The Great Core's Paradox

I slithered further down the tunnel, following behind the blasphemers and the future faithful that they had stolen away.

It was difficult not to hiss; I wanted to let myself be known. I wanted to strike terror into the hearts of the blasphemers. I wanted to bring hope to the future faithful.

I knew that I couldn’t - not so early. The blasphemers had only recently escaped from the Great Core’s faithful, and were wary enough of their return that even I could sense it. Still, it wasn’t as if I had no options. I couldn’t hiss, but I could still prepare - and I knew that I should. It was true that the faithful were only moments away from overtaking the blasphemers, but I wasn’t them. The [Little Guardian’s Focus]es that kept them healthy didn’t work on me.

I was strong, more than strong enough to defeat the blasphemers with all of the power the Great Core had gifted me, but I was also fragile - and I’d accomplished far too much to risk the creation of a false-life. It wouldn’t be long before I gathered enough life force to undergo a proper rebirth. Then, I would be able to take more risks, with the blessing of [Transient Reanimation] to protect me from my mistakes. For the moment, I had to be more careful than that.

So, rather than hiss out my glorious ire, I silently slithered closer to the blasphemers.

[Illusion Spark]‘s new power turned me into a creature of unimaginable stealth, allowing me to slide near the blasphemers with no trouble at all.

It helped that they were more than a little distracted.

“...this wasn’t here before.”

“Skies, it’s thick. Do we turn back?”