Chapter 386: Failed Evolution?
It didn’t take long for the cohort to reach the swirling vortex—where the cocooned humans, an unconscious Van, and Caster lay waiting.
Felix, Kai, and Trisha quickly crouched down in front of Chloe, who stretched both hands toward them.
Once more, she glanced back at Ray, who was about six metres away.
Then, with a firm grunt, she swung her hands forward—her ability activating as an invisible telekinetic force exploded outward and pushed the trio into the swirling vortex.
She kept using her ability again and again, the cocooned humans lifting off the ground one after another before flying through the gate alongside the unconscious duo.
Felix, Trisha, and Kai had been thrown through first.
Since they were unsure where they would emerge, it was safer for the three of them to arrive together in case the cocooned humans were mistaken for beasts and attacked.
One after another, the cocooned humans flew through the gate while blood continued trickling down Chloe’s nose in thin crimson streams.
"AAAAAAAAH!" Ray bellowed into the air with such force that even the ground beneath him trembled for half a second.
Chloe instinctively turned to look at him.
For a fleeting moment, she almost abandoned everything and rushed toward him.
But as her gaze shifted to the cocooned humans waiting to be rescued, she bit down hard on her lower lip until it nearly bled before forcing herself to turn back to the task.
’Please don’t die.’
Again and again, the cocoons shot forward with astonishing speed as though she was desperately racing against time itself.
Unlike before, she no longer felt the same overwhelming strain every time she used her ability.
Instead, the objects felt... lighter.
Almost easier to control.
’Huh...? Is my ability getting stronger?’
Choosing not to dwell on it, she continued without slowing down.
After about two minutes, she was finally done.
With one final telekinetic blast, Van’s and Caster’s bodies shot into the gate.
That left only her.
Throughout those two minutes, Ray’s screams had continuously echoed across the chamber.
Every cry of agony made Chloe flinch as though she could somehow feel a fraction of his suffering herself.
Her legs twitched repeatedly, urging her to run back toward him.
But...
"GOOOOO!" Ray shouted amidst another scream of unbearable pain.
His voice struck her like a physical blow.
She bit her lip once more, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, before finally leaping into the gate.
Leaving only Ray behind.
Out of the ten minutes...
Two had already passed.
Now...
The Tribrid stood completely alone inside the ruined chamber.
Another ear-piercing scream ripped through the air.
The boy was currently enduring something that could only be described as hell itself.
It felt as though every drop of blood flowing through his veins had been replaced with molten lava.
His insides churned violently like a raging ocean caught beneath a storm, refusing to settle for even a second.
His skull burned with unbearable heat.
Pressure built inside his head until it felt as though it would split apart at any moment.
An agonizing headache pounded relentlessly against his temples while every nerve in his body screamed in protest.
Even his gums throbbed with pain, making it feel as though every single tooth was being ripped from its roots.
His breathing became increasingly ragged.
Each inhale burned his lungs.
Each exhale escaped as a trembling gasp.
The veins across his body and his remaining arm bulged grotesquely beneath his skin.
They writhed violently like living snakes trapped beneath flesh, twisting and expanding as though desperately trying to burst free from his body.
As if that wasn’t already enough...
The instant two minutes passed, an even greater wave of pain crashed into him like an unstoppable tidal wave.
His bones...
Every...
Single...
Bone...
Was shattered apart as though they were nothing more than dry twigs beneath a hammer.
Only to be painstakingly reconstructed again.
Piece by piece.
Fragment by fragment.
Like someone dismantling an impossibly complicated puzzle only to rebuild it over and over again.
Or perhaps worse...
Like a child repeatedly breaking apart a Lego creation simply to assemble it all over again.
"Mother FU—"
{Language, Host.}
"Shut whatever you use as a mouth up, you bastard! AAAAAAAH! IT HURTS!"
Ray’s scream reverberated throughout the entire chamber, bouncing off the shattered walls and towering pillars before fading into countless echoes.
Exhaustion began swallowing him at an alarming rate.
His vision blurred.
His muscles twitched uncontrollably.
Cold sweat mixed with blood as it poured down his body, soaking his torn clothes.
His body wasn’t merely changing.
It was literally being destroyed from the inside before being rebuilt into something stronger.
Every reconstructed bone felt denser.
Harder.
More resilient than before.
He could actually feel the difference.
Yet whatever mysterious force governed the evolution seemed completely unsatisfied.
Again...
And again...
And again...
His newly rebuilt bones were crushed apart before immediately reforming.
The endless cycle continued without mercy.
Without pause.
Without giving him even the slightest chance to breathe.
"I swear... if I eve-ever find the bastard behind this... I will bash their head in! FUCKKKKK!"
{This is fun.}
The system sounded almost amused inside Ray’s head.
Even the safety of his mindspace offered no refuge from the merciless evolution.
The whole mindspace trembled and shuddered with every wave of unbearable pain the boy endured.
Bruce stood firmly on his feet, staring at the chaos unfolding before him.
It looked as though a violent earthquake had erupted throughout the entire mindspace. Even Ray, who remained seated on the chair, was hunched forward in agony, his body trembling uncontrollably.
The wounds he had painstakingly healed moments ago split open once more.
Fresh blood immediately began pouring from the reopened holes at an alarming rate.
«Oi! Ray, you need to eat,» Bruce shouted, genuine worry creeping into his voice.
Even while enduring what felt like a merciless surgery without anesthesia, Ray ground his teeth and barked back,
"Oh goodness. What did I ever do to deserve this fool of a werewolf?! How the fucking hell am I supposed to eat in this condition? And it’s not as if there’s exactly a feast for me to feed on here. Are you deadass?! I can’t even move a finger and he want—"
«Stop your silly yapping and search for flesh to eat, you idiotic human. I wouldn’t care about you on a normal day, but this is also about my life, so find some flesh and eat it.»
«Eh? Thought you don’t care if he dies and you die with him?» Elyon commented with a suppressed chuckle.
Bruce shot him a murderous glare.
Elyon instinctively shrank back.
The next second, however, one of his brows rose.
«Hang on. There are two of us inside him, so why the hell does he have to eat flesh to help himself? Do you want your bloodline to overrun him instead? You want to suppress me?»
Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a long, frustrated sigh.
«I genuinely want to die right now. You dumbass! What he is going through is similar to a werewolf’s evolution. That’s why I told him to eat. You idiot, do Celestials even go through pain while evolving?!»
Elyon frowned.
«It’s not like I can exactly remember, can I?»
«Exactly. Then shut your shit hole up.»
Bruce immediately turned his attention back toward Ray, who was still gripping the chair with all his strength.
«Get some damn food now.»
Even though unimaginable pain continued ravaging every inch of his body, Ray could still hear the argument echoing throughout his mindspace.
Through his blurred vision, he anxiously scanned the surroundings.
’How am I supposed to fi—’
DING!
[Host’s condition has become critical. Host’s body is too damaged to handle the power of the evolution.]
’Eh?’
[Possibility of evolution failure.....]
[Seventy percent.]
’Hang on! The hell does that mean? What happens if I fail an evolution?’
[Checking.....]
[.... Death!]