The wyrm let out an almighty snarl and reared its head up as it tried to throw me off. I clung tight to my sword and twisted the blade until it was firmly lodged in the creature’s skull.
The wyrm’s momentum carried us to where the waters dropped over the cliff. The world twisted around us as the wyrm lost its balance and tumbled over the edge.
The two of us fell into a watery abyss toward the city. I held on for dear life with one hand while I used the other to pour as much Vigor as I dared into the stone wall in front of us. Plank Pillars erupted in front of the tidal wyrm. The huge monster shuddered as it smashed into the wood barricades and filled its mouth with splinters. I used my free hand to twist my sword and drive it deeper into the wyrm’s skull.
We crashed into a pool at the bottom of the waterfall in a misty explosion that almost tore away my grip on the Sundered Heart. The cold water on my skin and the lack of air were a shock to my already-strained body, but I clung on tight as the wyrm slammed into the bottom of the lake and struggled to swim back up. I emerged through the surface of the water and gasped for air as the tidal wyrm continued to thrash beneath me.
I called on the power of wood, swung to the other side of the wyrm’s head, and gave the beast’s uninjured eye a handful of Stinging Palm thorns. My arms burned as the monster beneath me screeched, twisted, and almost threw me straight from its back. The huge serpent’s movements slowed as I twisted my sword ever deeper into its skull.
I needed to finish this. I hauled myself to the snout of the wyrm and used my free hand to pull the lures from my belt. I smashed them against the Sundered Heart, broke open the cage, and thrust the glowing orbs into the wyrm’s splinter-filled mouth. I wasn’t exactly sure what they’d do, but the wyrm bit down on them, and a nova of blue light exploded from between its teeth.
The wyrm recoiled and swam toward the bank with incredible speed. I clung onto my sword as it reached the edge of the pool and wriggled out. Its huge form gasped and groaned around its mouthful of blood and shattered planks.
“What the fuck will it take to kill you?” I asked. Pieces of its skull had been blown apart in the explosion, and its scales hung limply from its battered head.
I jammed my feet against the wyrm’s lower jaw and shoved its huge mouth wide open. Blisters had already formed on the roof of its mouth, and parts of its brain were visible through the shattered bone.
The stupidest idea I’d ever had formed in my mind, and I was too low on Vigor and time to think of another one. I removed the Sundered Heart from its eye and swung into its gaping mouth. I landed on its tongue and steadied my balance. The interior of the wyrm was even more unpleasant than the exterior. It had the stink of a saltwater marsh combined with the distinct aromas of rotting fish and old blood.
As the wyrm’s jaws started to close, I thrust the Sundered Heart through the roof of its mouth. The blade slipped through a crack in its bone and skewered its brain.
The wyrm’s jaws continued to close down on me, but its movement only pushed my sword further into its skull. I grimaced and summoned more Plank Pillars with the last of my Vigor. I built up the wooden walls so that the monster wouldn’t be able to crush me in its jaws. Standing on its tongue felt like surfing a massive wave, but I couldn’t move or stumble; if I did, I’d be impaled on its sword-like teeth.
The monster clamped down even harder, and my Plank Pillars were crushed to dust. I released the Sundered Heart and dived so that I was stomach-down on the wyrm’s tongue. Its jaws closed completely, and I figured I was one big swallow away from being inside its stomach. Instead, the monster gave a final twitch before it spewed out a torrent of water. I was thrown from the beast’s mouth like a chunky bit of food in projectile vomit. I landed on the dry bank, and the Sundered Heart slammed point-first into the ground beside me.
I groaned as I lifted myself to my feet. I reached for the Sundered Heart and pulled it out of the ground. When I turned to face the wyrm, it crashed into the pool. A giant wave of water rolled over me, but I stood my ground. When the water cleared, the wyrm was floating in the pool, lifeless.
“You did it!” Vesma yelled from atop the waterfall.
“Effin is the man!” Kegohr roared. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Not yet,” I said with a grimace. “There’s something I need to do first.”
I prepared myself for yet another venture inside the giant snake as I waded through the shallows. The wyrm’s slack jaws were wide open, and I crawled inside. I forced myself down the wide throat and used both my physical senses and my Augmenting channels to detect a sign of my prize.
Fortunately, the core wasn’t too deep inside the wyrm. After a few minutes of exploration, I found a soft fleshy area not far down its body. I dug into it with the help of my dagger and discovered the solid, familiar presence of the core. I dragged it out in a gushing river of blood and ichor.
I emerged from the monster’s maw and blinked at the daylight to find that Kegohr and Vesma had made it down to the ground. They laughed as I crawled out of the wyrm, and Kegohr gave me a
