The jungle was no longer whispering; it was screaming.
Ever since I left that adventuring party alive, the atmosphere of the forest had shifted. The sky above the canopy was filled with the distant, golden streaks of Sky-Sentry patrols. They were looking for the "Talking Abomination."
But I wasn't looking at the sky. I was looking at the massive, vine-choked ruins in front of me.
[Location Reached: The Sun-Drenched Altar]
[Warning: High-Level Energy Signature detected.]
[Evolution Requirement: 3/5 Cores. Two compatible signatures detected ahead.]
My stomach let out a thunderous growl. The hunger was becoming a physical weight, slowing my movements and sharpening my temper. I pushed through a curtain of glowing ivy and stepped into the ruins.
The altar was a massive circular platform of white marble, cracked by the roots of ancient trees. Standing in the center, guarding a pedestal, was a beast that made the cave wolves look like puppies.
It was a Solar Chimera.
It had the body of a lion plated in golden scales, a goat's head that breathed blinding white mist, and a tail that was a living, hissing viper made of pure light. But most importantly, embedded in the lion's chest and the goat's forehead were two massive, shimmering Light Cores.
[Target: Solar Chimera (Level 15 - Elite)]
[Status: Guardian of the Altar. It will not let you leave alive.]
The lion-head let out a roar that shook the leaves off the trees. The viper-tail lashed out, firing a bolt of light that melted the stone right next to my foot.
"Five levels higher than me," I muttered, digging my claws into the marble. "Perfect. I was getting bored of hunting scouts."
I didn't wait for it to charge. I activated [Flight of the Damned]. The tattered violet wings erupted from my back, giving me a surge of momentum. I leaped into the air, dodging a blast of white mist from the goat-head. The mist hit a stone pillar, and I watched in horror as the rock didn't break—it disintegrated into light particles.
If that hits me, I'm done, I realized.
I dived. The Chimera swiped at me with a massive, clawed paw. I used [Chaos Sight] to see the mana flow. The lion was the strength, but the goat-head was the battery.
I feinted to the left, then used my tail to grapple onto a hanging vine, swinging myself around the beast's flank. I landed on its back, my obsidian claws tearing through the golden scales.
The Chimera thrashed, the snake-tail snapping at my neck. I tilted my head back, feeling the heat of the snake's fangs graze my scales.
"My turn to eat!"
I channeled every drop of mana I had into my jaws. [Devourer's Maw] surged with a dark, gravitational pull. I bit down on the goat-head's neck, right below the core.
The beast shrieked. A wave of holy energy exploded from its body, trying to blast me off. My scales cracked, and I felt my health bar plunging into the red.
[HP: 15%]
[Warning: Critical Damage!]
"Not... enough!" I roared.
I ignored the pain. I let the 'Chaos' inside me take over. My eyes turned completely violet, and I felt a pulse of power from the Star-Core I had eaten earlier in the cave. I tore the first core out with my teeth.
[Light Core Acquired. 4/5 Collected.]
The goat-head went limp, but the lion-head was still fighting. It reared up, pinning me against a crumbling wall. Its jaws opened wide, glowing with a final, desperate sun-blast.
I didn't have the mana to dodge. I didn't have the strength to push it off.
Fine, I thought. Let's see who can swallow more.
I opened my own mouth. I didn't fire a spark. I reached deep into the 'Chaos' and pulled.
[New Skill Unlocked: 'Void Gulp' (Active)]
[Effect: Temporarily consume an incoming magical attack to replenish mana.]
The lion fired. The beam of light hit my open throat, but instead of burning me, it vanished into the darkness of my gullet. My mana bar filled instantly, overflowing into a jagged, purple aura.
With a roar that cracked the marble altar, I lunged forward. My claws found the second core in the lion's chest. I didn't just pull it out; I crushed the lion's chest-plate and tore the heart-core free.
The Chimera collapsed. The golden light faded from its eyes, and the body began to dissolve into dust.
I stood in the center of the ruins, covered in golden blood and black soot. In each of my claws, I held a pulsing, brilliant Light Core.
[Final Cores Acquired: 5/5.]
[Evolution Requirements Met.]
[System Notice: The World-Tree is watching. Do you wish to begin the First Great Evolution?]
"Yes," I croaked, my voice shaking with exhaustion and triumph. "Do it. Before the Sun finds me."
A pillar of violet fire erupted from the altar, reaching high into the sky, past the clouds and the floating islands. My body began to stretch, my bones snapping and reforming. My matte-black scales turned into polished obsidian armor, and my tattered wings grew into massive, leathery sails that could catch the wind of the gods.
I wasn't a hatchling anymore.