Y'grahal's twin suns burned overhead, their heat filtered by the ash-colored clouds coiling above the obsidian plains. Joshua's massive form lay motionless in a crater of collapsed stone and bone, the remains of his most recent kill still steaming beside him.
He'd adapted. Evolved.
But adaptation wasn't peace. It was merely pause.
Something inside him shifted.
> [Essence Stabilizing…]
[System Seed Unlocked.]
[Initializing Core Integration…]
His vision darkened—not from unconsciousness, but internalization. The world around him dimmed as something formed within. Not an interface, not a voice. Just… presence. Instinct encoded in logic. Alien code threading through a monstrous mind.
A flickering screen formed in his thoughts—simple, clinical.
> —JOSHUA KING—
Species: Unknown (Evolving)
Size: 42.7 Meters
Mass: 128 Tons
[Core Traits]
• Devourer's Right – Converts slain biomass/essence into evolution fuel.
• Adaptive Evolution – Each consumed entity unlocks structural or spiritual adaptations.
• Core Organ (Lesser) – Stores energy for regeneration or short-term boosts.
> [Recent Traits Acquired]
• Chitinbound Exoskin – Bone-laced skin layer grants moderate defense and abrasion resistance.
• Sensory Node Cluster – Combines vibration, sound, and thermal sensors into multi-directional awareness.
• Howl of Subjugation (Skill) – Emits a low-frequency scream that disrupts weak-willed foes. Minor stun effect.
> [Energy Reserve: 22%]
Evolutionary Threshold: 100% Required.
Joshua blinked as reality returned. The system wasn't intelligent. It didn't guide. It recorded. Catalogued. A seed growing alongside his devouring nature.
It was enough.
---
A distant tremor passed underfoot. Subtle at first. Then again. Louder.
Something huge was moving.
Joshua tilted his head and sniffed. The air reeked of ozone, sulfur, and something… floral?
The ridge ahead cracked.
It crawled into view: a Bloomjaw, he would later name it. A quadruped with muscular limbs and skin like blue slate. Petal-like growths bloomed around its face and back, giving it a grotesque crown. It exhaled, and spores burst into the air—glittering, golden—and began drifting toward him.
> [Toxin Detected]
[Analyzing...]
His body responded before he could command it. Glands flushed. Breathing adjusted. His skin grew slightly porous—filtering air differently.
> Adapting: Respiratory Filter Protocols
Status Effect: Nullified
Joshua didn't wait.
He charged forward, claws gouging stone. The Bloomjaw shrieked, bounding forward with surprising speed. They collided—his shoulder against its throat, sending spores scattering like ash. The thing raked at him with razor-tipped petals, slicing glowing gashes into his side.
Pain surged—but he welcomed it.
He tackled the creature, jaws locking onto its throat. Its shriek twisted into a choking gurgle as his fangs sank deep.
> [Devourer's Right Activated]
[Bloomjaw Consumed: 18% Essence Extracted]
Processing New Trait...
• Spore Duct Glands (Trait) – Allows the generation of airborne toxins. Effect depends on consumed biomass.
• Bloom Cleft Mandibles (Trait) – Secondary jaw structure splits open to expose venom-coated bone-fangs.
Evolutionary Progress: 40%
Joshua stood still as the transformation took hold. His jaw cracked and flexed wider. New fangs—curved and pale—grew behind his primary teeth. His breathing hissed slightly. Spores leaked faintly from his back in golden plumes, before he clenched control over them.
His hunger buzzed like a second heartbeat.
---
The hours bled together.
Joshua wandered through bioluminescent swamps, along fossilized cliffs, through forests of chitin and metal. He observed. Fought. Consumed.
A Burrow Strider ambushed him—sleek and long, like a centipede mixed with a serpent. He lost half an arm to it before crushing its skull beneath his weight.
> Trait Gained: Multi-Joint Compression Core
Allows limbs to compress and extend elastically. Boosts agility, improves reaction bursts.
He learned. How to move better. Strike cleaner. He didn't grow larger; he grew denser, more efficient. Each battle made him more alien, more monstrous—and more unstoppable.
He tried the Howl of Subjugation once.
A flock of spike-winged scavengers fell from the sky mid-flight. The rest fled.
The howl wasn't sound. It was pressure. A mental scream, pulsing from the bones of the world itself.
He smiled. Or what passed for a smile now.
---
At night, the sky changed.
The stars weren't stars. They moved. Slowly, deliberately. Sometimes blinking like eyes. And there were other worlds—huge shapes suspended like obsidian marbles in the void. Y'grahal was just one.
Joshua stared upward.
The memory of the void returned. The voice of the being that sent him.
"You will conquer upward."
His claws sank into the dirt.
He would.
---
Summary of Traits/Skills Gained in Chapter 2:
Chitinbound Exoskin – Bone-laced armored skin offering moderate protection.
Sensory Node Cluster – Multi-sense detection combining vibrations, sound, and heat.
Howl of Subjugation (Skill) – Emits mental pressure that stuns weaker beings.
Spore Duct Glands – Allows production of spores/toxins based on biomass consumed.
Bloom Cleft Mandibles – Adds secondary venomous fangs for bite-based attacks.
Multi-Joint Compression Core – Enhances limb elasticity, improving movement and reflexes.