If Ren could break the illusion, perhaps he could find the true core. The beast seemed to sense the shift in his mood from the discovery. With a roar that combined the agonized screams of dozens of different creatures, it intensified its attacks. The spear-head moved so fast it was barely a blur in the hot, stale air of the chamber. One of the attacks connected partially, sending Ren crashing against the wall. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs, black spots dancing in his vision as he fought to maintain consciousness. Beside him, a large crystal fragment detached from the wall, the jarring impact having loosened it from its setting. And in that instant, he saw it. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮 When the crystal hit the ground and shattered, one of the cores, the one pulsating in the enormous shadow stalker queen segment of the tail, didn’t flicker like the others. It remained constant, its purple light unwavering amidst the chaos of failing illusions. Ren needed confirmation. With his enhanced strength, he grabbed one of the large crystal fragments from the floor and hurled it against an intact section of the chamber. The impact caused more crystals to break free from the walls, cascading down in a glittering rain of sharp fragments. Again, while the illusions flickered, the core in the third segment remained constant, its purple glow undisturbed by the disturbance in the crystal network. "There it is," Ren pulled himself up with renewed determination, ignoring the pain radiating from his battered body. "The true core." The creature seemed to sense that its secret had been discovered. Showing its intelligence, it made its light dimmer so Ren would not see its tail. Its movements became more calculated, more defensive. It positioned its segments differently, shifting to better protect the area Ren now watched so intently. "I need to reach the spear and then attack the real core." But the creature wouldn’t give him that opportunity so easily. As if it had read his thoughts, it intensified its attacks against Ren, pushing him away from the weapon, limiting his ability to maneuver. "Fine," Ren murmured, gathering his strength. "One last effort..." His eyes fixed on the fallen weapon several meters away, its edge still gleaming with the beast’s purple fluid. The spear lay tantalizingly out of reach, its crystalline tip catching what little light existed in the chamber. The light from the mushrooms and the ring was gradually diminishing too. The energy they provided, so vital for maintaining his enhanced capabilities, was reaching its limit. Soon he wouldn’t have enough power to face the creature or even to dodge its relentless attacks. "It’s now or never," he told himself, feeling how exhaustion began to infiltrate his trained muscles. The creature was intelligent, so Ren would have to be even smarter than it. Most creatures inhabiting these depths had adapted without relying on sight, depending primarily on detecting vibrations and other specialized senses. But this abomination, having absorbed characteristics from multiple species, was different. It possessed various types of eyes and but not all were optimized for total darkness. Not all were blind to light. A dangerous but potentially effective idea began to form in his mind. "It’s almost impossible to turn off my lights with my mushroom in my body," he murmured to himself. With a concentration that defied his exhaustion, Ren dodged the next attack and immediately expelled his beasts from his body. He did something he had never done before: invoking his beasts separately while remaining alone. The hydra emerged beside him as it assessed the situation, its scaled body reflecting dim light as it tensed for action. The small mushroom from his head appeared in his hand, the creature forming an independent body the size of a fist, its luminescent filaments pulsing as it looked at Ren with curiosity. "I’m sorry, little friend," Ren whispered, squeezing the mushroom. "But I need you to do me a favor." The little mushroom emitted a pulse of light that seemed to convey confusion as it was compressed. Without giving time for further doubts, Ren threw it with all his strength toward the opposite end of the chamber. The mushroom traced an arc of light through the darkness, emitting a faint pulse of indignation that only Ren could interpret as it soared through the air. "I’m not a stone, this is not an appropriate use for a companion!" it protested as it flew through the air, its luminescence creating an ephemeral trail behind it like a miniature comet. The abyssal beast, detecting the movement and light, partially turned its attention toward the strange event. Its multiple senses attempted to process the separation of energies that until now had remained united. The creature’s head swiveled toward the light source, tentacles extending reflexively toward the new stimulus. With the mushroom away from his body, darkness enveloped Ren almost completely. Without the constant luminescence of the mushrooms in his hair, his presence became much more difficult to detect. Only the faint energy signature of the hydra remained, but that too was part of the plan. "Go," he ordered in a whisper to the hydra. "Distract it." The creature, understanding perfectly, began moving in the opposite direction from the mushroom, its feet deliberately generating what little vibrations it could against the floor. The abyssal beast immediately detected this new movement, its senses divided between the two contradictory signals. Its head swiveled back and forth, unable to focus on a single target. Motionless against the crystalline wall, Ren held even his breath. Without movement, without light, without any vibration, he had become a blind spot for the abomination’s senses. He blended with the chamber wall, his survival now depending on absolute stillness. The beast emitted a shriek of confusion. Its senses, though powerful, were overloaded by contradictory signals. The mushroom emitted light but few vibrations. The hydra generated strong vibrations but no light. And the human... Where was the human? The creature’s head rotated between the two points of interest, unable to decide which represented the true threat. Finally, after several moments of indecision, its enormous eyes began to dilate, absorbing every available photon to try to visualize what its other senses couldn’t detect. The beast slowly approached where Ren remained motionless, its head oscillating gently as its eyes strained to distinguish shapes in the almost complete darkness. The tentacles extended, brushing the air mere centimeters from where Ren held his breath. It was time. With a thought as swift as it was decisive, Ren simultaneously reabsorbed both the hydra and the mushroom. The beasts returned to him in a beam of light, reintegrating into his body in an instant. The energy surged through him like a lightning strike, filling every cell with renewed power. The mushrooms emerged again in his hair, but this time Ren channeled all available energy toward them. Concentrating every particle, he forced the mushrooms to release a pulse of light so intense that it seemed to transform the subterranean chamber into broad daylight. The flash was blinding, instantaneous, and devastating for the beast whose eyes had dilated to their maximum to search for him in the darkness. The abomination emitted a shriek of pure pain, its multiple eyes violently contracting, unable to process the sudden luminous assault. The creature recoiled, tentacles flailing wildly as it tried to shield its sensitive visual organs from the searing light. It was precisely this instant that Ren had been waiting for. With the hydra fully manifested and integrated into his body, his muscles powered to their maximum by the fusion, Ren launched himself forward in a movement so explosive that his feet left cracks in the crystalline covering. Time seemed to slow down as he flew through the air, each second fragmented into microseconds of perfect clarity. His vision narrowed to a single point, the true core, now exposed as the creature writhed in blindness and pain.