[Your soul grows stronger]
Asher sighed as he felt very being strengthen.
The he grimaced, looking at the azure blood in his hands now.
He left the other one for Nephis. They were currently moving all their stuff towards the opposite side of the island just in case something get's attracted by the monster meat.
Well, Of course Asher knew what would come, but what he didn't know was would happen...
____________________________________
Sunny had never seen anything like it. The creature loomed in the dim light, its grotesque form casting shadows that twisted like nightmares. Its pale, corpse-like flesh gleamed faintly, stretched taut over a body that seemed unnaturally strong. It had a body of a lion's, with two muscular hind legs and six grotesque forelimbs sprouting chaotically from its broad chest. Each ended in talons so long and sharp they could carve through stone.
As they crouched behind jagged rocks, the creature tore into the lifeless centurion with a brutal efficiency, its talons crunching through the carapace as if it were paper. The sound echoed—wet, crunchy and nauseating. Asher winced at the sight, his stomach churning. That's when it happened.
The spire messenger froze mid-motion. Then, jerked her head like a marionette jerked by unseen strings. Its hollow, black eyes seemed to pierce through the terrain, its gaze sending shivers down Asher's spine
Sunny tensed immediately, his hand gripping the edge of the rock with white knuckles. Nephis remained perfectly still, her expression unreadable. But in her narrowed eyes, something cold and lethal stirred. Cassie, unaware of the looming danger, clung to Nephis' arm, her breath warm against her sleeve.
The Messenger moved.
Each step cracked the earth like a hammer to stone, sending tremors through the ground. Dust sifted down from the rocks above. Asher's breath hitched, panic surging in his chest. This wasn't supposed to happen.
Time stretched. Every heartbeat echoed like a drum. The rasp of cloth against stone, Sunny's ragged breathing, the faint whisper of Cassie shifting—all deafening under the crushing weight of silence.
It had found them.
Shit. It knows.
Asher glanced at the others, all of them looking back at him.
'Don't look at me like that! The hell am I supposed to do!'
They needed a plan. But all Asher had was fear—thick, suffocating, gnawing at his resolve like rot in wood. Clenching his jaw, he shut his eyes and reached out with his senses, feeling for the subtle pull of gravity around him.
The messenger was massive. Every footfall was a loud drumbeat, pounding against the edges of his awareness. Then, suddenly, it stopped. Its head tilted at an unnatural angle, as if listening to something the others couldn't hear. Then it let out a shriek—high, shrill, and splitting the air like glass. Asher bit down hard, stifling a cry as pain lanced through his skull.
And then he moved.
Drawing on his limited control, he nudged the gravity near a tree just beyond their hiding place. Leaves trembled, a whisper of motion in the otherwise dead air. It was barely noticeable. But it was enough.
The Messenger's head snapped toward the sound. Its eyes narrowed—black, endless pits of fury.
Then it roared.
Asher felt his very ears split as the launched toward the tree with terrifying speed, its talons rending bark and branches like they were tissue paper. Trees cracked and fell, rocks shattered beneath its weight, and the sky filled with choking dust. Every crash hammered into Asher's bones.
That… was what would happen if they were found.
They would become tissue paper...
Frantically, Asher gestured to the others, mouthing the only word that mattered: Move.
They hesitated, unwilling to leave him behind, but Nephis' eyes met his, a flicker of understanding passing between them. Slowly, reluctantly, she nodded and began guiding Cassie and Sunny away. Nephis lingered for a moment longer, her expression tight with conflict, before she followed.
Asher's muscles screamed in protest as he remained frozen, his powers straining to stir another distant branch. Each second felt like an eternity as the messenger continued its rampage, clawing and howling at the empty air.
Finally, when he was sure the others had reached safety, Asher began to crawl backward, his movements agonizingly slow. Every shift of his weight, every scrape of his clothing against the stone felt loud.
Sweat poured down his face, dripping onto the ground below, each drop echoing in his ears like a death knell.
The messenger suddenly stopped. Its head snapped up, its ears twitching. Asher froze, his heart pounding so loudly he feared it would give him away. For a moment, the creature's black, empty eyes seemed to stare directly at him.
Then, with a low growl, the monster grabbed a few scavenger carcasses with its grotesque talons and stretched its massive black wings. The force of the take off kicked up the wind, blasting dirt and debris in every direction. Asher clung to the ledge, his fingers hold on tightly into the stone as he was nearly thrown off by the sheer force.
He watched, trembling, as the creature became a black dot against the horizon, heading west.
Asher let out a shaky breath, collapsing onto the ground. His chest heaved as he gulped in air, the adrenaline draining from his body. The silence that followed was uncomfortable, his ears still ringing from the creature's piercing cries.
Random splinters and rubble fell from the sky.
Asher held his chest. His heart finally calming. Just as he thought he could finally rest, a soft, familiar voice whispered in his ear:
[Your Attribute has evolved!]
Asher blinked as the notification hovered in his vision. A sense of unease settled over him, its weight far heavier than the words themselves.
His frown deepened as he pulled up his stats:
Name: Asher.
True Name: Singularity.
Rank: Dreamer.
Soul Core: Dormant.
Soul Fragments: [108/1000]
Memories: [Second Skin], [Azure Blade].
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Spectral Sight], [Spark of Anomaly], [Nimble Intellect], [Soul Veil], [Dreamspawn].
Aspect: [Falling Star]
Aspect Rank: Sacred
Aspect Description: [You are a fragment of a boundless force, a fallen echo of the realm's law. Gravity bows to your presence. Your existence is defined by descent—into ruin, into power, into truth.]
Innate Ability: [Event Horizon]
Ability Description: [The weight of the world hums, and you listen. Where mass gathers, where space trembles, where silence bends beneath unseen force—you feel it. Nothing heavy moves unnoticed. Nothing immense hides from your gaze.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Unbound]
[Aspect Ability Description: The force around you seems more malleable.]
Aspect Legacy: —
Flaw: [Emotional Amplification.]
Flaw Description: [Every feeling, from joy to sorrow, is amplified twofold.]
***
His eyes stopped on the change.
Mark of Anomaly had evolved into Spark of Anomaly.
"What...?" Asher murmured, his voice barely audible. A tight hand held his chest, something was spreding. Spreading like ink seeping into water.
He looked at his chest.
It was his hand, clutching tightly against his heart
[Spark of Anomaly]: "Every fire starts from a spark. Somewhere deep within your soul, a blighted spark shines with accursed darkness."
A chill ran down his spine as he glanced back west.
"Anomaly?"
___________
[A/N: I'll tell you something evil... Something I always wanted to say...
"One chapter today, three tomorrow"
Shit. that felt good. Anyway, yeah, this is daily quota, tmrw, the 600 collection chapter the 500 PS chapter and the daily quota chapter]