《The Last Changeling》 1.Extinction Deep in the Skycleave mountains a large group of enlightened stand at the ready outside the dark mouth of a cave. As the wind howls through the mountain range causing the tall dark trees to shake, a figure steps toward the cave before turning back towards the others. Wearing a large brown robe with glowing gold trim the figure rests their hands on a staff made of blue wood, near the top of the staff the wood splits into a globe containing a floating eye with a large glowing pupil. The figure pulls down their hood revealing a human in the later stages of his life, despite his obvious age his posture is anything but weak. His sharp eyes focus on the rest of the group as the wind blows through his dirty brown hair. ¡°Friends, partners, brothers. I know it has not been easy, we¡¯ve lost many getting to this point but it ends today! For years we¡¯ve hunted the changelings, pushed them out of our lands and into the wilds. Some think that was enough but those of us standing here today know the truth, if the enlightened are to ever live in peace the changelings must be gone for good. Today is the day we finally rid this world of their filth! The last of their species are holed up in this cave, though there is only a hundred of us here I know we will triumph. The truly dangerous ones are already dead, the young and the weak are all that survives. Now, who¡¯s ready to have songs sung about this day!? Shouting explodes from the gathered adventurers as shields and banged and boots are stomped. ¡±Good, now let us rid the world of this rot once and for all!¡± With his speech finished he chants under his breath before throwing five glowing balls of light into the cave, with the way lit the adventures advance into the cave.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°They¡¯re coming, go warn the others¡± Drac grumbles towards the wolf lying next to him. The wolf looks up at him in alarm before shifting into a longstride deer and racing off into the cave. Turning back towards the incoming enemies Drac shifts into his largest form and stalks towards them. The three-meter tall Ironclaw bear lumbers towards the clanging of metal, already resigned to his death. Kres said she needed time and time was what he was going to give her. Rounding the corner he gives one last roar, ignoring the stings of arrows and magic he charges towards the enlightened at the end of the tunnel for the final time. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°My lady! They¡¯re here!¡± Kres turns away from the glowing red egg to see a large deer burst into the chamber. Turning back to the egg she guides the wing of a large bat onto the top. ¡°I need more time! There are still twenty of us that need to feed the egg!¡± Without prompting those not included in that twenty stand and walk towards the incoming Death with determined faces. Limited to a single transformation after pouring the rest into the egg, they willingly sacrifice themselves to buy the rest even a second of extra time. Minutes go by and the sounds of fighting steadily draws closer to the inner chamber. As the last changeling pours his power into the egg he bows his head towards Kres before joining the battle. placing the large egg against the wall she bows her head as tears roll down the snout of her large fox frame. ¡°This is it little one, there¡¯s only you left. We¡¯ve done all we can, for the first time in history more than two changelings poured our forms into an egg. You¡¯re special, nearly fifty of our kind have you all they could, you¡¯re stronger than any of us could hope to be. You¡¯re all alone now.¡± The fighting reaches the corner into the room as Kres creates a stone wall to hide the large egg. ¡±the enlightened hate us for what we can do, Von, don¡¯t let them forget us.¡± As a black bolt tears through her back Kres smiles. They were too late. 2.Resurgence Hidden behind a stone wall, in a remote cave deep within a northern mountain range sat an egg. For months the egg sat still as the light it gave off grew dimmer. Then one day, with a burst of light and a small pop the egg was gone and in its place was a small puddle of dark red slime. Congratulations, you have been born a Lvl 1 Changeling! You¡¯ve been assigned the greater title [The Last of Your Kind]! [The Last of Your Kind] You''re the only one left of your species. All those that came before are gone, being the final product of your species evolution grants a bonus. Experience gain doubled. Maximum biomass gained per level up doubled. Opening his ¡°eyes¡± to the world for the first time, Von glances around. With no physical eyes, he is limited to a general sense of where things are, similar to echolocation. He¡¯s surrounded on all sides by solid rock with a crack less than an inch wide leading out of the small compartment. Luckily his new body is extremely flexible, and with some squirming, he¡¯s able to crawl through the crack before splashing into a much bigger cavern. His limited senses can only ¡°see¡± the wall behind him and a few feet in front of him, everything beyond that is a black void. Now that he is out of the wall he realizes just how hungry he is, starving in fact. Frantically he begins searching the walls around him for any source of food. Coming up empty he quickly rushes around the cavern desperately searching for something, anything to eat. Driven almost mad with hunger he finally spots it. There in the corner is a shape just under half his size, gently swaying on thin legs. Rushing forward and engulfing the small insect before it even realizes it¡¯s under attack he feels his hunger diminish. You have killed a level 6 Cave Spider! +22 EXPThis content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. 100% Biomass gained for killing a critter class creature! 50% skill levels gained for killing a critter class creature! Webweaving skill leveled up from level 0 to level 4! Congratulations! You have absorbed your first creature! Base form no longer available. Too focused on the large number of messages resounding through his head, he is taken by surprise as his slimy body compresses into the form of a spider, to be exact, the same spider he had just killed. Opening his now physical eyes he takes in the dark cave around him. In the distance he can make out larger scurrying forms among the rocks as well as minuscule insects traveling on the walls and ground. Deciding the safest course of action is to climb up the walls and avoid the larger predators on the cave floor, he scrambles towards the nearest corner on unsteady legs. Reaching the wall and clambering upwards he hides among a grouping of rocks near the ceiling. From his new vantage point, Von realizes the smartest course of action is to just act like a normal cave spider and begins spinning a web. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Webweaving now level 7! With that notification, Von finishes connecting his web to the outcropping of rock. Skittering up to the ceiling he looks down on the completed web an can¡¯t help but feel proud. As he watches a fly buzzes towards the web and gets caught near the edge. Rushing back down towards the entangled spider he approaches carefully before sinking his fangs into the struggling fly. You have killed a level 2 Common Fly! +8 EXP 100% Biomass gained for killing a critter class creature! 50% skill levels gained for killing a critter class creature! Aerial Maneuvering skill leveled up from level 0 to level 1! Congratulations! You have gained the Common Fly mutation! As the fly dissolves into black specs that slowly fade away Von feels a strange sensation, almost as if he is somehow more than just his physical body. Focusing on that strange feeling causes it to surround him, his vision becomes tinted as if looking through tinted glass, but when he looks into the tinted glass Von feels comfortable for the first time in his short life. Within that expanse of darkness lies two glowing figures, as small as specks of dust when compared to the seemingly infinite void but somehow impossibly large at the same time. Pushing his perspective closer he realizes the figures are tiny, impossibly accurate duplications of a fly and a spider. Applying a small amount of pressure towards the spider does nothing but as Von does the same to the fly his body begins to change. 3.Evolution Quickly focusing back on what his eyes are seeing in the real world, forcing the tinted overlay to move to the back of his mind somewhere, Von looks down at himself. His perspective shifts as his legs shrink and his eyes combine into two larger multifaceted eyes. Two of his legs move towards his back and become wings while his body shifts shapes. The whole process takes less than a second and is completely painless but very disorientating. His new eyes can¡¯t see as well in the dark of the cave so he tries to force them back into spider eyes while keeping the shape of the fly. Merger of separate forms failed. Higher level necessary. As the message resounds through his skull his eyes suddenly explode showering the surrounding webbing with blood and other assorted juices. His screams echo throughout his head as he feels reserves of biomass dip down to replace his now missing eyeballs. ¡°Terrible terrible idea,¡± Von thought to himself as he takes in his surrounding with his large eyes. The webbing around him is thoroughly drenched with yellowish blood and a thick ocular jelly. Briefly turning back into a spider to climb out of the web and to the top of the stone outcropping, Von changes back into a fly before giving his wings a few test flaps. Instincts that aren¡¯t his own but somehow are at the same time take over. Beating his wings faster Von takes off into the air and clumsily circles the outcropping where he has made his web. Gaining confidence Von flys out into the open cave below him. Congregated near one of the walls are a group of twenty or so flys lazily buzzing about and Von flys over to join them. Getting caught up in the enjoyment of flying and focusing on emulating the other flys Von doesn¡¯t even notice as two of them suddenly disappear.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Von follows along as the group of flys spiral downwards and approach the wall. Just before they land, two eyes open directly in front of them and a section of stone jumps forward into the swarm. Quickly darting downwards Von rolls in the air as the fly just behind him disappears with a crunch. Desperately dodging Von pulls upward and glances behind him. A large shape is flying through the air easily catching and killing any insect too slow to avoid it. The praying mantis has a stony carapace perfectly suited to blend in with the cave walls, it¡¯s large scythes cutting through the smaller insects with almost casual ease. Von flies higher leaving his brethren behind, hoping their deaths allow him to escape. He has no such luck as the mantis turns and propels itself towards Von with its powerful wings. Von quickly latches onto the nearest wall trying to find a crack to squeeze into. Not finding anything he turns toward the approaching insect and crouches down. At the last possible second Von shifts into a spider and launches himself out of the way, the mantis¡¯s swings hit open air and it scrambles on the rock wall for a second before getting a grip. That second of teetering buys Von enough time to spray it with webbing and clamber farther away. As the mantis struggles to escape the sticky webbing Von watches, looking for an opening he can use to kill the larger insect. His plans change back to escape as the mantis cuts through some of the webbings and frees some of its legs. He quickly changes back into a fly and escapes while he still can, heading back up to his spider web near the ceiling. As he approaches he notices some more small shapes wrapped up in his web, however, his focus is placed solely on the large shape struggling furiously in the edge of his web. The familiar shape is barely distinguishable from the rocks around it and is only getting more tangled in the web as it tries to free itself. Von lands a safe distance away and the mantis stops struggling to stare directly at him as he changes into his spider form. The hunter has become the hunted. 4.Trapped Von creeps closer to the trapped mantis to gauge the situation. The mantis is approximately twice the size of Von when down on all six of its legs, it stares back and Von and clicks it¡¯s mandibles, daring him to come closer. The web is wrapped around the front left of the mantis, constricting the front two left legs and the left scythe. As Von circles around the mantis, it struggles to turn and keep watching him. Sensing an opening Von jumps forward with his fangs extended, aiming for the exposed left side. The mantis whips around, trying to skewer Von in the air but the web heavily restricts its movements. Despite being constrained the mantis still grazes Von, severing the lower section of one of his legs, ignoring the burst of pain Von sinks his fangs deep into the soft sides of the larger insect causing it to shriek and flail around, sending Von tumbling away. Waiting for his extra biomass to replace the missing segment of his leg Von watches the mantis, waiting to see its reaction to his venom. The dark grey insect seems to weaken but not significantly so. Von realizes that straight up combat is not the way to go, he¡¯s going to be constantly fighting creatures larger and stronger than him and if he can¡¯t beat them in a contest of strength he has to be able to outsmart them. Von comes up with a plan and gets to work. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Carrying the newly created weaving of spider silk Von once again draws near to the trapped mantis. Dragging the thick strand of silk higher up the wall Von climbs upside down onto the ceiling and hangs above the hissing predator. Gripping the heavy cord of silk Von cuts the line holding him to the ceiling and plummets towards the waiting mantis. With a hiss it stretches up on its entangles hind legs and prepares its unimpeded scythe to slash through the falling spider. At the last possible second, Von detached himself from the falling web and shifts into a fly, interrupting his free fall towards the oncoming scythe. The heavy cord of webbing however, continues its downward descent towards the waiting insect and catches it around the throat before carrying onwards towards the ground. For a moment it looks as if nothing was going to happen but that quickly fades as the entangled front legs snap and the large insect tumbles backward towards the net beneath it. The thick cord of silk also gets tangled in the web thoroughly trapping the struggling mantis. Von drops back down to the ground and changes back into his spider form before inspecting his handiwork. The struggling insect now lays on its back with its legs in the air, it¡¯s neck is firmly pinned to the webbing beneath it and it¡¯s left scythe is still wrapped firmly in the sticky silk. Judging the battle decisively won Von approaches his prey. It¡¯s remaining scythe swings weakly towards him but with its current position, it poses no threat to him. Spinning more threads of silk Von firmly wraps the remaining legs and scythe before climbing onto the insects belly. Sinking his fangs deep into its underside Von injects his venom and watches as the fight slowly leaves the mantis.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. You have killed a level 9 Tiny Rock Mantis! +38 EXP 100% Biomass gained for killing a critter class creature! 50% skill levels gained for killing a critter class creature! Camouflage skill leveled up from level 0 to level 5! Congratulations! You have gained the Tiny Rock Mantis mutation! Chittering happily to himself Von crawls off the dissipating corpse and onto the rocky outcropping. Mentally focusing on the new statue he shifts into a dark grey mantis identical to the one he had just killed. Von gives his new scythes a few test swings and is surprised by just how fast and strong they seem to be for their size. After testing his new form for a while Von realizes there¡¯s still some small forms tangled in his web, mostly concentrated around his bloody mishap earlier. Changing back to a spider to navigates his web and easily kills the small insects. Most are just more flys but he does gain a new form in the shape of a common firefly. Von finishes up, satisfied with the couple extra levels in aerial maneuvering and bonus EXP. Von focuses on his EXP, trying to find meaning in the so far useless numbers. Thoughts not his own once again invade his head as he looks at meaningless symbols. Level 1 EXP 82/100 While trying to puzzle through the meaning of those shapes they suddenly disappear and are replaced with a mostly filled box. Though Von doesn¡¯t know what happens if the box is filled he intends to find out. Slipping into his mantis form he crawls onto the wall and watches as his body seamlessly shifts to blend in with the dark rocky colors of the stone under him. Smiling with savage glee Von starts down the wall. It¡¯s time to hunt. 5.Obscured Von traverses the rocky wall, invisible to all but the most thorough scrutiny. His long mantis legs clicking silently as he scans the ground below him for signs of movement. In the distance, he can see the shadows of larger creatures crawling around the dark corners squeaking quietly. Reaching the ground Von spots a trail of smaller insects and moves towards the closest one. He silently creeps up behind it and slashes through its neck before it even realizes it¡¯s not alone. You have killed a level 2 Common Ant! +4 EXP 100% Biomass gained for killing a critter class creature! 50% skill levels gained for killing a critter class creature! Congratulations! You have gained the Common Ant mutation! Giving the new message a cursory glance Von dismisses it and skitters towards another ant farther from the wall. This one is dispatched in a similar manner as the first. The third ant dies silently as well, the fourth ant, however, causes a new message to flash before Von¡¯s eyes when it dies. Congratulations! You are now a level 2 Changeling! Your body and mind have gained increased fortitude allowing them to take more punishment before failing! Your soul has also grown, increasing the general performance of your body and mind. Maximum biomass increased by 2%. With that pleasant surprise, Von feels larger somehow, as if he carries more weight in the world than before. Continuing his hunt with even more enthusiasm than before, he kills more of the small insects in quick succession until another message interrupts him, deflating his joyous mood slightly. You have killed 10 Common Ants! You now only gain 50% less EXP and biomass from this creature.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Though the message is unwelcome it does give Von some new information about himself, he cannot just kill the same creature over and over again if he wishes to truly grow stronger, doing so leads to a path of diminishing returns. Killing another ant that wandered to close to the preoccupied mantis, Von focuses on a large furry shape scampering by. Putting on a burst of speed Von follows behind the furry animal and sticks to the shadows as the creature comes to a stop near a patch of mushrooms. The buck-toothed creature glances around before putting its head down to nibble on the dark purple fungus. Von quietly slinks begins it, obscured by his dark grey carapace and the low light. Launching himself at the large rodent Von sinks a scythe deep into the shoulder of the now shrieking creature. Quickly cutting deeper with his dual blades Von struggles to stay on the panicking rodent. With a final deep slash, Von vaults off it¡¯s back and hunkers down close to the ground, relying on his natural camouflage to hide him. The large creature whirls around in circles looking for its attacker before attempting to run away. It stumbles as it¡¯s shredded shoulder gives way and loses its balance, sensing an opening Von jumps towards the fallen creature and slashes the back of its hind legs. Dual cuts start adding dark blood to the slowly growing pool beneath the flailing animal. Struggling to its feet the creature lunges towards Von, heavily crippled by its bleeding limbs Von easily evades and once again hides in a patch of shadows. The now injured and enraged rodent thrashes around, desperately searching for the unseen threat. As the pool of blood grows larger the rodent begins to weaken. Von rushes forward when the vermin turns its back towards his hiding spot, sliding underneath it Von stabs both scythes into its underbelly causing it to screech before collapsing onto its side and flailing its limbs. Von skitters towards the now exposed neck and repeatedly thrusts his blades into the vulnerable area. Soon enough the rodent stops moving and a message appears, rewarding Von for his display of ruthless aggression. You have killed a level 3 Brown Rat! +60 EXP 100% Biomass gained for killing a critter class creature! 50% skill levels gained for killing a critter class creature! Congratulations! You have gained the Brown Rat mutation! Von watches as the corpse dissipates, leaving him standing in a puddle of blood, feeling satisfied with himself. Von enjoys killing, he doesn¡¯t find joy in it exactly, closer to a feeling of satisfaction. Knowing when it came down to life and death he was the one who came out on top. So far the only competition he¡¯s had are small critters but soon enough the whole world will be put to the test. When the dust settles Von knows it will be him on top. 6. Carnage On the other side of a figurative wall between planes of existence, an intense argument is occurring between beings of varying degrees of oddity. A tall blonde woman with hair that flows perfectly down her back is wearing a pristine set of glowing silver armor, she grips a large silver shield and a long gold spear. Across from her is a roiling void of constantly shifting shapes and colors, though lacking a mouth of any kind, the patch of disorder speaks dismissively towards the orderly women. ¡°Why should I care if a few thousand humans die? In fact, I should be trying to instigate this war, shouldn¡¯t I? War does tend to be... chaotic.¡± Although the shapeless mass is still devoid of a mouth it¡¯s not hard to tell that a mocking smirk adorns its face as it speaks the last word. ¡°Useless, absolutely fucking useless¡± She mutters before stalking off towards a larger group of arguing deities. The god of chaos chuckles to himself before shambling off towards the god of war to cause more of his namesake. Across the large golden plaza, a figure leans against one of the marble pillars, separated from the other hundred or so deities in attendance. Caedes the god of carnage and savagery idly watches the many arguments and discussions taking place towards the center of the large room. The main dispute taking place today seems to focus around the impending war on the larger of the three center continents. Although as the god of carnage he has much to gain from a decade long war, he learned long ago to mostly ignore the disputes between the other gods, it plays out the same most of the time anyway. On one side of the argument are the gods who want the war, lead by the god of chaos and the god of war himself. Striking an imposing figure, the god of war towers over most of the other gods, upon his back sits a whole armory of weapons, his dark bloodstained breastplate burns dimly as flaming chains coil around it and down his arms. Across from him stands the faction of gods set firmly against the war. Leading them is the goddess of order and the goddess of peace. The tall blonde goddess stands directly in front of the god of chaos, hurling profanity in an entirely unorderly way. The goddess of peace, however, watches silently, her current form is a somewhat abstract depiction of unity, floating several feet above the ground she takes the form of a perfect glass sphere, inside rests a small island with a dark blue pond and crackling bonfire. Behind these two groups stands a weird combination of other deities. The god of magic stands behind the god of war, his dark purple skin flashing with an assortment of elemental spells. The goddess of the hearth stands across from him, her brown skin giving off a golden glow, the cavity in her stomach contains a softly crackling fire. Scattered around the group but refraining from participating, an even weirder band of gods watch as the argument escalates. The goddess of secretes floats high above the plaza, nothing more than the vague sense of being shushed occupying an empty portion of space. A handsome man with dark black hair and an equally dark beard argues with a tall man whose skin is somewhere between dark blue and black, his glowing blue pupil-less eyes stare back with disdain, the god of sailing and the god of the deep sea respectively. A section of air containing never-ending music is having a friendly discussion with the god of beasts, currently in the form of a large silver wolf.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Caedes''s focus shifts towards the cloaked figure floating in the air slightly to his right. A grinning skull is visible inside the dark hood, as well as two bleached skeleton hands idly twirling a gigantic bone scythe. The god of death catches his eye before sweeping his gaze around the room once more. As always he avoids getting involved, Caedes asked him why that was once, his response frankly scared him a little. "Death is a constant, it matters not if they die in a year or a century, death claims them all in the end." Though one of the strongest gods, death has kept a constant shape for as long as anyone can remember, choosing to emulate the nightmares of the enlightened races to become the grim reaper himself. Caedes, on the other hand, chose to inhabit a form meant to unsettle the other gods. His skin is a dark red eerily similar to the color of blood. Atop his head to two sets of horns, one is a set of large black ram horns spiraling off either side of his head. The other is an absolutely massive set of dark red antlers, speared upon the many branching points lies dismembered body parts of all shapes and sizes. A constant stream of blood drips down to land on his naked body. Sharp teeth and claws embellish his upper body while a pair of thick hooves splash loudly in the large puddle of blood beneath him. His look is completed by three large knives stabbed through his back, spraying a steady stream of blood behind him. Although it is very enjoyable watching the other gods faces crunch up as he approaches, his look actually serves a rather important purpose, it keeps the others away while he sets his plans in motion down below. Looking around a final time before directing his gaze towards the land of the living, Caedes avoids the area where the other gods have set their focus and instead considers one of the smaller continents. Through skill, instincts, or sheer luck his eye catches upon a small cave, miles away from any civilization. Looking inside he finds an absolute bloodbath taking place. Three small tan bobcats chase a large rat deep into the dark cave, just when it looks like the rat is going to run out of room it transforms into a novern, a large flightless bat, before climbing up the wall with ease. As the cats try to scramble up the wall in pursuit of their prey, the novern cuts through a well-concealed rope, sending a large spike of rock swinging downwards. The spike slams into the side of one of the cats, as blood pours out the cat collapses to the ground. The body quickly dissipates and before the other cats can recover another bobcat plummets down from above landing on one of the disorientated cats below. The impact forces the cat onto its belly as the new feline tears into the muscles on its back. The third feline pounces towards the shapeshifter, trying to save the other cat from its attacker. The shapeshifter has other ideas as it shifts back into a novern causing the leaping bobcat to soar overhead. Sticking a hand upwards the novern slices cleanly through the stomach of the passing bobcat, as it lands its guts spill out of its now open stomach cavity and it too begins to disappear. Shifting back into a bobcat the shapeshifter proceeds to tear out the throat of the last intruder before becoming a spider and clambering up to a hidden corner of the cave. Caedes smiles to himself with barely concealed glee and begins to craft a miracle. 7. Bloodshed Reaching deep within himself, Caedes starts to draw from the well of power that resides there. A god¡¯s power can be used in many ways, using a miracle to grant a divine title happens to be the most difficult and expensive way. Changing their appearance or the appearance of their domains is easy, similar to moving furniture or painting the walls. Influencing events in the mortal world, however, takes much more power. Giving a simple nudge in one direction would be the equivalent of trying to get someone¡¯s attention through a window and directing them to the desired goal. Speaking directly to a mortal is even harder, basically having to shatter the window to allow your voice to be heard. Granting a divine title definitely takes the cake though, you have to build up enough power, control it long enough to properly aim it, and infuse it with a sense of purpose. So basically you have to blast the wall off your house, send it hurtling in the correct direction and make sure it knows to open the door around a single person so they don¡¯t get flattened. Doing it alone is rarely done, usually two or more God¡¯s work together to make certain everything turns out the way they want it too. The problem is Caedes wants to keep this little secret hidden for as long as possible, there is no doubt in his mind that given enough time to grow, that little shapeshifter will become a calamity this world is not prepared for. His power begins to take shape in front of him, thrusting his hand into the invisible vortex, Caedes begins to insert purpose. The swirling ball of power practically begs for meaning. What am I? Caedes begins to chant, infusing the very essence of his godhood into the words. You shall crown the champion of Carnage, the king of savagery, the heir to brutality, the bringer of bloodshed! The vortex of intangible power darkens to a deep red and starts to violently slam against the borders Caedes created, desperately wanting to escape its prison and fulfill its purpose. WHO? With a heavy grunt, Caedes brings up the location next to the roiling vortex and begins directing the struggling power towards the shapeshifter. The invisible prison begins to crack under the strain, strands of the contained title hurl themselves towards the spreading weakness. With a groan, Caedes collapses to his knees, no longer able to contain the maelstrom of power. The prison bursts and the raging storm sinks into the mortal realm and plummets towards the general area of the cave.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Caedes watches from the ground as the red cyclone splits in half, each half plunging towards a different creature, one within the cave, and one a few miles into the forest. ¡±Well fuck¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Von prowls the floor of his cave in the guise of a bobcat, searching for any unlucky creatures to add onto his kill count. Though most creatures in the cave no longer give him a substantial amount of biomass, they still supply him with other benefits. Through experimentation, Von has realized that the more he kills of a certain species the more changes he can make while in its form. When taking the form of a brown rat Von can now choose the size and other specifics instead of just copying the creature exactly. Von can become a rat barely larger than a human finger, alternatively, he could also become a rat over two feet in length. The colors, the size, the fur length, and many more variables become easier to manipulate the more of a creature he absorbs. Armed with this knowledge he has decided the only possible course of action is to kill everything and anything that moves. Pouncing towards a lizard currently scrambling towards the cave entrance, Von suddenly collapses. A massive presence looms over him as he struggles to stand, power courses through the air as the pressure builds around him. Then without warning the energy collapses into himself and the pressure fades. His body courses with power and dark red cracks split his skin in several places, a guttural scream leaves his mouth as the power tries to rip him apart. Then as if it never happened, the pain fades and in its place is.... strength. His veins pulse in rhythm with his heart, drums beat deep within his gut, a literal typhoon of power surges through his muscles. He can feel himself grow stronger, faster, smarter. The cyclone of energy grows in intensity as it flows through him, as it reaches its climax it suddenly loses its power and returns to circling deep within him. Information unavailable: Title incomplete. ¡±What?¡± Completely and utterly confused about what just happened Von turns his attention towards himself. As he does so he realizes everything is tinted with a dark shade of red. His very soul seems to contain a raging tempest of power. It is also plain to see that something is missing, though Von does not know what he is looking at, he can sense that something is lacking. Focusing on just that area his soul receives a tug from elsewhere in the world. Looking towards the entrance to his cave Von does not search with his eyes, instead, he reaches out to that thread connecting him to the missing section of power. The missing half responds, two miles away a second cyclone rages, identical to the first. It¡¯s growing closer and fast. Von begins to prepare to receive whatever holds the other half of His Title.