The ashlands trembled as he passed. Every battle left fields of ash-charred corpses, sparks folded inward until Vessel Chambers brimmed. Compress held him dense, Morphic Arms lashed sharper than steel, Core Division nets spread wide and layered with Fire, Darkness, and Light. He had reached Level 20. He had crossed the Evolution Threshold. Yet still he endured, pushing further. He was not at his limit.
Six voices warred inside him. Logos clipped logic, Maw shrieked hunger, Neris whispered restraint, Kael laughed reckless, Vael pressed pride, Shade whimpered fear. They never stopped. They tore at each other constantly, every moment a clash of instinct and will. Zeke held them together, will straining but not breaking. For now.
[Skill Advanced: Essence Feast → Lv.8]
He felt it—every kill smoother, every spark folded faster. Essence Feast no longer tore, it drank clean. His vessel thickened with every feeding. Compress folded pressure denser, Morphic Arms struck harder, Core Division held tighter. Growth accelerated.
The ashlands stirred. Not one predator this time, but many. A pack emerged—sleek, armored beasts, their bodies glimmering with obsidian plating, sparks burning red-hot. They circled, coordinated, six or seven strong. Their cries cut through the haze, sharper than the stalkers, heavier than the brutes. They moved as one.
Zeke spread nets, Compress pressing tighter. Arms lashed outward, Fire bursting, Darkness binding, Light slicing. One predator shrieked as a limb snapped. Sparks spilled, Essence Feast pulled smooth. But the others struck at once, coordinated, tearing through nets, claws raking his vessel. Sparks bled uncontrolled.
[Stat Increased: VIT +1]
He reeled. Nets snapped, arms tore. The pack pressed harder. They darted in patterns—one drew his attention high, another struck low, two flanked, while one circled for his back. They knew his reach, tested his timing, struck where gaps opened. He had seen coordination, but never like this. They were a machine of claws and stone.
Logos ordered calculation. "Anchor deeper. Reweave nets."
Maw roared. Feed them! Kill them all, drown in sparks!
"Withdraw," Neris whispered sharp. Do not face them all at once.
Kael laughed, wild. Perfect! More of them, more chaos! Dive in!
Vael pressed like weight. Retreat is weakness. You are ruler. Crush them or you are nothing.
Shade screamed. Run! Hide! They will tear us apart!
The clash of voices froze him. Instability screamed through his vessel. Compress faltered. Sparks bled faster. Claws tore deep, rending filaments. Pain surged sharp. For the first time since delaying evolution, Zeke staggered on the edge of collapse. He bled sparks into the ash, body trembling.
And from that wound, another voice rose. Low. Cold. Steady. Not wild like Kael, not frantic like Shade. It burned, simmering quiet. Rage.
They hurt us.
The voice pressed like iron, sharp and cold. They dared to hurt us.
[New Sub-Core Personality Awakened: Veyne]
The voice deepened, steady fury. Do not retreat. Do not laugh. Do not scream. Burn. Make them pay. Make them break for every spark they spill.
Zeke pulsed faint, trembling, but rage caught hold. Not frenzy. Not chaos. Cold anger. Fury pressed tight into control. His vessel steadied, Compress folding denser, tighter. Arms sharpened. Nets wove stronger.
Maw roared approval. Yes! Feed them, burn them!
Kael laughed. Now we fight! Reckless, wild, perfect!
"Efficient," Logos admitted, though clipped.
"Stable," Neris whispered, though faint.
Shade whimpered, It still hurts. They will kill us.
Vael pressed heavy, proud. Better. This is how a ruler answers insult.
Veyne spoke again, cold. They will regret this.
Zeke lashed outward. Fire burst brighter, hotter, fury feeding it. Darkness chains tightened, heavy as iron. Light cut cleaner, lines glowing white-hot. Nets spread, Core Division weaving denser. Predators shrieked, caught, bound, cut. Arms struck wild but precise, fury sharpening control. Sparks spilled, Essence Feast devoured clean.
[Skill Advanced: Compress → Lv.8][Skill Advanced: Core Division → Lv.7]
The pack still pressed. They adjusted, faster now, breaking formation and lunging from unexpected angles. One raked claws across his flank, another drove from below, teeth snapping at filaments. Pain surged, sparks flared, but he did not stagger. Rage anchored him. Every wound burned, and from that burn strength surged. His vessel shook but did not collapse. Sparks bled, and he pulled them back in, folded tighter, denser, sharper. Rage turned pain into fuel.
The predators regrouped, circling in new rhythm. He let them. Rage waited. When they lunged, nets snapped tight, arms hammered down, fire seared, darkness bound, light cut. Three fell in one instant, corpses burning molten. Sparks poured inward, Vessel Chambers brimmed.
[Stat Increased: STR +1][Stat Increased: AGI +1]
The survivors shrieked, fury and fear. They lunged as one, desperate. Zeke compressed tighter, denser, fury coiling like a furnace. He struck with everything, rage igniting affinities. Fire became inferno, Darkness chains like molten iron, Light like a blade of glass. Arms lashed, splitting armor, tearing cores. Sparks erupted, consumed whole. The last predator screamed once before silence claimed the wastes.
Ash drifted, glowing faint. Zeke pulsed low, vessel fractured but intact. He had endured. Rage had steadied him, turned collapse into control. He stood among corpses, smoldering, sparks burning through him.
Seven voices stirred within. Logos measured. Maw laughed. Neris whispered. Kael barked wild. Vael pressed heavy. Shade whimpered. And now Veyne, cold and steady, simmering with wrath. They clashed instantly.
"Useful," Logos said.
Always more! Maw shrieked.
Anchor tighter, Neris whispered.
Throw yourself in again! Kael laughed.
You are ruler. They bow, Vael pressed.
We will die. We cannot hold them all, Shade whimpered.
Silence, Veyne cut. They bleed before us. That is all that matters.
Zeke pulsed faint, trembling but whole. His will rose again, denser. He held them, all seven, though they screamed, though they pulled. He had not evolved. He had not collapsed. He had endured. And he would endure again.
Veyne was different. Kael's voice burned wild, reckless, delighting in chaos. Vael pressed arrogant, convinced of rulership. But Veyne's fury was cold, disciplined. It did not demand leaps or crowns—it demanded retribution. Rage steadied him when chaos tore, when fear screamed, when pride blinded. Dangerous, yes. But stabilizing, too.
[Stat Increased: WIL +1]
The spree was far from over.
System Update
Name: Ezekiel AshbourneRace: Prime Slime (Unevolved)Level: 20
Affinity: Fire (Intermediate), Darkness (Intermediate), Light (Intermediate)
Stats
STR: 15 → 17
AGI: 14 → 15
VIT: 20 → 21
WIL: 14 → 15
RES: 26
MNA: 72
CTL: 34 → 35
Skills
Core Division (Lv.7): Divide essence into sub-cores. Fragments act with independent will under Logos's guidance. Nets hold stable under pressure.
Essence Feast (Lv.8): Devour prey essence directly. Converts sparks smoothly into stable fuel.
Morphic Arms (Lv.10): Limbs shift instantly between forms, layered with affinities.
Compress (Lv.8): Condense essence into denser form. STR, AGI, VIT rise sharply while active. Instability risk increased.
Passive Skills
Vessel Chambers: Internal reservoirs stabilize essence, prevent overflow, and channel affinities.
Personalities
Logos (Sub-Core): Rational, calm, precise. Guides efficiency and stability.
Maw (Sub-Core): Hunger externalized. Demands endless growth and feeding. Venomous, relentless, always urging to feed.
Neris (Sub-Core): Caution given voice. Patient, measured, anchoring restraint against recklessness.
Kael (Sub-Core): Recklessness given voice. Thrives on chaos, impulse, and risk, urging abandon and thrill.
Vael (Sub-Core): Pride given voice. Arrogant, certain, pressing supremacy and dominance.
Shade (Sub-Core): Fear given voice. Trembling, cowardly, but anchoring survival instinct.
Veyne (Sub-Core): Rage given voice. Cold fury, simmering wrath that fuels endurance and retaliation.