The labyrinth felt different now.
Not because the walls had changed — they were still the same cracked ribs of some ancient ruin — but because I had changed. My new body moved with purpose, not drift. Four limbs, low to the ground, claws whispering across stone. Each step was a choice instead of an accident.
My senses ran ahead of me like small invisible scouts. Heat signatures flickered behind pillars. Mana currents rippled like thin curtains against my fur. The dark hummed, pleased. I could feel it now — the labyrinth wasn't a maze; it was a living thing with moods.
And right now, it felt restless.
I padded along the fractured floor, tail flicking softly behind. Every so often, my ears twitched at some tiny sound — a pebble falling, a distant growl, the rhythmic clicking of something walking on too many legs.
Analyze stirred lazily, automatically reading each vibration:
[Minor Threat — distant]
[Potential Prey — weak]
[Avoid — unstable terrain]
The gentle flow of predictions soothed something instinctual in me. I wasn't wandering blind anymore. I had… tools. Instinct sharpened into information.
But hunger was still a gentle ache behind all of it.
The rat's essence hadn't filled me; it had just smoothed the edges of need. The deeper parts of the labyrinth smelled rich. The air had weight here — metallic, old, humming with minerals and mana that made my fangs itch.
A tremor shook dust from the ceiling. Not violent. Just a reminder that something massive still roamed the lower levels.
The Burrower Warden.
I didn't think it could climb directly into this corridor — yet — but knowing it was somewhere under me pressed on my nerves. I wasn't ready for that fight. Maybe not for several evolutions. Its jaws alone felt like a memory carved into my instinct: wide enough to swallow me whole even now.
I kept moving.
A narrow passage opened ahead, arches warped inward as if melted by flame. The air here was warmer. Too warm. Something breathed further in — big enough to warm the stones under its belly.
I crouched instinctively, letting Shadow Veil ripple across my fur. The dark thickened around me, pulling in tight like a cloak. My outline blurred into the ground.
Silent Step carried me forward without a whisper.
I peeked into the chamber beyond.
A creature the size of a boar dozed near a low crack in the wall. Its hide was rough, almost bark-like. Spines jutted from its back like half-melted stalagmites. A faint glow pulsed beneath its ribs — a bright essence vein, strong.
A Spineback Slumberer.
Analyze triggered:
[Spineback Slumberer]
[Threat: High (Awake) / Moderate (Asleep)]
[Weak Points: Throat, inner haunch, base of spine]
[Warning: Spines are venomous]
Venom wasn't a problem for a creature with no blood — but getting skewered was still something I'd rather not try.
Good essence though.
Enough to push me further into Shadowling form.
Maybe even halfway to Tier 2.
My tail twitched involuntarily. Hunger sharpened like a knife's edge.
Silent… slow…
I padded forward, hugging the wall, staying in the thickest patch of shadow. My claws gripped the stone silently. The Slumberer's breath came in heavy waves, stirring dust in and out like a tide.
Closer.
Closer.
Just a leap away now.
Then—
A crackling noise echoed from the opposite tunnel.
The Slumberer's eyes snapped open.
Thick, milky, unfocused — but awake.
Damn.
The creature bellowed, sound rattling the chamber. It lunged at the direction of the noise — not me — smashing its massive head into the stone wall. Spikes clattered, venom dripping onto the ground in sizzling green drops.
The sound came again — this time clearer.
A low, hollow clicking.
Something else had entered the chamber.
Something hunting.
My fur bristled along my spine.
Three long, crooked legs stepped into the light. Then a fourth. Then another. The creature was tall — unnervingly tall — with a slender, emaciated torso between spider-like limbs. Its head was a smooth oval of bone with no eyes.
I froze.
A Blind Feeler.
My instincts screamed.
Analyze spat out the data harshly:
[Blind Feeler]
[Threat: High]
[Behavior: Hunts by detecting essence vibrations]
[Primary Prey: Sleeping monsters]
[Warning: Extremely sensitive to movement]
Movement.
The Slumberer charged blindly again, confused, thrashing violently. Spikes flew, venom splattering on rocks. The Feeler tilted its head, "listening," its elongated fingers twitching.
It stepped closer.
A single tap of its claw echoed like a thrown pebble in my new senses. Every tap told it the world's shape. Every tap told it where prey stood.
I had one advantage:
I was small.
I pressed lower, merging with the dark. Shallow breaths — though I no longer needed to breathe — made me feel steadier. My shadow flickered into the cracks between stones.
The Feeler swept a limb across the room.
Not randomly — testing for heartbeats.
The Slumberer roared and charged again. The Feeler struck first, its long arm slicing across the Slumberer's hide like a blade. Blood splashed. The Slumberer collapsed, legs buckling.
The Feeler leaned down, fingers spreading.
Devour prey. That was its whole purpose.
It didn't sense me.
Not yet.
This was my chance… maybe the only one. The Slumberer was dying — its essence spilling into the air like warm fog. The Feeler wasn't eating yet. It was busy analyzing its kill.
I could steal it.
Risky. Suicidal. But evolution wasn't earned through safety.
I slipped forward, hugging the darkest parts of the chamber, inching closer to the wounded Slumberer's essence. I felt it already — like heat from a hearth, warm and rich. My body hummed, instinct urging me closer.
One step.
Two.
Three.
I reached the Slumberer's side just as it took its last ragged breath. Blood pooled in thick lines, steaming on the ground.
Devour ignited in me like a sudden spark.
But the Feeler's head snapped up.
It felt the essence shift.
It felt me.
It screamed — a sound like bones grinding — and lunged.
I dove under the Slumberer's corpse, claws scraping, heart hammering even though I didn't have one. The Feeler's long arm stabbed into the spot where I'd been a moment ago, embedding deep into muscle.
Too close.
Much too close.
I latched onto the Slumberer, my fangs sinking into its neck.
Essence surged.
Warm, rich, blinding.
The Feeler shrieked, ripping the carcass upward with terrifying strength — dragging my small body with it. Pain tore through me as the world spun violently. The corpse slammed into the wall.
I held on.
Devour roared through me.
The Slumberer dissolved into thick, pulsing essence. My body shook as the energy poured in, too fast, too heavy.
[Essence Acquired.]
[Predation Level: 2.3 → 3.1]
[Instinct Surge Detected]
The Feeler screamed again — closer now.
I felt its claws stab into the corpse a hair-width away from me. It was tearing through trying to reach me.
My vision blurred. My limbs flickered.
But I didn't stop.
Another surge.
[Shadowling Strength Increased]
[Shadow Veil Expanded]
[Minor Fang Upgrade]
The Feeler ripped the Slumberer's body apart, hurling it across the room in frustration.
I flew with it — but landed on my feet, sliding across the floor, my limbs shaking.
It heard me.
It moved.
The Feeler lunged again, claws slicing the air.
Too slow to dodge entirely — I felt the wind shear part of my shadow skin away.
It hurt.
So I moved.
Not with thought.
With instinct.
I darted under its legs, Silent Step amplifying my speed. The Feeler struck down, missing by inches. I slashed at one of its thin legs — claws biting deep. Not enough to cripple it. But enough to make it stumble.
It screamed, enraged.
I ran.
Not because I was afraid — though I was — but because the Slumberer's essence had filled me to the point of cracking. Every limb buzzed. My body felt too tight, too small.
Evolution tugged at me again.
Not now.
Not here.
I fled through a narrow crack in the chamber wall just as the Feeler's claw slammed behind me, sealing the space with dust and debris.
The creature screamed on the other side.
My breath — fake or not — shook.
I padded deeper into the shadows.
My body trembled with new strength.
New hunger.
New instincts.
And a new whisper from the system:
[Evolution Threshold: Approaching (Tier 2)]
[Recommended Prey Increase]
[Warning: Instinct Dominance Rising]
Rising…
I steadied myself.
One more kill and I might lose something human.
One more kill and I might gain something monstrous.
Either way…
The path was set.
I moved deeper into the labyrinth.
The dark welcomed me home.