Chapter 71: Tainted Cores
Two hours of careful movement through the corpse-strewn landscape brought them to a section of battlefield that should have teemed with harvestable remains. Instead, they found systematic emptiness that spoke of recent scavenging on an industrial scale.
"Someone’s been here," Petra observed, studying the scattered fragments of what had once been dimensional beasts. The corpses weren’t just dead they’d been systematically processed, their essence cores extracted with surgical precision that spoke of extensive anatomical knowledge.
Gareth knelt beside the remains of what his enhanced perception identified as a former Thunder Wyvern, its massive wingspan now reduced to tattered membranes stretched between broken bones. "Professional extraction work. Whoever did this knew exactly where to cut, how to remove cores without damaging the crystalline structure."
"Another survivor group?" Petra asked, though something in the extraction patterns made her doubt that explanation. The work was too efficient, too methodical, suggesting either extensive experience with dimensional beast anatomy or capabilities beyond what Academy students should possess.
"Possibly. Or something else entirely." Gareth’s earth manipulation detected disturbances in the ground that painted a picture of the extraction process. "Single individual, moving with purpose rather than desperation. No signs of battle or struggle just systematic harvesting."
They moved deeper into the processed battlefield, following the trail of extracted corpses toward its source. What they found made both survivors pause in recognition: the entrance to a cave system carved into a natural rock formation that rose from the battlefield like a jagged tooth.
But it wasn’t the cave itself that drew their attention it was the evidence of violence that surrounded it.
Scorch marks decorated the stone entrance, burned so deep into the rock that they still radiated residual heat despite obvious age. The ground around the cave mouth was fused into glass-like formations that spoke of temperatures beyond anything normal fire manipulation should achieve. Whatever battle had taken place here, it had involved power levels that pushed the boundaries of what awakened abilities could accomplish.
"This wasn’t a territorial dispute between beasts," Petra said, studying the burn patterns with growing fascination. The bitter smoke still clung to the air, stinging her nostrils. "These are precise applications of thermal energy, controlled and directed rather than wild combustion."
Gareth’s analytical mind catalogued details that painted a picture of the engagement. "Single combatant against something significantly larger. The scorch patterns suggest someone using fire manipulation techniques defensive barriers, concentrated lances of superheated energy, thermal constructs designed for specific tactical applications."
As they approached the cave entrance, both survivors felt something that made their enhanced perception trigger involuntary warning responses. Not immediate danger, but presence. The lingering essence signature of power that had transcended normal classification boundaries, energy that still saturated the stone despite the passage of time. The oppressive weight pressed against their consciousness like a suffocating blanket.
"A-Class beast wouldn’t leave residual signatures this strong," Petra murmured, her instincts screaming warnings she couldn’t entirely interpret. "Whatever fought here was operating at power levels that should be impossible for any Academy’s students."
That’s when Gareth’s earth manipulation detected something that made his analytical composure crack entirely. Buried in the fused glass near the cave mouth, partially concealed by the chaotic aftermath of whatever battle had raged here, was something that defied every expectation they’d developed about this place.
A beast core. But not the crystallized essence structures they’d been extracting from the Crimson Maulers. This was something else entirely.
The core was roughly the size of a man’s fist, its surface black as obsidian but shot through with veins of energy that pulsed with their own internal rhythm. Just being near it made the air itself feel thicker, charged with power that pressed against their consciousness like a physical weight. The acrid energy seared their nostrils, making their eyes water with its intensity.
"That’s not from any creature we’ve encountered," Petra breathed, her enhanced perception recoiling from the core’s oppressive energy signature. "The power levels..."
"Shoud be S-Class minimum," Gareth confirmed, his voice carrying unprecedented uncertainty. "Possibly higher. And it’s still active, still channeling essence despite being separated from its host."
The implications settled over them like a shroud. An S-Class beast core, left behind by whoever had claimed victory in this place. The residual energy was so intense that it had scared away every scavenger and predator in the area, creating a dead zone where nothing dared to venture.
"Now I understand why we couldn’t find any beast cores in the surrounding area," Gareth said, his analytical mind processing the tactical significance. "The essence this crystal is radiating would be detectable for miles. Even A-Class predators would avoid this location rather than risk confronting whatever claimed this prize."
Petra studied the impossible core with growing unease, her thoughts turning to possibilities she didn’t want to consider. The power levels suggested capabilities beyond anything Academy students should possess, but the precision of the extraction spoke of human intelligence rather than beast instinct.
’Could this be...?’ The thought surfaced unbidden, carrying implications she wasn’t ready to process. Only one person from their Academy class possessed fire manipulation at the level suggested by these scorch marks. But Kael Ashford had been quiet, unremarkable, hardly the type to engage S-Class threats single-handedly.
’I doubt it,’ she told herself firmly, though the precision of the thermal applications and the systematic core extraction matched what she might expect from someone with both power and analytical intelligence. ’There are too many variables, too many unknowns.’
But privately, as they carefully extracted the S-Class core and prepared to add it to their growing collection of evidence, Petra found herself wondering exactly what had become of the white-haired boy who’d been just as lost and frightened as the rest of them when that impossible rift had consumed their Academy.
Whatever the truth, the aftermath of this battle suggested there were forces moving through this dimensional landscape that operated by rules none of them understood. And whether those forces represented salvation or a new category of threat entirely remained to be seen. ***