Chapter 51: Predator Ascendant


    <hr>


    The beast’s body cracked open—not breaking, but shedding.


    What emerged was wrong.


    Its limbs stretched too long, its skin pulsating like it was breathing.


    Eyes formed where there shouldn’t be eyes.


    Teeth—rows upon rows of jagged fangs—rippled across its shifting mass.


    And worst of all?


    Its mouth split open, and it spoke.


    Not in words.


    Not in a language I could understand.


    But in a sound that burrowed into my skull, whispering in a chorus of my own voice.


    <blockquote>


    "You will break."


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    "You will be remade."


    </blockquote>


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    "You are not enough."


    </blockquote>


    My grip on Gwaine tightened. "Shut up."


    And then, it attacked.


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    A Nightmare Given Form


    It didn’t move—it shifted.


    Its body snapped between forms, from quadruped to biped in a blink, its limbs liquid one moment, solid razors the next.


    It struck at inhuman angles, impossible to predict.


    Darius barely raised his shield in time before a spike of bone shot from its spine, piercing the air where his head had been.


    Raika vanished into the shadows, reappearing behind it, blades flashing—


    But the beast’s body split apart, her weapons slicing through nothing.


    Zephyr unleashed a tempest of lightning, the storm blinding and furious.


    For a moment, we thought it worked.


    Then—


    The electricity crawled over the beast’s skin, and it laughed.


    Not mimicking my voice this time.


    But all of ours.


    <blockquote>


    "You are not enough."


    </blockquote>


    And then it struck me.


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    The Beast vs. The Forge


    The impact was like a mountain collapsing.


    I was sent flying, crashing through a ruined tower.


    My vision spun.


    My body screamed.


    But I wasn’t done.


    <blockquote>


    [BEASTBOUND ARMOR: RECONSTRUCTING.]


    [LIVING BLACKSMITH: AUTO-FORGE ENGAGED.]


    </blockquote>


    My armor knitted itself back together, shifting, adapting.


    I forced myself to my feet, Gwaine pulsing in my hands.


    The beast turned toward me, its shifting eyes locking onto mine.


    It was waiting.


    Because it wanted me to evolve too.


    To see if I could keep up.


    A slow grin spread across my face.


    "Alright, then."


    I raised Gwaine, feeling the axe pulse, twist, shift.


    If it wanted an apex predator…


    I was about to show it what true evolution looked like.


    And then, I charged.