The blast tore through the clearing like a bottle rocket in a greenhouse. Leaves scattered. Bark peeled off in long strips. Dozens of forest eyes blinked shut as the energy wave surged past. The metal-beast crashed into the center with a sound like broken bells.
Dot hovered back, stunned.
He'd never unleashed that much power at once. Not even close.
The Bloom Spikes weren't just volatile—they were vicious. Each spike acted like a tiny mana grenade. And combined with the unstable forest mana? Yeah. Boom.
Nilo stood next to him, fur singed. "You really don't do subtle, huh?"
Dot didn't have time to answer.
The beast was already standing again.
It was tall now, seven feet if it had feet. Its body was long like a mantis, but covered in plates of steel and corrupted crystal. Where eyes should've been, there were tiny red lights blinking like hazard signs. It didn't bleed. It just hissed.
[Unknown Entity Detected. Classification: Scourge-Class Aberrant.]
[Threat Level: High. System advises immediate action.]
"Yeah," Dot muttered. "I got that much."
He shifted again—this time into his Shellshift mode. His outer form thickened. A jagged edge formed along his front. He didn't have a face, but if he did, it would've been frowning.
Pip zipped beside him. "You start. I'll clean up whatever survives."
Nilo bared his teeth. "I'll keep the spirits safe. Don't die, orb-boy."
The Aberrant moved first.
It lunged forward, claws clicking like scissors. Dot dodged left—barely. A spike shot from his back. The creature swatted it aside, but the impact left a dent in its armor.
He followed up with a pulse burst. Not full power, just enough to knock it off balance. The blast hit, staggered it, but it kept coming.
This thing wasn't just dangerous. It learned.
Dot felt something new then.
A pulse of fear. Not his own.
From the Aberrant.
He accessed the Rooted Memory trait. Just a flicker—an echo.
A lab. A scream. Chains. Burning. Rebirth.
Whatever this creature was... it hadn't asked to become this.
Dot hesitated. Just for a second.
Then the Aberrant stabbed its claw right through his shell.
Pain wasn't the word.
More like static tearing through every thought at once.
Dot staggered back, bleeding light.
Pip screamed. "Get out of there!"
He couldn't move. His form kept glitching—liquid, solid, back to liquid. The system screamed warnings he couldn't read.
Then Seek's voice cut through.
[Adaptation Option Unlocked: Reactive Synthesis. Temporarily convert absorbed energy into regeneration.]
"Do it!" Dot shouted.
His shell shimmered—and healed. The crack sealed. The light dimmed.
He pulsed forward, faster this time. The creature lunged—Dot met it head-on.
BOOM.
They both flew back.
Dust rained. Mana sparked like fireflies.
Dot grunted. "This thing's tougher than a truck full of knives."
The Aberrant hissed again—but it was leaking now. Tiny fractures in its crystal joints. Slower movements.
Dot reached inward.
His mana reserves were dipping. Bloom Spikes cost a ton. Pulse Armor drained over time.
He needed something different.
"Seek. What else do I have?"
[Recommending Basic Devour: Engage close-range core drain.]
"Then let's eat," Dot growled.
He shot forward. Spun at the last second. Slammed into the Aberrant's torso and bit.
Not with teeth—he didn't have any. But with his shell. His essence.
Mana poured in.
The Aberrant screamed—not in rage. But pain. Real pain.
Dot saw more flashes.
A young girl. Crying.
A forest torn apart. Spirits burning.
Then nothing.
The Aberrant collapsed.
Dot fell beside it, twitching. Energy overflowed in him like soda in a shaken can.
[Trait Absorbed: Hardened Plating Fragment – Adds minor damage resistance.]
[Aberrant Core Fragment Stored. Analyze later for crafting.]
Pip landed on his side, poking. "Still with me?"
"Barely."
The clearing quieted.
The tree-being stepped forward, branches glowing faintly.
"You did not destroy. You understood. That is rare."
Dot pulsed faintly. "Wasn't trying to be noble. I just... felt it."
The forest hummed in approval.
Nilo trotted over. "Well, you broke tradition and the floor, but I think they like you."
Dot sighed. "What now?"
The spirits pulsed as one.
"Now, traveler... we give you a name."
The light shifted.
A single word burned into the air.
Amoid.
Dot blinked. "What?"
"Your form. Your path. Adaptive Core. From now on, you carry that name as you grow."
He wanted to argue. To say he already had a name. That Dot was fine.
But he couldn't.
Because in this world... maybe becoming someone new was the point.
He floated quietly. Watching as the forest reformed. The spirits began their chant—not of mourning, but of survival.
He'd earned their trust.
And maybe, just maybe, a little bit of belonging.