The stream shimmered with a strange energy that day. Not just the usual quiet hum of mana, no. It felt thicker now. Like soup instead of water. Dot pulsed near the edge of the stream, floating above a half-cracked pebble glowing faintly with magic. There was something in the air—or water—he couldn't explain. It wasn't just magic anymore. It was pressure. Subtle. Heavy. Like the whole world was waiting for something to happen. Pip floated beside him, chewing on a translucent leaf she had decided was "edible."
"You're glowing weird," she mumbled, staring at him with narrowed eyes. "Like, more than usual. Not in a 'you ate something cursed' way, but... spicier."
Dot said nothing. Couldn't say anything. But he felt it too. His body—or whatever he was—buzzed gently. A vibration deep in the core of his being. He turned inward.
[Core Integrity Stable.]
[Mana Flow Increasing.]
[Trace Elements Detected: Bio-Essence, Ether, Residual Mineral Signature.]
[Notice: Evolution Threshold Approaching – 68% Achieved.]
He blinked. Or tried to. You don't really blink when you're a floating atom of light. But still.
"Hey, Seek," he thought, "I didn't do anything big, though. No boss fights. No leveling. I just... floated."
[Evolution is not limited to combat. Passive growth through absorption and environmental resonance is valid.]
"So I can just...chill and get stronger?"
[Yes. But optimal growth requires intentional interaction. Seek. Absorb. Evolve.]
Dot drifted back toward the cracked pebble. It looked useless at first, but something about it pulsed. He reached out, touched it, and let the mana flow.
[Absorption Complete: Cracked Rune Core.]
[Trait Fragment Acquired – Residual Shell Fortification (6%).]
[Additional Analysis: Proto-Rune Matrix. Stability Incomplete.]
He felt it. A shift. A hardening, like his form now had an edge. A real boundary. Before, he had been soft, like jelly in zero gravity. Now he had a shape. A weak one, sure. But a shape.
"Alright," he thought. "That's progress."
Pip peeked at him. "You look thicker. Like someone crammed more soup into your bowl."
Dot didn't know if that was a compliment, but he appreciated the support.
They spent the next few hours—or maybe days—just floating, absorbing anything that looked vaguely magical and not entirely poisonous. Dot ate bits of glowing algae, faint scraps of dried-out mana threads, and once, the calcified antenna of what might've been a crustacean mage. That one gave him heartburn.
[Trait Fragment Acquired – Mana Sensory (3%).]
[Warning: Foreign Emotional Residue Detected. Purging.]
Emotions were weird. Sometimes when he absorbed, he caught glimpses—flashes—of what the thing used to be. Memories. Not full ones, just impressions. Like feeling sorrow from a dead tree. Anger from a rock. Confusion from an abandoned fang. It wasn't strong, but it was there. He didn't like it. Not because it hurt. But because it reminded him he was still barely a person.
Pip broke the silence one day. "Hey, do you think you'll ever turn into a person again? Like with arms and legs and a face and that weird thing humans do with their mouths? Talking?"
Dot didn't respond right away.
"I don't know," he finally said through Seek.
She twirled. "I think I'd miss you as a dot. You're very scoopable."
He pulsed softly, trying to laugh.
Then Seek buzzed.
[Evolution Threshold: 78%. Additional Paths Detected.]
[Proto-Core Path Available. Alternate Paths Accessible Based on Further Absorption: Elemental Bloom, Bio-Swarm Node, Adaptive Shell.]
That caught him off guard.
"Wait. I can choose?"
[Yes. Your evolution adapts to the essence you collect. Your path is not fixed. Seek identity. Seek form.]
Pip whistled. "Okay. That's kind of a big deal. So what're you gonna be? A rock? A jellyfish? A screaming storm cloud?"
Dot didn't know. All he knew was he wasn't the same anymore. He wasn't just a dead kid who'd tried to help someone and gotten shot for it. He was something.
He just wasn't sure what.
Later, deeper in the domain, they found something strange. A ball of jelly. Black. Glossy. Still.
It pulsed weakly.
"Dead?" Pip whispered.
Seek confirmed.
[Deceased Bio-Mass Detected. Former Classification: Leech Wraith. Essence Level: Minor. Compatible for Absorption.]
Dot hesitated.
It wasn't threatening. But it was ugly.
Still, he needed to grow. He reached out.
Absorbed.
Cold.
Slippery.
[Trait Fragment Acquired – Malleable Form (9%).]
[Instinct Trace Detected. Emotion: Hunger. Purging.]
Something bit at his soul as it dissolved. A gnawing hunger that screamed it hadn't eaten in days. Not food—essence. Dot shivered. Or would have, if he had a spine.
"Gross," Pip muttered. "You okay?"
He pulsed once. "Yeah. Just... tired."
But inside, he felt stronger.
And heavier.
They wandered further than ever before. Past the warm shallows. Past the whispering moss. To the place where the water went still and cold.
That's where they met it.
A thing with no name.
It looked like a ribbon made of shadow, sliding through the water without moving. No fins. No eyes. Just a thin line of black etched with red runes.
Seek screamed immediately.
[Warning: Predator-Class Entity Detected – Mana Scourge Variant. Behavior: Aggressive. Purpose: Core Extraction.]
Dot turned to flee. But it had already moved. Faster than thought. It slashed the water, sending waves of cold pressure that knocked Pip sideways.
"Dot!" she shouted.
He flared. Sent out a pulse. Nothing fancy. Just pure force.
It bounced off the thing.
No effect.
Then Steve, the moss blob who followed them around for fun, rolled in from nowhere.
Boom.
The thing staggered.
Dot didn't think. He surged forward. Gathered all the mana he had. Pushed it into a tight point. A single, focused pulse.
It hit.
The predator reeled.
Dot dove in.
[Absorption Initiated.]
[Resistance Detected. Force Override: Engaged.]
The thing screamed.
But not out loud.
In his mind.
He pushed harder. Poured in every trace of mana, every fragment he'd collected.
And the creature broke.
It dissolved into his core, screaming until it didn't.
[Absorption Complete.]
[Major Trait Acquired – Core Predator Instinct (16%).]
[Mana Capacity Increased. Core Stability Improved.]
[Evolution Threshold: 92%.]
Dot floated in silence.
The world was quiet again.
Pip nudged him gently.
"You good?"
He didn't answer right away.
"I think I'm becoming something dangerous," he finally said.
Pip smiled. "Good. I was worried you'd be a soggy potato forever."
He laughed. Kind of.
Then he pulsed, bright and bold.
"Let's go find out what I become."