With Lucas gone, Cullen jumped into the cavern holding the Jade Scepter in both hands.
Since he planned to attack from above, he needed a way to the top while avoiding the Abominations. Luckily, vines covered the walls.
After ordering the vines around him to reach out, he grabbed onto a few and climbed.
'I have to be careful when grabbing them to avoid the poisonous thorns. I can try to control them to the best of my ability, but it's impossible to climb quickly with these.'
Abominations like the Wolves, who couldn't climb, rested on the ground. However, some Abominations clung to the walls.
The first one he ran into was a Transforming Snake. Once it noticed him, it immediately hissed and bared its fangs.
Unfazed, Cullen continued ascending straight for the Abomination. He subdued it with the vines once it entered his range, then easily pierced its core with the Jade Scepter.
'What am I doing…'
Based on everything Cullen knew, killing The Island was impossible.
"EEK!"
Next up was a Ghost Monkey, swinging from the vines without a care in the world about the poison. It slowly gained momentum. Once it got close to Cullen, it launched itself feet first, preparing to kick him. He swiftly lunged out with the Jade Scepter, but the Ghost Monkey simply phased through it.
As expected.
Cullen pulled himself with the vines and dodged out of the way. As the Abomination passed him, he severed the vines it held onto and watched as it plummeted to the bottom of the cavern.
'I wanted to live so I could play with my ability. I suppose it gave me hope, allowing me to envision a future where I was free. But that dies here with me today.'
There was only one Abomination between him and the top.
'When I fail to break the core, I'll either die in here or be captured by the government. But…'
Cullen laughed.
"But at least I never went along with them. I guess I'm still a criminal even after all that happened."
The Jade Titan before him glowed with power, commanding the vines around him to act as a harness. It must have just been created to replace the one Cullen recently killed. Unlucky.
Since it was this close to the core, its strength approached its peak. But he didn't need to kill it.
'Time to throw away my last chance, quite literally.'
Cullen reached for his second Mini Kamikaze and threw it at the Jade Titan, wishing Lucas luck if he was still around.
Boom!
He continued climbing. Then, eventually, he held onto a vine while looking straight down at The Island's core. Nothing was in between them.
Cullen squeezed the Jade Scepter and closely looked at it one last time. The strongest manifestation of his ability. Even stronger than his own body.
'I'll see if I can kill The Island with its own creation.'
Twisting himself upside-down, he positioned his feet on the roof and prepared to push off. The vines around him also gathered near his legs, ready to give an extra boost. He would use this speed, the Jade Scepter's dexterity, and his own strength to pull off his most potent attack. He was ready to finish it.
Cullen set his eyes on the core. He knew the exact spot he would make contact with and refused to move his gaze until it was done.
'No point in waiting.'
Every Abomination he killed guided him to this. All of his work on The Island was for this very moment. But Cullen was not excited at all, not one bit.
Cullen shot forward, leaving a crater in the roof above him. It only took a second to reach the core. With both hands on the Jade Scepter and the Cursed Mask on his face, he shouted one simple command before attacking.
"DIE!"
CLANK!
The first thing that made contact with it was the tip of the Jade Scepter, which resulted in a crack running down its entire body. Cullen felt the force drive back into him, shooting pain through his arms and into his chest. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
'Please.'
Cullen looked at the core. Nothing changed. Not even a slight indent.
He knew this would happen, but couldn't help the tears that came to his eyes.
"Damnit! DAMNIT!"
Cullen smashed his fists against the core over and over again, unaware of the damage he was inflicting upon himself.
"Just break!"
"Cullen!"
He paused, then lifted his bloody hand off the core and looked to the voice behind him.
Lucas was back.
"H-how?"
In a few jumps, Lucas landed on the core next to him. He sighed at the sight.
"Listen, Cullen. I-"
"Stop," Cullen whispered, looking up at Lucas. "You don't understand… It has-"
"It has to be you, right?"
For some strange reason, Lucas was smiling.
"I wasted a lot of QI to get back here after you threw that bomb at me, but I should still have enough to help you."
Cullen couldn't believe it.
'Why…'
"I have the power to enhance my strength, but also others. It costs a lot more, and the effect isn't as great, but it'll give you a chance.
Lucas put his hand on Cullen's back.
"You have five seconds."
'I don't get it.'
Cullen lifted his ruined fists and looked down at the unbroken core.
'Why is he doing this?'
He suddenly felt a surge of strength in every muscle of his body. The power at his disposal was unreal, like a bomb waiting to go off.
Besides wiping the tears from his face, he didn't waste any time.
BOOM!
His fist collided with the core, sending more blood flying through the air.
BOOM! BOOM!
Cullen felt his strength on a whole different level—more machine than human.
CRACK!
It wasn't his bones, it was the core.
CRACK! CRACK!
Pieces of the core shot outwards as Cullen chipped away at the hole.
"Two seconds, Cullen!"
Lucas still stood behind him, now completely drained of QI. Even his Tavros was too low to damage it without any enhancements.
Cullen stuck his hands in the jagged gap of the core, allowing the pristine glow to flow through the cavern. He grabbed each side and pulled them apart, pushing his body to the limit to split the core.
"One second!"
CRACK!
A large fracture appeared and began to grow. The Island's core became two.
'I-I did it.'
"You did it!", Lucas screamed as they fell to the bottom. "But Cullen… what about your ability?"
"Oh."
Both of them safely landed on the ground beside the split core. At that moment, it was deteriorating and drifting to a single point.
'Only the core will form the item? But I don't even know what I want!'
Cullen just now realized he had no clue what to create from it.
'It's an island?! What could I even create?'
"Uhh… Cullen?"
Around them, the sound of rumbling drowned out every other noise. When Cullen looked up, he saw the ceiling falling.
"Shit."
It wasn't falling, but moving. Being sucked into the core.
Cullen screamed at Lucas. "This whole island is gonna come to us!"
Lucas's eyes widened, then he started clicking the air in front of him in a panic.
"I have no more QI! We have to get out of here now!"
The tunnels they came in from had already collapsed, and debris began to rain down. Abominations swarmed around them, but as The Island's creations, even they were being consumed. Who knew what the surface looked like.
'What do I do?' Cullen found himself unable to move, panting heavily like a dog. 'I need to protect us, but I have nothing!'
Even though Lucas was trying to help him, Cullen still threw the Mini Kamikaze. If he hadn't, they could have escaped by now.
BOOM!
Pieces of rock and dirt crashed onto the ground, then broke into pieces as they gravitated into the core.
"Cullen! Now!"
Lucas grabbed Cullen's hand and tugged at him.
"Snap out of it!"
But when Lucas pulled him, something pulled back. Cullen looked at his other hand and saw a small stem climbing it. A thin green vine with black thorns on the edges sank into his skin as it grew.
It hurt.
'What the hell?'
He looked to see where it came from—The Island's core. At the point where everything was condensing, a small vine escaped and reached Cullen.
'This!'
"Is this your ability?" Lucas let go of Cullen and examined his arm.
By now, the vine had reached his back and split into multiple paths. Thorns latched onto Cullen as they expanded their reach to all of his limbs.
"Shit!"
Cullen fell to the ground in pain. He was no longer connected to the core, but the vines entered his skin like they wanted to become a part of him. Now, it looked like he had a sprawling tattoo throughout his entire body.
Cullen dug his fingers into the soil. His ears rang, but a voice slowly made it through.
"Cullen! This is gonna hurt if you don't get the hell up!"
He looked up and saw a massive boulder falling right on top of them.