The sky was quiet, like the world had exhaled.
Amoid stood on a hilltop, blinking.
Not hovering.
Not glowing.
Standing.
He looked down at his hands—small, smooth, oddly soft. Pale skin that shimmered faintly under the strange sun, like moonlight trapped in flesh. His fingers wiggled awkwardly. No more floating orb. No more spark-form.
He had a body now.
A kid's body.
White hair tumbled into his eyes, messy and light. His reflection in a still puddle showed a round face with wide, bright eyes—silver-blue, like starlight had pooled behind his pupils. Cute. Annoyingly cute.
He groaned. "I look like a lost prince from a bedtime story."
Pip, who had nearly dropped her fruit out of shock, hovered down. "You have legs now?"
"Yeah," Amoid muttered. His voice was different too. Younger. Softer. It felt strange talking out loud with a real throat. "And a mouth. And... lungs I don't need."
Nilo sniffed him. "You smell like air and light and breakfast."
"Is that good?"
"I don't know."
He opened his interface. Things had changed.
[New Form Registered: Lumite Child Form]
Species Class: Echoforged Coreling (Humanoid Variant)
Material: Light-infused pseudo-flesh
Pain Resistance: High
Breath Requirement: None
Elemental Resistance: Fire (Immune), Water (Immune)
Damage Resistance: High – Physical (Piercing/Slashing) Reduced by 90%
Regeneration Rate: Moderate
[Passive Trait Gained: Light Pulse Skin – Attacks that strike your body release a blinding flash.]
[New System Alert: This form is semi-permanent until next evolution. Temporary revert available via system override.]
"Why am I a kid?" he asked aloud.
[System Response: Form derived from mental-state imprint and optimal essence cohesion. Physical appearance reflects your current stage of internal development.]
"Great," he sighed. "So I'm emotionally twelve."
Pip giggled. "You look like you ask grown-ups for cookies."
He waved his hand—and it sparked. A pulse of light radiated outward. Birds in the distance scattered.
"Cool," he whispered.
Then he clenched his hand.
A small flame sparked in his palm. It didn't burn him. He flicked it away, and a splash of water formed from the air instead.
"Fire and water now?"
[Confirmed. Elemental manipulation traits integrated.]
Nilo narrowed his eyes. "You're not human, are you?"
Amoid shook his head. "Not even close."
But he looked it. That was the weird part. He could walk. Talk. Move his arms. Eat—if he wanted to. But inside, he was still that atom-shaped soul. Still that glowing thing that had once hovered through the woods absorbing magic like a sponge.
And now...
He could smile.
Even if it looked ridiculous.
They moved downhill, toward a new set of ruins the system had highlighted. He walked now, slowly, unsure of his steps. His balance was okay, but he missed flying. Still, every now and then, his body flickered—phasing, shimmering, dancing with tiny particles of light.
He was still Amoid, just... with feet.
The ruins looked like a castle someone had tried to erase with a sandstorm. Half-buried walls. Shattered towers. Ancient sigils scrawled across broken stone.
[Zone: Cradle of the Pale Flame – Site of Lost Ascension Attempt #104]
"Lots of failures in this world," Amoid muttered.
[Correction: Lots of attempts.]
He liked that better.
They stepped inside.
Immediately, the air thickened. A wave of heat and pressure. Pip winced. Nilo snarled.
Amoid didn't flinch.
The flames that curled along the floor parted around his feet. They tried to burn, but his light form drank them in.
[Passive Absorption: Minor fire essence converted to energy.]
He smiled.
A shadow moved in the deeper halls. A shape with armor and no face. A knight, made of black smoke.
It raised a burning blade.
Pip hissed. "We're fighting that?"
"No," Amoid said, stepping forward. "I'm fighting that."
The knight charged.
Amoid stood still. Blade stabbed forward.
But it never struck.
The moment it touched him, his light flared.
The blade melted.
The knight recoiled, stunned. Amoid lifted his hand. With a soft wordless hum, he pushed forward.
Light surged. A dome of radiance expanded from his chest, washing through the hall.
The knight howled.
And vanished.
[Enemy Eliminated – Essence Absorbed – Trait Reinforcement Applied]
His skin glowed brighter.
Pip's jaw dropped. "You just nuked that guy with your vibes."
Amoid stretched his arms and cracked his neck.
"I'm starting to like this body."
They explored deeper. The castle revealed more of its history—broken rooms, faded murals of ascended beings, glowing orbs that whispered songs no one could remember.
And at the center: a chamber with a throne made of white bone.
Amoid approached it carefully.
It was empty.
But the air here trembled with energy.
He touched the throne.
It didn't react.
[System Prompt: Anchor Potential Detected. Bind temporary domain?]
"Do it."
Light poured from his chest, flowed into the ground.
The castle shifted.
Cracks healed. Floors shimmered. The throne glowed softly.
[Domain Anchor Bound – Light Bastion Established – Temporary Core Territory Granted]
He took a breath out of habit and sat down.
Amoid, once a dot in the void, now sat on a throne in a half-repaired castle, in a world that tried to eat him, looking like a kid who got lost in the wrong anime.
"I need a snack," he muttered.
Pip tossed him a glowing fruit.
He bit into it.
Didn't even need to chew.
"Still weird," he said, grinning.
But getting less weird every day.