Beast Evolution Forge

Chapter 138 Cain 7

The spear stopped an inch from Vell's chest. Not because Cain hesitated, but because Vell was laughing.

It started as a quiet chuckle, then grew into full, manic laughter that echoed through the chamber. Blood trickled from his mouth, but he couldn't stop.

"What's so funny?" Cain pressed harder with his foot, cracking more ribs.

"You really think..." he coughed up more blood, but his eyes gleamed with something dangerous. "...that I didn't notice?"

His hand shot up, grabbing the shadow spear. The weapon sizzled and hissed as it started dissolving, being absorbed into Vell's palm.

[Master, what are you—]

"Shut up for a second," he grinned, his teeth stained red. "I'm trying to eat here."

Cain's perfect features twisted in surprise as he tried to pull the spear back, but it was too late. The shadow weapon completely dissolved, and Vell's body pulsed with new energy.

"Your attacks..." his voice changed, becoming deeper, more distorted. "They're not just shadows. They're pieces of you. Little fragments of power that you've been feeding me this whole time."

He grabbed Cain's ankle and squeezed. The aristocratic being tried to step back, but for the first time, he couldn't break free.

"I wasn't losing..." Vell's body began to change, his skin cracking like a shell. "I was just... very, very hungry."

The chamber filled with a sound like breaking glass as Vell's human form shattered. What emerged wasn't human or monster – it was something worse. His body became translucent, like living crystal, with swirling darkness visible inside. His eyes multiplied, each one a different color, all filled with hunger.

"What are you?" Cain's voice held real fear now.

Vell stood up, his crystalline form towering over Cain. "I am what happens when the abyss gets hungry."

[Oh. OH. YOU UNLOCKED IT!?]

The tables turned instantly. Vell glided on the ground, his new form flowing around Cain's attacks instead of blocking them. Each time a shadow touched him, it was absorbed, making him grow stronger.

"No!" Cain backed away, his perfect composure crumbling. "This is my domain, my palace. How did you—"

"Turn the tables against you in your own house?" His many eyes blinked in sequence. "Simple. I just ate."

He reached out with a hand, and the shadows in the room began flowing toward him like water down a drain. Cain tried to maintain his form, but pieces of him were being pulled away.

"You know the funny thing about being a predator?" He stepped closer, his form rippling with absorbed power. "Sometimes you forget that bigger predators exist."

Cain launched a desperate attack, his body exploding into a storm of shadow blades but they all vanished into Vell's crystalline body, making the darkness inside him swirl faster.

"Thanks for the meal," he said, his voice echoing strangely through his crystal form. "But I think it's time we ended this game."

His body suddenly expanded, filling the chamber with prismatic light. Each facet of his crystalline form reflected a different reality, a different kind of hunger. Cain screamed as his body was torn apart, not by force, but by pure consumption.

The mighty being of shadow and terror disappeared piece by piece, absorbed into the crystal labyrinth that Vell had become. The process was beautiful and horrifying, like watching a galaxy being devoured by something impossibly vast.

When it was done, Vell's form contracted, returning to something almost human. But his skin remained slightly translucent, and his eyes... his eyes held universes of darkness.

The woman looked at him in amusement, "I know what you are thinking and yes, Cain and the people outside were all made to believe whatever we planted in their heads. Clever right?"

"Tch, let me guess," he said, his voice dry. "You're the real dungeon masters?"

The man in chains laughed. "Close. We're the Guardians of Ascension. The true keepers of the tower's power."

"And you," the woman's smile turned predatory, "have caught our interest. Few beings can absorb power the way you do. Even fewer can adapt so... creatively."

Vell's many eyes blinked in sequence. The power he'd gained from Cain and the other guardians churned inside him, eager for more.

[They're not lying about their power. Each one of them could probably crush us right now.]

'Hah, dont overestimate them so much.' A familiar smirk spread across his face. 'they're making one big mistake.'

"Oh?" the woman raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"Great, you can read minds too?"

"No, you just broadcast your thoughts quite loudly," she replied, taking another step forward. "Most beings who reach this level are... overwhelmed by our presence, but you?" Her mercury hair rippled with interest. "You're already thinking of ways to fight us."

[Master, let's think about this carefully...]

"You know ," he interrupted, "You all keep talking about 'ascending' and 'trials' and 'testing,' but I just realized something."

The man in chains tilted his head. "Oh?"

"This floor? It's the highest point in the tower. I can feel it. There's nothing above us but sky."

The woman's smile faltered slightly. "Very perceptive. But what does that—"

"It means you're all full of shit. There's no ascension. No higher trials. You just want to use me for something."

The twelve figures exchanged glances. The temperature in the room dropped several degrees.

"Use is such an ugly word," the woman said, her voice hardening. "We prefer to think of it as... recruitment. Your ability to absorb and adapt to different types of power is unique. With proper guidance—"

"Let me stop you right there." His smirk turned predatory. "I didn't come here to join your little club. I came here to eat."

"You dare—" the man in chains began, but Vell was already moving.

His form exploded outward, filling the room with prismatic shards. Each piece reflected a different reality, same as before. The power he absorbed wasn't an illusion—it was very real, and now it sang through him like a symphony of shadows. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

"Twelve of you?" He laughed, his voice echoing strangely through his fractured form. "Perfect. I was still hungry anyway."

The woman's beautiful face twisted "Fool! You think you can challenge the Guardians of Ascension? We've existed since—"

"Blah blah, fuck you."

"Wha-"