Dot drifted in silence. The water around him hummed faintly, soft mana currents moving like whispers. He wasn't sure how long it had been since the last fight, but time didn't feel linear here. Every second was stretched thin, like gum on a shoe. Seek had gone quiet after the last battle—maybe processing, maybe sleeping. Or maybe even shocked that Dot had pulled it off. That he'd absorbed something that should've killed him. Something that wanted to kill him.
Pip was snoring. Floating beside a bubble, gently turning like she was in a dream carousel. Her small leafy arms curled around a drifting mana puff like it was a plushie.
Dot tried to relax.
But he couldn't.
His core vibrated. Not violently. Not painfully. Just... persistently. Like a hum under his thoughts. Something unfinished. Unspoken. And Seek wasn't helping.
"Seek," he whispered, his voice more a thought than sound, "what's happening to me now?"
Seek answered slowly, almost like it had been woken from a nap.
[Core Structure Changing. Evolutionary Phase Approaching Completion – 94%.]
[System Note: Trait Consolidation Required. You may begin to shape your path.]
"Shape it how?"
[Choose. Become what you must. Become what suits your soul. Your experiences. Your instincts. Your collected traits open possibilities. But your choice is what defines them.]
Dot pulsed in place, staring into the soft glow of the streambed.
"What if I choose wrong?"
[Then you learn. Then you grow again. No path is final. Only delayed.]
There was comfort in that.
He accessed the options Seek had mentioned before. They appeared now not as a list, but as floating symbols in his vision. Like tiny stars made of light and thought.
Proto-Core – Stable. Balanced. A safe base to grow upon.
Elemental Bloom – Wild. Energetic. Chaos made form.
Bio-Swarm Node – Control. Multiplicity. Growth by replication.
Adaptive Shell – Defense. Shape-shifting. Survival through change.
Predator Core – Raw. Focused. Devour or be devoured.
They each pulled at him in different ways. One tugged at his fear. Another at his curiosity. One whispered promises of safety. Another offered endless chaos.
He didn't know what he was supposed to be.
He was just a kid once. Just a guy who sat in his room. Listened to rain. Read manga. Avoided school. And then... died.
"Is that really me?" he thought. "Or am I something else now?"
He floated there for hours. Maybe days. No need to eat. No one attacking. No mission. Just the choice.
Eventually, Pip woke up. She yawned and burped at the same time. "Did I miss anything?"
Dot didn't answer right away. Then slowly pulsed, "I'm... evolving."
She blinked. "You didn't explode, right?"
"No."
"Cool. You're thinking too much. Just pick the one that feels least like failure."
Dot laughed inside. "Is that really how you choose?"
"No. I go with whatever makes the biggest boom."
He hovered silently. Watching the options glow. Then he looked inside himself. Thought about what he wanted. What he feared. What he hated.
He didn't want to control things. He didn't want to spread or duplicate. He didn't want to survive just to survive.
He wanted to change.
To adapt.
To become.
But even that didn't feel like enough. Why should he limit himself to one? If he had the chance—why not take them all?
"Seek," he said slowly, "is it possible to choose all of them?"
There was a long pause.
[Warning: Fusion Evolution Attempt Detected.]
[Success Chance – 50%. Failure will result in core destabilization.]
Pip floated up close. "Fifty percent is just another way of saying 'yes' with consequences."
Dot pulsed, unsure whether that was wisdom or madness.
But he knew what he had to do.
"I'll take that risk," he said.
[Fusion Evolution Initiated.]
[Processing Combined Path: Adaptive Elemental Predator Core with Bloom-Swarm Traits.]
[Success Chance – Holding at 50%... 51%... 52%...]
He focused. He willed it to work. This wasn't just power—it was identity. Purpose. He wasn't going to be boxed in. He wasn't a class. He wasn't a template. He was Dot.
The world tilted.
Everything shook.
Dot screamed—or tried to. But no voice came out. Just vibrations. His very being stretched like rubber. Fizzed like soda. Cracked like brittle glass. He felt himself pulling inward and outward at once.
Then it was done.
He floated again. But different.
His shell was no longer soft glow. It shimmered now. Fluid like water. Solid like stone. He moved, and his shape changed. Not by force, but naturally. Like instinct. Like muscle memory.
[Fusion Evolution Successful – 54%.]
[New Classification: Core Amoid – Adaptive Variant.]
[Abilities Unlocked: Shellshift – Reconfigure external structure within limits. Pulse Armor – Harden shell for brief periods. Bloom Spikes – Expel volatile energy bursts.]
[Growth Rate Increased by 30%. Trait Absorption Efficiency Greatly Improved.]
He breathed.
Not really.
But mentally.
Pip swam up to him and poked his side. Her tiny fingers sank into the shell like jelly, then bounced off as it hardened.
"Whoa. You're all squishy-and-stabby now. Nice."
He pulsed in amusement.
Then they both turned.
Something was coming.
Not hostile. Not strong. But... fast.
A ripple in the stream.
Out burst a creature like a fox made of moss and starlight. It had too many tails and not enough eyes. It blinked all of them at once.
"Whoa!" it said, speaking actual words. "Newbie Core! With... a leaf sprite? Weird pair. Whatever. You're needed. Come quick. Before they start the ritual without you."
Dot stared. "What?"
The fox-creature rolled its tails. "Ugh. I forgot you're fresh. You're invited. New cores, special evolution? Big deal. Forest spirits love that stuff. Ceremony. Songs. Offerings. It's a whole thing. Come on. I'll explain on the way."
Pip squinted. "If this is a cult, I'm bringing snacks."
And with that, they followed.
For the first time, Dot wasn't being chased. Wasn't just surviving. He was being welcomed.
And maybe, just maybe, he was about to find out what kind of world he was becoming a part of.