Alone

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

Edited by: Hoenn Master96 and Thomas A. Hawk

Eventually, the hunters could take no more walking, and once more they found a nook in the side of the path to stop in. This time the both of them scoured it, checking every crack and crevice inside to make sure there weren't any other hideaways where another core could be hiding, before finally allowing themselves to droop to the ground wearily, taking their first break in what felt like days. Even then, Levin couldn't help but feel on edge; it seemed like they'd hardly gotten a break since leaving the Alatreon's tower, and he couldn't help but feel any momentary safety was sure to be broken.

"I'm starting to disagree with what you said earlier," Levin muttered as he leaned against a tall boulder, laying his switch axe next to him as York looked at him curiously. "The longer we're here, the more this place seems like Hell to me. At the very least, it's looking like purgatory."

York scoffed slightly as he took his own seat next to the entrance of the hole they'd hidden inside. "Yeah, you got me there. No fire and brimstone, but no mercy for the living either."

The two hunters were quiet for a few minutes, taking the time to actually enjoy a reprieve, before York finally spoke up. "Do you… remember what happened in the core?"

Levin nodded slowly. "Most of it. There are still parts that are kind of fuzzy though. I've had to deal with memory loss before, but having my memories shuffled around like that has got me feeling kind of hazy… I remember something about a burning village… and I think you were there, but it's vague and unclear."

York looked at Levin curiously. "You don't remember Crez? You helped me save my friend Zeal from being buried inside a burning house."

"I did?" Levin asked. "I don't remember that… I remember being at a burning village, but not much else. After that was my hometown, during the Alatreon's attack. You appeared and distracted the dragon long enough for me and my family to escape."

York frowned in confusion though. "Now I'm not sure what you're talking about. After I talked to Zeal, I remember getting pulled into the darkness by some… spectral hands, and then…" The dual blade wielder furrowed his brow. "And then… something happened. There was a city… with tall towers, and lots of people, and… some sort of… zippy thing. But I can't remember anything else. It feels like it was just a dream that's slipping through my fingers. I think I saw you there, but it's really hazy."

The two hunters were silent for a moment before York spoke up again. "Did the core erase some of our memories of our time there? You were in my memories, and I was in yours, but neither of us seem to remember being in the other's."

"I guess so," Levin nodded. "Maybe since they weren't our memories, we couldn't remember them… or the core didn't want us to remember them. Something like that?"

"Makes about as much sense as anything else in this place," York sighed.

"So… what happened in your memory, if you don't mind me asking?"

York sighed again, leaning back against the rock behind him and staring blankly at the ceiling. "I guess there's no harm in saying… I relived a moment in my past when… when the village I lived in burned to the ground. Because of me. In the past - the real past I mean - a friend of mine, Zeal, got caught up in the fire and was buried under a burning house, and I thought him dead for years. But in the core, you showed up. You kept him from getting buried, and we managed to get out of Crez alive.

"When Zeal told me it was all just an illusion, that I hadn't really managed to get him out of Crez in time, well… Guess the truth really does hurt. After that, we talked for a while, and he helped me come to terms with some… personal issues I've been having. I guess I've been having a little trouble going to my friends for help, and always trying to do everything myself. He helped me realize that, and now… I figure I'll need to work on that once I get home." York sighed, before looking back at Levin. "What about you? Did anything happen in your memories?"

Levin nodded solemnly. "Yeah… I told you about my old civilization, before the Alatreon attacked and put me in a crystal. My memory was from back then… on the day that the Alatreon attacked. My family was supposed to be killed by the Alatreon… But you interfered. You weren't able to hurt the Alatreon or anything, but you were able to distract it long enough for me and my family to escape. Once we were far enough away, my mother… my mother broke the illusion."

Levin was silent for a long moment before York spoke up. "You… actually got to speak with your mother?"

"Yeah, I did," Levin muttered. "It feels so surreal, thinking about it now. I watched… I watched her burn to death. Her, my dad, and my brother. And then she was just… there, smiling as though nothing had happened at all, as though she wasn't dead, as though thousands of years haven't passed since everything went to hell. She's been dead for longer than most elder dragons can live. After all this time… it was very bittersweet. I wish I could've had more. I only really got to talk to her for what felt like ten minutes, and I won't get the chance to do so again until I'm dead."

"It's better than nothing though, isn't it?" York asked, before staring at the ground. "Wish I'd gotten a chance like that… I've never even met my mother. Don't even know what she looks like. Or at least I'd like to have seen my father; at least I knew him, if only for a few days before he died too."

"Yeah… I guess so. But after all this time, to have my mom back for a few minutes, only to have her gone again… It hurts, you know?" Levin frowned, shaking his head. "Anyway, we talked for a little while about… guilt, I guess. I've always been weighed down by things that I've thought were my fault… things that weren't necessarily things that I could've stopped or prevented. She told me that I shouldn't blame myself when things go wrong… that there are some things that are out of my control."

York nodded. "Looks like we both had people the core wanted us to meet… people that we needed to learn something from. Maybe that had something to do with why we got dragged into all this… Kind of wish it could have been gentler about the whole thing, though."

"Could've done without learning what it feels like to have my soul pulled out of my body," Levin agreed. "After all the crap I've gone through in my life, I've got to admit that's a new one. The least it could have done after putting us through all that was give us more information on that Alone creature it mentioned."

"Yeah, no kidding… So what do we do about this Alone thing anyway?" York asked. "The way the human core was talking about it made it seem like we might have a fight on our hands before we can hit the road."

"I don't really know," Levin admitted. "We know that it's there, but the core didn't tell us anything other than its name… And that it was solitary, whatever that means."

York tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You know, now that I think about it… it said that the Alone doesn't have a core."

Levin nodded at the words. "You're right… But what did it mean by that? I thought every soul that came here had a core that it joined with. How can this Alone thing not have a core?"

"Hell if I know," York replied, shaking his head. "I'm less concerned with what exactly the Alone is, and more with how we deal with it if - or when - we run into it. If it's anything like the other creatures we've met so far…"

Both hunters were silent for a long moment. The memory of their battle with the Rath core was still fresh in their minds, even after their encounter with the human core. If this Alone creature was even half as powerful and aggressive as the Rath core had been, an encounter with it could be the end of them. Levin didn't know what this whole 'without a core' business meant, but whatever sort of strength the Alone had, if it was here in the realm of the dead, it would be essentially immortal. How would they deal with that?

"So what do we do? Just run in blind?" Levin asked. "Whatever this Alone thing is, it's dangerous enough for the core to warn us about it. Not to mention the core said that there might be more than one of them."

"Damn, I'd almost forgotten that part," York muttered. "Great, so not only do we have to deal with some mystery monster that we can't kill and that heals quickly, but we may have to fight more than one of them. Said creatures also live next to the only thing that we know of that can possibly return us back to our worlds, so it'll be nearly impossible for us to avoid them completely. This situation's about as bad as it can get, and we can't exactly ask the human core for help either."

Levin's eyes widened in realization. "I know someone we could ask."

"Who?" York asked. "We're not going to get any more information from the human core, and there isn't exactly another entity that we can have a chat with, aside from the… the… Wait a minute, you cannot mean-"

"The Alatreon," Levin confirmed. "I know you don't like it… I don't like it either, but it was at least pretending to be cordial earlier. If it's still feeling compliant, maybe we can get some information out of it, or at least see if it knows what the Alone is."

"And what about the potentially high chance of it not feeling cordial anymore?"

Levin motioned around them. "We're still deep inside the tree. I don't think it can really reach us here. If the Rath core couldn't blast its way through the tree to catch us, the Alatreon probably wouldn't do much better. And if it could get to us, all it'll do is kill us before the Alone gets a chance to try."

"Well, when you put it like that, I guess there's nothing to worry about," York replied dryly. He was quiet for a moment it thought, before finally he sighed in defeat. "Fine. We'll try the Alatreon. I really, really don't like it, but any help is better than none, even from a psychotic elder dragon. Here's the problem though; how are we going to manage to get all the way down to its tower for a chat without getting burned to a crisp by the Rath core?"

"I can fix that… maybe," Levin replied. "The Alatreon has its telepathic abilities… I might be able to contact it through that."

"Can you do that from this distance?"

"Hopefully. Worth a try at least."

With that, Levin leaned back against the rock, trying to remember how it felt to speak through the Alatreon through the bond. He'd only really tried to reach out to the Alatreon a couple times, and it had been several years since then. York was staring at him intently, clearly wondering if he was having any success. Closing his eyes, Levin tried to focus harder, shouting with thoughts at the elder dragon.

Hey! Alatreon! Can you hear me?

There was a few seconds of silence as Levin furrowed his brow. Would this work? The Alatreon wasn't alive anymore… but it did have a physical form. Would he even be able to contact it like he was? The bond between them really didn't exist anymore… But a few moments later, he could feel a pressure as the Alatreon's mind responded, connecting to Levin's mind through the bond. Levin braced himself for the full force of the Alatreon's mental force, but the connection was gentler, easing into the connection rather than the forceful shove that the creature had used on Levin while it was still alive.

{Well, this is unusual. I would never have imagined that you would willingly contact me through this connection.}

Desperate times… Levin thought to the beast. Nearby, York was rubbing his ears and shaking his head. Maybe was he picking up the conversation, even if it was just a ringing in his ears.

{I suppose this means the both of you are still living… Or, at least, you are. Is York still alive or has he met his end fighting some creature he couldn't handle?}

"Are you talking to it yet?" York asked.

"Yeah, I've gotten its attention, hold on. Oh, and no, York's not dead. He's still here," Levin replied to the elder dragon, earning a concerned look from the dual sword user. Levin chuckled sheepishly as the Alatreon's voice returned.

{So I see. Shame. We were hoping at least one of you had met a foul end by now.}

Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence…

{I have never pretended to like you, Levin, and I never will. But even I can be polite to my enemies, though I may wish you the cruelest of ends.}

Not even a minute and I'm already regretting my decision to contact you like this.

{Well, I'm having fun.}

"Have you asked it anything about the Alone yet?" York asked.

"Hold on, I'm getting there," Levin replied. "It's being annoying."

York frowned in frustration at the words, before staring down at the ground with a look of concentration on his face. Levin winced a little as flickers of the man's voice began to eke into his mind, though it was like hearing someone through a static-ridden radio.

…here… y'know! …these… link… weird…

{Perhaps this would go easier if we invited York into this conversation, hmm? He does not seem to have quite the same affinity for establishing these mental connections that you do, Levin. But then, you and the I of your world did converse much more frequently than him and the I of his world. We will connect to his mind as we have yours.} There was a pause, and York suddenly jolted slightly in surprise, shaking his head as the Alatreon's voice returned. {That should have done it.}

"Damn, this feels strange," the dual sword wielder muttered, and Levin tilted his head as the words echoed through the bond into his mind.

"You get used to it," Levin replied. "Though, I guess that's a little depressing to admit to…"

{We rather like this method ourselves. But then, we don't exactly have the ability to speak with our particular jaw structures. Now then, why have you contacted us? You met some fell beast, correct? Even here we could hear the echoes of a great roar somewhere. We assume that was you.}

"Yeah, that was us. Met a Rathian… or a Rathalos," Levin replied.

{Aha, the Rath core. Very deadly. Their species has been around longer than nearly every other species which exists, even counted alongside elder dragons. We are aware that there are some of those wyverns in other worlds which have power rivaling that of the most legendary and terrible of creatures. Quite the adaptive creatures, wouldn't you agree?}

"You could have warned us…"

{We're sorry. What part of 'we advise you to avoid any cores you may come across' did you not understand? What part of 'millions of lives from millions of worlds' was too complex for you to grasp? Did you think you'd be fighting a creature that would be easy to take down?}

"Yeah, yeah… We also got caught by the human core."

{...Truly? Are you two actively ignoring all the advice we offered you, or are you simply that unlucky? If you really wished to die that badly, we could have done it for you at far less hassle, and we would have been able to sate our vengeful desires.}

"It wasn't our fault. For the record, the whole 'soul-sucking' thing you mentioned was pretty spot on, though it wasn't a complete process since we're not actually dead."

{We'll keep that in mind for the next time one of our archnemeses somehow pass beyond the veil of death while still alive and asks us how to return back to the realm of the living.}

"You don't have to be so snarky about it."

{We must amuse ourselves somehow. Now then, we assume that you did not simply contact us to give a status report. We assume the only reason you would contact us again is if you needed information that we possess.}

"That's right," York replied. "Before the human core left, it told us that if we wanted to leave this place, the only way return was to touch that glowing gemstone up near the top of the tree."

The Alatreon was silent for several moments before responding. {Did it now? Really? Fascinating… Perhaps the human core is more knowledgeable about this realm than we previously believed.}

"It also mentioned something that we needed to watch out for if we wanted to leave this place, something you never mentioned: the Alone."

{Ah. Is that what the human core calls it? Yes… you would need to enter its territory to reach the gemstone.}

"You know about the Alone?" Levin asked.

{We knew of it,} the Alatreon replied. {It was the reason we warned you not to pass too close to the gemstone in the first place. However, if you must reach the stone to return to your worlds, then it seems you may have no other choice.}

"Do you know something about this Alone creature? Can you tell us anything about it?"

{We know some… but likely not enough to satisfy you. First of all, there is not just one Alone, but many.}

"Yeah, the human core mentioned that… It said that the Alone didn't have a core of its own, but how is that supposed to work? If there's a lot of them, shouldn't they join together in a single entity? What separates them from the rest of the souls here? Didn't you say that a soul joins with its core upon death?"

{We did, and that's still true, and it remains true when it comes to the Alone. However, the situation of the Alone is rather… unique. Let us put it this way… York, you recall my existence in your world.}

"That's not something a person tends to forget," the white-robed hunter replied.

{In your world, I was the only Alatreon alive, the only one of my species to ever exist. However, when I came to this realm, I joined with the core of my species, those Alatreons which existed not in your world, but in the countless other worlds. But ask yourself this: what would have happened if I came to this realm, and there had been no other Alatreons? What if there had been no Alatreons in Levin's world, no Alatreons in any other worlds? What if I had truly been the only one of my species, and I had come to this place where the deceased are to join with the rest of their species?}

The hunters looked at each other uncertainly, before York shrugged. "Then… you'd just be… alone."

{Precisely. Humans tell tales of ghosts, spirits bound to the realm of the living, spending their time after death wandering around in solitude. The Alone are like that. They are beings which died, which were the only ones of their kind to exist in any world for all eternity. They are rare, admittedly, but they do exist, and as their lives fade away, they find themselves here, alone and without a core to bond with.

{Most of them are simple-minded creatures, and their time here in the realm of the dead is not a cruel existence. They live simply, wandering about as their instincts compel them to with hardly a care. However, if they are blessed with intelligence like humans, Felynes, Wyvernians, and certain elder dragons, then they usually grow to see this place as a punishment or hell. They see nearly other species in existence finding solace and peace in the embrace of their core, and yet they are here as well, alone and without comfort even after death. Some find companionship in the other Alone that dwell in this realm, but others… others resent their fates, and curse the circumstances which bind them to this realm. They hate the cores, who are able to find peace and companionship where they have not.}

"So why would it go after us?" York asked. "We're not in our core yet. We're still alive!"

{Ah, yes, but you have a core waiting for you, do you not? You have the promise of companionship for when you shed your mortal coil. That may incite enough envy in the Alone for it to seek your blood should you meet it.}

"Great…"

"Why didn't the core tell us all this though?" Levin asked. "Why be so vague about it?"

{Perhaps some of those spirits which reside within the core did not want to offer you the knowledge you needed to escape this place. Perhaps there are some souls which wished you dead, and thus the core as a whole could not give you all the information you needed. Cores act in consensus, and if enough souls are opposed to an action, it will not act. We are fairly certain that you both have had enemies during the course of your lives, those whose lingering hatred would last even beyond the grave.}

Levin frowned, cocking his head. "And how is that any different from you?"

{Well, there's only two of us that have any real issue with you two, and we're being polite. How many human enemies did the two of you have who might want to hinder your progress in returning to the land of the living? Those that are already deceased? Those that might not have forgiven you quite yet?}

York nodded quickly. "More than a few… Everyone in Crez, and everyone in the Brilliant Darkness… and a few more in between."

"I've got my fair share," Levin muttered. "A few of them are definitely a bit more personal than the rest though… Everyone that died in Malefica, probably, and a lot of people that blamed me for the Alatreon's attack on Loc Lac…"

{There you have it. Humans tend to cling to grudges for quite a long time, and even beyond death their anger can seethe. You are a stubborn species.}

"I think we're getting off topic," York cut in, shaking his head. "You really enjoy finding reasons to criticize humanity, dragon."

{What can we say? You humans are an easy target, there are so many of you. And considering our relationship to your species, can you really blame us?}

"Considering that your personality is the- you know what, never mind. Moving back on topic, if you have any information that could help us fight the Alone…"

{Very well, very well. Such an impatient pair you two are.

{On the bright side, the Alone are just as they are called: alone. With no communal knowledge that other cores possess, they only have the battle experience of a single lifetime with which to call upon. That means that, among the large creatures which traverse this realm, the Alone may be the weakest of all. If there are great beasts which you two may be required to 'kill' to move past, the Alone will be the easiest. It will not be nearly as challenging as your battle with the Rath core no doubt was.

{That does not mean you should relax, however. Though they may not be a match for any cored creatures in this realm, the Alone is still dangerous. Whatever methods caused the Alone to come into being as they are, they are still quite powerful, and their presence in this realm only makes things more dangerous. They will also come at you with a ferocity you could not expect from living beings; the Alone can heal broken limbs in moments, terrible wounds will patch before your eyes, and its body will never become exhausted or in need of sleep. They will not run or hide; fear of death or pain means nothing to them. These beasts will come at you with no other thoughts other than your deaths, and they will break themselves to pieces to do so.}

"Can't you give us some tips on battling it though?" York asked.

{We cannot. We do not leave our tower that often, and try to provoke other cores within this realm even less. We have seen some of the Alone, but we do not know which one it is which guards the gemstone at the top of the tree.}

"So we are going in blind," York sighed.

{So it would seem. But are you not hunters? Is not such risk part of your line of work? We would have thought this type of situation would be familiar to you two.}

"Familiar, yes," Levin replied, crossing his arms. "But it's never a welcome situation. I like to have an idea of what we're going to be going up against, or at least a description of what the monster looks like. You've told us what the Alone is, but nothing else."

{That's the best we can offer you. The only thing we can promise you is that the beast will look like nothing you've ever seen before. It is the only one of its kind, after all.}

York shook his head regretfully. "Well, that was pointless. I guess it was worth a shot though."

{We're hurt. Is our company and conversation not a good enough reason to contact us, York?}

"Do I really need to answer that?"

{We suppose not. However, we have given you all the information we have to offer. The rest is up to you, humans.}

"You gonna wish us luck again?" Levin asked.

{Hmm… Not this time, we think. Clearly our well-wishes earlier did no good.}

"Ugh, never mind then…"

{However, perhaps you could contact us again when you reach the top of the tree. We may choose to fly up close to the top and watch your battle against the Alone, and see whether you're victorious or not. It would be like you hunters' beloved arena battles! How exciting! We'd be hard-pressed not to root for the Alone, though.}

"I think we're done here," Levin muttered, as the Alatreon's laughter slid through his mind. Levin quickly cut off the connection through the bond, allowing welcome silence to fill his thoughts. York seemed to be struggling to do the same with his inexperience dealing with the telepathic bond, but eventually the dual blade wielder's expression grew relieved, and Levin could tell that he'd manage to cut away from the elder dragon.

"While that was a complete waste of time, I can't think of a more creative way to have done so," York muttered sourly.

"At least we learned that the Alone isn't going to be nearly as nasty as the Rath core was," Levin replied. "But yeah, other than that, the Alatreon didn't really give us much to work with, did it?"

York sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, the Alatreon was right about one thing: it's sort of our job to have to deal with monsters, even if we don't know anything about them. Guess we're just going to have to suck it up and deal with it."

"Guess so… Personally, I'd like to try and get a little sleep before we even think about that though," Levin groaned. He could feel his eyelid growing heavy, and his whole body felt weighed down. It had been so long since he had gotten some rest.

York glanced back out into the tunnel. His own eye was getting red from weariness as well. "Yeah… we should try to get some sleep. I think we're only about… halfway up the tree. If we're going to survive long enough to get to the top, we can't just get by with energy drinks or dash juices. Let's get a little further into the cave before we nod off though."

"And tomorrow we try and make for the top."

"Right… tomorrow we try and get home."

After the hunters managed to get some rest, the pair continued their journey up the tree, slowly making their way closer to the top. York wasn't sure how long the journey actually took, as there was no day or night in this realm. Everything was unchanging, unmoving, and lifeless. They stopped several times in their journey when they grew tired, eating and drinking their slowly dwindling rations and water, and even paused once more to sleep again. But even then, York couldn't be certain how long they'd been climbing the tree. A couple days, maybe? As much as four or five? He just didn't know.

Thankfully, the journey proved to be safe enough. The two hunters were perpetually on guard for an encounter with a core, and they often saw signs of some beast's passing, but they never ended up fighting any of the creatures that lived within the tree. Their path was long and always sloping upwards, and became a bit more precarious once the path they followed led to the exterior of the tree again, winding around the outer trunk towards the top, but monster cores weren't anything they had to deal with.

Their journey wasn't totally uneventful though. Once they reached the outside of the tree, they had a rather spectacular view of everything below them, bland and grey though it was . Levin still kept his distance from the edge, but a few interesting sights called their gaze over the side. At one point, two powerful roars pulled their attention down towards the base of the tree, and looking down, the hunters caught sight of an absolutely titanic battle, where two massive creatures were duking it out with each other close to the ocean.

The first was a Duramboros, an absolutely massive specimen of its species that looked to be a small mountain lumbering along the shoreline. Its body was a broad mix of greens and browns, though a large chunk of its flesh was equally coated in the coppery-pink scales from the Rusted subspecies. York was surprised when Levin asked what the creature was; apparently in his world, Duramboros were a pretty uncommon creature where he lived, and he'd never seen one before.

The other creature, however, was a Deviljho, one so massive that it matched the Duramboros in size. Dragon element flames roared from the creature's skull like a black mane, and every other breath the creature unleashed seemed to be a wave of black fire that looked as though it could level a small village in a single sweep. For some reason, Levin didn't seem too shocked by the Deviljho's size or blazing appearance, though he certainly looked uncomfortable gazing down at the rampaging creature… glancing at the switch axe slung across his back, York could guess why that was.

Though the Deviljho was easily the more aggressive of the two, both creatures seemed matched blow for blow. The Jho was constantly enveloping the Duramboros in its dark flames, but the massive herbivore seemed able to shrug off the dragon element with its bulk, using its impressive size to charge the Deviljho and sweep around to club its opponent with its tail. The Deviljho didn't seem to be too badly affected by the herbivore's heavy hits though, smashing into the Duramboros with lunges of its own, sinking its fangs into the beast when it could, and launching stones with its chin when the distance between them grew large.

Both hunters were caught off guard at one point, however, when the Duramboros began to spin around, swinging its clubbed tail towards the Deviljho. York and Levin were entranced at the sight of such a massive beast spinning with such speed, but they both gasped in shock when the Duramboros core suddenly swept its tail upwards, launching itself into the air nearly a half mile straight up! The beast spiraled in the air for what felt like forever, before crashing to the ground, slamming its clubbed tail into the Deviljho's side with the force of a meteor. The ravenous beast was sent sprawling, but was quickly back on its feet again despite it all, lunging towards its opponent once more.

The hunters found themselves watching the devastating battle for a long time, with neither beast gaining an advantage over the other. York was the first to snap out of his reverie, uncertain how long had really passed since he'd started watching. He shook Levin out of his daze before the two pressed on again, the battling of the two titanic monsters echoing behind them.

Not far beyond that, the hunters followed a path into the tree's interior once more, and found themselves passing through a wide, cavernous area. They were cautious this time, fearing an encounter with another core, and there were plenty of signs of something living in the area. The walls had countless holes dug out in them, and Levin pointed out that it looked like a great hive of some kind. Their fears were proven true a few minutes later, when a large Bnahabra sailed through the air over them, dipping into the wall and burrowing into one of the holes. The next moment, a massive Altaroth crept over a nearby root, crawling over the ground towards a large anthill that had been created in the corner of the room. Neither of the Neopterons had seen them though, but other insects could be seen flitting through the air around them, and the hunters hurried through the rest of the chamber, eager to get away without being caught.

They were nearly set upon close to the exit of the chamber, when a sharp motion made them look up. Both hunters paled as a positively massive spider-like monster, the likes of which neither of them had ever seen, with long purple and yellow crystals sprouting from its back, pulled itself from a large hole in the wall, clicking its mandibles menacingly. The hunters braced themselves, when another flash of motion appeared in the air, and a smaller insect with a long protruding horn smashed into the spider's back, shattering crystals and sending a rain of shards down onto the hunters' heads.

The spider hissed furiously at its assailant, immediately forgetting the hunters and lashing out at the smaller bug as the creature pulled away. The spider gave chase, darting across the ground after it, but a moment later it froze as another massive insect appeared. An enormous Neopteron, a four-legged titan with a long clawed tail, pulled itself over a ledge and into view, hissing threateningly at the spider. The smaller insect clicked its mandibles at the spider, before settling down onto the four-legged giant's back, waving its claws tauntingly. Both of the larger beasts began stomping and hissing at each other as menacingly as they could.

The hunters had seen enough though. Whatever these creatures were, neither York nor Levin wanted to be anywhere near them if a battle broke out, and they certainly didn't want to gain the attention of such monsters either. Without waiting to see how the showdown turned out, the hunters bolted, dashing into a tunnel as the sounds of battle erupted behind them.

That was the last encounter they had with any cores for the rest of their climb, thankfully. The rest of the trip, though tedious and tiring, was quiet. Occasionally they could hear the rumbling of titanic footsteps, or the sound of a monster's roar in the distance, but never did they get close enough to see anything. The pair kept each other company by telling stories to each other, or giving each other advice. York found himself talking for several hours when Levin had asked for advice on childcare, with his firstborn on the way and York's son, Wes, two years old by now. It was interesting seeing another man look so worried; had he looked like that when Rose had been expecting? In return, York asked for more information about Levin's world before the Alatreon destroyed it, and while he was disappointed that the switch axe user couldn't give him any specifics on how to build some of the technology he described, the ideas and concepts that the hunter gave were baffling, and stated with such flippant disregard as though such tech was hardly worth thinking about. Just listening to the concepts of some of the machines the other man described was giving York ideas…

York couldn't really tell how much time passed as they traveled, only that they were slowly getting closer to the top of the tree. Finally they reached the last stretch, a narrow path that led them once more through the interior, until finally they reached the top.

As the two hunters emerged from the pathway, they found themselves out in the open again. It appeared that they had arrived at the top of the trunk, in the crooks between the branches which sprouted outwards from the peak. Unlike before, however, the area was not the bland, dusty grey that seemed to envelop the rest of the tree, but instead was enveloped in a rainbow of colors. Looking up, the hunters quickly found the source of the light: the shining gemstone that had hung over them at the top of the tree was now closer than ever, sitting at the top of yet another of the obsidian towers.

The tower sat at what York imagined to be the very center of the tree, right at the core of where the branches which reached up into the sky broke off from the trunk. Like the rest of the towers before, there was no staircase allowing easy access to the top of the tree, but the obsidian had been wrapped in countless branches and vines as the others had, giving the hunters a path to the top. Unlike before, however, it looked as though the top of the tower had been completely enveloped in the vines as well, unlike the Alatreon core and Rath core's towers, which had been clean at the top. It was also much shorter, but much, much wider than those before it, only forty or fifty yards tall, but at least a quarter-mile wide as far as York could tell. The hunters couldn't actually see the glowing crystal on the top of the tower, but it was certainly there; the resplendent glow was shining magnificently from just beyond the lip.

The hunters glanced around cautiously, searching for any sign of danger, but there was nothing to be seen. The area was quiet, save for their own footsteps and breathing, and a low hum that seemed to shiver through the area around them. York wasn't certain, but he thought the humming was coming from the stone above them.

"Well, the coast is clear. No cores in sight so far," York muttered, and Levin winced, looking around nervously.

"Please don't jinx us," the switch axe user groaned. "I try not to believe in thing like destiny or karma, but tempting fate like that is just playing it risky. The last time you said something like that I got my soul partially sucked out."

York and Levin began to make their way slowly across the open area, walking carefully across the intertwining branches towards the base of the tower. "More climbing, then?" Levin sighed. "I swear when this is over I'm staying where it's safe and flat for the rest of my life."

The hunters wandered around the area for a few minutes, looking for a way up, before Levin managed to spot a branch sloping up around the far side of the tower. It required the hunters to get close to the edge of the tree's trunk however, and though the branches blocked most of the view, there was a particularly large gap that opened up. Looking over the edge, York felt his stomach churn a little. He'd never had a problem with heights, but there was a difference between a fall and a plummet, and this was easily the latter. Over the edge was a complete drop to the very bottom of the tree, nearly three miles straight down. The dual sword user grimaced, pulling away from the edge. Levin saw his expression, and didn't even try to look, skirting away from the opening completely.

Hopping onto the thick root wrapping around the tower, they began to climb, spiraling their way up the side of the obsidian structure. However, as they did so, York felt… something. He didn't know how to describe it. It was as though the air around him was growing heavy, and his mind felt bogged down. He asked Levin about it, and the switch axe user agreed, though the golden-armored hunter didn't seem as affected by it as York did.

"It's like a bad case of congestion," Levin said, rubbing the brim of his nose.

"You're kidding, right?" York grumbled, putting a hand to his temple. "It feels like someone tied a dumbbell to my brain and threw it into the ocean."

Levin looked around, searching for something that might be causing the effect, but there didn't seem to be anything. "You need a break?"

"No… no breaks," York replied. "We're so close to the end, and I'm not stopping now."

Levin frowned, but nodded. "Fine, but take it easy. If it gets worse, we stop. As weird as this place is, I'm not taking any chances."

"Fair enough."

Thankfully, the further up they climbed, the less intense the weight seemed to get, but it didn't go away entirely. Rather, it seemed to settle into a dull heaviness that sat patiently in the back of York's skull. It wouldn't shake away, and the hunter kept instinctively reaching to the back of his neck, thinking there was something clinging under his hair, but never finding anything. Again, Levin didn't seem very bothered by the weight, only occasionally scratching his neck but otherwise being unperturbed.

It didn't take too long for the two hunters to climb the remainder of the distance to the top, though they didn't immediately climb onto the platform. Peeking over the ledge, the pair scanned the area, checking to see if it was safe, but their gazes fell immediately onto the gemstone they'd traveled all this way to find, sitting at the center of the platform.

York had always figured the thing would be massive, but now that he could get a good look at it, it was positively gargantuan! The gem was constantly shifting colors, swiftly changing from deep within and filling the whole area with brilliant hues. It was a nearly perfect octahedron at least fifty yards wide, looking as though it was half-embedded into the floor. The vines created a woven floor across the tower top, wrapping around the center of the gemstone and holding it aloft as a small hill. Most of the vines were tightly bound enough to make the floor level and safe, but several wide gaps opened up, creating dips and hollows that would need to be climbed over or crawled under.

The hunters studied the tower top for a while, searching for any sign of threats, especially of the Alone creature that the human and Alatreon cores had warned them about, but the area was silent and empty. They couldn't find any signs that anything lived there, no built nests or dug-out hollows for a beast to live in. All that was there were the branches and vines that covered the top of the platform, as well as a few of the pale trees which they hadn't really seen much of since they'd left the base of the tree.

"I don't like this," Levin muttered. "It's too quiet. After all the warnings we got, there's no way it's this easy."

"Not to mention how awful our luck has been so far," York replied. "Maybe it's just hiding? It's a few hundred yards between here and the crystal… Let's try and take it slowly. Once we're close enough to the gem, we'll make a break for it, and hopefully we can get to it before anything makes a move."

Levin nodded in agreement, following York over the lip of the platform and slowly making their way towards the crystal. Cautiously, the two hunters entered into the great chamber, darting quickly between the trees and scouring around for any sign of life. The room was filled with silence. The only thing unnatural about the whole place was the constant weight that continued to hover in their heads, never fading.

That and the strange textures of the branches; Levin had nearly fallen through the tier entirely when he'd stepped on a section of branch that had the same consistency of water. Nine whole square yards of the pale material had abruptly liquified, sending a wave of white-colored fluid splashing down to the lower level. Levin had just barely managed to grab hold of a vine before falling, and York had dashed over to help him up. They'd taken it a little slower after that, for fear of stepping on another section of the tree that had some other strange composition. One of the trees York tried to hide behind as they made their way towards the gemstone had bent nearly in half as he'd leaned against it, forcing him to dash to the next one. They were nearly halfway across when they paused again, scouring the area for signs of the any danger.

"Still nothing," Levin muttered from where he stood, crouched behind a particularly thick vine. He was looking very fidgety, and York didn't blame him; neither of the hunters were used to things going their way. "If there's something here, it's really well hidden… Maybe it's one of those monsters that can turn invisible? I've heard of at least one or two with abilities like that."

"Gods, I hope not," York replied. The white-armored hunter was sidled up behind a nearby tree, leaning around the side of it. He shook his head for a moment, rubbing his ears; the lingering throbbing in his mind was still there, and hadn't faded in the slightest. "That's the last thing we need right now… But even if it does have that kind of ability, if it hasn't made a move by now, it's probably too late for it to do anything. We should be able to sprint the rest of the way without any trouble, aside from the floor."

Levin nodded. "Well, if this Alone thing isn't going to show up, then we should be able to-"

Both hunters abruptly froze, their eyes widening. The lingering weight that had been hanging in their minds since they'd arrived at the tower had abruptly vanished. York reeled a bit from the sudden disappearance of the pressure, feeling almost light-headed without the feeling pressing down. The two of them began to look around worriedly though; what had happened to make the weight vanish from their minds?

However, before they could think much further, a twisted screech, like the tearing of metal, ripped through the chamber. Both hunters' eyes shot upwards as a massive black shape ripped through the canopy above them, with heavy, shining claws tearing apart the pale branches. With a cacophony of snapping, the canopy ripped apart, and the massive shape plummeted down towards them. Both hunters were forced to turn and sprint away as wide, black wings spread apart, barely slowing the creature's descent before it slammed into the earth in behind them.

The beast seemed to crumple for a moment from the impact, and York shivered in horror as the creature's limbs twisted at wild angles, the blow from the impact having fractured its arms and legs. But there was a sickening cracking and snapping of bones as its body pieced itself back together, its wounds sealing shut as the soul of the beast reformed into its original shape. Soon enough, the creature had healed itself, and pushed itself upright to face the hunters at full height.

"Oh, sweet mercy, what is that?" Levin gasped.

It appeared to be a massive dragon, but some twisted monstrosity of flesh and metal. York had thought that the human core had been exaggerating when it had referred to the Alone as an abomination, but now he couldn't help but think that they'd been generous in their accusation.

The creature had four legs and two wings, typical of a dragon, but beyond that the similarities took a horrifying turn. The beast looked as though its scales and hide had been skinned from its body, peeled away and then replaced with thick metal plating, with menacing spikes lining the beast's spinal ridge. At its shoulder and under the creature's throat were wide swaths of throbbing red muscles and ligaments, exposed to the air without the creature's scales and hide, gaps in the otherwise all-encompassing metallic plating which covered the rest of the beast's body.

The creature's arms and legs were similarly plated, with the creature actually wearing sharp, three-clawed gauntlets at the ends of its forelegs. The joints at it elbows and knees seemed to be shoddily done, however, as ripped flesh could clearly be seen through the gaps in the armor, and despite the effects of this realm of the dead, blood was dripping down over the metal plating. As for its wings, the appendages looked nearly artificial, with the bones appearing much like the rest of the creature with skinless muscle coated by metallic plating, and a dark, nearly black membrane and webbing spread between them.

The head seemed to be the only place indicative of the creature's true coloring: red scales and plates covered the beast's draconic skull, a vibrant, dangerous color that stood out against the grey and black metal across the rest of its body. Three large horns sprouted from the dragon's skull, two from just behind the creature's eyes and curving forward like bulls' horns, and a large straight horn that grew from the top of the skull and pointed backwards over the dragon's neck. However, even that was not untouched by whatever had done all this to the poor creature. Each of the beast's long, jagged fangs had been gilded with the same metal as the rest of its body, and a large dark faceplate appeared to have been bolted onto the creature's skull, covering its eyes and providing only thin slits for it to see through.

But despite all the horror that coated the rest of the body, the worst of it was the creature's chest. Right at the core of the dragon's underbelly, its stomach appeared to have been torn completely open. Thick white ribcage bones had been pulled outwards, stretching far further than should have been feasibly possible, and within, York could clearly see straight into the dragon's insides. It seemed that even the intestines had been coated in metal, even the creature's heart, whose beating seemed to struggle against the plating that had been welded across it. With the metal covering each of the dragon's organs, the only thing keeping all of it dropping out of its chest due to the sheer weight was a thick cable mesh that had been wired between everything inside its body.

York watched in horror as the creature's lungs inflated within its chest, before the beast unleashed another screech, like shredding metal. Both the hunters winced in pain, clutching their ears as the terrible sound emanated through the cavern, but even before the noise died away, York saw that a deep red glow was swelling up in the back of the abomination's throat.

"Levin, move!" York shouted, throwing himself out of the way. The switch axe user did likewise, and not a moment too soon: mere seconds after evading, a fiery explosion blasted the space between them, sending a wave of heat over the two hunters. The blue-eyed hunter pulled his arm up to shield his face from the searing air, but as he pulled it down he was shocked to find that the fire left behind from the blast was almost as tall as he was. Not only that, it didn't seem to be dying down at all! Most blasts left a small pool of flames on the ground that burned for a few seconds, but this one was an undying wall of red hot flames.

"That was too close… I've never seen anything launch a blast that strong, save the Alatreon itself!" the switch axe user said, pushing himself up and grasping his weapon's handle.

"Gonna have to watch out for that," the dual sword user muttered sourly.

This creature… no, this abomination was going to prove to be far more difficult than he had initially thought. Based on the way it 'arrived', chances were it could regenerate its wounds just as easily as everything else in this realm. What truly frightened him, though, was the thought that the Alone knew that too. Why else would it have confronted them in the way it had? Not to mention that it had landed directly between the hunters and the gemstone at the center of the tower, making it impossible to simply make a break for their target… This beast seemed to know what it was capable of, and what the hunters were after, and was determined to use everything it had to stop them.

"So, what plan do we have for this one?" Levin called over the flames separating them.

"This isn't the place for strategy talk!" York answered, glancing around quickly for any kind of cover. The vine-covered top of the tower was just as bumpy as the rest of the realm, and there were several deep trenches formed between the roots which could provide ample cover for two hunters. There were some thicker branches that were uprooted as well, acting as obstructions they could use in a pinch. "Meet me in that trench over there so we can get a better plan together!"

"Which tren-"

York didn't wait for a reply, seeing the Alone prepare another projectile to launch at the hunters. He pulled a smoke bomb from his pouch and threw it against the floor, causing the small object to burst into a large cloud of thick white haze. The white-robed hunter moved quickly, circumventing the flames between them and grabbing hold of Levin's arm while the gold-armored hunter struggled to see through the cloud. York dragged him over to the crevasse before hopping into it and crouching low, making sure Levin did the same. He heard another loud blast above them, probably the creature attacking the area they had been and no doubt confused as to where its targets had gone.

"Tell me next time you decide to do that," Levin hissed. "I could barely see my hand through all of that!"

"Consider it payback for the flash bomb. At least the effects of this aren't as long-lasting as that pocket-sized solar flare of yours." York glanced up thoughtfully. "Speaking of which, you've got another one of those things, don't you? Can you use it to blind the thing, and we can make a break for it?"

"Eh… I might be able to… I think that faceplate might prove to be a problem, though. With those slits in the metal narrowing its vision, the flash will probably need to go off directly in its line of sight. It'll still be blinded either way, but I don't think it'll last long enough for us to get all the way to the gemstone."

"Damn it, that figures…"

"So how are we going to deal with this thing? We probably can't kill it, and given the rate it regenerates its body, I doubt we can even keep it down for long."

"Unless we deal a grievous enough wound that it'll have to take a lot of time to heal. I brought down that Bullfango a while back with a few lethal hits, and that kept it down for almost ten minutes. If we can 'kill' it, we should have enough time to make a break for the gemstone."

"This thing's anatomy doesn't make it easy to tell where a lethal wound would be viable, y'know."

"I'd say the head is as good a start as any, wouldn't you?"

York saw Levin's face light up at the mention, as if he had recalled something. "Maybe I could do something similar to what I did to the Alatreon back in my world!"

"Didn't that take out two of your limbs and your eye though?"

"Well, not the exact same thing, but my switch axe's burst is probably the strongest attack between the both of us. If I could land a solid hit on its head…"

"We could blow its face off and make a break for it while it heals!" York grinned. "So, throw ourselves into the jaws of death for a chance at life? I like it."

"Only question is, how do we get its face down to our level? We've seen one of its attacks, but aside from that we barely know what it can do!"

"Let's hope we don't have to find out everything, eh? Alright, here's how we'll do this: we try to topple it first, then blast its head off. If we can't keep it grounded long enough for that, I'll think of something else. We can use the ground to our advantage too; these roots don't only affect us, I'd wager."

"Alright, but how do we attack it?"

"Pretty sure that's for us to find out through some good ol' fashioned trial and error. Aim for anything that isn't covered in metal plates maybe?"

"That's as good a suggestion as any…"

"Alright, since you can deal more damage, I'll leave the distracting part of this strategy to you. I've gotta go and prepare a few traps to use, but I'll back you up from behind the scenes. Gotta get you back to that wife of yours in one piece, after all."

"I'm not the only one with a family waiting for me back home, York. I've got your back, as long as you have mine."

"I think I can manage that," the dual sword user grinned. "Okay, on my mark, we break in opposite directions. Keep its attention on you for a couple minutes; it shouldn't take long for me to get my idea set up."

"Mind sharing what that-"

The switch axe user's voice petered out as a dark shadow fell over them, and both hunters turned their gazes upward in confusion. York's breath caught in his throat, and he heard Levin gasp in horror: the Alone had shoved its head into the space directly above them, and was staring at both of them. York quickly shook himself out of his shock, noting that the air was growing hot. The Alone was going to launch another fireball attack on them!

"Get moving!" he shouted, shoving Levin out of the way to rouse him from his startled state. The hunter blinked in surprise as he stumbled back, but he quickly righted himself and took off down the other end of the trench. York ran opposite him, and not a moment later, the creature launched its attack, flooding the crevasse in a searing heat. The dual blade wielder let out a short yelp as he felt the flames of the attack nipping at his back, but fortunately the passage was long enough that he could outrun the flames after a few moments.

Not wasting any time, York hoisted himself out of the trench, glancing over his shoulder to see where the Alone was. Fortunately, Levin had been able to escape the trench as well, and was busy shouting at the abomination to keep its attention held on him. The fact that his vibrant armor stood out from the grey background helped keep the Alone's gaze centered on him rather than York, but chances were he wouldn't have much time before the beast noticed him too. Hopefully Levin could hold his own for a few minutes…

Levin narrowly managed to climb out of the trench before the flames overtook him. He spared a glance back into the pit and was horrified to see the flames almost reached the top of the crevasse. If he'd been stuck down there, not even his fire-resistant Gold Rathian armor would've been able to save him.

Now wasn't the time to ponder how he could have died, though; York needed him to hold the Alone off for a few minutes for his plan to work, and while Levin wasn't exactly sure what that was, the white-robed hunter seemed resourceful enough to make something effective. He reached his arm back and unsheathed his switch axe as the abomination pulled its head free from the trench. The clattering noise of his weapon drew the beast's attention, and Levin spared a quick glance behind it in time to see York break from the trench as well, moving towards a few branches growing up from the floor.

"I've fought worse than you, ugly!" Levin shouted at the beast. "You think you can keep me from getting out of here? Come and try to stop me!"

The beast roared at the hunter and sank into a hunched posture before racing across the rooted ground towards him, drawing a short yelp from the man as he leapt to the side to evade it. Planting his feet firmly as he landed, the hunter spun himself around and swung his axe into the Alone's side just before it passed him by. The majority of the Deviljho weapon's blade scraped harmlessly against the thick metal plates guarding its body, but a few of the spiked fangs managed to sink into its leg and tear a thin line through the exposed flesh.

The sheer force of the swing still managed to knock the abomination to the side, though it was able to recover its balance rather swiftly and lunge at him again, raising its arm high into the air as it neared. Levin instinctively threw himself to the side, but he hadn't been anticipating just how hard the Alone would swing its arm at him. There was a sickening crunch as the bones in the beast's arm snapped in several places, and the intense shockwave the strike caused sent him reeling back a few dozen feet.

This thing wasn't pulling any punches! A strike like that would've left him as a smear on the ground at best! But didn't this beast have any sense of self-preservation? Snapping its arm like that would only hinder it in the long run…

As the hunter looked on, though, he saw the monster raise its arm back up, the appendage shaking horrendously. There were more sickening cracks and snaps as the bones beneath the Alone's flesh seemed to work themselves back together, and after only a few moments, the appendage looked as though it hadn't been damaged at all by the blow!

"This thing can regenerate itself even faster than the Alatreon could… This isn't going to be easy," the hunter mumbled, hefting his switch axe again as the beast turned to face him once more.

Instead of charging him as he thought it would, though, the Alone brought its arm up to its shoulder, grasping at the plate bolted to its flesh with its hooked talons. Levin nearly gagged as the beast tore the plate free from its body, a horrendous squelching sound filling the air as steel was rent from tissue. With a loud roar, the beast twisted its arm back and threw the chunk of steel at him. Levin yelped as he threw himself down just in time to evade the projectile, and not a second too soon. The plate still barely glanced off the armor covering his back, but the steel disk was left embedded in the ground behind him, sinking partway into one of the roots lining the floor. Bits of flesh still hung off the slab of metal, blood dripping into a small pool on the floor.

With an angered growl, the Alone lumbered towards the hunter once more, swinging its other arm down at him, but with less force than last time. Levin hopped to the side as the appendage slammed into the ground next to him, but he ignored the few snaps he heard in the beast's arm and focused on retaliating, lunging forwards with the head of his axe. The blunt top of the weapon had no chance of actually breaking through the metal plating guarding the monster's chest, but the weight of the weapon combined with his own strength was enough to drive the beast back a few paces with a loud metallic clang.

At least, that's what he had thought had happened. The Alone had been forced back much harder than he had thought, practically toppling over backwards from the hit. However, as it fell, the monster suddenly snapped its legs out at him. The hunter quickly ducked to the side, but he was a moment too late, and one of the monster's talons caught his shoulder pauldron, dragging him back along with it and flinging him a good ten yards across the floor.

Levin hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop in a slight daze. He hadn't even been struck as hard as he could've been, and the attack had nearly knocked him across the tower! The switch axe user shook his head once to get rid of the stars in his vision before using his weapon to push himself back onto his feet.

"So apparently it knows how to dropkick too," he groaned, seeing the beast roll over onto its legs and turn towards him again, whatever wounds its last attack had inflicted on itself having already healed.

Levin raked his brain to try and think of a good way to harm the creature as it began to lumber towards him again. The metal plates covering its body made it much harder for him to make a substantial wound with the wide blade of his axe, and he didn't want to risk running his phials dry yet, so he was hesitant to rely on his weapon's sword form right now. Hopefully York was almost done setting up that trap of his, since his dual blades would have a much easier time hitting the chinks in this beast's armor.

At the thought of the other hunter, Levin turned his glance back towards where he had seen the man last. It seemed like the white-robed hunter had just finished rigging a small device up to the ground, but the area around him looked a bit… different. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about the branches seemed like it had changed…

"Levin, take a breather! I'm all set over here!" York suddenly shouted, drawing his swords and rushing towards the creature. Almost immediately, the Alone turned and focused its attention on the other hunter, and while the switch axe user was reluctant to back off at first, he knew he might need another moment or two to get his head back in shape. He still felt nauseous from its last strike, after all…

The Alone unleashed a horrible screech as York drew near, almost as if it were an anguished wail, before tensing its body up and leaping into the air. The hunter's eye widened in surprise as the beast cleared almost fifty yards in a single bound, and quickly dashed away to avoid being crushed as the beast came crashing down. The hunter cursed as he barely made it away in time, leaping out of the way as a thunderous crash sounded behind him, followed by a heavy gust of wind. He turned around in shock to see the beast in a crumpled mess on the floor behind him. The impact had practically shattered its entire body!

As he continued to watch though, the Alone's body began to twitch and shudder before its bones began to snap back into place, each one letting out a loud snapping noise as its joints locked together again. The dual blade wielder was barely able to keep his eye on the horrendous display: whatever was happening with this beast, it was not natural. It almost sickened him just to watch! Within a few moments the Alone was back on its feet, and it turned to face him once more, baring a row of sharp, jagged fangs at him underneath its face plate.

"You are one ugly son of a bitch…" York muttered, taking a step back and raising his swords apprehensively.

Almost as if responding to his insult, the creature let out another shriek and swung its claw down at him with almost blinding speed. York was barely able to hop to the side to avoid the blow, and even though he avoided the impact, the sheer force of the attack was able to send him skidding back with a burst of wind. The Alone's arm made a sickening crunch as it slammed into the ground, breaking at several points.

After that second attack, York found his fears were confirmed: the Alone must've been aware of its own immortality! After watching a few of the attacks it had aimed at Levin, he felt it knew just how much damage it could deal with these double-edged attacks, and was launching them at him with reckless abandon. No matter how badly one of its limbs were damaged, the wounds it caused itself would heal only a moment later. Still, that moment left its limb disabled while it healed, meaning they would at least have a chance to strike back…

Leaping over the abomination's limb, York began to circle around its side as fast as he could. The Alone roared and attempted to strike him with its other limb, though the angle York had put it at meant it couldn't reach him without crossing over its other arm, and by the time its appendage came crashing down, York was well out of the way. Darting close to its legs, York set upon slashing into its hide with his dual swords, grinning as he found the blue and green blades to be able to cut into its soft, fleshy hide. It was certainly a better result than he'd had against the Alatreon and the Rath, that was for sure!

The dual sword user was able to deal half a dozen wounds to the creature's side before it lashed out at him with its leg, forcing him to leap back to evade. The Alone twisted itself around quickly as he backed away, swinging its broken arms around towards him like a pair of whips. York ducked below the first one, grimacing at how close it had come to striking his head. He was able to leap over the second limb much more easily, rolling to a stop and turning to face the abomination once more.

The hunter gasped in surprise as he looked at the beast; its arms hadn't healed yet! It was in the process of reshaping the limbs right now, but it had taken far longer to fix those than the rest of its body before. Maybe… York pulled himself away from his thoughts as the tongues of fire suddenly began to flicker about within the beast's maw. With a short roar, the monster shot a fireball at the hunter, who instinctively rushed forwards in response to the attack. If he could close the distance and dodge the fireball, he could catch the Alone unawares…

The blazing projectile soared towards the white-robed hunter, and just before it hit him, the hunter twisted his body around, practically spinning out of the way of the attack just before it could impact him. He was able to keep his momentum, and kept charging forwards as the fireball detonated against the floor some twenty feet away.

"Let's see if you can handle this!" York grinned as he neared the beast, readying himself as the Alone reached an arm back to strike him with once more. The moment before the attack landed, York dashed to the side, remaining completely unharmed while the appendage slammed into the ground next to him. The beast's arm broke in several places once more as it impacted the floor, and it only took York a moment to decide to test his new theory.

He rushed towards the Alone's downed limb and jumped onto it, stabbing his green sword into its forearm and twisting himself around so that he was facing the beast. For once, it looked surprised at what he was doing, clearly not understanding what his plan was. The hunter pulled his sword free and began sprinting up its arm, slashing his blue saber downwards with every step he took. Some of the slashes glanced off the plates lining its arm, leaving thin scratches on the surface of the armor, but many others found their way into the beast's exposed flesh, cutting shallow wounds into its arm.

As he reached the top of its shoulder, York swung both blades to the side in an attempt to wound the beast's head, though they were met only with the sound of metal clashing against metal, the Alone's faceplate completely deflecting the attack. With a frustrated grunt, York continued past its head, sliding down the abomination's neck and slashing its back and wings as he moved across its spine, going a bit more slowly to ensure he inflicted deeper wounds this time. The Alone let out an infuriated roar as the man attacked its back, and quickly forced itself back to its hind legs with its unbroken arm in an attempt to throw him off.

York let out a curse as his footing suddenly turned vertical, and the man was flung backwards before he could brace himself. He grunted in pain as he crashed into the ground below and rolled back onto all fours, sliding to a halt a fair distance away. The impact had been surprisingly soft, all things considered; the root he struck must have had a soft or spongy texture to it.

"York! You holding up alright?!" Levin asked, running up next to the dual sword user. "This thing is insane to fight! I can land some good hits on it, but they don't even seem to slow it down after I move away!"

"Levin, that's the trick! It can't heal itself while it's being wounded! If we can strike it after it breaks one of its limbs, we can keep that part out of commission for a few moments!"

"Well, at least it's one advantage. You got that trap of yours set up?"

"Yeah. We'll need to lure it over to that spot there. I'll need one of those flash bombs of yours though."

"Why do you-? Well, alright… but be careful with it! This is not something you want to set off by accident!" The gold-armored hunter tossed the small device over to him, and York snapped his arm up to grab it immediately, shifting the canister into his belt pouch and turning back to face the Alone.

"Alright, now we get to beat the crap out of this thing."

York darted off to the left while Levin charged the Alone from the front. The beast had its gaze focused primarily on the dual blade wielder, still clearly furious at him. Instead of charging at him or swiping its claws at him, though, it pulled off one of the plates bolted to its side, tearing flesh from its body in doing so, and flung the heavy slab at him with surprising speed. York ducked down to avoid the plate as it whizzed over his head, though his eye widened in surprise as he noticed the beast charging up another fire attack in its maw.

"Down in front, ugly!"

There was a loud clash of metal, at the beast roared in surprise before stumbling back a step, its head whipping to the side and spewing some of the flaming liquid onto its arm. Levin had smashed his axe into its chest plate once again, causing the Alone to sputter in surprise and spray the flaming substance onto itself. The gold-armored hunter leapt to the side to avoid a splash of the substance, quickly bringing his axe around and striking the abomination's arm, forcing it back another step.

"Just like that, Levin!" York shouted, glancing over at the small metallic canister embedded in the ground about a dozen yards away from them. He quickly returned his focus to the Alone as it swung its arm at Levin, who narrowly managed to leap back to avoid the flaming limb. The substance had still managed to ignite along its arm, searing the Alone's flesh, but also turning the appendage into the equivalent of a massive flaming club. The switch axe wielder brought his blade around again and knocked the appendage away with a wide swing before slashing the weapon upwards, clipping the bottom of the monster's jaw with the Deviljho axe and forcing it back another step.

With its attention now focused on Levin, York darted towards the beast, sheathing his swords and kicking off its leg as he reached it, grabbing hold of one of the plates on its side to pull himself onto its back. It seemed the metallic plates didn't cover the space between the monster's wings, leaving that spot wide open for attack. York quickly set to work, extending one of his wrist blades and grabbing hold of the creature's back before stabbing the spot repeatedly.

The Alone hadn't ignored the dual blade wielder as he attacked, though, and it bucked wildly to the side in an attempt to dislodge him. York managed to hold fast, despite losing his grip somewhat, and he continued his onslaught while Levin continued landing several staggering blows against the monster, driving it back bit by bit. Seeing that they were near his trap, York drew his green sword and leapt off the beast's back, slashing its wing as he passed by, and landed hard on the floor below, staggering to keep his balance; the root below had felt more like mud than anything else, catching hold of his boots and keeping him from rolling forward to disperse the majority of the fall.

He was able to right himself quickly enough though, and he turned just in time to see Levin's drive the beast back onto the spot where his trap was set. There was a subtle clack as the device triggered, and a large plume of smoke burst forth from the ground, enveloping the entirety of the Alone's body in a thick white mist, illuminated by an occasional yellow spark of electricity.

"Good job, now move over to the branch there!" York shouted, pointing towards a thin, rubber-like tree that had been bent nearly all the way down to the floor and secured with a short length of rope. Levin nodded and ran over to the spot while York pulled the flash bomb the switch axe user had given him out, pulling the pin and flinging the bomb into the cloud obscuring the beast from view. There was a subtle spark from within before the entire plume of smoke flashed; the effect wasn't nearly enough to blind those outside the cloud, but because the smoke managed to catch and centralize the flash within, the flash bomb's effects were no doubt worse than normal within the smoke, even with the monster's faceplate almost covering its eyes.

At least, that was the conclusion York came to based on the Alone's deafening screech. It roared in confusion as the smoke began to lower to the ground, exposing the blinded beast to the pair. York smirked before darting over to where Levin stood waiting; it was time for the last part of his plan now.

"What next?" Levin asked quickly. "How are we going to get its head low enough for a phial burst?"

"We don't. You're going up there."

"…I'm sorry, what?"

"Grab hold of this branch. I cut the rope, you go flying into the side of its head, knock it down, and blow its brains out. Simple as that."

"Are you insane?! How is this going to work?!"

"First, yes, and second, because I'm going to make it work. Trust me on this, I've got the angle down and everything. You aren't the first person I've done this with, after all."

"That just concerns me more!"

"It's either this, or we get eaten by the giant abomination from the underworld! Take your pick."

Though he grumbled for another moment, Levin pressed the button on the side of his weapon, causing the blades to shift and flip around into the shape of a sword. He grabbed hold of the branch with his right arm, kneeling down to grasp it more comfortably. York glanced up at the beast to ascertain the right moment to launch the hunter; no doubt the Alone was still blind, but it was whipping its head around erratically in a vain attempt to locate the pair. After a few moments, York was able to estimate the moment he'd have to cut the rope to launch the hunter.

"Alright, just one last thing before your first time flying Air York; try to say something cool when you spear this bastard."

"Wait, what do you-"

York immediately lunged down and sliced the rope with his wrist blade, and the branch suddenly straightened out, dragging Levin along with it as he let out a surprised yelp. At the peak of the branch's arc, the switch axe user released his grip on the limb and grasped his weapon with both hands. The Alone must've heard the branch whip the man into the air, as it turned awkwardly in that direction, lining itself up almost perfectly with the switch axe user.

"Take this!"

The tip of Levin's sword pierced directly into the Alone's faceplate, having managed to catch the slit over the monster's eye through a stroke of good luck. The weight of the hunter with his weapon combined with the momentum of his fall was more than enough to topple the abomination, and the Alone crashed to the ground while Levin drove his blade further into its head, using its body to cushion his own fall. The lower half of his Deviljho weapon opened up then, and a torrent of red and black lightning began to rush out of the blade and into the Alone's head, causing it to roar in pain as the dragon element funneled through the cracks in its helm. After a few moments, there was a loud blast of dragon element, and Levin was sent sliding back from the recoil of the phial burst, his weapon reverting to axe form.

"Hahah! Nice one, Levin! That'll keep him down for a while!" York congratulated, running over to where the man stood panting.

"Never. Do that. Again."

"Hey, it worked, didn't it? Don't tell me you've never done anything like that before?"

"Have I ever taken to the skies without standing on the deck of an airship? I can't say that I have."

"Wow, you really are no fun. You could have at least done better then 'take this' though. Seriously, that's the best one-liner you have?"

"What do you want from me? This isn't a comic book, you know. Besides, who am I trying to impress? You? The Alone? With luck, I'll never see either of you again."

"And here I thought we were becoming friends. At least the trap worked. Rigging up the smoke bomb to that shock trap was not easy, let me tell you. And that branch? Pulling it down to the ground was way harder than you'd think."

Humans… A dark, twisted voice rolled through the hunters' heads, and a low rumble sounded from behind them, causing the pair to whirl about quickly in shock.

"What the hell…?!" York muttered, eye widening. Before their very eyes, the Alone was already reforming itself! A massive crater had been blown in its faceplate, and a large chunk of its head along with it, yet the beast still wasn't dead. It growled lowly once more as it struggled to regain its footing. The hunters could only back off a few steps in a stunned silence.

Humans… The voice rumbled. You hold me… bind me in memory… I cannot die… I cannot pass on… This place holds me until every living being has forgotten me… But they do not forget… they never forget…

Let me die! The twisted voice shrieked in their heads. Let me be forgotten! I wish to exist no more!

York groaned in pain and clutched at his head as the voice tore through his skull. He could feel the agony in the monster's words, and based on Levin's own pained response to the mental onslaught, so could he.

"We… we've got to get out of here before it can recover completely," Levin said, shaking his head to try and clear away the pain before making a break for the central platform. "Come on!"

"Right behind you," York replied, turning and following after the man a second later. The pair rushed towards the spire as fast as their feet would carry them, though the irregular consistency of the terrain made their progress far slower than they'd hoped. The closer they got to the structure, the worse it got; York found himself getting bounced into the air on one occasion when the entirety of a root suddenly had the same qualities as rubber. Levin hadn't been able to escape the changing footing either, and almost tripped several times as the ground beneath him suddenly changed to the same consistency as loose sand.

They hadn't made it far before the Alone let out another vicious roar, and they heard thundering stomps behind them as it began to pursue them once more. York spared a glance back at the abomination, seeing it thunder across the ground in a mad dash towards them. It seemed the ground worked against it as well, though; as it neared them, the Alone's claw gripped the same root Levin had gotten stuck in, catching its arm and yanking it back with a startled howl.

"Keep moving, we're almost there!" the dual sword wielder shouted, vaulting over a waist-high root as they approached the tower. Levin ducked underneath another branch and grunted in agreement, clearly focusing more on escaping than anything else at the moment. Before they could reach the gemstone, however, a shadow passed over them once more, and the Alone crashed into the floor in front of them, cutting the hunters off from their escape.

"Damn… He really doesn't want us getting out of here."

"Doesn't matter what this thing wants, it won't stop us from going home! Not after all of this crap we've gone through!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself. So, let's just break past it and get to the gem-

York started a little as the beast reared its head, the back of its throat glowing with flames in preparation to launch another fire attack. Instead of attacking the hunters, though, it twisted its head back and sprayed the flaming liquid over the glowing gemstone, completely coating it in the substance.

"I had to say it…" York cursed, drawing his dual blades. The flames took a few minutes to die down from what he'd seen, and until that happened they would have to fight the Alone off. There were still a few tricks he could try to pull, but he and Levin would have to be careful. This abomination would not let them get away that easily, even with half of its face still missing.

"Alright, I think I'll come up with the plan this time," Levin remarked, drawing his switch axe. "We wing it."

"Sounds about as good as we'll get at this point. Let's dance!"

The hunters immediately rushed to either side of the monster, with Levin breaking to the left and York moving right. The Alone's eye was still healing from the switch axe user's earlier attack, rendering the side he was attacking from relatively safe compared to York. While Levin circled around to attack the creature from behind, York rushed in close to attack its torso. He managed to land a couple swings on its chest, though the heavier armor on its chest blocked most of the damage he could have inflicted. The dual blade user leapt back in time to avoid being crushed beneath the Alone's leg, though he still found himself sliding back from the concussive force of the attack.

With a metallic howl, the creature began to rush towards the hunter as he recovered. York readied himself to evade, but it turned out to not be necessary. Levin brought his axe down on the monster's tail, hitting right between two of the plates lining the lash and spraying the ground with its blood. The gold-armored man brought his weapon around and swung once more at the Alone's leg before the beast could pull away, though the strike was blocked by the thick plate protecting its limb, causing him to stumble back in order to maintain his grip on the weapon.

York darted forward to attack once again, knowing the hunter would need a moment to readjust his grip on the large weapon. He slashed left and right to strike at the monster's limbs as he approached, though most strikes were still deflected by the hard plates. He was successful in getting Levin the time he needed to recover and leap away from a swipe of the Alone's tail and counterattack once again, slamming his blade into its side.

The Alone responded with a sickening growl and a wide swipe of its claws, almost as if it were trying to grab the hunters. Levin was able to sidestep the attempt, and while York was able to do the same, he found the tails of his longcoat getting caught on one of the monster's hooked claws, letting out a surprised yelp as he was flung across the platform, swords falling from his grasp. Reacting quickly, he unsheathed his hand axe and stuck the carbalite blade into the ground to act as a brake, managing to catch himself right at the edge of the peak. It was almost a forty foot drop straight down.

"Damn, that was close…" he groaned, hoisting himself back up and shaking the stars from his eyes. He spotted his dual blades across the platform nearby where Levin was dueling with the Alone. He rushed over to where the blades were and retrieved them, though a startled shout from behind him drew his attention back to the fight.

The Alone had managed to sweep Levin off his feet with a tail swipe, knocking the man flat on his back. The creature immediately reared its arm back, intending to crush the hunter beneath its arm like it had tried so many times before.

York instinctively sheathed his swords and activated his white aura, launching himself forward with the speed it granted him. With a powerful kick, he leapt up onto the beast's back again, drawing his axe and burying its head into the Alone's back to secure himself before attacking the monster's spine in a frenzy of wrist blades and tomahawk swings. The beast roared in surprise at the man's sudden assault and bucked around wildly to try and throw him off, though his grip held fast this time. Levin was able to return to his feet, though he had backed off to avoid getting struck by the monster's attempt to dislodge the white-robed hunter.

After a few moments, the creature came to a stop, raising its head upwards and letting out a low roar before breathing a stream of flames into the air. York simply grinned and continued to attack the exposed spots on its back, knowing that he'd be able to do enough damage before too long to possibly knock the monster over and give Levin another opportunity for a phial burst.

"York, get off, now!" Levin suddenly shouted, causing the hunter to turn his gaze upwards once again. The flames the monster had spewed out before were quickly falling back towards him; it had used the substance on itself! York cursed as he pulled his axe free from its back and leapt off its back, flinching as something struck his arm before he landed with a roll. He let out a shocked yelp as he realized a glob of the flaming liquid had struck his arm, and had started to burn a hole though the sleeve, and he quickly started rolling to dissipate the flames and keep them from spreading any further. Somehow, there seemed to have been little enough of the substance that it died down rather quickly, though York was still left panting after the effort.

"Thanks for the warning," the dual blade wielder replied, grimacing at the charred spot on his sleeve before looking back up at the Alone. The monster was howling in agony as the flaming substance coated its own flesh, setting the beast alight with its own fire. It almost looked like it had crawled out of the depths of hell with the way it looked and sounded. He wouldn't be able to climb on it again with the Alone in this state.

York quickly reached back into his pouch, sifting around for anything he could use against the creature. He'd spent most of his resources during his earlier fights, leaving him with only a few throwing knives coated with sleep herb extract and a single smoke bomb, aside from a few potions and whetstones he carried with him.

"How are you doing on supplies, Levin?!"

"Not good! I'm down to only a few small things, and almost none of them would help in this situation!"

"Blast…" The flames coating the gemstone were beginning to die down, but not nearly enough to allow the pair to safely lay a hand on the orb. He might be able to put the beast to sleep if he landed enough of the throwing knives, but that would require precision he wasn't quite sure he had with the Alone moving about so erratically.

"Guess I don't have much choice then, do I?" York mumbled, activating his aura once more. He'd just have to throw everything he had at the monster and drive it off the tower. But he would need Levin's help if he were to have a chance of doing that.

"Levin, I'm going to try and take out its legs! Get ready to blast this bastard off the tower!"

The dual blade user rushed at the monster then, sliding beneath its attempt to catch him in its grasp and slashing both of his swords against the inside of its leg, cutting surprisingly deep into its flesh. He twisted about and slashed its underbelly once, sheathing his green sword as he did so. The hunter pulled a sleep knife from his pouch and stabbed it into the open wound he just made before darting out from beneath the monster. Not a moment too soon, either; it had just slammed its body into the ground in an effort to crush him beneath its bulk.

Levin capitalized on its stature to swing his axe into the side of the Alone's head, knocking it aside with a slight crack, before his weapon changed into sword form and he dealt a swift pair of slashes to the monster's front leg, causing it to roar in pain and lash out at him with its jaws. Levin barely sidestepped the attack, though the side of the Alone's head still struck his shoulder and sent him reeling back.

York followed up on the switch axe user's assault, slicing into the monster's side with his blue saber while being mindful of the flaming liquid dripping off its back and wings. Clutching another two knives in his free hand, he flung the blades into the exposed sections of the Alone's side, releasing even more of the substance into its bloodstream. The hunter continued his relentless attack, despite how little damage he could do through the monster's armor, slashing anything he could with his sword while darting around the Alone.

Levin soon joined him in attacking the monster, having marginally more success in drawing blood than York did with his weapon in sword form. He was being careful with his swings to avoid spending the phial, and was making sure each one counted. One particularly well-aimed swing managed to crack the bones in the beast's leg, staggering it slightly and giving Levin a moment to hop back while York took his place. The dual blade wielder stuck a fourth knife into the monster's hide, in the spot Levin had cut into.

With a frenzied roar, the Alone lashed out at York and Levin with a few swipes of its claws, though they seemed to be slow and predictable attacks. The extract must've begun to take effect! One more knife, and they might be able to put it down for long enough to escape! York ducked beneath the attacks while Levin hopped away to get out of the monster's reach. The monster screeched angrily before lunging at the man with its head, jaws wide open in an attempt to devour the white-robed hunter. A moment before the attack landed, though, York leapt back through the air to avoid the Alone's gaping maw, managing to pull off a complete flip by the apex of his jump. As he began to fall, he flung the last of his knives into the side of the beast's neck, the blade sinking into a small exposed bit of flesh. He landed beside Levin with a loud thud, though his aura absorbed the entirety of the fall, leaving him unharmed.

The Alone roared angrily once more, though instead of attacking them it stumbled back a few steps. The effects of the sleep knives were overpowering it and slowing down its senses, though it still seemed like it wasn't enough to knock the abomination out completely. Still, it was enough to render the being wide open to attack. York glanced over at Levin and nodded quickly, and the switch axe user responded in kind. The two approached the wounded creature as it struggled to right itself. Even as its wounds healed, the toxins didn't leave its system quickly, keeping it from falling into slumber while prohibiting it from moving.

No… You know! You will remember! Let the knowledge fade! Let me fade and vanish into oblivion! You must die… die and forget!

Undeterred, Levin hefted his switch axe, the bottom half of the blade flipping open one more and unleashing a torrent of dragon element as he thrust the tip of his weapon into the monster's skull once more. The Alone howled in agony as the flames and bolts washed over its head, damaging it even further, before the phial overloaded and released a massive blast into its face. The concussive force was enough to send York and Levin sliding back across the platform, but also to knock the Alone back onto its hind legs. While it took a few steps back to regain its balance, the abomination reached the edge of the platform, losing its footing and looking as though it were about to fall. Still, it refused to give up, grasping onto the edge of the tower with the claws lining its feet.

"We are done here!" York shouted, launching himself forward once more. He turned over in midair, landing with both feet planted below the Alone's jaw. With all the strength he had, the hunter pushed off with his legs, literally kicking the Alone off the tower with the aid of his white aura. Its claws came loose from the stone, and the abomination let out one last prolonged screech of agony as it fell to the ground below, crashing into the earth with enough force to shake the area.

York sighed in relief as he stared down the hole. The Alone was motionless, its blood pouring out from its wounds and pooling around it, painting the ashen branches a dark crimson. He turned at the sound of footsteps behind him as Levin approached, and the switch axe user looked over the ledge, sighing in relief as well at the sight of the crumpled creature below.

"See, Levin? That's how you pull off a proper one liner!"

"Yeah, yeah, good for you."

"Alright, let's get out of here," York stated, motioning towards the gemstone. The long-lasting flames were finally dying away, and there were several places opening up on the massive stone where they'd be able to touch the thing and escape this place.

Why…

York froze as the word seeped into his mind, and he looked down the hole again to where the creature lay. The blast from Levin's switch axe had torn apart the dragon's faceplate, blackening the flesh across its skull and reducing its eyes to cinders. The fall had broken its body, shattering its wings and leaving the beast a broken mess on the floor. But somehow the creature was moving again, despite the damage the hunters had dealt to it, its heart beating in its chest and its lungs straining to breathe. Its claws tore at the ground, as though to push itself upright, but it was a futile effort. Still, however, the creature writhed, trying desperately to get back to its feet and continue fighting, despite everything.

Why do you make me suffer? Why do you extend my torment? You who constructed me, who remember and bind me… You cannot live… I cannot let you… The memory… The memory must fade!

"Come on, let's go!" Levin shouted, pointing towards the gemstone. "This is our chance!"

York nodded quickly, turning to dash with the switch axe user to the massive rainbow gem. Before they could go too far, however, the hunters staggered as the Alone let out yet another of its terrible screeches, this one even more powerful and penetrating than those before. York and Levin struggled for several seconds, but began pushing on again, even as the sound pounded into their ears. Soon the sound began to fade, and the hunters picked up the pace again, but were surprised as the sound of rumbling and snapping echoed through the chamber around them.

From the darkness of the canopy above them, dozens and dozens of dark shapes began to wrench themselves from the shadows. York winced as the shapes came into view, revealing other twisted creatures, twisted abominations that matched the metal-plated creature they'd just fought. Some were smaller, some were larger, some with mismatched body parts, and some with more limbs attached to them than seemed physically possible. Some were so warped and distorted that York couldn't imagine what they were at all. There was one with at least ten wings, one with eight heads, and one that looked as though it was a massive blob with a glowing orange core. Some looked almost normal though, powerful dragons with smooth bodies that appeared as though they were actual creatures, born and raised through natural methods. But the hateful look that glowed in their eyes gave them away, showing them to be one among the Alone.

And then he began to hear the voices, pressing into his skull. All at once, voices as dark and twisted as the first Alone's began to pierce into his mind, threatening death and murder to the two hunters, and moans crying out for release from their torment. Voices of every kind, from twisted screeching to thunderous roars reverberated through the hunters' skulls, pounding into them as the dozens of abominations began to swarm towards them, rushing them in an attempt to keep them from touching the gemstone.

York found himself struggling to stay standing under the mental onslaught, and his vision grew dizzy under the roar of voices in his skull, but still he pressed forward. Several of the beasts were terrifyingly fast, and would be upon them quickly if they didn't hurry, but York and Levin only had a few dozen yards to go. With the thundering of footsteps, and the clicking of talons rushing behind them, the hunters leapt forward, slapping their hands against the side of the radiant stone.

As the hunters touched the gemstone, there was an eruption of light. The great stone flared to life, blazing with a glorious glow of a thousand indescribable colors. From within the gemstone, a swell of energy burst forth, coalescing into a solid form and reaching outwards with semi-transparent tendrils. The lingering remains of the napalm that the Alone had covered the gemstone with was flung away, revealing the stone in all its glory. York felt himself being wrapped in a warm feeling as the tendrils began to wrap around him and Levin, enveloping the two hunters in the glimmering, transparent covering that merged together and formed a liquid-like barrier around them.

The horde of Alone around them howled in fury, and one of the closest ones lashed out at them, raking its talons down towards them. York cursed, trying to move, but found himself immobile within the grip of the rainbow tendrils. However, before the Alone could strike them, one of the glowing tendrils lashed out, striking the creature in the chest. Though the tendril was narrow, barely a few inches wide, the force of the blow sent the great creature flying backwards and crashing into the vines far across the tower, before it fell over the side. The rest of the Alone in the room looked at each other nervously, forced to stay back and bellow angrily at the escaping hunters, unable to intervene.

York suddenly felt himself being pulled closer to the gemstone, the tendrils pressing down on him and pushing him against the flat side of the great stone. The dual blade wielder groaned for a moment as under the weight, feeling a twinge of fear at the thought that the tendril were going to crush him against the gemstone, before the great glowing octahedron softened underneath him. The gemstone suddenly rippled, and the hardness of it was replaced with the feeling of a thin film of water. In a moment, York passed through it, finding himself floating in a realm of rainbow light.

Looking around, York spotted Levin nearby, floating aimlessly through the void of shifting color. The gold-armored hunter's appearance seemed to be hazy and uncertain, however; it was as though Levin's body was constantly changing to different moments in his life, rapidly growing older and younger, shifting from armor to casual clothing to fancy clothes, and sometimes even shifting to moments in his life where he was badly injured, dressed in hospital clothing and wrapped in countless gauze and bandages. York was reminded of the human core, though this effect was only being applied to a single person. Looking down at his hands, he realized he was doing the same thing, his form shifting back and forth between countless moments in his own life. There was no feeling to it, fortunately, but it felt so strange to watch his body grow smaller and larger, weaker and stronger with each passing moment.

"So… I guess we did it?" York looked up at Levin's words. The other hunter looked like a rookie hunter now, a few years younger, not as strong or weathered, with a great sword slung over his back. He also had all his limbs, flesh and blood where Dark Metal had once been.

"Seems that way," York replied, looking down at himself again. He was wearing completely black clothing… he probably looked like he did back in Crez. "Wonder how long it takes to really kick in?"

"Not sure…" Levin admitted, shaking his head. "Maybe it just takes a minute to… get the coordinates right or something. Assuming everything is working correctly though… I guess this is where we part ways."

"Looks like it. Uh… not sure what you're supposed to say in this situation. I was going to go with 'see you around' or 'until next time', but given the circumstances, it'd probably be best if we never see each other again until… you know."

"Hmm… good point."

"'Nice hunting with you' seems a bit too impersonal. 'It was nice meeting you' is a little lacking considering everything we've gone through."

Levin smirked. "Or G.G.?"

"Huh? What's that mean?"

"Nothing…" the gold-armored hunter chuckled. "I've never really been that complex a person. How about something simple? Like 'good luck'?"

York grinned and nodded. "Yeah, that works. Good luck to you, Levin," he said, reaching his hand forward, which Levin shook.

"Good luck to you too, York."

As the two hunters ended the handshake, however, York felt as though something was wrapping around him, tightening around his waist and chest. Before he could react, he felt himself being yanked away, shooting away from Levin and flying through the void at incomprehensible speeds. The colors around him began to blur, growing brighter and brighter. York began to grow dizzy, and he closed his eyes to blot out the light, but his mind was growing muddled as well. He couldn't tell what was happening at all! Even with his eyes closed, the light was growing brighter!

For a moment, the light shifted to a bright azure, then it vanished with a loud shattering sound. There was a wave of mist, a sense of falling, and then York hit the ground.

"York! Dammit York, wake up!"

York groaned in pain at the shouted voice, wincing in pain. His head was positively throbbing, but the agony was fading quickly. As he opened his eyes and reached down to push himself into a sitting position, his fingers wrapped around the edge of something. When he looked down, he cringed slightly upon realizing that he was only a foot away from the edge of a platform, where a long fall dropped down into some very dangerous-looking rapids.

As he scooted away from the edge and shook his head, his memories of what had happened returned. He'd been in the Brilliant Darkness' old hideout in the desert, searching for some artifact the Guild wanted. He'd found it… but then there'd been a bright flash of light, and how… now he was waking up. He couldn't help but feel like there was something missing though, something that had happened in between. There was something… something about a hunter in golden armor, but aside from that…

Sitting up, he winced slightly as his hand pressed against something sharp on the ground. Looking down, he caught sight of hundreds of small blue shards lying on the platform, scattered all over the pale stone and between the roots crawling over the platform's surface. It took a moment for York to realize what they were, before it clicked that they were the remains of the 'artifact' that he'd been asked to retrieve. The pieces didn't have any glow to them though, and were cold and dark, little more than colored rocks on the ground.

"Oh, thank gods. Damn it all, York, I was worried as hell. Thought you were a dead man when I saw you fall over like you did."

York looked up and realized that Hugh was on the platform with him, crouched against the ground and looking down worriedly at him. When had the great sword user gotten here? He'd been on the far side of the gap the last time he'd seen him. "How long was I out?" York asked, pushing to his feet.

"A few minutes at the most," Hugh replied, motioning to the rope stretching from the platform to the hall in the distance. "Long enough for me to haul myself across that gap to make sure you didn't fall over the edge. I tell you, I am not made for all that fancy climbing and jumping you do all the time."

"Damn, really? I feel like I've been out of it for at least a few days… maybe even a couple months."

"Talk about a hangover… Well, it hasn't been nearly that long. The hell happened here anyway?" the great sword user asked, looking around. "The hell'd you do? One minute you're tying up the rope, next thing there's a flash of light and you're lying on the ground a little too close to the edge for comfort! What happened? Was it the artifact? Did you find it?"

"The artifact… yeah, I found it," York replied. "It was a gemstone of some kind. One of the Alatreon's stones I think, like the dragongem, but bigger. It was a… a dragonsphire."

"The what?" Hugh asked. "Dragon… sphire? What's a sphire?"

"I don't… I don't know," York muttered in confusion. Dragonsphire? Where had the word come from? It seemed to pull at the edge of his memories, but it just wouldn't surface.

"Anyway, the… the artifact, I picked it up to examine it, but…" The dual sword user looked down, kicking at the blue shards scattered around the roots on the platform. "I guess it broke."

"Aw, damn it…" Hugh sighed. "I was wondering what all these little things were. That Guild guy is not gonna be happy to hear that. Was that what made the light? What did it do? You aren't… possessed or anything like that, are you?"

"I don't think you have to worry about that," York replied. "Pretty sure if the Alatreon had managed to get control of my body, it'd be letting you know by now. I don't think the elder dragon could resist bragging if it had managed to get me under its control."

"You sound pretty sure for someone who said he found another stone like the Alatreon's dragongem."

York frowned at the words. Hugh was right. Another Alatreon gemstone was certain to be a problem… and yet he knew, he was absolutely certain that the Alatreon was dead. It wouldn't be coming back again. He didn't know how he was so positive, but he just felt… completely certain.

"Just trust me on this. The Alatreon's gone for good."

Hugh was silent for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah, alright. I guess if Alteos and all his followers are any indication, at least you're not acting like you're under control of the dragon. But did the rock do anything to you? It didn't just make a big flash of light and break into pieces did it?"

"I'm not entirely sure," York admitted, staring down at the broken fragments concernedly. "There was the light and… and something. I had a weird dream… though I'm not sure if that was from the artifact or just because I got knocked out. But I can't… quite remember it."

"You're not exactly inspiring confidence you know…"

"Maybe not… But I'm pretty sure nothing happened. I'm not possessed or anything, and whatever dream I had or whatever obviously wasn't important enough to remember. Besides, I was only out of it for a couple minutes. What kind of trouble could I get up to in that little time?"

"Knowing you? A whole lot," Hugh chuckled. The great sword user pushed himself to his feet, reaching a hand down to help York up, which the dual blade wielder accepted gratefully. Hugh waved over to the far wall, where the researcher they'd met was watching intently. "Don't worry; he's fine."

"What about the artifact?" the man shouted back.

"Uh… looks like it's broken," the hunter replied, and the two men could hear a string of curses echoing over the rumbling of the rapids below. Hugh chuckled sheepishly, before turning back to York. "Guess he isn't happy about that. Think we should sweep up the pieces?"

"He'll probably throw a fit if we don't," York sighed, reaching down to pick up the shards on the ground. It didn't take too long, thankfully, but there were a lot of little pieces that had either slipped between the rock-like roots of the old tree or fallen over the edge into the water below. But they gathered what they could, before using the rope York had tied to the tree to shimmy their way back to the tunnel on the other side.

"Sure you can handle climbing across this, big guy?" York grinned.

"I hauled ass to get across to keep your butt from taking a swim in those rapids below, didn't I? You should be thankful that I'm able to scurry across a line like that."

"Ha, maybe you're right."

The two worked their way back across the gap, climbing across the rope back to the safety of the tunnel. The researcher was visibly frustrated at the destruction of the artifact he'd wanted them to collect, but he accepted the shards that they offered him, his eyes lighting up curiously as he peeked at the broken pieces of the gem. With little left to do, the man turned and began to lead them back towards the main room and the surface above.

"Hey, Hugh…" York said as they began climbing the first stairwell.

"Yeah?"

"Once we get back to Loc Lac, are you busy or anything?"

"Naw, Calistro said he wouldn't need me for anything once we were done here, so I've got some down time," Hugh replied. "Why, what's up?"

"Just wondering whether you'd be willing to help me out with a hunt," York told him. "We've been getting word of a Green Nargacuga raising hell along the mainland near Moga. The Guild back home wants me to take care of it, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me out with the hunt."

"Yeah, sure, I-" Hugh paused mid-sentence, however, giving York an odd look.

"What?"

"Can't think of the last time you actually asked me for help on a hunt," Hugh replied, staring intently at York. "You usually run off to try and take care of things, saying you can handle it on your own…"

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" York retorted, though Hugh raised an eyebrow at the words. "Okay, maybe I do more often than not. But I asked you for help this time, didn't I?"

Hugh scratched his chin thoughtfully. "You sure that gem didn't do anything funny to you?"

"You're talking like this is the day after your wedding," York groaned, and Hugh laughed.

"You can't blame me for ribbing you a little. You've always been a stubborn sonuvagun. So what brought this on? Don't tell me my talk when we got here actually got through that thick skull of yours."

"Maybe just a tad," York shrugged nonchalantly, but he couldn't help feeling strange. He actually didn't remember why he'd been so willing to ask Hugh on the hunt. The great sword user had been right: York had been planning on taking care of the Nargacuga on his own. Now, however, he couldn't help but feel he should try and go hunting with his friends more often… It just seemed like the right thing to do. He didn't need to try and do everything himself, right?

"Ha! Well, in that case, count me in. Been awhile since I've taken on a Nargacuga, and doing Guild work like this can get pretty boring."

"I'll take your word for it," York replied, glancing towards the researcher in front of them. "This entire job's been pretty boring. A bit of climbing and whatever that dragonsphire was, but other than that, this whole thing's been a walk in the park."

"That dragonsphire almost took you on a trip to the afterlife, though," Hugh chuckled. "Nearly knocked you over the edge of that column."

York opened his mouth to reply, but paused uncertainly. After a moment though, he shook his head. "Would have been more interesting than this cave. At the very least, we could have fought some weird monster or something…"

"Oh, no you don't. Don't jinx us, York. If you say something like that-"

A dull rumbling sound echoed through the halls, and dust fell from the roof. The three of them looked around fearfully for a moment, before a look of recognition lit up the researcher's face and he cursed under his breath. "Damn it all… it would come here of all days, wouldn't it? I thought it traversed the southern tunnels on Saturdays… No wait, it is Saturday, isn't it? It's so hard to keep track of time down here…"

"The hell's going on?" Hugh shouted as the rumbling grew louder.

"It would seem our request for the Guild to gather you as well as Mr. Adler was well founded, Mr. Leovirtus," the man replied, taking a step back and placing himself behind Hugh and York. "Truth is, we do actually have a bit of a monster problem that needs taken care of. A monster lives in these tunnels, though we've been putting off having it slain for a while."

"Putting it off?! Why?!"

"Because it's been easy to avoid! It doesn't bother you as long as you stay out of its way! The monster moves in a giant circle around the central chamber like clockwork, completing a cycle in a week. You can measure the days by where it's traveling!"

"What kind of monster is it?" York shouted. The earth was beginning to tremble as the rumbling grew closer.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, I believe it's referred to as a Volvidon."

As if on cue, a massive red sphere taking up almost the entire hallway appeared from around the corner ahead of them, smashing into the dark stone wall of the hallway and spinning wildly in place. The ball began to twist and writhe around a bit though, slowly curling around so that the spinning was aimed in their direction, before the creature unraveled itself, flopping down onto its four legs and hissing at the three of them, its long and sinuous tongue wiggling in the air a few inches in front of its snout.

"See? What'd I tell you?" Hugh grumbled, reaching for the hilt of his great sword. The researcher quickly pulled away, getting behind the hunters and hiding in a side hall. "You just had to say it."

"Yeah, yeah, my bad," York groaned, unsheathing his dual blades as the Volvidon waddled towards them. The creature easily took up almost the entire width of the tunnel with its bulk, making it nearly impossible for them to pass safely. "At least we'll have a decent story for when we make it back, right?"

"Guess so," Hugh laughed, drawing his great sword as the red creature hissed again. "Chapter one: the armadillo eats the dust!"

York nodded and laughed. With a twist, the Volvidon began rolling itself up into a ball again, and the two hunters charged towards it.

"Levin? Did he leave already? I guess I must have… Levin!"

Levin groaned as he woke up, shaking his head. "What… Ellie?"

As he opened his eyes, it took a few seconds to realize where he was. His mind was hazy and fogged, making it hard to think, but things were slowly growing clearer. His memory though… it was like he'd just woken from a long dream, where everything was quickly being forgotten, slipping through his fingers like sand. What had happened? There had been a tree, and a blue light… and the Alatreon? And a white-robed hunter… But even as Levin tried to grasp at the thoughts, they vanished as though they had never been there at all.

He realized he was in his living room, lying on the floor, with Ellie crouched over him and looking down at him worriedly. He also realized that she was having trouble crouching as she was, as she was far into her pregnancy and her belly had grown quite large. Even in his dazed state, Levin quickly pushed to his feet, though a wave of dizziness washed over him as he did so, and Ellie had to catch him to keep him from toppling over again.

"Mercy, Levin! Are you okay? What happened to you?"

"I don't… I can't really remember…" he muttered in reply. He was having trouble focusing his eyes, and Ellie snapped her fingers in front of his face, jolting him a bit.

"Stay with me, Levin. If you've got a concussion, you need to stay awake! Now, you've got to tell me what happened to you. And what the heck is all this stuff on the floor?"

He looked down at where Ellie was pointing. There, next to the box that Bahn had given him, was the shattered remains of a blue gemstone, the Azure Dragonsphire. The stone, once the size of his fist, had splintered into countless pieces, hundreds of them no larger than a fingernail. What once had glowed with some internal light was now dead and dark, the shards appearing as little more than broken glass.

"What was it?" Ellie asked worriedly, glaring at the remains.

"It was… a gift from the Guild," Levin replied, shaking his head. His memory was still hazy, though he was starting to remember what had happened before he'd been knocked out. "Some gemstone they carved from the Alatreon. They wanted it to be a trophy for us or something… or we could sell it for money."

"A 'gift', huh?" Ellie muttered sourly. "What the hell… And it just exploded? Are they trying to kill you?"

"I don't… really remember. Bahn brought it here… said the Guild had deemed it safe. But when I touched it, something happened. I think there was a blue light, and it was cold… I guess I must have been knocked out or something."

"They call that safe?" Ellie growled.

"I'm fine, I think," Levin replied, rubbing his neck. "I should… I've got a hunt to get to, don't I? There was a Gobul…"

"Oh, no. You are not going out on a hunt like this," Ellie replied sternly, pulling his cap from his hand. "You are completely out of it right now. I don't know what that stone did to you, but you're not heading out until I'm sure you're fine. Besides, the young hunters in town aren't the babies you and Bahn seems to think they are; they can handle a Gobul on their own.

"Now go! Out of that armor!" Ellie urged, stepping behind him and shoving him towards their armory.

With little room to argue, Levin did as he was told, stepping into their armor and weapon storage room. As he put away his things, he couldn't help but find a few things odd: the blades on his switch axe were a little dull, his armor seemed dinged up in a few places, and several rations, potions, and other materials were missing out of his pouch, including a couple of Harker's flash bombs and one of the experimental potions he'd given Levin. It was like he'd just gotten back from a hunt, not preparing to go out on one… But he quickly shook his head. Bahn had come to their house while he'd still been preparing, and then there was the whole business with the Dragonsphire… he probably just hadn't been finished preparing for the hunt before getting distracted.

After un-suiting, Levin stepped back out into the living room, where he found that Ellie had swept up the shards of the dragonsphire and dumped them all back into the box. She'd taken a seat on the couch in front of it, and was staring intently at the box, with an expression of sour distaste on her face. At the same time, Levin could see the cogs in her head turning, and he had little doubt that, despite the tirade Ellie was sure to raise once she got the Guild hall in Perir, she was still contemplating on how she could best profit off of the shards. The look vanished when she saw Levin walk in, followed by a temporary look of regret, before she began to push herself back to her feet.

Levin met her halfway though, putting a hand on her shoulder and urging her to sit back down. "I know you're fired up and ready to raise hell at the Guild hall, but… let's wait until tomorrow, okay?"

"Levin…"

"You don't want to make someone with a possible concussion to walk all the way to town, do you?" Levin asked. "Besides, you've done enough walking yourself today. You need to take care of yourself…"

"I'm pregnant, Levin, not paraplegic…" Ellie huffed. "But fine. We can stay in tonight. But if you think that I'm not going down to town and giving Bahn a piece of my mind first thing tomorrow morning-"

"I wouldn't dream of trying to stop you."

The two of them sat down on the couch together, and Ellie spent a few minutes fussing over him, making sure that he really wasn't suffering any lingering effects from losing consciousness. Eventually he managed to convince her that he felt fine and wasn't hurt, and though she still seemed uncertain, she let it slide, deciding that she'd make sure to keep an eye on him, just in case.

"So what are we going to do with these?" Ellie asked, motioning towards the shard-filled box. "Take them back to the Guild tomorrow? I know how much you don't like receiving 'gifts' from people for what we've done."

"Screw it, let's just sell them," Levin sighed, leaning his head against hers and closing his eyes wearily. "The Guild gave us these for killing the Alatreon, we might as well use them somehow. Someone's gotta be bound to buy them."

"Yeah, I guess so… I don't think we'll be able to get as much money with shards as we could have with the full gem, but maybe we could start an auction for them or something. Orage's probably the best place to go if we-" However, in the midst of her muttering, Ellie paused, looking up in surprise at Levin. "Wait, you think we should sell it? Really?"

"Is that so surprising?"

"Coming from you? Yeah, a little." Ellie turned to face him, staring at him with concern. "You're always so… opposed to receiving any gifts or rewards from the Guild. I would have expected you to want to send the shards back, if only so that the Guild could use it for Loc Lac's reconstruction instead of giving it to us."

"I did say that to Bahn when he first dropped this off," Levin admitted thoughtfully, but he shook his head. "I don't know… I guess I'm just tired of feeling like everything's my fault. If the Guild wants to pay us for what we've done, or if they want to praise us for killing the Alatreon, then that's fine."

"Really?" Ellie replied flatly, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not saying that we should go out to Loc Lac and demand payment for our services or anything, or to go around bragging about killing the Alatreon," Levin replied with a short laugh. "Personally, I'd prefer that the Guild didn't make a show out of rewarding us; I don't really want to be put in the limelight or anything. I guess I'm just tired of worrying about people who are angry at me, or blame me for everything that's happened. And… I'm tired of blaming myself. I know that I've made a lot of mistakes, and that I've caused a lot of pain and trouble because of them, but I don't want that to keep me from living my life with you. So if the Guild wants to give me some gem as thanks, then fine, I won't complain or tell them I don't deserve it. We could use the money anyway."

Ellie was quiet for a moment, before nodding in acceptance and leaning back against him. "Maybe that bump to the head knocked some sense into you. I've been trying to get you to accept people's kindness and thanks for a while now."

"Yeah… sorry. I've always been a stubborn sort of idiot. Guess your words finally sunk in." Though he said it, Levin couldn't help but feel that it wasn't true. He'd been fully intending to return to gem to Bahn when he got the chance, but now he just didn't feel like he had to.

"That's good to hear. So, you've got the rest of the night off?"

"Guess so…"

"Then we should have a date night."

Levin grinned. "A date night? For a couple that have been married for going on five years and are expecting their first child?"

"And why not? Mercy knows that we aren't going to have much time to ourselves once this little girl is born," Ellie replied, patting her bulging belly. "And besides, Kerry and Harker are going to be visiting next week, and will be sticking around until the baby's born. You know how things get with them around."

"I forgot about that… We're going to have to give the fire brigade a heads-up while we're at it. I'm surprised Harker managed to pull himself away from that tower of his."

"Kerry can be very persuasive when she needs to be. And hide the clocks; I don't need another surprise like last time in my condition. Now come on, help me cook dinner. We can go up on the hill and watch the stars come out."

"Sounds good to me… I don't know why, but I really feel like watching the stars right now."

High above the ashen tree in the realm of the dead, a dark shape soared just below the clouds in the sky. The flying shape dove and weaved through the air, sliding over and under the long-hanging branches that stretched out from the top of the tree, reaching over the dark water and sinking into the ocean far away.

The creature's attention wasn't really on where it was flying however; it had sailed through these skies countless times before. No, its attention was elsewhere, its eyes focused intently towards the top of the tree, where a bright, rainbow-colored light was growing brighter and brighter. Two living souls were there at the epicenter of the light, the core could sense them. The howls of dozens of creatures could be heard, even from the flying creature's distance, the bellows of fury from the beasts that had sought the hunters' blood.

The flying creature watched intently, curiously, eager to witness something it had never seen before. It wondered what would happen, once the hunters had been pulled into the gemstone. It was a mystery, one which the countless spirits within it couldn't guess the result of.

The light continued to grow brighter and brighter, until it hurt for the flying creature to look at. Then there was a crack, and a loud shattering sound erupted through the air. The light suddenly swelled outwards, spreading outwards like water and washing over the tree, covering the branches and trunk in a radiant rainbow hue. The flying creature pulled away from the branch it flew next to in surprise as the light swelled out over all the branches as well, crawling over the ashen bark and turning the whole tree into a massive glowing tower. The flying creature sailed through the air fearfully, uncertain what this all meant, and what the light would do to it if it touched the stuff.

But a minute later the light began to fade. The glowing aura swelled backwards, retracting across the tree back towards where it had come from, coalescing into a single point once more. At the center, where the radiant gemstone had been before, the light collected back together, flickering a couple times, before the glow faded away, returning to the dimmer but still resplendent hue that it had once had.

The flying creature watched for a few moments more, curious to see if anything else would happen, but it seemed that the light show was at an end, and the creature returned its attention elsewhere. The creature nearly stopped flapping its wings in shock, however, upon realizing that things had changed around it. Only moments ago, the great tree had been as it had been as long as the core remembered, ashen and dreary, an old and worn existence. But now… now the tree was in bloom!

Where once the great tree had been nothing but ashen grey, now the whole thing was awash with color; swaths of green had spread across the tree in its entirety, tufts of grass and sinewy vines had broken through the thick roots and branches of the tree, as moss had grown wildly along the sides of the trunk. Far below, at the base of the tree, the bland small trees appeared to have regrown new leaves, vibrant green. All over the tree, vibrant flowers of every hue had bulbed and bloomed, coating the tree with even more color than the green grass and moss. Many were small, dotting the branches with arrays of flowers, but others seemed to grow in size to match the massive size of the tree itself, creating blooms that were dozens of yards wide. In all, the great tree had becoming much more comfortable and welcoming than it had been not long ago.

{Well, that was interesting,} the Alatreon core thought to itself. Nearly all of the souls within it agreed. It had been some time since such a great change had come over this dreary place. For all the years the core of the Alatreon had been within this realm, it had remained ever the same, yet now, everything was more beautiful than it had been before.

The Alatreon dived towards the earth, swooping back down towards its tower, all the while scanning the ground below, taking in the new sights. The other cores had noticed the change already, and many were reveling in the new growth that surrounded them. The Alatreon core could see other cores, like the Kelbi and the Aptonoth, making their way happily though newly-created grasslands, enjoying the feel of grass on their hooves and nibbling upon the fresh sprouts. The Zinogre core, a mix of green and black scales, walked comfortably through the trees as two insects, a Fulgar Bug and Dracophage Bug, darted around it, chewing at the leaves above them. The Lagiacrus core had emerged from the sea, pulling itself onto a patch of grass and dozing off on it.

The Alatreon core nearly missed its tower as it flew over it, and not because its attention was on the other cores. Sweeping down, the Alatreon realized that its tower had become completely overgrown, the dark obsidian completely coated in a layer of newly grown vines and moss, coloring the entire structure in green. The Alatreon core settled down onto the top of the tower, walking around a bit as it acclimated to the sudden change in its dwelling.

{Hmm… Not blood, but it has certainly given this dreary tower some color.} The Alatreon padded at the soft moss and grass that sprouted from the earth, finding it much softer and more comfortable than the stone by itself had been. Nearly all the cores agreed with that as well. {Not a bad hue, all things considered. Better than before.}

With a contented sigh, the Alatreon core settled to the ground, allowing itself to lie down comfortably. Yes, this was certainly much better than it had been. The core looked around the newly-lush tree, wondering curiously exactly what it was that had caused the tree to bloom. Had the hunters caused it somehow? Did it have something to do with how they got here through the dragonsphires?

Though the core pondered the questions for a while, eventually the Alatreon shook its head lowering its head down to lay against the cool grass. It supposed it didn't really matter how all this came to be. Likely the core would never know. This realm was full of unexplained mysteries, and even with all the time in the universe, the Alatreon doubted it would unravel them all. Besides, it wasn't like it could replicate what had happened; how often had a living soul, human or otherwise, managed to be pulled into this realm? It may be millennia before another living soul appeared here, and the Alatreon wouldn't let itself be bothered by confusion for all that time.

It glanced upwards towards the glowing gemstone, high at the top of the tree. The shine of that stone seemed to be the only thing unchanged in this realm. It seemed that the stone had managed to return the hunters to their own worlds… probably. The Alatreon core couldn't be certain, and likely it would never know for certain, but it assumed that the advice of the human core had been accurate.

{It seems your luck held out, hunters. You have survived this place, and will live to die another day. You have succeeded in escaping the realm of the dead… but you are only delaying the inevitable. One day you will return. There is no avoiding it. All living beings must die sooner or later. Your time will come as well, Levin, as will yours, York. This too shall pass… and the world will continue to spin.}

The Alatreon core closed its eyes, letting itself enjoy the feeling of moss under it. It grumbled to itself as it felt itself grow greater; another Alatreon had died in one of the countless worlds. It's screeches of anger and despair howled through the collective consciousness, and several souls leapt to comfort it. The core pushed the thoughts of humans and former nemesis from its mind; it had more important things to concerns itself over now.

York, Wes, Rose, and Hugh belong to Thomas A. Hawk

Author's Note: Please Review!

Still technically Saturday… though it's a few weeks late. Extra long chapter to make up for it though! I'm impressed I managed to release this, honestly, especially from a hotel room in Orlando…

But here we are, the end of After Life! It's been quite a ride, hasn't it? Did any of you notice anything strange about this chapter? If you did, there's a reason for that: I actually asked Hawk to write the entire Alone fight scene as part of this collab, so everything between when the Alone first appears and when the hunters finally reach the gemstone was his words, not my own. If you thought that the writing style changed a little for that section, there's your reason why.

The best part of the Alone? It's actually a CANON monster in the Monster Hunter mythos… though you never actually fight it in any of the games. I used a picture for reference, though I did take a few liberties with the description. And its abilities were made up by me as well, with its napalm breath. The dozens that appeared after the fight were ones I made up though.

Now, by the time this, the final chapter of After Life, is released, MH4U will have been out for a while, and some of you are certainly wondering about the sequel to TLC. I want to have at least seven full chapters completely written and edited before I start releasing them for the world to read, so I have a bit of a backlog built up so I don't feel rushed. I've got two ready for release already! Hopefully I'll begin releasing the story soon though! I've put a lot of thought into the story, and I hope people will enjoy it once I start releasing chapters!

I've been doing some thinking about what to do with my DLC story here on the site, what with the sequel to TLC coming out soon enough. Though I'm going to have a full story in the works soon enough, that isn't to say I don't have other DLC ideas that are still in the works. Even now, I have five DLC chapter ideas that are partly written, and even more that I want to write that I haven't even touched upon. There's even two multi-chapter stories in the works that I'd really love to write, called 'Predator' and 'Charon', but at the same time I'd really like to begin the sequel. As such, I think that I'll keep the DLC fic open. If there ever comes a time when I need to take a break to better plot out the sequel, or just need some more time to work on a particularly hard-to-write chapter, I'll work on a DLC chapter instead. As such, even with After Life ending, don't expect that to be the last time DLC updates! There will likely be more to fill the gaps in the future!

On a side note, I've discovered another Monster Hunter manga that's been coming out recently. Those that are fans of manga like me, or have just been around long enough, may recall that one of the cities in my story, Orage Dell, is named after Monster Hunter Orage, a MH manga by Mashima Hiro, who also wrote manga like Rave Master and Fairy Tail. Anyway, this new manga I've found is called Monster Hunter: Senkou no Kariudo. I'm not sure how long it's going to be or how the story's supposed to unfold, but it's three chapters in so far, and it looks like more are on the way.

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