The Cabin Is Always Hungry

HELLS GRACE

Part 24

Initializing…

Initializing…

Complete.

[ Are you sure you want to end the current scenario?Warning: There are two hours and seventeen minutes remaining. Multiple delvers are still within the area and worthy of reaping. ]

I stared at the small yellow texts hovering inches before me. On the ground below, Melanie lay on her back, smiling up toward the night sky with a gaping slash around her neck, courtesy of Goliath’s swift handiwork. She barely fought him off with the demon still inside her, and Goliath quickly brought the blade against her flesh and pulled. The demon slithered out and hovered next to me, unhurt, reeling with glee from the kill. I guess demons also like to experience dying. Technically, they are near-immortal creatures. It would take more than physical damage to cast out a demon, and I got lucky that none of Hodge’s crew got to do any damaging rituals or any other magic to banish the leering devil.

As for Melanie, well, may she rot in hell with her husband.

[ You have gained 2 essences: Melanie Hodge ]

Leo was far away from the Core Grove, reluctantly leaving his—former—friend behind. Goliath barely gave him a passing glance when Leo walked toward the trail and disappeared into the shadows, hiking back to Tessa and Danny, who was still waiting patiently for him in the van. My monsters wanted to hunt the remaining delvers down since they still had less than three hours left. Something inside them ached for the chase, pain, and suffering that would follow. I reckoned they could sense the potent essence inside them as veteran delvers of my dungeon.

But I held them back. I am Lord of my domain, after all.

My word is the law around here.

“Yes. End the scenario,” I said out loud to the interface.

There was a brief pause of eerie silence that cut through the air. Once I said the words, to my shock, the System took over by grasping my entire form. It was like I got kicked out behind the wheel and forced to sit in the backseat. The cloudy sky lurched and hurtled forward as time advanced rapidly. In the gleaming horizon, the sun climbed over the towering peaks, yanked by an invisible lasso, its light piercing through the forest canopy in seconds and illuminating North Cedar Lake.

Damn…

I didn’t realize how powerful the System was until I witnessed its capability with my own eyes as it warped time around me—around Earth.

The delvers witnessed it, too. Leo stopped walking by the scrapyard and gazed at the advancing blue skies. In the van, Danny stirred soundly asleep. Tessa had her hands over her mouth, eyes like deer in headlights, as she assessed her newly illuminated surroundings. Only the people inside my domain witnessed such a magnificent display of arcane power. To the people outside, they perceived time normally.

If Cores are an extension of the System, does that mean I can move time, too?Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Finally, the System relinquished its control over me. Barely twenty seconds passed, but it was the longest I felt like a stranger in my own body. Like I wanted to take a long bath. It felt like someone grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, lifted me up, and then dropped me back to the ground without warning. I didn’t want to experience that again, but I had a nagging feeling I should get used to it.

[ Congratulations! Dawn has arrived over your domain, and you have completed your first official scenario! ]

[ Reward: 5,000 Crystals for completing your first scenario! ]

[ Reward: 1 Environmental Aura ]

[ Reward: 2 Archetype Slots ]

[ Reward: 1 Ability slot for all existing archetypes ]

[ You have unlocked: G-Rank – unshackled Death Core ]

[ Threat Level – Local: Nearby denizens within a twenty-mile radius of your dungeon are aware of your presence, consciously or subconsciously, because of your choices and the events of the previous scenarios. Your Dread effects increase in potency. ]

[ Well done! If you wish to stay anonymous, please avoid drawing attention to yourself by eliminating all the delvers! Or be ambitious and dominate your world! ]

I could feel these changes instantly as the prompts faded from my vision. The fog dissipated, sinking into the earth. The cold wind died down into a gentle breeze. I released the oppressive grip I didn’t know I held over my domain, and it was as if all the trees sighed in relief. As if I had been choking the life out of them since the night began. Leo and Tessa’s aura faded, and they no longer glowed with Resolve.

I was curious that the System considered this night my first official scenario. The first two were more like accidents as the delvers stumbled into my domain, forcing me to scramble and improvise rather than meticulously plan out the game. What I did in Green Hill was more out of necessity and survival. I wondered if it had something to do with an Administrator’s involvement. Perhaps it opened more of the System’s mechanics to me. I looked at my rewards and salivated at the potential of what I could do with them–the things I could buy and improve. I’m sure that my archetypes would be happy for an upgrade on their current abilities–or gain new ones–now that they had four skill slots rather than the three they came with when I made them.

Are these five thousand crystals only for the first scenario? I thought. Do I receive it again after each successful future scenario? Unfortunately, the System didn’t care to elaborate.

I looked at the ranking curiously. I’m unshackled? What a weird word to use.I was also stumped about whether The system considered G-Rank good. I guessed not since I am technically still a juvenile Core and had no reference for their ranking system. I hardly cared. What mattered was that all the cultists were dead—well, most of them. But I did what the Administrators asked by wiping out the ones who killed and created me.

As for me being a threat, well, Death Cores were the most dangerous ones, as I was told, and I couldn’t help it if my Dread seeped into the real world and started affecting the people who lived around me. Staying anonymous was harder to do when I am fucking hungry all the time.

Another prompt appeared.

[ Total Essences Collected: 33/33. Success! You received 3 Dungeon Expansion Points! ]

[ Dungeon Expansion: 3.3/50 - You currently only have 1 dungeon (North Cedar Lake) in your control. Successfully collect 467 essences to create a second dungeon in a location of your choice. ]

[Congratulations, Mark Castle! Your domain is expanding. Continue to feed and grow, and be the best Death Core you’ll ever be! ]

Jesus H. Fucking Christ! Four hundred and sixty-seven essences? I paled at the numbers and the real people behind those numbers. I imagined a hungry Death Core out there in the universe who was willing to kill four hundred and sixty-seven people just for a piece of real estate. Could I kill that many people? I shook those thoughts away for another day.

[ Attention, Mark Castle. Two delvers survived North Cedar Lake. You may now access the Rewards tab. ]

Oh, right. I forgot about that. I was so focused on killing Hodge and the cultists that I had completely forgotten that anyone who survived the dungeon got a reward from the System. From me. I floated in the air for several long seconds, unsure what to give them. I accessed the Rewards tab and scrolled through the crazy long list, which had over a hundred items each, and there were at least three thousand pages and more. I couldn’t physically go and read them thoroughly in a day. It didn’t help that the System clumped all the rewards with potential loot drops found in a normal dungeon. This is gonna be a massive headache.

“I should have planned what rewards I should give them,” I said. I checked on Leo and Tessa with Many-Eyes and saw them reunite beside the van. They’re leaving soon. “Ah, shit, shit, shit,” I spat a curse as I scrolled faster through the list, skimming over the titles.

Gloves of Healing

These silken gloves enhance the wearer’s ability to rejuvenate and heal a wounded companion in seconds and life-threatening injuries in minutes.

Obsidian Sword

Ancient celestial runes adorned the surface of this obsidian blade, which was almost made to look like glass. Once activated by the wielder, the blade releases fire hot enough to cut through rock, body, and steel.

Raven Coat

This well-crafted longcoat acts as a sturdy leather armor. While wearing this coat in dim darkness, the wearer is not easily perceived by creatures within twenty feet of their location. During combat, the wearer can teleport to an unoccupied space within twenty feet while in dim light, as long as the wearer has a line of sight.

Key of the Mundane

A secretive order of thieves created this magical key. While holding this item in your hand, you can open any locked door or padlock, which will magically fit the keyhole. It does not work on an arcane-locked entryway or chest.

Those were just the few smaller things I noticed among the obvious powerful ones—A hammer that could shatter a mountain with lightning and thunder; A cerulean ring that could summon a tidal wave big enough to swallow a small city; or glass eyes that could pierce the veil of time and space to glimpse the nearest future. The problem with the latter was that the wearer had to sacrifice their eyes to use it.

Then there were the other weird ones, like replacing limbs for tentacles that could create portals to different parts of the world as long as the wearer was familiar with the place. A magical red string that could find the person you most hate and kill them by suffocation and leave without a trace. A massive mechanical hand that could snuff out a star in a blink of an eye. An obelisk that could create a deadly plague, guaranteeing the population would be reduced to ten percent.

And on and on and on…

Weird, powerful shit after each page.

No man should ever have these things, I thought. No man should ever be near it.

These Rewards could break Earth if they fell into the wrong hands, even the lesser ones. Would the Key of the Mundane gain access to a bank vault? Or what about a nuclear silo? How about that Raven Coat? It was perfect for a hitman or a soldier. How many people would they kill wearing that? Magic was barely non-existent on Earth, wielded only by a few like Hodge. And even their abilities were fragile and flawed. I didn’t think giving delvers these powerful magical items would be a good idea, one they’d carry out into the world. Who knew what would happen in the future with these things running around without supervision? And it wasn’t a guarantee that they’d keep it forever. What if they lost it, or god forbid, died, and those magical items fell into someone who didn’t deserve it, like a serial killer or a dictator?

And let’s say I introduced these magical artifacts to the human population. They’d delve into my dungeon for more, and I had to create unimaginable horrors to counter them by creating creatures like dragons, sea serpents, giants, and world-eaters. Creatures that could change the fabric of reality here on Earth. It’ll be…apocalyptic.

But I am a Core, and this is what I must do: Rewarding those the System finds worthy. Deep down, I knew I had no choice in the matter. If a man asked for the obelisk plague because he wanted to destroy a rivaling nation, then that was what I must give him. Can I resist it when that time comes?

As a Death Core, the most powerful out of my kind, I had access to the most powerful rewards, items, and monsters from the beginning—for a price. As a reward, they were bequeathed freely by me to a willing delver, although I had no control of the item once it was taken out of my domain. But I could purchase them for hundreds or even thousands of crystals from the dungeon tab. The powerful ones were expensive, but I got to control what happened to them.

I peered with Many-Eyes as Leo and Tessa reversed the van out of the trail, heading toward the cabin. I had to act fast before they left. I remembered what the demon told me: A delver without a reward always comes back to delve again. An intoxicating pull toward me that even I couldn’t shrug off.

But that also reminded me why Death Cores were sought after by formidable men and women for our rewards. Those delvers already had something in mind, something they wished and desired, be it conquest, riches, or knowledge. They ask, and I provide. Why am I thinking hard about what to give Leo and Tessa when I could ask them directly? I wished I could read their minds, but [ Glean ] only gave me their surface thoughts, and I am already running out of power.

They drove past the cabin’s parking lot and headed to the narrow road. Their speed was picking up. Leo and Tessa barely looked behind them, afraid the cabin might swallow them whole.

“Not too fast,” I said. I dropped two wooden chests the size of drawers on the dirt road, and Leo slammed the brakes, almost hitting them head-on.

“What the hell was that?!” Tessa yelped and looked back into the cabin. Danny was still soundly asleep behind them.

“Shit!” Leo hissed. “I almost fucking ran into the damn thing.”

“Well, what is it?”

Leo shrugged and looked up at the sky. “Beats me. It just dropped out of nowhere. Must be Mark’s doing.” He unlatched his seatbelt and climbed out of the van.

Tessa followed. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yeah. Stay back.”

Fifteen feet away from the van were the wooden chests I dropped. Leo looked tired and over all this shit.

I sighed. Almost there, Leo. Home stretch. I just need to do this one tiny thing of giving you guys some free shit. I triggered [ Voice Control ], using my real voice this time.

Voice Control (Event)

On the rare occasion that a dungeon is allowed to communicate with a delver, the dungeon lord can manipulate the language, accent, tone, pitch, frequency, and resonance of their voice. It does not cost a Power and the duration lasts until the dungeon lord ends the conversation. A [Gentling Event] and [Rewarding Event] triggers a conversation with the appropriate delver.

To speak to a delver at any point during a scenario, please purchase this skill after leveling up.

“Are you here with us, Mark?” Tessa asked softly, almost sounding like a prayer.

“This is me,” I said.

“What do you want?” Leo asked. “Are you changing your mind about letting Andy go?”

“I doubt I have the power to do that, Mr. Grady. And even if I did, I don’t think your friend likes to leave this place willingly. Not even with you,” I said.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“You said you’d let us go. That we’ll get out of here without those things hurting us,” Tessa interjected.

“And you will. I won’t hurt you. Neither will my friends.”

“Some fucked up company you keep nowadays, Mark.” Leo shook his head. “Demons, a walking tree, and an ice troll?”

“If you’re letting us go, then why’d you stop us with, um, a drawer?” Tessa asked, gesturing over to the two chests. Leo tried to open one, but the lid wouldn’t budge.

“I just need one more thing from both of you before you two leave. It’s important,” I said, catching them flinching and bracing themselves. “You survived my dungeon, after all.”

Leo’s brows arched curiously. “You call it a dungeon?”

I rolled my eyes. “Ew. Yeah. Not my choice.”

“What’s so important that you almost ran us off the road?” Tessa asked, annoyed.

“Well, as returning delvers to my dungeon, both of you felt what this place truly was. A game, albeit a deadly one. The monsters, the chase, the horror, people dying, and the fucked up night. Whoever lasts until dawn wins to live another day and more.”

“Like some fucked up horror movie,” Leo mumbled.

“But I don’t understand why you are doing this,” Tessa muttered. “Are you really dead?”

“Yes, yet I turned into something…I still knew very little about. But this is how I live now.”

“By killing people?” Leo asked with disgust.

“By feeding on their fear, yes. And their souls. It is no different from the type of living you did in the Middle East, Mr. Grady. Nor your extracurricular activities with the mob. I know what you have done on their behalf and the trail of blood you carved in the name of the family you served. You are no different from Andy. From Goliath.”

Leo shut his mouth and said nothing.

“My boyfriend…was that you, Mark? Did you kill Cody?” Tessa asked.

I paused for a beat. “Yes.” Even though the demon did the killing, I still benefited by feeding on his essence, growing my dominion.

Tessa was quiet for a while. “If you are so powerful, can you bring him back?” She asked innocently.

“You mean…”

“Bring the dead back to life?”

Can I? I checked the interface, but I didn’t get an answer from Oracle. Even the machine didn’t know if I could. I opened the Rewards tab again, and while thinking about resurrecting dead people, the list suddenly shrank to just twenty pages, listing rituals, including magical items about bringing anything dead back to life.

Huh. I guess I have a search function. That’s useful, I thought.

I briefly skimmed through the list, but most required ingredients that couldn’t be found around North Cedar Lake. If I gave it to Tessa, she’d have to hunt for those ingredients herself. A majority of them were some weird and creepy rituals that involved killing a virgin in exchange for a life (You’d be surprised how many spells and material components listed that as the main ingredient). Magic had a price to mortals. Always.

But I found one interesting object that required no ingredient at all: just a name or a corpse.

Resurrection Stone

This red ruby has the power to return the dead back to life, reanimating the body. The body must be dead for no longer than a hundred years. If no physical body is provided, a new one will materialize. You must speak their name clearly. Once used, the stone turns into dust and is destroyed.

This stone would cost me two hundred thousand crystals to purchase on my own.

To a delver who survived my dungeon, it’s basically free.

Would this also work for me? Could this stone resurrect and unbound my soul from the Core so I could return to my former self? But a prompt from the System quickly snuffed that hope away.

[ Your soul is tethered to the Core. Your gift lies with the Core. ]

I gritted my teeth as the System backslapped me with reality. Cheeky bitch. So that’s what it’s gonna be, huh? I’m the System’s lackey for eternity. Unless a delver destroyed me, of course. I should have let Leo finish the deed and ended my misery. Perhaps that would have been a mercy.

But something caught my eye. The item only mentioned the body, but what about the soul? The spirit? It was never on the text. One thing I learned about the System was that if it wasn’t on the description box, then it wasn’t included in the item, ability, or skill. For example, I didn’t place any speech mechanics on some of my archetypes; only the demon and Oracle could talk to me.

And I got it immediately.

Holy shit.

I understood what this item was and its cost to the mortal. The body would be resurrected, yes, but the soul wouldn’t be included. I imagined this item was meant for the hopeless romantic who delved into my dungeon to resurrect their long-lost love. Only they wouldn’t come back the same. In the old stories, there was only one cliche ending to this scenario: the romantic died from a broken heart when they realized their beloved was a husk (usually by committing suicide). Cody Ridell would come back as a wight.

Oh no.

Holy fucking shit.

No way. I knew there was something weird about my Rewards list.

The majority of my Rewards sounded like they were a Monkey’s Paw…

…because they were.

Fuck! How did I miss this? Not all of these items were bad, mind you, but they could backfire just as easily to anyone who wielded them. The magical hammer that could shatter a mountain could very well produce an earthquake that would kill untold thousands, including the wielder. The Obsidian Sword could cut through anything, even the wearer, if they weren’t careful, and on an arcane-deficient Earth, no magic could heal and stitch their limbs back together. Not unless they had the Gloves of Healing, and even that didn’t mention if it could reattach dismembered body parts.

Magic had a price to mortals, I reminded myself.

How could I forget Elvis’s words? I had to remind myself again and again that I am a Death Core. My purpose was to inflict pain, suffering, and destruction. Perhaps that also extended to the rewards I gave to my worthy delvers. Maybe this was the reason why people sought after a juvenile Death Core in other worlds. Our dungeons were easier to delve into, and the Rewards List was already wide open for taking. Unlike other Cores, everything was available. What did Elvis say again? My potential is limitless when it comes to rewards, and a rare core like mine holds almost an unlimited supply of arcana that could last decades, even centuries. How many overpowered Rewards could I bequeath a world before everything descended into chaos?

The System was quiet. It didn’t try to correct me if I said anything wrong about my assumptions on why Death Cores were so rare. We were the infinite Bag of Holding of all the gold-tier fucked up shit that every conqueror, psychopath, liches, and power-hungry meatheads could want.

And it just occurred to me: the power that Astaroth sought after was the Rewards List itself. It was not for my easy access to the System and how I had the power of creation under my fingertips, but the list. I could be wrong, but I had to make sure. I momentarily unfiltered the Rewards List and searched what I believed the cult was searching for.

And there it was.

Only one search result materialized on the interface: The Black Gate–A portal to other planes.

Planes like Hell where Astaroth and his army lived.

“Mark, are you still there?” Tessa pulled me out of my thoughts. Though it had only been a few minutes for me searching the interface and the Rewards List, only a few seconds passed for Tessa and Leo.

I took a deep breath, pushing all the noise to the back of my mind, and regarded Tessa again. “Is that what you wish? To bring him back?” Her lips quivered. She was about to answer me, but I cut her off. “Before you say anything, know he will not be the same again.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“His soul is gone, Tessa. He is dead.” I pulled the band-aid. She needed to understand what she was asking me to do. “If you ask me to bring him back, he will not be the same. It is important that you know the price. He will be a husk of his former self. If you can live with that, then I will honor your wish.”

“He won’t be normal?”

I looked over the list again to make sure. They all had something in common: the price was always against the wielder regarding necromancy. “This is necromancy. Powers like these do not have happy endings. Believe me.”

[ If a delver wishes for a specific reward, provide it without question. ] The System interjected.

Fuck that. Cody Ridell would come back as a wight. What kind of reward was that?

[ It is not the Core’s job to understand a delver’s wishes and intentions. ]

“But it is mine,” I said.

The System said nothing.

Break the world, something else said in the back of my head. I ignored it.

It took Tessa another minute to contemplate what she should say. Meanwhile, Leo eyed the surroundings, expecting an ambush. His guard was still up even when the sun was shining above him.

“Then I want to forget,” Tessa finally said. A single tear rolled down her cheek. “I don’t want the memory of him to be…that.” Gutted. Slaughtered. Screaming and howling. “I want the last memory I have with him was when we were happy. Before all of this.”

The interface quickly narrowed the search page for the appropriate Rewards and found one.

I smiled at Tessa, relieved she was not going through with the resurrection. It would break her heart immensely if she saw Cody again, only to be greeted by a walking mute corpse. At least this second option was kinder. “If that’s what you wish.” I turned to Leo. “And what about you, Mr. Grady?”

“Look, I just need to get the fuck out of here, alright? Get me a brand new life somewhere far away from you and all of this crap,” Leo said.

“Fair enough.” Quick and simple. The items I needed materialized on the interface, and with one thought, they jumped into the wooden chests. “You may now open them.”

Leo was the first to open his chest and retrieve the contents: a single platinum black card from American Express Private Bank and a plane ticket.

“I’ve drafted an account on your behalf under a false name with ten million dollars in the bank, accessed by that card and your fingerprint. No one will question this money’s existence. As far as everyone in the world knows, this bank account has existed for over twelve years, and you are their loyal client. They will remember talking to you and doing business with you. That piece of paper is a one-way first-class plane ticket to Mazatlan, Mexico. I noticed you have visited the city six times in the past eight years, not for a job, but for leisure. I’ve selected that city because I think you’ll enjoy it. Of course, you are free to go anywhere else.”

“Well, that was fast.”

“Several minutes for me, only twelve seconds for you,” I said.

“And ten million?”

“What? You want more?”

“What about her? She only gets that piece of shit?” Leo gestured to Tessa and the bowl of four large, golfball-sized blueberry fruits. “Sorry. No offense.”

“Those are Mindless Pods. It is safe to consume,” I said. “The only downside is that you will forget the past four days. You must consume all four. Each fruit represents one day of memories.”

Leo scoffed. “I get a few million, and she gets a fruit basket?”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Grady. I have reserved the same amount of funds to assist Tessa in the future. Each Mindless Pod will let her forget for a year. Four pods allow her to forget for up to four years. That’s four years of peace away from the dungeon. Once four years are up, she will remember everything again.”

“Why’d she get only four? The girl wants to forget what happened to her permanently, remember?”

Tessa nodded in agreement.

“Consume too much, and Tessa risks being brain-dead. This is the only safe way to do it that preserves the good memories of hers and Cody's,” I said. Death Cores had access to all items in the universe. If the interface didn’t show an item that could permanently block Tessa’s memories without her being incapacitated, I would have offered it instead. I doubted she’d want the magical item that made her forget everyone she knew permanently and revert her mind to that of a child.

Both Leo and Tessa frowned.

“Besides, the maximum a human can eat is twelve. Believe me, I checked. I selected four pods because it had been four days since the Green Hill Massacre. Would you like me to provide you with more, Tessa?” I asked.

Tessa shook her head. “The day before Green Hill, Cody and I went to our favorite spot by the river. I don’t think I want to forget that.”

A stab to the heart. I wanted to say I was sorry, but what I’d done was unforgivable, not just to her but to Leo as well. They both had the right to hate me forever.

“Tessa, even with these fruits, you cannot escape people telling you what happened in Green Hill and what you suffered. You will feel empty and hurt hearing the news of Cody’s death again, but as time passes, your grief will subside. By the time four years are up, you will remember me. It will not be as painful as before, but everything will be clear. Pieces that are missing suddenly make sense again. You will remember the funds I reserved for you. Use it how you wish.” I paused. “You may even use it to prepare and come after me again. Both of you.”

Leo and Tessa froze. They didn’t know what to say.

I continued, “Let’s not beat around the bush, okay? You now know what I am. With your survival last night, you will feel connected to this place. To the lake. It is not something you can shake off easily. There is an invisible pull for you to return and delve again. I will feel your presence approach, and I will be ready to receive you again. And if you survive, well, you get more rewards. Perhaps you will have something else in mind besides cash.”

Leo’s brows arched, intrigued. "Like how to help you get out of that gem?"

"Or destroy me."

Leo frowned, and said nothing.

“Perhaps anyone who survives receives ten million dollars. The temptation will be there, and it will continue to grow. For your sake, resist it. If you don’t, then I’ll see you again," I said.

Tessa clutched the bowl tightly and picked one of the fruits up. She took a small bite, the juices running down between her fingers. “It’s not so bad. It tasted like strawberries mixed with cotton candy.”

Another small bite, then a bigger one. She chewed and chewed until she gulped all of it down her throat. She picked up the second fruit. When she finished the last one, Tessa’s body swayed, dizzy.

“Easy, girl. Are you okay?” Leo caught her shoulders before it hit the hood of the van.

“I’m just...My head feels lighter, that’s all. I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Did you give her something poisonous?” Leo asked me incredulously.

“Nausea is one of the many symptoms. It’s normal. In a minute or two, she may lose consciousness. Once she wakes up, she won’t remember the past four days or you. I suggest you take her to a hospital, Mr. Grady.”

Leo glanced over his shoulder and saw that the wooden chests had disappeared. The road ahead was clear. He helped Tessa back into the van and put a blanket over her before climbing behind the wheel and driving off.

I kept my eye on them as they crossed the wooden bridge. They passed the winding dirt road until they hit the pavement and exited the main road. I followed them as far as my Many-Eyes could reach them until I could no longer feel their presence within my domain.

Goliath, Siren, and Old Growth emerged from the tree line, waiting for my orders.

I glanced at my rewards and my domain again. With the sun still fresh in the sky and the morning still young, I thought it was time for everyone to relax and unwind. It had been a long night for everyone, and finally, I could take a deep breath. It felt like my stomach had settled, too, to my relief. After all, I consumed twenty essences in one night.

Half an hour later, Oracle pinged the others and me to visit him in the study so I could look at the computer screen. Huddled around the study, we watched as the security cameras outside Evergreen Medical Center at Point Hope caught Leo dropping Tessa and Danny off by the door before he returned to the van and speeded away. Leo was so quick that I doubted anyone had noticed he was there. I ordered Oracle to scrub off any angles that showed his face to be safe. Leo wanted to disappear, per his wish.

I turned to face the others. “Tessa will remain unconscious for a week, maybe two. I think the System will wake Danny around the same time. Once that happens, Danny will not remember much, but he will point the finger at North Cedar Lake as I instructed, and we’re gonna expect a ton of law enforcement in the area, maybe even the feds. Oracle will warn us when that happens.”

“Are they potential delvers?” The Siren, now disguised as a punk rock woman with curly pink hair, asked.

I shook my head. “I’ve fed enough, and I think I could restrain myself from accidentally kicking off a scenario for a night or two. We’ll stage the bodies and the crime scenes. Let’s tell our own story of what happened here. Remember, a cult did all of this. They must conclude that Hodge was the prime suspect and the others were his accomplices. Understood?”

Everyone nodded, even the demonic shadow hovering at the corner of the room.

“Good. Let’s do this slowly. Don’t rush. It’ll be quiet for a week, at least.”

“Are you sure about that?” Siren pointed at the window where Goliath stood, watching something outside.

I walked over and followed his gaze.

Marching out of the trees were ten men and women dressed in white and blue robes and leather jerkins. Some carried swords, while others had bows slung behind their backs. A couple wielded a shield and a hammer.

“What the fuck is this?” I muttered. “Was there a Renaissance Faire I wasn’t aware of?” What surprised me was that I didn’t even catch them entering my domain with my Many-Eyes alerting me.

Goliath shrugged and pointed at the man in the middle leading the unusual posse.

I sighed. I believed I knew who I was dealing with.

All but one stopped short of approaching the front porch. The man Goliath had singled out earlier continued walking, climbed the wooden steps, and knocked on the door. I told the others not to move and opened the door myself.

The man smiled and quickly met my gaze.

Only one man could see my true form.

“Elvis,” I said. “Long time no see. I don’t recognize the body you are wearing.”

The man’s smile widened. “It is a pleasure to see you triumphant, my lord,” the Administrator said. “This flesh is not from this planet. Don’t worry. None of that Alvin Jones business. You won’t have ten more random bodies to clean up and worry about missing humans in the area when the families come knocking.”

“Are you sure about that? You are still made of flesh and blood.”

Elvis grinned. “True. I do find it adorable when Death Cores get snippy.”

I looked over his shoulder to his merry band of Robin Hood wannabes. “What brings you here? I’ve done what you asked. I’ve gotten rid of Hodge and his sect. I thought you’d leave me alone.”

“And why would we do that?”

“Your kind eats Cores as a delicacy. I remembered what you said.”

“Ah, not for me. It's bad for my indigestion. But good news! We are not here to reap you when you are just brimming with so much potential! Why would we cut down a sapling when it could grow and multiply into a magnificent forest, eh?”

“Are you here to collect me then? I hear Death Cores are very rare in the universe. Well sought after,” I said with bored sarcasm.

Elvis’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, but we Administrators are forbidden to hunt nor interfere with a Core’s duties! Ours is to watch and strongly advise. Unless, of course, the Core allows us to delve…”Elvis trailed off as if inviting me to answer.

I shook my head. “Not in the mood today.”

Elvis looked disappointed, but I couldn’t say the same for his companions. They collectively sighed in relief.

“Then why are you here?”

“To bring you good news, of course! The System adores you, Dungeon Mark!”

“Really?” The System sure knew how to show it. “You went out here to tell me that? This couldn’t just be a prompt or a notification?”

“Really! What a raving success you are. The bloodbath! It was such a glorious display of death and carnage. Oh! And the ample amount of drama? It just pulls on the heartstrings, you know? The betrayal and heartache…oh, everyone loves you back home.”

I regarded his bodyguards, who were obviously accompanying him just in case I turned crazy and fed on him. I wondered how strong these men and women were. Though Elvis was enthusiastic about my performance as a Death Core, I could sense the others’ unease, the slight shift of their weight, and the tightness of their muscles as they gripped their weapons harder.

I smelled fear.

Sweet, intoxicating fear.

My stomach growled.

I regarded Elvis again. “Um, you were watching me?”

“Of course! I was the one assessing your performance, remember? I was always nearby. And many more joined in. Thousands of us.”

“What do you mean thousands?”

“A Death Core is no stranger to a large following, even a big audience, but at your debut…glowing praise all around. My superiors are pleased. The contracts for broadcasting rights are just brimming with riches.”

I looked around my surroundings, suddenly feeling naked underneath Elvis’s gaze. “What did you mean thousands watched me, Elvis?”

“Well, dear me, you are the talk of the town, Dungeon Mark. I am here to discuss your future, and it is brighter than ever.”