedly, a bit of pride tinging her voice. "I manage all of the different floors and create each of the creatures that live on each one."

"Wait wait, I didn't think dungeon cores were sentient. Even if you are, how come I can hear you in my head?" This was all new information to him, especially the fact that the core was alive.

"Well if you'd let me finish, I can go about explaining all of that. Dungeon cores are all sentient, though most go their whole lives without interacting directly with you mortals." The core had a bubbly tone, as if telling him this information was the most fascinating thing in the world. "As for why you can hear me, that is because I implanted myself in place of your broken core!"

Kantan was stunned, his mind failing to comprehend what the core had said. "You replaced my core? How is that even possible?" His mind reeled, not only had his body changed, but now his core had been replaced. It wasn't just any replacement though, but a demonic dungeon core. "What am I even supposed to say to that?" he questioned, his anxiety beginning to push through even the core's influence.

"Well you can start with a 'Thanks', from there we can figure out the rest." The core's voice was bubbly and in good spirit, contrasting his growing unease. He felt a renewed pressure against his psyche and a flare of anger burst from within him. Kantan could feel his whole body seem to contract slightly, a pulse of energy stormed toward his head.

"Stop manipulating me!" He grabbed his head, trying to get rid of the pressure that suddenly weighed on his mind. His hands found small horns less than a finger's length long sprouting from his temple. They were thin, but compared to his whole life without them they felt massive. The anger grew, his power responding to him and forming a barrier around his mind. The core pulsed and another calming wave tried to swallow his anger, but it would not be quenched.

"You need to calm down, you are still healing from the transition." her voice was calm, but strained with effort. His anger continued to grow, like every cell in his body was designed for the rage he felt. A part of him recognized the anger as foreign, but it was dwarfed by the irrational rampaging emotion. Power surged through his dark veins, creating a dark glow that felt both familiar and unnatural.

Pain began to sprout in his chest and chi channels as he drew on his new power, but his anger pushed the sensation aside. The part of him that was taking over was demanding that he draw more and more, as each ounce of it wasn making him feel more alive, more in control. "If you don't calm down, you'll kill us both." Her voice was weaker, pained almost. At the same time the core spoke the pressure on his mind eased back, becoming a small weight in the back of his head. A memory sprang to the forefront of his mind, forcing itself past the anger.

Lyra stood opposite him in her traditional clan clothes, the type of clothing worn for special occasions both good and bad. She had her hands on her hips and a stubborn look on her face. "Being all angry like that isn't going to make it any easier Kantan. If you keep picking fights with people, you are going to lose one day. What am I supposed to do if my best friend gets killed in a fight that could have been avoided? Getting yourself killed isn't going to reunite you with your parents, its only going to leave the rest of us broken."

The memory was calming, the violent torrent that was his new power began to slow as it circled him. His rapid breath shifted from shallow to deep as he forced himself to calm down. Kantan fell back to his breathing techniques, moving his imaginary chi in a cycle through his body. It surprised him when the power he felt began to move in the practiced direction, the darkened mist around his body being slowly pulled into him.

Kantan maintained his breathing pattern, positioning himself into his clan's cultivating technique completely. After a few minutes of it he felt shaky, but the pain in his chest had reduced almost completely. The anger was still there, but it was a passenger now instead of the driver of his mind. With one last deep breath, he sighed his frustrations out and resigned himself to his situation. "I.. I'm sorry, I lost control."