Chapter 2: First Host, First Evolution
The forest air was cold and damp. Tiny drops of water clung to the leaves. The sky was a deep orange, fading into purple.
Aeron crawled slowly across the ground. His small, soft body left a trail of slime behind. Each movement felt harder than the last. His body ached, and he could feel himself drying out.
Aeron: "I… can't keep going like this…"
His voice was just a whisper inside his mind. He had no mouth to speak. Only thoughts.
He slid under a fallen leaf to hide. The shadows were growing. Strange sounds echoed around him—chirps, howls, buzzing wings.
Aeron: "This place… it's dangerous. Everything's bigger… faster…"
He thought about Earth. About his old hands. His old life. But that life was gone now.
He was a parasite. Weak. Small. And alone.
Then—a sound.
Rustle.
Something moved nearby.
Aeron stayed still, hidden under the leaf. He focused.
Out from the bushes came a small creature. It looked like a mouse, but it had red fur and four eyes that glowed faintly. It sniffed the air and scratched at the ground.
Aeron: "A mouse…? No, not a mouse. Something like it."
Suddenly—
BZZZ!
A glowing screen flashed in front of him.
Bright. Sudden. Shocking.
Aeron flinched.
Aeron: "Wha—?! What is this?!"
The screen floated in the air.
> [Target Detected: Emberfur Squeaker]
Status: Alive
Size: Small
Host Match: 80%
[Possession Attempt?]
ERROR: Living Host Cannot Be Possessed
Suggestion: Wait for Host Death
Option: Enable Auto-Possess? → [Yes] / [No]
Aeron stared at it.
Aeron: "Auto-possess? What does that mean? I can't enter it while it's alive…?"
He looked at his small, dying body, then at the creature walking around.
Aeron: "I don't have time to wait forever…"
But the screen didn't go away.
Aeron: "…Fine. Yes. Enable it. Auto-possess."
As soon as he chose [Yes], the screen faded.
The red mouse-creature moved closer to where Aeron was hiding. It sniffed the leaves, looking for bugs or food.
Then—
HISSSS!!!
A long black snake launched from the bush.
Its body was shiny and covered in dark scales. Its red eyes glowed like fire.
Aeron: "No—!"
The red creature turned too late.
SNAP!
The snake bit down on the creature's neck. It squeaked loudly, kicked twice, and then fell still.
Blood dripped onto the leaves.
Aeron stared in shock.
Then—
> [Host Death Detected]
[Auto-Possess Activated]
[Beginning Possession…]
He felt his body move without thinking. He slithered forward. His slime-like form slipped through the open wound on the dead creature's body.
It was dark. Warm. Wet.
> [Possession Successful]
New Host: Emberfur Squeaker (Deceased)
Host Type: Corpse
Warning: Host Decomposition in 23 Minutes
New Skill: Corpse Shift I
You can move inside dead bodies for a short time.
Suddenly—he could feel legs.
Feet.
A tail.
He opened the red creature's glowing eyes.
Aeron: "I… I can see again…"
He stood. The mouse's small body shook slightly, but he was upright.
Aeron: "I can walk! I can feel!"
He ran in a small circle.
Aeron: "It's not alive… but it works…"
Then another screen appeared.
> Energy Gained: 4 Units
Evolution Progress: 4 / 20
Bonus Skill Available:
Choose One:
– Corpse Memory I
– Venom Resistance I
– Dark Sight I
Aeron: "Corpse Memory… That means I can remember how this body moved?"
He thought about it.
Aeron: "Yes. That one."
> [Corpse Memory I Acquired]
Future corpses retain fighting, movement, and skill data.
Aeron felt something click in his mind. Like muscle memory being downloaded.
But another message flashed red.
> [Warning: Host Decomposing – 22:43 Remaining]
Aeron: "So… I still can't live like this forever. It's just a temporary shell."
He looked down at his small, bloody paws.
Aeron: "But it's better than crawling in the dirt…"
He stared into the shadows of the forest.
More creatures waited.
Bigger ones. Stronger ones.
But he wasn't helpless anymore.
Aeron: "I have a body now. I have a system. I can evolve."
He took a step forward. Then another.
And in that moment, the parasite took its first step toward becoming something more.