Leave The Monster Alone

"Hey, I save you and this is how you treat me? I will be sure to remember this in the future" the tense atmosphere receded a bit as the group made their way outside to the two figures far away. Yun was the first to see them, his expression melting into a calm smile which Mark could not help but mirror back. 

"I see that you made it back safe and sound. Hopefully, it was not too much of a hassle to finish things off" The Guardian, Alex, was still polite but there was a certain edge to his words now, his brows tense. It felt like he was trying to hide something away from the party. 

Not that he would be able to because of Mark's new abilities and the properties of this world. Still, it was a cure effort on the other's part to spare the party some comfort and Mark really liked how the other presented it to them.

But the pile of ash at their feet told a tale that was anything but fun for them. It told the story of an unfortunate soul who strayed from the right path and had to be put down for his decisions. 

It left a poor taste in Mark's mind, to see someone so significant being decided to a pile of ash in the end. It made him afraid for his own end.. 

"So, what now? Do we just go back and pretend like this never happened?" Now that was a good question. Mark had not thought this far when he had been planning this whole thing. The best indication he had was to 'go with the flow.' But where did the wind blow exactly? He was not so sure anymore. 

"We can try to reclaim this place but that won't be wise. Knowing Nathan, there might be a plan in motion to attack the human bases already. We should concentrate on that fact and also find a new owner for the divine core" Yun was right, that time was coming. 

Luna looked unhappy to be reminded of those facts, his face pulled into a frown that was deserving of its acidic nature. After all, this was no happy occasion for anyone. Everyone had a right to be worried about the war that was brewing on the horizon. 

"Can you guys not stop this war from erupting? Surely there is something you can do? You are in the top 4, well 3, aren't you?" Alan asked, his voice wavering in the waves of danger to come. 

The kid was not wrong and that was a problem. The rest of the divine community would feel betrayed now that those four were gone from their side and it would end up in a whole worse situation from here. Besides, there was also the fact that not everyone was like onboard the human train as those three had been. 

"Not everyone is like us kid. Most of them agreed with Nathan's cause and already pledged themselves to his cause anyway. They will not be happy with us" So there were a lot of enemies now.

Enemies they could not hope to face for now but they would become a problem sooner or later. Mark had hoped for never but that was obviously not possible in this time frame. 

"Let's go back and join the human base. I think Liam should be made aware of everything that went down here and also starts planning for backups. We are still not set up yet" Liam was going to kill them for creating this situation for them but at least he would have a plan in place now. 

"Should we also ask Didi and Vodi to help? Surely they would not fight against us?" Alan had hope in his voice but no one could answer this question. 

"I cannot speak for them and it is their choice to make. Let's hope they make the right one, whatever that may end up being" As much as Mark wanted them on their side, he was not sure the other side would want to be. They had the freedom to choose for themselves and Mark would not take that away. 

"I'll set up our way home" Alex picked himself up and raised his hand. Platforms of water formed at his command, not entirely solid but good enough to get them down at least. The party followed after them, their bodies tired from the exertion they did. 

Once they were down, Alex let the platforms fall back into the ocean below and the party was out of immediate danger for now.

Now it was time to head back to the base and Mark was the one who led the charge this time. Mostly because no one else had the map to get anywhere alone. Mark was the only one with a working system for some reason. 

"So, should we talk about the core? How long are you going to keep a hold on it?" Luna's pointed out the obvious glow in Yun's hand, the core shining with a soft light that escaped from between the gaps of those fingers. 

The divine beast picked up his hand, looking at the core with an almost soft gaze. He looked wistful, almost sad even, and Mark wanted to destroy that core very much. If only it would not also destroy this reality, he might have considered it even and-

-those were not his thoughts but his core's. There was a connection between all the core's and it made them resonate with each other. Some of those connections were stronger than the normal ones either and it affected the user. This was also information provided in the core's memories as well which Mark had access to. 

Anyway, the point was that it was the core that made Mark feel this soft fondness and twisted his mind to make it more malleable by the divine powers. He wanted to not care but his heart was not in it for now. It cared a little too much for him to feel comfortable. 

"Can anyone use this core?" Luna's question brought the information back to the important topic and Mark collected his feelings back inside his heart. This was much more important than him right now. He needed to focus if he wanted to make it work. 

"Technically? Yes. Anyone can use this core as long as they can contain it but it is easier said than done. If the body is not compatible then the core would hollow it out" Death was implied all over that sentence and it caused a tense atmosphere to form. 

"B-but how do we find its user? It should also be someone we can trust, right?" Alan seemed as lost as them and Mark had to constantly remind himself that the other was still a kid. He should not be expected to come up with those solutions on the spot. 

But his question still held weight. This core would decide a lot of things for the future. It could be a weapon or it could be an ally if they played their cards right. But who would take this big of a risk with their lives? Mark would have but he was already compromised in this situation. 

"Let me be the one to take this core in. My body was modified to contain massive amounts of energy so I can contain it as well" The offer came from Luna, who looked far too tense but his words held merit as well. 

If there was anyone in this reality who could contain this power and live, it had to be Luna who was made for this role. Mark still felt hesitant but the other looked confident and it gave him the much-needed boost as well. They could do this.

They had to do this because there were no second chances or any other lifeline they had.

"If you are sure then this core is yours to use. But not out here. Let's go back to the base first before we decide on anything" Everyone agreed to the notion and the party left the place. There was still a feeling of dread but there was hope now as well.

They all had a direction to look forward to and the base was also not that far off. They decided to ditch the resistance for now and go directly to Liam. They would deal with the resistance and their leader later when they had time. 

When they reached the base, Liam greeted them with a tense face and they instantly knew things were not fully right currently. The tense air was too heavy to ignore and it pressed on them from every side. 

"What did you do?" Liam asked and no one knew how to answer him. What did they do indeed? Even they were not sure how to answer this question right now. There were many answers but every single one of them sounded wrong to Mark. So indeed, what happened recently? Where didn't things go this wrong?