The Lost Civilization: DLC

by dashboardgecko

A collection of one-shots and mini-stories based off MH fanfiction 'The Lost Civilization,' written to sate my thirst to write! Let's see what sort of adventures and antics the heroes, villains, and side characters of TLC get up to after the main story as we wait for MH4 and the sequel to The Lost Civilization!

19. After Life - Part 2, Great Tree

After Life – Part 2

Great Tree

Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All the characters in this story are mine, unless noted otherwise.

Edited by: Hoenn Master96 and Thomas A. Hawk

This one-shot is NOT CANON with The Lost Civilization

---

Levin's mind swam groggily as he slowly regained consciousness. A chill pressed against his body, receding and returning, back and forth like the ticking of a clock. As his thoughts slowly clicked back into place, he recognized the feeling as waves of water lapping up against him. How odd; he didn't recall heading down to the ocean. In fact, the last thing he remembered was being in his house and-

An exceptionally large wave of water suddenly rushed across his body, crashing into his side and splashing over his face. Levin gasped in shock, his eye snapping open as water rushed into his nose and mouth, forcing him to cough fitfully and spit up salty water. He quickly pushed himself to his feet, gasping for air as he stumbled forward, wiping the water from his eye.

As he blinked and shook himself off, he abruptly remembered what had happened and gasped, looking down at his left hand. He quickly pulled the gauntlet off and flexed his fingers, thankfully finding that there didn't seem to be anything wrong with his hand. He had all the feeling, could control it, and the frigid chill that the dragonsphire had sent through him was no longer there. The stone didn't seem to have left any lingering effects, either… In fact, he felt pretty good! Something seemed a little off, but with the dark limbs, he was long since used to that kind of feeling.

But where had the dragonsphire gone? At the thought, he looked around for it, when it finally clicked with him that he had no idea where he was. He'd tasted salt water, but Perir Town was almost a hundred miles from the ocean! How had he gotten here so fast… wherever 'here' was? He was in a cave or grotto or something like that, an enclosed space with no clear view of the sky. The ceiling was tall though, nearly thirty yards high, so whatever sort of cavern this was, it was a rather big one. He was standing ankle-high in shallow water, a wide pool which stretched out and covered most of his side of the cave. Waves lapped against the shoreline, leading Levin to believe that the water connected to the ocean further on, though it seemed to travel underground to do so. The other direction lead upwards, off to who knows where, but it was certainly far drier than where he was standing.

There were a few oddities to the location, however. First of all were the roots; at least, that was the only thing Levin could think of to aptly compare them to. Thick, twining branches wrapped in a bark-like light grey coating covered almost every surface Levin could see, from the earth under him with thin, entangled bunches creating an awkward but sturdy foothold, to the walls and ceilings, where thick roots a couple feet in diameter clung to the rocks and trailed along the rocky roof. In fact, the roof was covered entirely with some of the thickest vines he could see, some of them several yards thick, and they were so tightly constricted that Levin couldn't be sure that he wasn't deep within the core or some great tree. If these roots and branches really came from the same tree though, it would have to be positively massive.

The second odd thing was the foliage. Though he seemed to be surrounded by the roots of some gargantuan behemoth of a tree, smaller shoots were growing up from the earth, even through the thick vines that wrapped over every surface. They were rather bland trees, some type Levin didn't recognize with tall, straight trunks ending in bushy tufts of leaves at the very top. There was some grass and bushes around too, but every type of foliage he could see felt… dull. No flowers or fruits or berries, just leaves. How they managed to survive inside this cave, with no sun as far as Levin could see, he could only guess. The entire area just seemed so bland and stagnate. Between the rocks, the thick roots, and the small trees, everything looked a dry, ashen grey color as far as Levin could see.

Which brought him to the last oddity, and the most disconcerting one: the light. He could see pretty clearly, all things considered. But he was in a cave, or tree hollow, without a torch and without any holes in the ceiling for sunlight to filter in through. There didn't seem to be any source of light at all; the rocks and trees weren't glowing or bioluminescent, as far as Levin could tell, and there was no shadows filtering in from further into the cave. The light certainly wasn't coming from the water; looking back, the pool behind only grew darker the deeper it got, eventually fading into a blackness which made Levin shiver fearfully.

So then, where was the light coming from? It couldn't just be… there, could it, providing light without a source? Levin muddled over the hows and whys of the whole issue for a minute before shaking his head despairingly. This kind of thing was Harker's business, if anybody's. No sense wracking his brain about it, not right now. He could see just fine, and that was all he needed to know.

This whole place bothered him though. The light aside, this cavernous place unnerved him. Something about it just seemed… wrong. Not only that, but he could see the dragongem under his gauntlet pulsing strongly with azure light. After having his dark limbs for five years, he'd gotten used to the glow, and had learned that the gem would pulse with different intensities under different circumstances. He'd never seen the gem glowing like this though. It almost seemed to be… reacting to something.

He had to find his way out of this place, wherever he was, and he couldn't do that standing here with his toes in the water. The water behind him wasn't an option. He had air philters, sure, but the darkness lingering in the waters sent chills down his spine and gave him a bad feeling. The only other option was up, following the strange glowing cave to wherever it took him. Hopefully it would lead him outside, or at least somewhere less disconcerting. There was a trickling stream splashing down the slope, meaning that following the water upwards might lead him to its source on the surface, and if it didn't, it might at least lead to a more… safe-looking pool that he could actually drink out of. Levin had his water skin with him, but if he needed to rely on something outside of that to drink, he'd prefer it to be something other than this stuff.

With that, Levin pressed on, pushing up the slope in hopes of finding some way out of this place, and back home.

---

York sighed irritably to himself as he scanned his surroundings. Where the hell was he, and how the hell did he get here? Last thing he remembered, he was back at the Brilliant Darkness' old base, and had managed to cross the gap to collect the 'artifact' the Guild had hired him to recover. He'd pulled the stone, some gem that the Alatreon must have created, from its dais to properly examine it, and then there had been a bright blue light, but after that he remembered nothing. Had that been the power of the artifact, to transport people somewhere? Was it random, or had the gemstone meant to bring him to this exact location… wherever this location was?

He'd woken up in a small cave, or rather, he'd thought it was a cave at first. Turns out, it had been a hollow in what he believed to be a positively massive tree, the likes of which York had never seen before. And he wasn't even on the exterior of the tree, either, just an exceptionally thick branch that wrapped around the side. He'd managed to get to a more open area, but even that was enclosed by thick branches hanging overhead. Everything above seemed to be completely blotted out from sight by thick branches and vines hanging down from above like a willow, and from where he stood, he couldn't tell how tall the full tree could possibly be, or even if he was anywhere close to the outside.

What kind of place was this? He'd heard countless stories from friends and passerby about places from around the world, including tales of great trees becoming absolutely massive after several centuries, but something like this was absolutely unheard of! How could he have not heard of a tree as massive as this? It would have to be the size of a small mountain at least! Why would the Brilliant Darkness need a stone that could teleport them to this place? What was here that they'd have wanted or needed?

But he was here, and he needed to find his way out and back home. He couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for him to return; if such a great tree was so far away that he'd never even heard stories told about it, it might take him months to get back! He'd need to get moving immediately. Hopefully he'd be able to find a village or town, or at least a way out into the open. York didn't have a problem with caverns and tunnels like this, but he always felt a little constricted inside of them. He much preferred the freedom of the outdoors.

At least he felt pretty good at the moment. After being knocked out and being transported here, he would have thought he'd at least have a headache, but he felt fine. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something strange about where he was. It wasn't so much that he felt that there was something wrong with this place… It felt more that this was someplace he shouldn't be, somewhere he didn't belong.

It took some time to climb down from the nook he'd woken up in, but eventually he got down to more flat land. He'd been surprised to find that most of the ground was covered in the same vines and roots that the walls had been, though these were much smaller and more intertwined. He was also deep within a forest of sorts. The trees were thin and sparse, but York was just surprised to find that they were growing here, without any sunlight. He wasn't entirely sure where all the light which he was seeing by was coming from, but it certainly wasn't sunlight.

He'd been cautious at first, moving through the trees prepared for an attack at any time. But he'd slowly grown less tense as time passed; this entire area was quiet. The only sounds York had heard so far, aside from his own footsteps, was the groaning of the wood, the rustling of leaves, and the occasional lapping of water whenever he passed one of the eerily dark pools he spotted every now and then. Aside from that though, there was nothing. No birds chirping, no buzzing of insects, no nothing. He'd even kicked over a few rocks and hadn't found any worms or insects beneath. It left York baffled; it was as though there was nothing living here, aside from this giant tree. His path was leading him upwards though, out towards the wall of overhanging branches coming down from above. It looked as though most of them burrowed into the ground, thick enough and close enough together that passing through would be impossible. With nothing else to do, York continued to follow the slope upwards, hoping to find an opening in the wall leading outside.

Some time later, however, York paused as a low grunting sound echoed through the trees. Beyond the bushes and hanging leaves, the hunter could just make out a bulky shape pushing its way through the foliage towards him. York braced himself, but whatever was coming his way seemed to be moving slowly and carefully, not rushing itself. He moved perpendicular to the creature to try and get out of its path, but the thing seemed to sense his intentions, picking up the pace and breaking through the foliage into the open.

It was a Bullfango! York nearly sighed in relief, but reeled in surprise upon realizing that the creature was positively massive! At least twice the size of a regular Bullfango, the beast was surprisingly old-looking for its species, with streaks of grey fur lining its hide. It didn't seem to have any scars though, which was odd; most of the older Bullfango that York had seen had at least one or two noticeable scars to indicate their strength and experience, but this one was completely unmarred. It was also by itself, which was strange. While Bullfango herds weren't that large, the creatures were rarely found by themselves, and usually traveled in teams of at least two or three.

"Well, at least this'll be easy," York muttered, reaching for his dual blades.

However, before he could pull his swords free, the Bullfango shot forward, catching York off guard with its speed. Not having time to draw his swords, the hunter reacted instinctively, sliding to the side and activating one of his wrist blades as the beast raced past him, plunging the tip into the creature's throat. The beast squealed in pain, lashing out angrily with its tusks and forcing York to leap back. Sliding to halt several yards past him and shaking its head in pain, it turned and padded the ground, snorting in anger at the hunter.

Again the creature lunged, swinging its tusks at the dual blade user, but this time York was more prepared, dipping away again before jamming his blade down into the back of the beast's skull. The Bullfango squealed in agony as it seized up for a moment, before its body grew slack and the beast slumped to the ground. It's tongue lolled out as it flopped onto its side, and York sighed in relief.

"Well, at least I know this place isn't completely empty," he muttered, wiping the blood from his blades off onto the Bullfango's fur. The dual sword user glanced around cautiously, gazing through the trees in search of more of the beasts. "If there's one, there's bound to be more… must've got separated from its herd."

Leaving the corpse behind, York followed the wall of vines in search of an opening. Despite his caution, there didn't seem to be any other Bullfango about… or anything else for that matter. He'd expected to find more of the herd spread out, but perhaps he'd chosen to travel in the opposite direction from the herd's nest. Nonetheless, he wouldn't let himself be caught off guard; if there were Bullfango around, there had to be other things… including larger monsters that preyed on the tusked creatures.

York continued on for another ten minutes, before finding a wide creek bubbling out from a small spring, splashing down a slope of crisscrossing roots. The hunter paused for a moment, hoping for a chance to get a drink, but the water was a dark and unsettling, and York didn't feel like risking a taste. This had been the only source of water York had seen so far, so it was probably what the Bullfango drank, but the hunter was still uncomfortable with the idea of drinking any of it himself.

However, as York pulled away to continue his trek, another sound suddenly rose over the pattering of the water: the sound of hooves pounding. York spun around in surprise as a massive shape burst from the foliage, charging directly towards him. The hunter dove to the side as the bulbous shape shot past before skidding around to face him. It was another Bullfango! York was surprised to find that this one was just as large and aged as the last one, since usually there was only one such creature per herd that managed to age so long. This one seemed angry at him though, snorting viciously as it glared daggers at the hunter. York realized that the creature had come from the same direction as the corpse of the previous Bullfango.

"What, was the one back there your mate?" York asked. "Trying to get back at me, huh? Sorry, but if you're here for revenge, it's not going to work out that great for you."

The creature clearly didn't understand him though, and the Bullfango stamped its hoof into the dirt before lunging towards York. This time, the hunter was ready for the creature's surprising speed, and prepared to drive his wrist blades into the creature's neck as he had the one before.

However, right before it reached the hunter, the Bullfango suddenly slowed down sharply, right as York leapt to the side to dodge. The motion caught York off guard, a fraction of a second that was long enough for the Bullfango to turn slightly and point its tusks at York once more, before shooting forward with the intent on running the hunter through.

The hunter managed to avoid the attack however. As quickly as he could, York's reached his hands forward, grabbing hold of the beast's tusk and pulling it sideways, throwing off the Bullfango's aim and sending the creature's rumbling past him. With his other arm, York swung his wrist blade down towards the beast's skull, but once more the Bullfango surprised him as, with a twist of its neck, it avoided the point of the blade before charging past the hunter and spinning about. The beast snorted viciously, stamping its hoof once more in preparation to charge again.

York glanced down in confusion at his wrist blade, allowing it to retract up into his sleeves. How had the Bullfango managed to see that coming? He'd never met a monster he couldn't catch off guard with the hidden blades, and yet the Bullfango had begun to dodge almost the moment he'd activated the mechanism. There weren't that many humans he'd met that could react that quickly! It was almost like the Bullfango had known he had the wrist blades, but the only Bullfango he'd ever used them against was lying dead back in the clearing he'd just come from. Had this one been watching from afar? No, that couldn't be right. Bullfangos charged on sight; this one wouldn't have just hung back while its mate or whatever was being killed.

"Guess any monster can get lucky once," he muttered, drawing his dual swords and pointing one towards the creature with a smirk. "Come on then, let's see if your luck can hold out for a second pass."

Turns out, its luck could hold out for a second pass. And a third, and a fourth. Five minutes later, York found himself gasping for air across the clearing from the Bullfango, bracing himself as the beast prepared to charge for the… what was it, the twentieth time? York was shocked. He'd never had this much trouble with a single Bullfango since… well, since ever, as far as he could remember.

It was surprisingly light on its feet, turned on the spot, and had a recovery time that almost never gave York a chance to catch his breath. Its tusks had yet to catch York, but one of its passes had clipped a tree, and the tusk had hit with enough force to punch straight through the wood, tearing a wide gash into the bark. Its hide was surprisingly thick, and even when York managed to get a hit with his swords, the creature seemed… intelligent enough to tilt its body at just the right moment to make any wound it received little more than superficial. The creature had even managed to deflect one of York's swords with its tusks once! York didn't think he'd ever felt generous enough to refer to a Bullfango as 'intelligent' before, yet here he was, going toe-to-toe with one such creature. This thing had to be the fastest, strongest, most irritating Bullfango in existence!

The creature was still easy enough to dodge, but there had been a couple close calls, and his coat had a few unsightly tears in it now. Worst of all, while York was slowly wearing down, the Bullfango didn't even look fazed. What kind of stamina did this beast have? The thing wasn't even breathing heavily!

York braced himself, and prepared to dodge to the side again. He had a plan this time: he had placed himself between the creature and a tree. If the beast charged him, it would either have to come to a sharp stop or run headlong into the trunk. That would give York a chance to get behind the beast, where he'd be able to finish this. Even the toughest monster couldn't defend against an attack from a blind spot. Again the Bullfango charged him, and York slid to the side, immediately turning as the creature shot past him to strike at the beast whether it slid to a halt or hit the tree.

However, again the monster surprised him as it leapt into the air just before reaching the tree and planted its hooves into the trunk. In a display of finesse York would have thought impossible for such a creature, the Bullfango pushed off the tree, twisting in the air and bearing down on him, tusks aiming directly at his chest. It had done it so quickly that it had thrown itself well inside York's range, and the dual sword wielder wouldn't be able to swing his swords in time.

The hunter reacted instinctively the only way he could: he dropped his swords. The blades fell from his hands, and York snapped his hands together, triggering his wrist blade at the same time. One hand grabbed hold of the Bullfango's right tusk, while the other slid up from below and slammed into the beast's throat. The creature squealed in pain as York ducked low, shoving as hard as he could and hurling the Bullfango over him. The beast flew through the air for several yards before smacking into the dirt and rolling into the dark water of the creek.

York gasped for air, dropping to the ground and grabbing the hilts of his swords as he turned to face the Bullfango again. He'd managed to get his blade into the creature's throat, but he hissed out a curse as the beast rose back to its feet, shaking the water from its fur as it made its way out of the water. Blood trailed from the beast's neck, but it didn't seem to have done enough damage to kill the creature, and the Bullfango hardly even seemed bothered by the injury. Hell, the wound even seemed superficial, and looked to have already stopped bleeding.

As the beast was padding the earth again and preparing to charge, York leveled his swords at it, but something occurred to him: the Bullfango was watching him quite intently, but more precisely, the beast's eyes seemed focused quite keenly on his dual swords. York had to admit he found it odd that the beast had managed to battle him so skillfully while his blades were out, and yet he'd quite nearly managed to kill it with his wrist blade when the creature had first attacked, then gotten another good attack in a moment ago. The Bullfango had dodged, sure, but York had gotten closer with the wrist blades than he had with his dual swords. Maybe… perhaps this Bullfango had fought against dual sword users before? Had it somehow learned how to deal with dual sword attacks? It seemed unbelievable, but if that was the case…

York reached back, sliding his swords back into their sheaths, and the Bullfango seemed to grow confused at the motion. The hunter realized that the beast wasn't trying to capitalize on York's apparent defenselessness, and instead was hesitating to charge, eyeing him warily. The pause didn't last long though, and a few moments later the creature darted forwards, lowering its horns to attack.

The white-robed hunter waited until the last moment, before sliding to the side out of the way of the beast. The Bullfango twisted its head in preparation to block any attack, but York delayed his attack, refusing to unsheath his wrist blades until the very last moment. When the beast was halfway past him, he swung his arm down, activating the blade and plunging the tip into the Bullfango's side, tearing a long gash between the creature's foreleg and hind leg. The creature squealed in pain, kicking its hooves at the hunter and dashing several yards away and skidding around, shaking its haunches from the wound. York grinned victoriously; he'd finally gotten in a solid hit on this damn creature!

The Bullfango wasn't to be perturbed, however, and dashed forward again. As it passed, the beast tried to alter its path to catch York off guard, nearly catching the hunter's side with its tusk, but York managed to pull out of the way. As the creature passed him, his arm snapped out again as his blade swept towards the Bullfango chest this time, aiming for the creature's heart to finish it off. However, the Bullfango was quick to retaliate, and the beast tried to twist its hooves around to kick at the hunter's hand, smacking one hoof against the bracer and knocking York's hand away. It managed to avoid being stabbed in the heart, but the motion left the creature's hind legs in the air for a moment, and York snapped his other arm around, activating the blade attached to his other arm. There was a spray of blood as the edge of the blade sliced into the Bullfango's hide just over the creature's knee, and with a squeal of pain, the beast's leg gave out from underneath it, making the Bullfango topple to the ground and slam into one of the trees.

The Bullfango huffed in pain, but was quickly moving to get itself back to its feet. York had taken enough though, and leapt towards the creature. As the beast struggled to right itself, the hunter plunged the tip of his blade into the back of the creature's neck. The Bullfango stiffened for a moment, wheezing in pain, before slumping back to the ground, letting out a low death rattle as it finally died. York sighed, wiping the blood on the blade off onto the creature's fur before stepping back to catch his breath.

"Good riddance to the biggest pain in the ass I've met in a long time," he muttered sourly, walking away from the creature's body. He spared a quick glance around though. That was two Bullfango down… was a third going to step out of the shadows to give him another tussle? But nothing appeared from the trees. The area was completely silent. With a thankful sigh, York shook his head before pressing on back up the slope, leaving the corpse of the Bullfango behind.

---

The path Levin had followed up and away from the dark waters had led him through a narrow path between the branches and vines of this strange pale tree. It wasn't that hard to traverse the area, and the mysterious, permeating light never seemed to dim, but Levin had still been forced to cut his way through areas where the foliage was rather thick.

In doing so, he'd discovered that the roots and branches of this great tree were even stranger than he'd first thought. While trying to slice his way through them with his hunting knife, sometimes they were as solid as stone, while other times his blade cut through them like warm butter, and occasionally they fractured like glass. In fact, it seemed rare for Levin to find a branch that actually felt and cut like actual wood. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the durability of the vines either; one looked just like the other, and gave no warning when it would be as soft as cotton or an impenetrable barricade. He'd learned to watch his step when he'd been climbing over a root as tall as him, only to discover that it had the same consistency as jelly, sending him sliding over the top and landing him flat on his back. Levin had stopped trusting these vines after that, and tried to stay on the rocks and stone where he could.

He realized that Harker might have been rubbing off on him, as his adventures with his friend had left him far less surprised by everything that was happening around him and instead more curious. While he found the strange textures and consistencies of the vines irritating, he was also rather intrigued by them. He couldn't guess at how or why they worked the way they did, and didn't really care to find out, but he did find some small amusement in figuring out all the different types of vines there were, except when they ended up hindering him. At one point he'd needed to backtrack and take another path when he'd been passing through a narrow overhang and a curtain of thin, hanging vines he'd intended to simply push his way through ended up being as immovable and impenetrable as steel bars.

As he traveled though, he'd managed to catch sight of something interesting. His walking had led him closer to the exterior of this gargantuan tree, or what he hoped was the exterior, where the thick, hanging branches that bound together to create the outer barricade were less tightly knit. He'd realized that there were a few small gaps, and through them, he could make out some light. It was a hazy multicolored orb that seemed to hang far up inside the branches of the tree, just barely visible above him. It didn't seem to be bright enough to be the source of light in this mysterious place, as it only seemed to be a dim glow up in the air at the moment. In fact… it almost seemed like the orb was several miles into the sky, so far away that Levin was surprised that he could even see it. Perhaps it was massive as well, like the tree that these roots were attached to was? It was the only thing he'd seen so far that wasn't rock or branches or roots though, and having something to head towards was better than wandering around aimlessly. However, if he was going to investigate the source of the light, he was going to need to find a way up there.

Thankfully, he'd managed to find a way up soon enough. Not ten minutes after first spotting the light, he caught sight of another oddity: a large, dark stone tower that jutted up from the earth, rising a good two hundred yards into the air and producing a striking contrast between itself and the pale roots around it. The sheen of the construct made Levin think that the entire thing was made of obsidian, though how such a massive slab of volcanic stone could have been formed baffled him.

But most importantly, the structure reached all the way to the ceiling, and appeared to push through the thick vines that lined the top of the cavern. From what Levin could see, the platform at the top was half-inside and half-outside the twining vines, the peak of it just barely breaking through the branches. Levin felt his heart leap in relief and excitement; he could just barely see clouds sifting just beyond the veil of mysterious roots, the first sign of escaping this place he'd seen! And thankfully, there appeared to be numerous thick vines wrapping around the curve of the structure, giving Levin a path to follow to the top.

He'd hurried to make his way over to the tower and begin his ascent, but unfortunately, it seemed that there was a small hovel right at the base of the structure where a Rhenoplos had made its nest…

Levin grunted awkwardly as his switch axe clanged, ricocheting wildly off the frill of the Rhenoplos in front of him. The grey herbivore grunted as it quickly lurched forward, smacking its skull against his gut and sending him stumbling back. Levin hissed in pain as he rubbed his aching side. Damn, but this Rhenoplos seemed to have learned how to counter strike after deflecting his blade! At least it didn't hit much harder than a regular Rhenoplos… though it still hit pretty damn hard, even through his Gold Rathian armor.

That thing had been a bigger pain to fight than most Great Jaggis he'd hunted! He wasn't even trying to kill the thing either, just beat it up a little to chase it away, but the thing had come at him with a reckless abandon that just wouldn't be swayed. The small herbivore seemed to have mastered the art of deflecting blows with its hard skull plating and frill, and mercy was that plate hard! His switch axe was made of materials off the nastiest Deviljho ever recorded, yet his blade bounced off like a wooden sword against steel! Also, Levin had always thought that clubbed tail swinging behind Rhenoplos was only for show, but every time he tried to get at the creature's softer parts, the appendage came at him like a wrecking ball, and hit about as hard too, judging by the rather large crack it had left in one of the petrified roots…

The weirdest part was, Levin could have sworn he'd managed to get his blade past the Rhenoplos' skull plate and cut into the beast's shoulder. He was sure that he'd felt the tug of his blade cutting through the flesh of the Rhenoplos' hide, and the beast had even toppled mid-charge, falling to the ground with a squeal of pain. But it was up again a moment later, and no worse for the wear than it had been before; no wounds, no blood, not even a bruise, just scraping its feet against the ground and preparing to charge again.

The hunter swung his switch axe around at the beast again, swinging low to cut his weapon under the Rhenoplos' head in an attempt to strike the creature's feet out from under it. The monster didn't miss a beat and pushed up with its forelegs, narrowly lifting itself up onto its hind legs and dodging the sweep. The beast wobbled for a moment before smashing down to the ground again and splintering a thick root that weaved across the ground below it. The impact sent a spray of splinters and wood shards into the air, and Levin cursed as he raised his arm to protect his face. There was another bellow from the Rhenoplos, and the switch axe user instinctively dove to the side, just in time to dodge another of the creature's charges.

As Levin spun to face the Rhenoplos again, he snapped his weapon into its sword form. The edge of the blade sparked with dragon element as the weapon clicked into place, making the Rhenoplos take a step back. Levin was surprised by the monster's sudden hesitation; it was as though the beast knew what to expect now that his blade was in its second form. The sword mode of the switch axe allowed for a little more finesse, so Levin wouldn't rebound off the Rhenoplos' thick frill as frequently, and the dragon energy coursing through the blade would wound the herbivore even if he didn't land a solid hit.

Feeling a bit more confident, Levin took a couple steps towards the beast, taking a cautious swipe at the monster and allowing a few sparks to jump from the tip of the blade to the ground. The Rhenoplos flinched a little at the shoots of pure dragon element, but held its ground, stamping the ground and bellowing at Levin.

"Come on, you damn thing, just run away already," Levin growled, taking another swing at the creature. "I'm not threatening your nest or your eggs, and you're away from your herd… Just take the hint and leave!"

Even as Levin pushed closer to the beast though, each warning swing he took nearing the monster's face, the Rhenoplos refused to move. Even when a swipe brought the blade close enough that a jolt of dragon element jumped from the tip of the blade to the herbivore's nose horn, making it flinch in pain, the creature didn't budge. Growing agitated, Levin swung his blade towards the creature's shoulder; if he couldn't get this thing to run by threats, he could certainly beat it up a little. At the very least he could hurt it enough that it wouldn't try to give chase if Levin walked away…

However, as the blade swung towards the Rhenoplos, the beast abruptly reared up again, pulling its legs and chest into the air to avoid the swing. Levin prepared to dodge again if the creature tried to charge, but to his shock, the Rhenoplos brought its forelegs down before the sword had passed under it, smacking its hooves onto the flat of the blade. Bolts of dragon element jolted into the creature's feet, but the herbivore continued to press down, and Levin cursed as the weight of the beast dragged the tip of the weapon down until the edge was driven into the ground.

With a bellow, the Rhenoplos lurched forward, leaping up onto the flat of the World Eater-material blade, slamming the weapon flat to the ground as black energy sparking along its hooves. Levin yelped in surprise, ducking down as the beast lowered its head and aimed its horn at the hunter's exposed face. Levin was forced to release his grip on the weapon, sliding out of the way as the Rhenoplos leapt at him, its frill clipping his shoulder as it flew past him, before landing several yards behind the man and sliding to a halt. The herbivore grumbled at him, stamping its feet in the dirt as lingering tendrils of dragon element faded away from them, before charging towards him again.

Levin cursed, looking towards his switch axe, but the Rhenoplos had adjusted its path so that its charge looped near the weapon, and with a spray of dirt and pebbles, the creature slid to a halt right next to the blade! The herbivore bellowed tauntingly at Levin, stamping its feet but not charging, as though daring Levin to try and reclaim his weapon.

Levin frowned in confusion, reaching for his hunting knife. How the hell was this Rhenoplos fighting like this? Its battle experience he could sort of understand; there were some frighteningly battle-hardened monsters out there, so that had to apply to smaller beasts as well. But Rhenoplos weren't supposed to be very bright at all, much less have the cognizance to separate a hunter from their weapon, then make sure they couldn't retrieve it. Even as Levin drew the carving knife, the creature seemed to squint its eyes expectantly, ready for whatever Levin would try. Even Levin wasn't sure what he could do; his World Eater switch axe had bounced off the Rhenoplos' scalp, so what good would this knife do?

A thought occurred to him, however… His hunting knife wasn't his only remaining weapon available, though he wasn't exactly fond of his other option. As the Rhenoplos continued to stamp its feet on the ground, Levin slid the hunting knife back into its sheath, earning a cautious look from the monster. Then he reached for his right arm and carefully unlatched the gauntlet, pulling the gold-gilded glove loose and shoving it into his item pouch, revealing the twisted mass of his Dark Metal hand.

The Rhenoplos' eyes narrowed on him as he took a step towards it. Levin knew that Rhenoplos had poor eyesight, so he wondered if the creature realized that anything was amiss. He supposed not, as when he'd taken a few more steps forward, the herbivore abruptly leapt towards him, lowering its horn and aiming for Levin's chest. Levin dodged to the left, barely getting out of the way, but swept his dark limb towards the Rhenoplos' face, striking his palm against the monster's lower jaw.

There was a hissing sound as the Dark Metal pressed against the Rhenoplos' flesh, and the herbivore squealed in pain, twisting away from Levin and scurrying away before turning around to face him again. Levin rushed towards his switch axe at the opportunity, grabbing hold of the hilt and swinging the weapon around to face the beast again. The herbivore bellowed at Levin angrily, twisting its head slightly and rubbing its jaw against its knees. Levin could see a wide swath of the creature's leathery skin had turned an ugly black and blue, as though painfully frostbitten. Levin flexed the fingers of his dark arm as the Rhenoplos tried and shake off the pain.

"I guess that trick's useful every now and then," he muttered, preparing himself for the next attack. The dragongem in his wrist pulsed slightly at the words, as if pleased by the praise.

Levin braced himself as the Rhenoplos stamped it feet and charged, waiting for the beast to approach before sliding to the side and swinging his weapon towards the creature's back. But the Rhenoplos intercepted the blow, slowing down just enough to catch the edge of the blade against its frill. Even in its sword mode, the weapon glanced off the thick plate and swung over the beast's body, leaving only a spark of dragon element dancing across the Rhenoplos' skull. The monster shook it off though, sliding around and charging again. Levin dove out the way, sliding up against a tall pile of rocks at the base of the tall obsidian tower as the Rhenoplos rushed past him, but after its charge had carried it only a few yards further, the beast skid to an abrupt halt as it spun around and came for Levin again.

Levin leaned back against a tall boulder when an idea came to him. He quickly spun his weapon around, swinging it into its compact form and putting it back into its sheath, before preparing to move out of the way of the Rhenoplos. The beast approached quickly, picking up speed, and at the very last moment, Levin dove to the side, allowing the creature to charge past. However, rather than smashing into the wall and stunning itself like Levin had hoped, the Rhenoplos saw the rock wall coming and twisted its body to the side, smacking against the side of the boulder with its full torso and hitting it with enough force to create a small crack in the side. The creature didn't even seem bothered by it either, shaking itself off and turning back to face Levin.

The switch axe user cursed as he dove away from another charge, finding himself sidled up next to another boulder. Damn, but he'd thought stunning it would work, but it seemed like the Rhenoplos was skilled enough to avoid even that! How was he supposed to get rid of this thing if nothing he tried worked? Wait, no… He did have something that had worked, didn't he? He glanced down at his dark arm, flexing the fingers a little as the Rhenoplos stamped its hooves, preparing to charge again. With a bellow, the herbivore lunged, rumbling across the ground towards him, and Levin braced himself for the impending attack.

As the creature got close, Levin slid to the left, but at the same time he swept his dark limb towards the Rhenoplos' face again. The creature's eyes had been focused on the oncoming wall when the hunter had stepped aside, but when the dark limb came into view, the herbivore squealed in fear, trying to twist out of the way. In doing so, the beast forgot about the boulder and crashed headlong into the stone. The Rhenoplos bellowed in pain as a small crack split up the side, stumbling back a step as it shook its head dizzily from the concussive blow.

With a leap, Levin jumped up on top of the Rhenoplos' back, wobbling unsteadily as the creature wavered under his weight. But he forced himself to move quickly, turning and leaping towards the boulder, slamming against it and grabbing hold of the top ledge. He struggled to pull himself up without a solid foothold, but managed to scramble over the top of the large rock.

Pushing himself to his feet, he paused to catch his breath as he looked over the edge as the Rhenoplos shook off the last of its dizziness. For a few moments the beast glanced around in confusion, searching for Levin, before it looked up and realized where he was. The creature bellowed angrily, rearing up onto its hind legs and stamping its hoofs against the rock. Levin could feel the boulder quiver under the blows, and a pair of thin cracks splintered out from where its hooves had struck, but the Rhenoplos didn't seem to be able to do enough damage to the rock to threaten the hunter, nor climb up the side, so it could do little more than stand under him and grunt angrily. Levin sighed in relief, thankful for the reprieve against the irritating creature, before stepping back from the edge and closer towards the side of the tall obsidian structure behind him.

The creature continued to bellow at him from the ground below as the hunter pulled his gauntlet from his belt and slid it back over his Dark Metal arm, but despite its skill at deflecting his switch axe, the herbivore still couldn't climb up the wall like he could, leaving Levin safe from the beast. For the moment, at least. Glancing upwards, Levin could see that there was a thick root winding around the stone structure that he could take up the side of this platform, leading to the top. It was a bit precarious, but with his only other option being continuing this little battle with the Rhenoplos, he'd take climbing any day. He just hoped there was actually something worthwhile at the top of this structure, for all the trouble he'd had getting here.

Shrugging, Levin began cautiously leaping from one rock to the next, before reaching the root and hopping on top of it. The thick stem shivered a bit under his weight, but held fast to the structure. Behind him, Levin could hear the irate grunting of the Rhenoplos calling after him, but when he glanced back at the beast, the herbivore seemed to be giving up, sulking back to the thin trees behind them. Hopefully that was one issue that he didn't have to deal with again. For now though, Levin pushed the strange Rhenoplos out of his mind and began to climb, winding his way up the root towards the top of the platform. The roots proved to be a sturdy foothold, thankfully, and had been there long enough that they hardly even wavered as Levin made his way up and around the side of the structure.

As he made his way upwards, his eye occasionally lingered on the walls of the structure. He had to admit, they reminded him of the old Meridian stone that he'd seen back home, though the structure being made of obsidian rather than sturdy white stone was enough to make him think that the Meridians hadn't anything to do with the construction of these towers. But then who had made them, he wondered? And what was their connection to this strange place? As he climbed higher, he couldn't help but feel that the writing and symbols themselves seemed to change, as though an entirely new group had taken to writing upon the stone. There had to be a reason behind it all, but the markings and murals gave him little help.

Soon he found himself approaching the top of the structure, and yet he hardly seemed any at all closer to the vibrant, shifting light that hung in the sky so high over him. How tall was this tree, for its branches to weave so long and so far? It had to be as tall as a mountain, to stretch so high! But the gap that the pillar cut into the thick vines was just beyond the edge of the platform, and Levin was sure that he could see dark clouds passing overhead. He still couldn't feel any wind or smell fresh air yet, which was odd, but that was sure to be remedied soon.

With a heave, Levin hoisted himself up onto the platform. Looking over towards the far side, he could see the sky through the opening, and rushed over. Already he could hear the crashing of the waves of the ocean. With luck there'd be a village nearby, somewhere he could go to get home! As Levin stepped out into the open and looked out to sea, however, his eyes widened in shock. He'd found the way out of this cavern like he'd hoped to, but what he saw there terrified him.

He was staring out into almost complete darkness.

Outside the curtain of hanging branches that dropped down from above, the thick vines of the tree wound downwards, curling towards the water and burying themselves into the rock. As the stone gave way to sand, which gave way to water, beyond was a wide ocean that stretched as far as he could see, but the water was dark, completely empty with only the smallest waves lapping against the shoreline. Above him was the sky… or what should have been the sky. The air above him was dark as night, filled with threatening clouds that hung just as limply in the sky as the water below, unmoving and unchanging. Looking out towards the horizon, where the dark water met the bleak sky, was like staring into a void, an endless darkness that stretched on forever.

The only thing that broke the nothingness beyond the shoreline were massive pale towers that sprouted up from the water maybe a couple miles off shore, lit up like beacons. Like the path behind him, Levin couldn't make out any particular source of light projecting across the structures; there was no sun, no fires, go glowing objects or anything at all, but the towers seemed to just be mysteriously lit up. Levin craned his head, following the towers skyward, thinking they would go up through the clouds, but it seemed that the structures didn't reach that high. He realized that the towers weren't straight, but rather arced up and over him, all of them folding in towards a central point. The hunter quickly stepped out of the cave, taking several steps outside before turning around to see where they all met.

It really was a tree! A single, massive tree at least three miles high and a mile thick at least! Just looking up the side from where he stood began to give Levin a feeling of vertigo, and he had to look down again to shake off the growing dizziness. The 'towers' he'd been looking at, which stretched out into the ocean were nothing more than far-reaching branches, hanging down from the very top of the tree. It seemed to be a type of willow or something similar, with a thick trunk rising up in the center and thick vine-branches hanging down around it, covering up the inside and blotting out what lay within from the outside world. The whole thing was like the rest of the caverns had been, perfectly visible in the darkness despite the lack of light sources. There certainly wasn't any sun or moon in the sky, and the strange glowing orb high up in the branches wasn't letting off enough light to make everything visible.

Looking around, Levin realized that this tree had to be all that there was in this place, wherever he was. The tree seemed to be growing out of the ocean itself; the shoreline stretched out a bit from where the roots of the tree buried into the earth, but didn't travel very much further. From what could be seen, Levin could follow the water if he wanted, but it seemed as though he'd only loop around on himself eventually. And even if he did try, would there be any villages along the water? What kind of dwelling would he find in a place like this?

And that was really the biggest question he had at the moment: where the hell was he? This place was just so… unnatural. It reminded him of the Sacred Land, before the Alatreon's death, all dark and bleak. At least there wasn't a volcano around.

Staring out into the darkness wasn't getting him anywhere though. With a sigh, Levin turned around, walking back towards the interior of the tree across the platform. As he stared at the ground though, he realized that the top of the platform had been carved elaborately like the sides of the structure had. The size of the platform made it hard to really make out what was drawn, but as he stared around, Levin realized that it was actually a giant drawing of a tree!

Levin grinned in excitement. Perhaps he'd actually be able to glean some useful information from these images after all! The platform was pretty big, so the drawing was hard to get a full grasp of from so close, and he still couldn't read any of this writing, but there had to be something in here he could use to find a way out of here. If nothing else, maybe he could at least get pointed in the right direction.

However, as Levin circled the top of the platform, scouring the carvings for information, he suddenly shivered. His Dark Metal arm had just grown cold…

---

York sighed, leaning wearily against the thick branch behind him. He did so gingerly at first though, testing the wood's solidity; he'd learned that not everything was as stable as it seemed.

He'd damn near fallen to his death earlier when climbing the side of a massive root at least two dozen yards thick. He'd been using the vines that wrapped around the sides to make his way up the side, and was at least thirty yards up and close to the top when one of the vines he reached for had abruptly disintegrated, turning to sand in his grip. An entire square yard of the vines turned to powder, raining down on him from above. If he hadn't managed to pull out the hand axe hanging from his belt with his other hand and hook the crook around one of the vines, he may very well have plummeted the entire way down from shock and the sand-wood getting into his eye and mouth. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any other vines on the way up that were quite so fragile, but even so it took him at least ten minutes to climb the last few yards, for fear that one of his next handholds or footholds might be just as treacherous as the one before.

At least he had a better view now, despite how harrowing his trip up had been. Though, unfortunately, it didn't see as though there was that much for him to see even now. This root- and vine-filled cavern was positively massive, and the vines seemed to go on forever. He was only growing more and more confused with each passing minute.

Looking down, he could see just over the top of a tall stone structure rising up from the earth, covered in thick roots and vines from the tree. He'd seen one or two of them during his searching, but this one was the biggest yet. They all seemed to have strange carvings and murals written on the sides and top, but the images seemed different on each pillar. York had seen similar ancient structures back home, but he couldn't tell if these structures were the same design or something different.

Most importantly though was the fact that the top of the pillar seemed to have pushed open a gap in the sides of the thick vines which hung down from above. If nothing else, the structure provided a way out of this… cavern, tree hollow, whatever. From his angle, he couldn't see outside yet, but whatever waited beyond the barricade of these branches had to be better than this bland interior. That was the reason York had climbed up here in the first place: he'd spotted a long vine that stretched along the wall from near the peak of the tower close to where he was now. All he had to do now was make his way across and he'd be home free.

He'd rested enough for now; it was time to get out of here. With a stretch, the dual blade user stood up, before making his way towards the branch and starting his way across. He was forced to show caution, as several smaller vines wrapped around his at regular intervals, and he had to make sure none of them would turn to dust like before, but his path seemed safe so far, and he was able to make quick time.

York was only twenty yards from the structure when he snapped to a halt. He'd heard something. That wouldn't have been much of a surprise anywhere else, but here? This place was dead silent. The last time he'd 'heard something', he'd been assaulted by two of the nastiest Bullfangos in existence. And the noise he'd heard wasn't natural either, but more of a clanking, metallic sound. He recognized the noise: it was the sound of armor! And it was getting closer… The dual sword user slipped behind one of the thick vines nearby, glancing over the edge in search of the sound's source. As far as he could tell, the clanking was coming from just on the other side of the platform.

A few moments later, the source of the sound appeared. On the side of the platform opposite the hole in the ceiling, a human shape hoisted itself up from below, and York's eyes widened in surprise. It was a hunter! It had to be, considering the armor he was wearing, and the switch axe that was slung across their back. His back, if York had to guess by the design of the armor. And the armor… York didn't think he'd ever seen someone wearing Gold Rathian armor before, or at least not that particular design.

York hesitated to call out to the man though. This was the first living creature he'd run across since arriving at this place, aside from the Bullfangos. He wasn't about to trust the first person he met in such a strange place, especially not one so heavily armored. Besides, as York looked at the man, he was having a hard time making out what the man looked like. The cap for his armor left his face unveiled, but there was a black cloth covering most of what York could see from where he stood. A mask of some kind, perhaps? York only knew a few types of people that wore masks, and not many of them were trustworthy.

The hunter seemed to be intent on something anyway, striding quickly across the platform towards the opening in the ceiling. The man quickly passed beyond the thick vines and out of York's line of vision. The dual sword user waited a few moments, making sure the man wasn't going to abruptly reappear, before sliding out from behind the vine he'd been behind and slinking towards the edge of the platform. He finally got into a position to see outside, though he couldn't make out much more than that it was heavily overcast, with dark, looming clouds. York was preparing to pull himself up onto the platform when the footsteps echoed his way again, signaling the return of the gold-armored hunter.

York slid down, crouching just under the lip of the platform when the other hunter reappeared, walking in strange circles. The hunter was muttering a lot to himself, York could hear that much, even from a distance. Though, considering the silence of this place, he would have been ashamed of himself if he hadn't been able to pick up on the sound. He supposed that in a disconcerting place like this, talking to oneself was the least of things to worry about. The gold-armored hunter continued to pace around the platform, glancing around at the stone slab below him and occasionally kicking dust to the side. Was there something written on the obsidian structure? From this angle, York couldn't see exactly what the man was looking at; he could try to climb higher, but if he did, he might risk the hunter spotting him, and York didn't want that to happen until he was sure the gold-armored man was not a threat.

The man was also rubbing his shoulder quite a bit. Perhaps it was an old wound bothering him, or just some personal tic. But there was something off about the motion. He was too far away to tell properly, but the gold-armored hunter seemed to be moving his arms awkwardly and unnaturally. York had trouble figuring out how to describe it exactly, it just seemed… slightly off. Whatever it was that was bothering the hunter, it seemed to be agitating him further and further, until finally the man stopped his scouring of the platform and began tugging at the gauntlet on his right hand. The gauntlet was pulled free and tucked into the man's belt loop, and the hunter held his hand out to observe the appendage.

York's breath caught in his chest at the sight, however. Whatever it was that was under the Gold Rathian materials, it sure as hell wasn't a hand, or at least, not one of flesh and bone. A dark, twisted material stretched out from the gold-armored hunter's vambraces, bleak and inhuman. It wiggled and flexed, the 'fingers' curling and straightening as a normal hand might… But what lay in the center of the dark material's 'wrist', was something that chilled York's blood, something he'd only seen once before: an Azure Dragongem, the soul canister for the Alatreon, the gem which bore the spirit and will of the elder dragon! He had thought there had been only one, and he had destroyed it! And yet there could be no mistake. Even at the distance he was, the deep blue hue of the stone couldn't belong to any other gem. And he could see it… pulsing, radiating some dark energy.

The 'hunter', or whatever the gold-armored thing was, seemed concerned by the gem in his arm as it throbbed with a dark blue light. He brought up his other hand, tapping at the stone uncertainly and muttering to himself even more. York frowned and narrowed his eye on the man… if he could call it that; that dark material certainly wasn't anything human. Was there even flesh at all below the Golden Rathian scales and plating? York hadn't been able to see the man's face through the mask on the side of his face… That would explain the thing's awkward motions, and since the Azure Dragongems were containers for the Alatreon's soul… this thing had to be one of the elder dragon's servants! Was it a lingering remnant of the Brilliant Darkness, perhaps, some inhuman experiment? Or was it just some unfortunate puppet under control of the Alatreon? Was this 'hunter' the reason York had been brought to this strange place?

Either way, he'd need to take care of this 'hunter' first. Even if it had been human once, if its body had been possessed by the Alatreon, there was no saving them anymore, and if it wasn't possessed, then its mind had certainly been warped by the Alatreon's influence to serve the elder dragon's purposes. He patted the pule blade in its sheath, glad he'd brought it with him; the blade was the only sure thing that could shatter an Azure Dragongem. After that, he'd have to search out any other members of the Brilliant that the gold-armored thing had gathered under the sway of the Alatreon. He couldn't just leave another outpost of the cult behind to do what they would.

The thing had been focused rather intently on the dragongem for a minute or two now, perhaps receiving instructions from the soul of the Alatreon itself. Its back was turned to York at the moment; there'd be no better opportunity than this. As quietly as he could, the white-robed hunter pulled himself onto the top of the platform, slinking across the dark material over where the servant of the Alatreon stood…

---

"Damn it all, what is your problem? You've never done this before."

Levin felt a chill spread up his shoulder as the gemstone pulsed again, and he hissed in irritation as the frigid feeling seeped into his blood. Levin squeezed the dark limb's fist tight, trying to force down the Dark Metal's rebellion, or whatever it was the substance was trying to do, but still the Metal resisted, dragongem pulsing and the frigid feeling continuing to course up through his shoulder. Levin cursed under his breath, grabbing hold of his wrist to try and bring the arm to cooperate, but-

His arm abruptly went slack, the frigid feeling vanishing in a moment. Levin blinked in surprise, releasing the limb and letting it swing slack to his side. He turned his head, looking down at it in confusion and trying to move it, but it failed to respond.

As he turned his head however, he caught a flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye. His body acted instinctively, twisting around and pulling back as a humanoid shape lunged at him from behind. There was a flash of steel, a metallic glint that was sweeping directly for the gap in his armor just below his chest plate, protruding from his attacker's wrist. He twisted to move out of the way, but the motion was awkward and slow, his dodge coming too late, and the blade bore down on him.

However, before the metal could pierce his flesh, his dark arm pulsed back to life, sweeping to the side and clawing out at the blade. There was a screeching sound as the Dark Metal claws clashed against the blade, and the jagged fingers lashed out to grasp hold of his attacker's arm. However, his assailant was quick and leapt back as the Dark Metal swiped at him, the black material only just brushing against the man's arm.

As his attacker pulled away, Levin did the same, reaching for the hilt of his switch axe. He realized, as the dark arm swept back to pull out his weapon, that the limb was once again under his control, the Azure Dragongem in the wrist pulsing brightly. "Oh, so this is what you were trying to tell me? I suppose I should be grateful…"

"Who are you?" the man asked, drawing one of his dual swords and pointing it at Levin. He seemed to be garbed in a hooded white coat made from Barioth pelts, though Levin had never seen a design like that before. It seemed too lightweight to act as any form of protection, though it seemed it was made for speed. The man wore an eyepatch over his right eye, but his single blue eye was staring intently at him. His eye was darting quickly from Levin's face to what he could see of Levin's dark arm. "I thought the Brilliant Darkness was done and over with! Did the Alatreon survive somehow? Answer me!"

"Brilliant Darkness…?" Wasn't that one of the Alatreon's titles? Levin recalled the elder dragon referring to itself as such in the Sacred Land… "The Alatreon? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me. The last thing you want to do is to piss me off. What are you, a servant of the Alatreon?"

"Are you nuts?" Levin snapped irritably. "A servant of the Alatreon? That's the last thing I'd be! I was the one who killed the damn thing!"

But across from him, the white-armored man had gone rigid, and his grip on his blades had tightened. "I don't know what kind of delusions you're acting under or who you're trying to fool. I was the one who killed the Alatreon! I shattered the dragongem! And now you show up with another one in your arm… you think I'm going to fall for such simple lies?"

"Lies?" Levin growled. "Lies? You think I'm lying? I may not like people talking about me, but I sure as hell won't just let some murderous lunatic try and take credit for something he didn't do! After all the hell me and my comrades went through trying to kill the elder dragon, I'm not about to let someone who wasn't even there try and make himself famous off the efforts of others! I don't remember seeing you in Loc Lac at all, and you sure as hell weren't with us all in the Sacred Land!"

"What the hell are you going on about?" the other man snapped back. "What's the Sacred Land, and what's that got to do with the Alatreon at all? The Alatreon was never in Loc Lac either! Are you just making things up? This nonsense you're spouting is just making you look bad."

"What do you mean the Alatreon was never in Loc Lac?!" Levin gasped, staring at the dual sword user in horror. "Are you completely insane? Do you live under a rock? Do you have any idea how many people were killed when the Alatreon attacked Loc Lac? You can't just brush that kind of devastation under a rug and pretend it didn't happen! You called me delusional, when you're pretending that so much death didn't happen?"

Levin didn't know what sort of face he'd expected the man to make after that, but a look of confusion certainly wasn't it. This dual sword user had absolutely no idea what Levin was talking about! How could he have heard of the Alatreon, have known the creature was dead and try and claim he'd done it, and not know about how Loc Lac had been nearly destroyed by the elder dragon? There was a point where self-delusion went too far! The whole country knew what had happened by now! What was he trying to pull, acting the way he was? What could he possibly gain by claiming that nothing had happened?

The man's expression fell a bit, and he gave Levin a pitying expression. "Did the dragongem do this to you or something? I don't know what sort of things the stone has done to your mind, but it's clear talking isn't going to solve anything." The man lowered himself into a low crouch. "Make this easy on yourself and let me destroy that gem in your arm, and maybe I won't have to kill you too."

Levin frowned, glancing down at his Dark Metal arm and the azure gem pulsing in the wrist. That was the second time the man had mentioned the dragongem, both times acting like it was some terrible thing. It was just a rock! It was a very rare rock, sure, and a power source that allowed Levin to use his prosthetic arm and leg, but nothing more than that. Yet the man was treating it like such a huge threat… Levin supposed he really shouldn't try to understand the thoughts of a man who believed that Loc Lac had never been attacked, or that he'd slain the Alatreon when he clearly never had.

Activating the gears in his weapon, Levin switched his weapon to its sword form, and bolts of dragon element began to dance down the blade as the phial came to life. "Sorry," he told the man. "I can't afford to give up this dragongem right now. I don't know what your problem is, but I'm sure as hell not going to let you cut me down to satisfy whatever dream world you're living in."

"Then I'm going to have to kill you."

"You can try. You wouldn't be the first. But I've survived a hunt with the Alatreon. It's not going to be as easy as you seem to think it'll be."

The dual sword user sighed at the words, before darting towards Levin. The gold-armored hunter cursed under his breath; this man was faster than he'd thought he would be! One moment he was a dozen yards away, the next he was nearly on top of Levin! The hunter quickly pulled back, bringing his sword around in a sharp horizontal swing, but the white robe man slipped past the blade, pushing through the jolts of dragon element that jumped from the weapon and into his armor. Levin hissed as the man closed the distance, bringing himself inside the swinging range of his switch axe, and he pulled his left arm up to block the impending attack.

However, the man didn't attack with his sword or the blades on his wrist, but drew the dagger from its sheath on his chest. With a sharp thrust, the man swept the tip of the blade down towards Levin's dark limb, aiming directly towards the dragongem at the wrist. Levin cursed; was the man trying to break the gem? He couldn't afford to release the hilt of his weapon, and tried to swing his left arm down to block…

There was a clashing sound as the dagger struck the side of the dragongem, but though the tip struck directly in the center of the stone, and Levin felt the impact of the blow, the blade ricocheted off, bouncing the dagger back. Levin sighed in relief; he hadn't known how sharp the white blade was, but apparently it wasn't enough to damage the dragongem. The dual sword user's eye widened in disbelief though, looking at the blade in his hand with a dumbfounded expression.

Taking advantage of the man's shock, Levin lunged, smashing his shoulder into the man's chest and knocking him back. Switching the hilt of his switch axe to his other hand, Levin swung his dark arm out, grasping for the man's arm, but the dual blade user recovered quickly enough to pull his arm out of the way. The man swung the dagger down again, but Levin twisted his wrist, forcing the dagger to clash against the Dark Metal. The man cursed under his breath, and his gaze snapped away from the dark limb back up to Levin's face. With a snap of his wrist, the man adjusted his attack, sweeping the sword in his other hand up and aiming for Levin's face and throat. Levin yelped, pulling away and blocking with his dark limb even as the man pressed his attack.

With his left arm though, Levin awkwardly dragged his switch axe sideways across the ground, the motion inciting the phial, creating a small jet of dragon element that shot through the blade. The flat of the blade smacked the man in the shin, and though the attack was weak, the dark energy coursing through the weapon jumped into the man's pants. The dual sword wielder cursed in pain as red sparks shot into his leg, making him jump back instinctively. With the extra space, Levin pulled his weapon back into position and swung his switch axe towards the man, forcing him to leap back even further to dodge the blade as more sparks of dragon element jumped from the tip. The man pulled back, keeping himself out of the range of Levin's blade. The man braced himself for a moment, and the two men stared each other down for several moments.

Levin kept his sword in a defensive position, trying to figure out how to proceed. This dual sword user seemed out for his blood for some damned reason, and seemed to be trying to steal glory for himself by claiming he'd killed the Alatreon. Levin supposed that could be true though, since there were still other Alatreons making nests in the Sacred Land, and a couple of them had been taken down by hunters. Had this man been in one of those groups? Levin hadn't known who the Guild had sent to keep watch on those dragons, but that didn't explain why this other hunter seemed to want Levin dead. Then there was whatever he'd been spouting on about involving the Alatreon and… its servants? The Alatreon didn't have servants! The only living creature that could even qualify would've been the World Eater, and certainly wouldn't have been a human.

The two continued to keep their distance from each other, patiently waiting for the other to strike. Levin had always been a much more defensive fighter when fighting other humans, and was bracing himself for the man's attacks, yet at the same time, the white-robed man seemed to be prepared for Levin to attack him. There was silence on the obsidian platform for several long moments as the two eyed each other, trying to determine if and when the other would attack.

Finally the dual sword user growled irritably, reaching back and sliding a hand into his item pouch. "This is taking too long," he said, pulling a metallic canister from the pouch.

"Hold on, now!" Levin shouted, but before he could do anything, the man pulled the pin, throwing the object to the ground. There was a loud bomf sound, and Levin winced as an eruption of white burst forth from under the dual sword user's feet. A wave of white smoke swelled out from the impact zone, and Levin winced as the haze washed over him, coating the platform in a thick white fog, blotting out the switch axe user's vision.

Levin grimaced, glancing around as his eye adjusted to the haze. Damn it, he could hardly see anything! The obsidian platform below him was about all he could make out, but even then Levin could only see in each direction maybe five yards at the most. This smoke was thicker than the usual fog that most of the smoke bombs he'd seen used conjured up. Levin couldn't even see the dual sword user anymore though this thick haze. But then, it stood to reason that if Levin couldn't see the other man, then the other man shouldn't be able to see him either, right? Just because you were the one that threw the smoke bomb down didn't mean the effects didn't apply to you after all…

The white-robed man suddenly appeared through the haze from his right, lunging for Levin's dark limb. Levin cursed, trying to duck away and swing his switch axe around, but wasn't quick enough. The man swept well inside the range of Levin's blade before he could bring the blade around, grabbing hold of the switch axe's hilt and pushing Levin's blade to the ground. Levin lunged with his shoulder again, but the man pulled the hilt, dragging the switch axe forward, while swinging his boot out towards Levin's legs.

Levin grunted as the man's boot struck against his ankle, clanging against his greaves and throwing Levin's feet out from under him. The switch axe user tried to bring a foot out to catch himself, but he felt the other man's hand press against his back, throwing him to the floor. As Levin fell through, he felt the man's other hand release his switch axe's hilt and grabbing hold of his dark metal arm, ripping it free from its grip on the hilt and pulling it up as he pushed the rest of Levin to the ground. A boot pressed against the small of Levin's back, the hand on his back vanished, and Levin heard the sound of a blade drawing.

Levin cursed as he twisted his head around to look at the man, trying to twist his arm free. The white-robed hunter had pulled his arm taut with a tight grip on Levin's forearm, and drawn the dagger from its sheath on his chest. His eye was staring intently at the azure gemstone within the core of the Dark Metal as he pulled the blade back.

The dragongem in the wrist of the Dark Metal pulsed then, and there was a sudden, twisted hissing sound. The dual blade wielder suddenly shouted in pain, wrenching his hand free from Levin's dark arm and staggering back. Across the man's left hand, a long swath of pale frost had spread across the glove, covering most of the man's hand and crawling a short distance up into the man's sleeves. The man's hand was shaking as he tightened it into a fist, trying to shake off the frigid feeling and brush away the frost that had coated his fingers and palm.

Levin used to chance to quickly push back to his feet. His opponent saw the motion and leapt forward to intercept him, but Levin managed to sweep his switch axe around, forcing the man to pull back from the attack. The man scowled at Levin, before pulling away from the switch axe user and cloaking himself in the smoke once again.

Soon, Levin's eye was darting around again, trying to spot the man through the fog, but he was having trouble doing so. Most of the platform was covered by smoke, and it was challenging for Levin to see anything. Every once in a while, he could hear a footstep sneaking up on him from behind or from his blind spot to the right, but while Levin was able to sweep around to face the direction, he could never quite spot much more than a shadow of the man through the haze. At least his Dark Metal arm seemed helpful; the dark material seemed to be able to sense the life of the man, and would grow cold when the man was coming towards him. Even then, Levin could never really tell what direction the dual blade user would come from, so the metal didn't help that much.

He did have one thing available that could help him… though he was hesitant to use it. Harker's experiments had taken a turn into alchemy again a few months ago, toying with things like Demondrugs and Armorskins and the like. He'd been trying to concoct some foreign fluids that were incredibly rare in Theron, and had given Levin a small bottle to test in the field. Levin wouldn't have taken it, but Kerry had given it an admittedly hesitant seal of approval, and her criteria for field testing was far more stringent than Harker's. Levin's eye darted around quickly, searching for the dual sword user, before he slipped a hand into his pouch and pulled out a small bottle, filled with a swirling orange liquid.

"Psychoserum, huh?" Levin muttered worriedly, remembering what Harker had called it. He didn't want to do this… but if it really worked like he'd been promised, he needed the help right now.

Popping the cork, he quickly downed the fluid, finding it to be surprisingly earthy… almost sickeningly so, actually. The stuff tasted like dirt! As he dropped the bottle though, returning his hand to the hilt of his switch axe, he gasped and staggered as a wave of dizziness washed over him, making him feel very light-headed. He cursed, trying to keep himself upright; this was not what he had been promised!

A moment later though, the feeling faded, and Levin gasped in surprise. Every single one of his senses suddenly felt super-charged! Breathing in, he could taste the air so keenly, and his nose could pick out the faintest scent of the ivy that had been used to concoct the smoke both. His sense of touch seemed unchanged, but his sight seemed to have momentarily improved as well, allowing him to see the small air currents around him shifting the smoke as it curled through the air. And his sense of hearing-

Footsteps! He could hear them, sharp but faint and nearly imperceptible. He certainly wouldn't have heard them a moment ago… and they were right behind him! With a shout, Levin spun around, swinging his switch axe in a sharp arc around him. Sure enough, there was the white-robed hunter, lunging towards Levin out of the haze with a sword in one hand and his dagger in the other. His eye widened in shock at Levin's abrupt turnaround, and he swung a boot forward, sliding to a halt as the tip of the switch axe swept only six inches in front of his chest, sending several sparks of dragon element arcing into his coat.

The man cursed, sliding to the side and lashing out with his sword. Levin pulled his blade back, trying to block, and the blade clashed against the flat of his switch axe. There was another jolt of dragon element that leapt across the blue sword and into the man's arm, making him curse in pain. Levin swung a leg up to try and kick the man in the gut, but the man jumped back before the impact could land, giving Levin room to take another wide swing with his blade. His opponent pulled away again, before quickly turning and dashing back into the smoke. Levin cursed, chasing after him for a moment, but it was too late, and the man had vanished into the haze once more.

Levin could at least hear him now though. While the man's footsteps and motions had been nearly impossible for him to follow earlier, now they seemed to come to him with far greater clarity. He could hear his opponent's footsteps through the haze when he got close enough, and it was far easier for Levin to make out the man through the smoke, despite the white of his armor hiding him so well. Levin half-expected that he could probably even smell the man if he tried hard enough. The dual blade wielder tried to surprise attack him a couple more times, but the effects of the Psychoserum gave Levin more than enough warning to swing around and cut the man off. The power of the serum was quickly waning, however. Levin could feel it. His hearing, vision, smelling, and taste were quickly fading back to normal level, dulling the world around him. The next couple attempts that the other man made to attack him were caught less quickly than the first time.

However, the smokescreen that the man had thrown down was wearing off as well. Though slowly, the haze filling the air was thinning out as the smoke billowed over the sides of the structure. Soon, Levin could look into up and see the sky overhead. The white-robed man was still out of sight, but he'd have to make a move soon, or his cover would be gone…

Soon the remaining smoke only lingered a few feet over the ground, allowing Levin to see across the platform once more, but he still couldn't see the white-robed hunter anywhere. He had to be crouching low, but that meant that he wouldn't be able to sprint towards Levin without being seen as well, right? The effects of the Psychoserum were almost gone now, but he only needed it to last a few more minutes.

A clattering sounded to Levin's side only a few feet away though the haze, and he turned sharply to face the attack, swinging his blade around, but there was nothing there! His blade swung down uselessly, smashing into the obsidian as Levin looked around in confusion, before spotting some small motion under the smoke. It was a shard of the platform, clattering across the obsidian. He'd been tricked! Sure enough, he heard more footsteps behind him, and snapped his head around to spot the dual blade user rushing from directly behind him! Damn, he was fast; Levin wouldn't be able to properly defend in time!

As quickly as he could, he activated his switch axe's phial energy burst, and dragon element roared down the length of his weapon's blade. Dark red and black bolts of energy seared across the fangs that lined the blade as Levin twisted his blade around, cutting the tip of the sword into the obsidian. As the blade circled around, the erupting energy smashed into the platform, creating a jet of black fire that fired straight up. Before the white-robed hunter reached him, Levin had swung his blade across the ground so it was almost pointing in his direction. Perhaps sensing what was going to happen, the man slid to a halt, but had gotten too close.

With a powerful blast, the switch axe unleashed the final burst of dragon element, punching it into the floor and erupting in a wave of black fire. Even a few feet away from where the tip of the sword was cutting into the stone, the dual sword user was sent skidding backwards by the blast. Levin wasn't unaffected by the blast though, and stumbled backwards as dark energy washed over him. He could feel his weapon shifting back into its axe form automatically as he shielded his face with his left arm, and winced a little from the voltage of the dragon element.

He glanced down at his weapon as it clicked into place. The materials of the World Eater made this switch axe particularly deadly, especially when equipped with a dragon phial. The materials in the weapon seemed to positively thrive on the element, and the phial blasts were dangerously powerful. So much so that Levin almost needed to wear his Golden Lune mail when wielding this weapon; the armor was one of the few set he'd ever found that was particularly resistant to the dark energy. Anything less, and each phial burst from his switch axe was likely to inflict him with dragonblight from the backlash alone. Even now he could feel the last shocks of the dragon element fading away, and he braced himself, swinging his axe forward.

As the smoke from the blast began to clear, he caught sight of the white-robed hunter through the haze. The man had been quick enough to avoid the brunt of the blast, though his sleeves were singed, and Levin could see some black and red sparks jumping across the man's coat. He'd managed to get the other man with dragonblight, which was less than he'd hoped for, but it would slow the other man down a touch. The man's eye snapped up to glare at Levin.

"Are you completely mad? Are you trying to kill us both with stunts like that?"

"They do call the Lost crazy," Levin said sourly. "Besides, it wouldn't be the worst thing I've ever done to myself…"

The white-armored hunter lowered himself, preparing to lunge towards him again. Levin swept his axe around, bracing himself. The phial was drained, and he didn't have the time to try and change to his backup; he'd have to make do with the axe-mode of the blade for now. It was slower, something he didn't think he could afford against this man, even with dragonblight affecting him. He did have one of Harker's special flash bombs in his pouch, now that he thought about it. That would blind the man, even if he closed his eye; it would stun Levin too, but Levin would know it was coming, and had figured out how to blot out most of the light. Then he might be able to swing the crook of his axe around the other man's leg, and be able to-

As amusing as this is, perhaps it is time we made an appearance. Such a shame, too… We were rather enjoying the show, and there is so little to entertain ourselves with in this place.

Levin froze where he stood, a hand half-reaching for his pouch, and he felt the blood drain from his face. That voice… he felt it pressing into his mind, forcing its way into his thoughts through some unblockable bond. The white-armored hunter across from him seemed just as harried as he was, his eye darting around in search of the voice. There was only one creature in the world that Levin knew to speak to him this way, its voice thundering in his skull…

Ah, you both remember us… good. But we suppose our continued existence is proof enough of that. Now then…

There was the thumping of powerful wing beats above him, and Levin gaze shot skyward. Up the wall, further along the twisting mass of thick roots and vines, a wide section of the pale tendrils burst apart as a massive black shape appeared from within, gliding towards them on black wings. With a twist of its body, the creature dove, plummeting towards the ground before landing hard on the stone platform. Fractures ripped across the ground under the force of the landing, cracking the platform as the beast pulled itself upright, leering down at the humans in front of it.

"It's impossible," Levin muttered, and the monster turned an amused gaze on him. The black scales, the wide wings, the jagged spikes, the long tusks, and the two massive, twisted horns…

"What the hell…?" the white robed man muttered, his voice filled with a dreadful surprise. "It can't be…!"

Yes, it is I, Levin. It is I, York! That dragon which you both know as the Alatreon!

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York belongs to Thomas A. Hawk

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Author's Note: Please Review!

And thus our intrepid heroes meet, though not under the best circumstances, only to encounter a greater threat than they ever imagined! Will they survive an encounter with the dread elder dragon, the Alatreon? Can they learn to work together, despite their dispute, to overcome this challenge? Stay tuned to find out! And wow they really had a lot of trouble with a Bullfango and a Rhenoplos. What a couple of losers, right?

Next update might be a week late. The holidays really bit into my writing time… hopefully I can pull it off though.

I recently saw a… let's call it a something, because I'm not sure how to properly define it. For a moment, I thought it was a preview of a Monster Hunter anime… and it was very disappointing from the looks of it. It was not designed to look very serious, I'll say that much; though I try to avoid using Japanese words to describe things, it was very… moe. I really cannot think of a better word. Thankfully, it turns out it was just a promotional video or something they released for a MH-based browser game they're putting out in Japan called Mezeporta Pioneer or something like that, and I was relieved. As much as I'd like to see a MH anime… I really don't want one like that.

Also, I really want to play Shadow of Mordor, but PS4's digital download times are complete garbage…

Playing: Bastion, Final Fantasy III, MH3U, Mario Kart 8, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (AARGH! Finally going back to finish this like I always meant to!), Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Pathfinder, Hyrule Warriors, Pokemon X, Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, Super Smash Bros. WiiU
Listening: Yeasayer, Switchfoot, Pet Shop Boys, REM, AC/DC, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Animal Collective, Keane, Mystery Skulls, Cold, The Thrilling Adventure Hour Podcast, The Friendzone
Reading: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohika Araki, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari by Aneko Yusagi, Spellcross by Stefan Martello, The Silent Kingdom by Freedan the Eternal, Aura Knights and Faber et Filia by Hoenn Master 96, The Master Corps and Frontier Lineage by Thomas A. Hawk, Jormungand by Takahashi Keitarou, Boku no Hero Academia by Horikoshi Kouhei, Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio, Stand Still Stay Silent by Minna Sundberg
Watching: GenerikB livestreams, MH4G livestreams, Patema Inverted (GREAT MOVIE, HOLY CRAP), Yogscast Jingle Jam livestreams