The air in the cave tasted of scorched iron and ozone. The Abyssal Lion took a heavy step forward, its shadow-claws leaving deep, smoking gouges in the stone. It looked down at the Phoenix as if she were nothing more than a piece of meat waiting to be carved.
Han Sen pressed his back against the cold obsidian pillar. His heart thundered against his ribs, a frantic rhythm that felt far too loud in the sudden silence of the cave.
[Warning: Host HP is 10/10.]
[Detection: One direct hit from 'Abyssal Roar' will result in 1,000% overkill.]
The system's cold reminder was a slap to his face. He was a bug watching two mountains collide. If he moved too soon, he died. If he moved too late, the eggs were gone.
The Phoenix let out a weak, rattling cry. She draped her broken, glowing wing over the three eggs. Her golden eyes, large and shimmering with fading light, turned toward the pillar where Han Sen hid.
She saw him. Even with his [Ghost-Veil Steps] and [Void Aegis], the dying sovereign saw the Level 1 human. Her gaze wasn't predatory: it was pleading.
The Lion opened its maw, a sphere of black, swirling gravity forming between its teeth. The light in the cave seemed to be sucked into its throat.
"Not today," Han Sen whispered.
He didn't attack the Lion. He knew his limits. Instead, he focused on the ground beneath the Lion's massive paws. He opened his skill menu, his mind moving like a lightning strike.
[Skill Selection: Basic Digging]
[Allocating Skill Points: 200,000]
[Basic Digging has evolved into: Earth Collapse (Max Level).]
Han Sen didn't move a muscle. He simply visualized the stone under the Lion's front legs turning into nothing.
There was no sound of breaking rocks. There was only a sudden, violent hiss of air as a perfect square of the mountain vanished. The Lion's head snapped down as its front legs fell into the void.
The black gravity sphere in its mouth went unstable. It exploded prematurely, sending a shockwave of shadow backward into the Lion's own face.
The beast let out a roar of confused agony. It scrambled to pull itself out of the hole, its golden mane singed by its own dark power. It looked around wildly, but it saw no enemy. It only saw a wounded Phoenix and a mountain that seemed to be betraying it.
Han Sen used that second of confusion. He blurred forward, his [Ghost-Veil Steps] making him look like a flickering shadow.
He reached the Phoenix. The heat coming off her body was enough to melt lead, but his [Void Aegis] hummed, keeping him safe. The Phoenix let out a soft sound and pushed one egg toward him with her beak.
It was the smallest egg, pulsing with a faint, rhythmic gold light.
Crack.
The Lion had pulled itself free. Its gaze was now pure, murderous hate. It realized something was wrong. It realized there was a thief in its shadow.
The Phoenix knew her time was up. She looked at Han Sen one last time, a silent command in her eyes: Run.
She stood up on her trembling legs and erupted. It wasn't an explosion of fire, but a massive implosion of pure light. The heat was so intense that the walls of the cave began to turn into liquid glass.
Han Sen grabbed the egg, tucking it against his chest. He didn't look back. He leaped from the cave's entrance, falling hundreds of feet toward the jagged rocks below.
[Skill Selection: Basic Falling]
[Allocating Skill Points: 300,000]
[Basic Falling has evolved into: Feather-Weight Flight (Max Level).]
His body slowed in mid-air, drifting like a leaf in a storm. Below him, the top of the mountain was engulfed in a pillar of golden fire that pierced the clouds. The Lion's roar of rage was drowned out by the sound of the peak collapsing.
Han Sen hit the ground running. He didn't stop until the heat was a memory and his legs felt like lead. He reached a small, hidden crevice in the valley and collapsed, his chest heaving.
He looked down at the egg. It was warm, and he could feel a tiny, steady heartbeat against his palm.
[Ding! Soul-Bonding Sequence Available.]
[Warning: Bonding with a Divine Beast requires a massive Mana pool.]
Han Sen looked at his 10 HP and his near-zero Mana bar. He leaned his head against the cold stone, a tired, sharp smile on his face.
"Then I guess I'll just have to break the rules again," he muttered.
The mother Phoenix was gone. The Lion was still out there. And Han Sen was still Level 1. But as he looked at the egg, the weight of the world didn't feel quite so heavy anymore.