Core of A Dying Star

“No, please!” Brenda dropped to the cold, moss-covered ground. “Just... please. Think about how much this means to me!” Her voice trembled.
Outside the Tower of London, the street lamps were turned off, allowing the stars to twinkle in the night sky, shining their light onto the courtyard below.
Brenda raised her head to meet Hadeon’s eyes, hoping for sympathy, only to find them unchanged—dark as a black hole, as if you could fall inside and never resurface.
Brenda was at Hadeon’s mercy. She was the animal, and Hadeon was the dagger. She bowed her head again, ready to do anything.
“Please," Brenda’s voice cracked with desperation, “I’ll do anything.”
Hadeon’s voice carried skepticism. “Anything? Hm…” Tapping her chin, she weighed the prospect of gaining the Core with Brenda. Was Brenda the right human to share power with? As she stared into Brenda’s eyes, conviction mixed with doubt. This scenario had played out before. Now she needed to test Brenda’s sincerity.
“You failed me once. I gave you another chance. You failed me twice. Should I listen to your pleas again? Just for you to fail me a third time?” Hadeon’s eyes glinted red at the memory. She never thought that history would repeat itself.
Under the silvery glow of moonlight, Brenda spoke with urgency. “But think about all the sacrifices made to reach this moment.”
Hadeon’s answer was robotic. “The troubles of mortals do not concern me.”
The night seemed to close in around Brenda and set in her chest. This was her life’s work. She needed another chance. “It’s the reason my parents died. They sacrificed themselves for this one thing.”
Hadeon sighed.
It was as if Brenda didn’t hear her.
“Brenda—”
Brenda lifted her head to meet Hadeon’s pale gaze, watching as white mist flowed from her fingertips. Her heart sank. “What?” she asked, her voice quiet.
Hadeon frowned. Her eyes flashed but stopped. “Do you even know where the Core is located?”
“Yes. Each name has a meaning and purpose.”
Hadeon’s frown deepened. “You told me this before. Are you sure that the Core is encrusted in a sword?”
Brenda bit her lip until she tasted blood. “Yes,” she replied. She tried to say more, but couldn’t. The “yes” wasn’t a fact, it was a guess, and Hadeon seemed to notice it.
Hadeon saw the swelling lip. As skeptical as she was, what harm could a third chance do? “Listen, I’ll give you one last chance. And when... I mean... if you fail, well, goodbye-“
Brenda shot to her feet. “Thanks! You don’t know how much this means to me… I won’t fail.”
Hadeon snapped her fingers, and Brenda’s mouth closed.
“Don’t jinx it.”
Brenda stood up, curtsied, and rushed out of the room before Hadeon could change her mind. Even though she was excited, Brenda’s stomach churned. This was her last chance, and Hadeon made sure of it. There will be no fourth chance.
Brenda rolls the facts repeatedly in her brain, like a trapped fish swimming in an unending loop.
There is no next chance. If she fails, Hadeon will never forgive her. She has to get the Core. The sword has to be found. She will not mess up. Or else. This. Is. Her. Last. Chance.
Brenda’s heart raced as she repeated the phrase in her mind. Each step echoed her determination, driving her forward faster and faster.
This. Is. Her. Last. Chance.
Brenda matched her pace with the beat of the words until her legs ached and her arms quivered.
As Brenda’s legs continued to scream with pain, Brenda slowed to a stop when she was sure that she was free from Hadeon’s eyesight. She scanned the area for a place to gather her thoughts.
She found a slab of cold stone and collapsed onto it. Staring at the smoky night sky, Brenda bit her nails and thought. Great prizes come with significant costs, and getting the Core was no exception.
Brenda takes a deep breath, trying to anchor herself to reality. “This is my last chance.”
She knew that failure was not an option. What she needed was a foolproof plan. That will be the only path forward. All the other plans have the same destination.
Death.
Brenda sat up, devising a plan. She dug her fingernails into her palms, concentrating on this spark of an idea that might, just might, turn into a flame.
However, everything is easier said than done. And this was her last chance. Failing was not possible, let alone an option.
Failing meant dying within. It’ll be like living without a soul. Regret will haunt her for the rest of her life.
Brenda’s legs throbbed with pain, her vision blurring. The moon in the sky became an annoying light, and the stars became shimmery globes.
Brenda’s legs continued to ache with each step as if weighted down by an invisible anchor. Her vision blurred, turning the moon into a hazy halo and the stars into shimmering orbs that danced in the night sky like distant fireflies.
With a wince, Brenda forced herself upright, feeling the rush of blood pounding in her head like crashing waves. Every heartbeat echoed in her ears, a relentless drumbeat urging her forward. She stumbled but caught herself, her fingers clawing at the rough bark of a nearby tree for support.
I’m not going to sleep, Brenda thought. I have to finish this... A plan…
She fought against the encroaching darkness, but fatigue washed over her. Her eyelids grew heavy, the weight of exhaustion pulling her down.
Brenda sank to the ground, the cold earth welcoming her weary body. Her eyes burned with unshed tears of frustration and fear, knowing that failure meant more than just defeat—it meant losing everything she held dear.
Brenda was done fighting the urge to sleep, instead welcoming it. Sleep came over her and she drifted into darkness.
Hadeon checked on Brenda through her silver orb and was disappointed to find her sleeping. Of all the things she could do to find the orb, this is what she chose? Couldn’t Brenda be doing something more useful towards finding the Core?
As an immortal, Hadeon did not need to sleep, it instead being a luxury. Of course, as an immortal being, she also had magic, magic that Brenda was well aware of.
Hadeon was an immortal, the only one in human history. She was never born, and she never grew up. She was always just there.
Many have tried to kill her, burn her, and throw her ashes away. But she did not let them.
That’s why she needed the Core. The Core let the owner control humans, and that was what she needed.
That is what her whole life has been about. The Core.
Hadeon did not think of herself as a bad person. She would not control their whole lives, just control some choices that they make. The humans were the ones killing the plants, the animals, and the world….
And even trying to kill her as well. All she needed was to tell them what not to do, and then the world would be happier, healthier, and just better.
Brenda was not the human that Hadeon was looking for, so she set up a test to see how Brenda would find the Core. A human needed to first touch the Core and then bring it to an immortal, or the Core itself would disintegrate upon the immortal’s touch.
As the only immortal that she knew of, she wasn’t that afraid that someone might beat her to it.
She had locked herself away for many years, studying the concept of the Core, studying her charts, and reading her books.
Hadeon liked to work by herself. To her, working with another person was the same as carrying a helpless beggar.
But this was for the Core. No human would work with her. The second they saw her, they fled. Except for Brenda.
A human without common sense.
The human that she had to work with….
Hadeon shakes her head. Brenda was the only human that would help her. Doesn’t she have to be thankful?
But Brenda was useless. Hadeon knew that. As of now. Hadeon had given Brenda a third chance and what does she do?
Look for the Core?
Make a plan?
Ask for Hadeon’s help?
Do anything useful?
No. Instead, she sleeps.
What Hadeon knew was that if Brenda didn’t get started tomorrow…
They will never get the Core.



Brenda woke up the next morning, confused about what had happened.
She stood up, blood rushing to her head. She lets her eyes adjust to the light and yesterday flows into her brain like a steady trickle of water.
Brenda put one hand on her hip, determined. She was going to make some progress today, no matter what. It doesn’t matter what type of progress it is, but just enough progress to please Hadeon.
She let her mind drift over to her pathetic two-step plan.
First she has to know where the Core is, a task that seemed impossible. What was she supposed to do? Where was she supposed to go? Who would know where the Core is?
Brenda dragged her finger through the dirt on the ground. Who would know where it is?
Someone with magic…
Someone like Hadeon?
Maybe?
Hadeon didn’t seem to like Brenda, but as long as Brenda brought back the Core, perhaps Hadeon would like Brenda more.
Besides, Brenda would have to help Hadeon use the Core. It takes two to use it. So Hadeon and Brenda will spend more time together so then they will become friends?
Brenda pinched herself. She had to focus. Daydreaming can come later.
First, she had to get to Hadeon’s hut.
Next, she had to ask her for directions.
If Hadeon gives her directions, then… yay!
But if Hadeon doesn’t.
Well, that would be terrible.

Hadeon woke up from a quick nap and then stretched her back. She didn’t sleep often, and when she did, she was stiff when she woke up.
She thought that because Brenda was sleeping, why shouldn’t she? If Brenda was being a useless brat, what did she have to do?
Nothing. This was her only mission. She had nothing else to do.
Hadeon sighed an irritated sigh and stormed back to her silver orb. She blew on it, and it showed Brenda, awake, but being useless.
Brenda was trudging through some thick greenery, trees leaning above her. Moss covered the bark, not letting one speck of brown through the trunks.
Hadeon thought she had set her eyes on this place before. But where?
She rubbed her temples in deep concentration. The answer dawned upon her. That’s the forest next to her hut.
What was Brenda doing?
A quiet knock at the door caught Hadeon’s attention. Hadeon stood up, walked toward the door, and opened it.
Surprise, surprise. It was Brenda.
Anger surged through Hadeon’s blood, passing through every organ, vessel, and cell. Brenda runs back to her already. She better have some interesting news.
Brenda seemed to notice Hadeon’s anger and took a step back.
“I’m sorry, I am! I need you to help me.”
Hadeon felt the anger shoot up her spinal cord to her eyes, which glowed red.
Brenda took another step back.
“Please? I just need directions.”
Hadeon laughed on the inside, but on the outside, she kept her frosty glare. Brenda asked for a third chance, but didn’t even know where the Core was?
“You asked for another chance, but you still don’t know where the Core is?”
Brenda looked at the ground, shuffling her feet. She didn’t know how to respond to that. It was a fact and facts are etched in diamond.
Well, unless Hadeon tells her…
“Please?” Brenda asked. “I know you can.”
Hadeon tapped her chin. “Hmm… maybe…”
Brenda repeated her pleas. “You know how much this means to me. I’ve been trying to get the Core my entire life.”
“Fine,” Hadeon said, to make Brenda shut up. “Follow me.”
Hadeon walked into her hut, and, as instructed, Brenda followed.
Brenda observed the house while being led, taking in all the unique items. Several metal contraptions reflected light into her eyes, laughing at her discomfort.
They reached a small room, just big enough to fit the two of them. This was where Hadeon was before, gazing into her crystal ball, watching over Brenda.
Brenda flinched as the door creaked open. Spiderwebs hung from the ceiling, dripping with venom. The wooden table in the room held a skull, a cage of mice, and, of course, the crystal ball. She felt like a mouse among lions, a sheep among prey.
Hadeon lifted the ball off the table and stared into it. The purple and blue aurora lifted, and she saw everything. Past, present, and future. It was all in her hands.
Hadeon laid the ball on the table, facing Brenda. “What do you see?” Hadeon asked.
Brenda squinted and tried to look at the ball in different ways. But the truth was that she only saw a milky white mist.
“Er… um…” she answered, “I see a white mist….”
Hadeon cuts her off with a sense of urgency. “Is it moving?”
Brenda squinted even harder and her eyes watered.
“No.”
Hadeon sighed. The little light in her soul flickered out, and a fire seemed to take over, turning her soul to ashes.
“The limitations of the human brain,” Hadeon thought out loud. “If liquid never existed, then the human mind could never comprehend something you can touch but not hold. Humans can only see what is in front of them, and understand that much as well.”
Brenda couldn’t argue, nor did she have any intention to.
Hadeon continued, “The supernatural is just the natural not yet understood.”
Brenda nodded, then attempted to steer the conversation back on track.
“Yes,” Brenda agreed. “Anyway, do you know where the Core is?”
Hadeon rolled her eyes. “Obviously. Silly human.” She looked into the ball again and whispered The Core under her breath.
“It looks as if it’s in some sort of forest with many bushes. There is a grassy hill surrounding the forest, which is very well… bright, while the forest is dark.”
Hadeon leaned closer to the ball. She tried to describe what she saw, but it could not be put into words. The forest looked normal enough, hard to distinguish from the thousands of others. “The forest seems abandoned and I don’t see many animals. That’s a weird place to hide the orb of success. I was thinking of a vast castle with an army.”
Brenda nodded again but asked another important question. “Is the Core encrusted in a sword as I thought?” Brenda asked, staring into the crystal ball, trying to see what Hadeon saw, but just blinding herself with the snow-white mist.
“I can’t see the Core,” Hadeon said, her eyebrows knitting together in concentration. “But it’s in a forest for sure.”
“Okay,” said Brenda, “So-”
“Oh!” Hadeon shouted in excitement. “The name of the forest is the Land of Ebony.”
“Which is?” Brenda asked, biting her lip.
“On the other side of the ocean,” Hadeon announced.
“And how do we get there?”
“Teleportation, obviously,” Hadeon answered.
“Oh yeah,” Brenda said, avoiding Hadeon’s glare.
Hadeon wondered whether accepting Brenda for this mission was useful, or even necessary. Was she corrupting herself? Poking holes into her plan?
But again, Brenda was human, and a human was what she needed…
“Okay,” Hadeon said, grabbing Brenda’s arm with one hand and with the other, snapped her fingers.
The ground rumbled, and Brenda looked down in horror. The ground seemed to disappear, leaving nothing but a darkness from below which engulfed them.
No longer could they sense, no longer were they living. They were now just beings no longer in a three-dimensional world. They were traveling through a void to the Forest of Ebony.
Progress was being made, but were they moving in the right direction?

The forest of Ebony was the type of forest that you would see in a horror movie, the trees dangling, hidden animals howling.
A breeze flowed upon Hadeon, cooling her down. Hadeon sighed in relief. Back in the cabin, she thought she was looking at the wrong place. The scenery now looked, and felt, more like it could hide something.
Brenda was the opposite of relieved. Her heart started pounding, and she had the urge to run away.
They have teleported somewhere in the middle of the forest, away from the cheery grassy hill Hadeon has seen before. Just enough light for them to see could make its way through the tall trees looming above their heads.
“Are you sure that this is the right place?” Brenda asked, trembling in the chilly wind.
“Positive,” Hadeon said, studying the trees.
“This looks different from the picture!” Brenda shrieked as a big bug jumped onto her shoe and bit it, its saliva glistening.
Hadeon ignored Brenda's screams and started trekking through the forest, observing her surroundings, thinking of a plan.
Brenda continued to scream, and Hadeon rolled her eyes, annoyed. What is it with humans? Can they not stand an insect the size of their fingernail?
Hadeon continued walking down the forest, pushing away some vines. On the other side of the vines was a waterfall that seemed to emit light. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she gasped at the surroundings.
The lightened water was falling straight down and hit a small river, creating a calming noise. The trees that surrounded the waterfall were not leafless like the others, but had stunning red leaves that, when the wind blew, would look like fire.
Black stone covered the ground instead of the usual dying grass, and Hadeon slowly moved forward, careful not to slip.
“Brenda! Come over now!”
Hadeon, for the first time in her life, smiled. She was so close.
Brenda ran over and stopped as soon as she saw the waterfall. She, just like Hadeon, gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
“This must be it.” Brenda said with glee and joy. Third try’s a charm! They were so close!
Brenda started walking over to the waterfall and put one of her hands under it.
The waterfall stopped glowing, and Hadeon created a ball of light in her hands, illuminating the waterfall.
What happened next was as blurry as a fogged window. Shrieks of joy echoed through the forest as a sword bounced into Brenda’s hands.
Brenda’s eyes went wide and tears of joy slid down her face.
Hadeon went quiet and watched the Core in the middle of the sword with wide eyes.
With quiet determination, they traveled through the void once more, carrying the Core with them—a token of hope amidst the uncertainty that lay ahead.
As they vanished into the unknown, the forest whispered secrets of legends yet to unfold, leaving behind a trail of possibilities and untold adventures.