CHAPTER 1474: STORY 1474: THE BEGGING CORE

The light was unbearable. It surged through the cavern like a flood, searing the walls into molten gold. Elena’s ember flared in protest, while Mira’s crystalline veins throbbed so hard they seemed ready to burst.

Still, the cry cut through everything.

It wasn’t loud—it didn’t need to be. The sound lived inside them, vibrating their marrow, a plea that demanded recognition.

“Elena...” Mira’s voice cracked, raw with something Elena hadn’t heard before: longing. “It’s alive.”

Elena gritted her teeth. “No. It’s pretending. That’s what the marrow does—mimics, bends, consumes.”

But the ember inside her betrayed her words. With every fragile wail the vessel released, her flame quivered, softening as though soothed by the sound. It wanted to answer.

The vessel stumbled closer, dripping golden ichor, its hollow chest glowing faintly. The ember-flame and crystal shard inside it flickered in time with Mira’s pulse.

Mira lurched forward, pulled by that rhythm. Elena yanked her back. “Don’t let it anchor to you.”

Mira’s eyes shone wet, shards of light refracting her tears. “What if it already has?”

The cavern responded before Elena could argue. The walls bulged inward, veins throbbing with molten fire. From the stone, shapes pressed forward—half-formed faces, stretched mouths, open hands. The marrow itself was manifesting its plea. They weren’t attacking. They were reaching. Begging.

“Elena,” Mira whispered, trembling. “It’s not a trap. It’s... it’s lonely.”

Elena’s rage snapped. “Lonely? It devoured the choir. It has slaughtered every living thing that wandered too deep. You think loneliness excuses that?”

Mira winced but didn’t retreat. “And yet—it still learned from us. It could have destroyed us, but it didn’t. What if it doesn’t want to kill anymore?”

The vessel stopped just an arm’s length away, its faceless head tilted as though listening. Slowly, it raised both hands. In one palm flickered ember-fire, in the other shimmered crystal.

Choice.

Elena’s throat tightened. The marrow wasn’t simply copying anymore—it was offering itself, asking which of them would complete it.

Her ember raged. Mira’s crystals shuddered, ready to split her apart. If either of them touched the vessel, their essence would fuse into it. They would finish what the marrow had begun.

“Elena...” Mira’s voice softened, almost maternal. “If we leave it empty, it will keep searching. Keep making more. But if we give it what it needs—maybe it changes.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Elena spat. “Then we’ve handed it our lives.”

The cry rose again, breaking into a desperate wail that nearly shattered Elena’s resolve.

The vessel’s hands remained outstretched, trembling. Not demanding. Asking.

For the first time since they had entered the marrow, there was no threat in the air. Only expectation.

Elena’s ember surged, torn between fury and recognition. Mira’s body flickered with dangerous cracks, her veins alight with surrender.

The cavern’s heartbeat slowed, waiting for their choice.

To refuse.

To destroy.

Or to give themselves to something that might be theirs.