Chapter 96 - An Unexpected Evolution

Welcome to Arc 3!

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Unknown Location

An ancient stone hall near mountains, Tzintkra

Incarnate

More than an Aspect, you are an Incarnate. Your Concept sets what the meaning of the Affinity you Incarnate does and does not mean. Your Incarnate will always be a part of you, and you will always be a part of it.

As an Incarnate, you are not capable of combining or otherwise altering this Affinity.

There cannot be more than one Incarnate for an Affinity at a time, as no two people will ever have identical Conceptions of an Affinity.

Serenity came to with a massive headache. He saw the messages but had no idea what to do with them. He could still feel Death energy seeping in, but he knew that now it wasn’t going to heal his Death Aspect. He didn’t have one anymore, though he suspected that wouldn’t really change much.

After all, he expected Death magic to work the way it always had for him. If his expectations set the way Death magic worked, fine.

The space he was sitting in was nearly out of Death energy, so he should be moving on. A quick check of his status revealed only one surprise beyond the ones implied by his new Title: his Core was almost complete again. He’d have sworn it had a lot longer to go.

Perhaps that was where the Death energy was going now? He didn’t feel particularly hungry, his healing pool was full, and his Aspect was healed, so he guessed it had to go somewhere. It had probably fed him while he was unconscious, then moved to his Core.

He stood up and looked around. He’d been heading over to that ridge, right? It was a place to get to, anyway. Maybe he’d be able to see some sign of people there.

Shortly before he reached the ridge, he was suddenly in darkness. It was a familiar darkness.

[Core complete. Tier 1 achieved]

[Please choose your evolution]

There was a pause, almost like the Voice was thinking.

[Most of the available options are undead or otherwise Death-related. Do you wish to see those options?]

No

[Selection of certain evolutions will damage your Death-Eater Path. Those would normally be removed]

Tell me what they are when I get there.

Serenity wanted to move away from Death, yet events kept pushing him towards it. Or perhaps it was his own lack of judgement; they really should have taken the city slower.

[Suggested Evolution Categories]

Anachronistic

Angel (some sub-options are not recommended due to potential Path conflict)

Asura (not recommended due to potential Path conflict)

Avian

Basilisk

Bat (Cheoptera)

Child of Time (not recommended due to Path conflict)

Collective

Daeva

Demon (not recommended due to potential Path conflict)

Devil (not recommended due to potential Path conflict)

Djinn (some sub-options not recommended due to potential Path conflict)

Elemental (not recommended due to Path conflict for nearly all options)

Feline

Fey

Gargoyle

Gryphon

Hatchling+

Hope’s Hands (not recommended due to Path conflict)

Lacuna (not recommended due to potential Path conflict)

Phoenix

Primevil

Primordial

Reptile

Therianthrope (not recommended)

Yokai (not recommended due to potential Path conflict)

Ziz (not recommended due to potential Path conflict)

Zduhać

Note: All suggestions listed have sub-choices or variants

You left everything that wasn’t Death-related on the list, didn’t you?

[The list was limited to vaguely likely choices but left expansive. You did not choose the expected choice last time]

Serenity snorted and looked over the list. Some were easy to remove; he didn’t want any of the religious or even religious-adjacent ones; they were too likely to come with some sort of obligation or expectation. He had more than he wanted of that with the unexpected Conclave of Dragons. He also didn’t want any others with strong group ties for the same reason; Fey in particular were off the list without further thought.

He didn’t know what some of them were. He could ask, but there were enough interesting ones he wasn’t sure it was necessary. He removed the animal types from consideration; they might be good, but all too likely to change him in ways he didn’t want. Elemental could go, too. Elementals might be interesting later but for now, no.

That trimmed his choices to Anachronistic, Basilisk, Child of Time, Collective, Gargoyle, Gryphon, Hatchling+, Hope’s Hands, Lacuna, Phoenix, Primevil, Primordial, or Therianthrope. Basilisk was a no; he didn’t want to accidentally turn someone to stone or something. Also no to Gryphon and Phoenix. Mythical beasts were like animals, too likely to make him lose something he wanted - hands.

If none of the remaining choices looked good, he could come back to one of them, but he doubted it would be necessary. Child of TIme was Serenity’s top choice if none of the others panned out.

What’s Hatchling+

[Hatchling+]

The normal Tier 1 evolution for Dragons. At this Tier, young Dragons are taught the basics of their species and subspecies while they explore their physical capabilities.

It sounds like an even more limited version of the Human Tier 0. Why so limited?

[A young adult Human is approximately Tier 1, even without additional support; the support simply makes it easier. Dragons are similar, but while they take longer to mature, even the weakest adult dragons are not Tier 1]

Serenity didn’t want a watered-down version of the Human Path any more than he’d wanted that useless Path, so Hatchling+ was off the list - even if it would potentially make his draconic form mature faster. If it was like the Human Path, it was all stuff he could learn

I already have an idea about Child of Time. Tell me about Therianthrope.

[Therianthrope]

As shapeshifters, the most classic therianthrope is the werewolf. Any humanoid with a beast-like alternate form can be classified as a therianthrope, though some have the beast as the primary form instead of the humanoid. There are many different types of therianthrope; some have a middle hybrid form and others even have more than one beast form.

That looks pretty good. Why is it not recommended?

[You have the required two forms, but your shifting is not currently limited. The paths for therianthropy are tradeoffs of limitations for additional capability, a hybrid ‘fighting’ form, or additional beast forms which would affect your Chimera form. None of these appear to align with your desires]

A fighting form would be interesting, but Serenity didn’t think that was the direction he wanted to take. If there was nothing better it was an option, but pure individual power didn’t win everything. It was necessary but not sufficient. Serenity knew that all too well.

Also, he had the feeling he’d be headed towards being a mage-type faster this time. He was well set up for it, after all.

Hope’s Hands?

[Hope’s Hands]

Named by an explorer who found them when she was near death, this plant has leaves that appear to be in the shape of hands. When the hands close on a person, their deepest hope may be realized. The explorer’s hope was to reach home and see her family one last time, and the plant teleported her to her family - who were able to help her recover. The plant has been sought after ever since, but is rarely seen.

Note: Hope’s Hands will damage the Death-Eater Path

That was a powerful plant, but it was still a plant.

What’s the difference between Primevil and Primordial? The words are synonyms.

[They are similar words but are distinct for monster evolution. Primeval is the first while primordial is the building block, the basis. The sub-choices for Primeval include each of your current chimeric heritages; any of them could become Primeval]

[A Primordial being draws on the archetype of what it is. Unlike Primeval, it cannot be split to a single heritage but draws from all of them. In addition, Primordial has a evolutionary path that replaces the standard Base Species evolutions]

Why?

[It was not designed for Chimerae]

That wasn’t a real answer, was it?

Who did the designing?

[Species designs are a combination of possibility and history]

That’s not an answer.

[It is all that I can say]

Serenity didn’t push farther. He needed to finish his evolution, not try to push into secrets the Voice wouldn’t - possibly couldn’t - answer. He’d remember it in case it ever came up again.

Primeval seemed pointless. Perhaps one of his heritages would be good in its oldest form, but it didn’t seem worth hunting for.

Primordial, on the other hand, sounded like power. It wouldn’t be any good for something that was thought of as weak, but Serenity knew his Heritages’ archetypes would not be weak. Serenity didn’t like the idea of limiting his future choices, but it was sometimes necessary, and it was quite likely the Primordial evolutions would be good.

Primordial was very, very interesting for Dragon, Asura, and Godling. For Sage Draugr and Paramount Lich it was far less interesting but probably tolerable. For Daywalker Vampire it was completely abhorrent.

Primordial wasn’t an option.

His remaining choices were Anachronistic, Child of Time, Collective, or Lacuna. Anachronistic sounded a lot like Primeval - or maybe Child of Time.

Anachronistic?

[Anachronistic]

You have traveled back in time, and you do not fit your current Time. You are always slightly out of step with your current time, but can draw on some of your own past to help your new present.

More like Child of Time, then, but with a focus on being out of step with the timeline. Not a plus. Based on the way it had worked out for him with his first Evolution, Serenity wasn’t inclined to dismiss even minor flavor text as unimportant.

May as well see the rest. Collective and Lacuna?

[Collective]

A collective being is one who can draw others into a deep symbiotic relationship. This achieves its greatest form of expression in Hive Minds, and being a Collective one possible prerequisite to Hive Lord evolutions. Not all Collectives progress to true Hives; some form more equal groups of Collective beings where mental sharing is performed on a routine basis so the group can act as the Collective.

That one had to be because of whatever was going on with Moira.

Not only No but Hell No.

[Lacuna]

Lacuna is the general name given to the inhabitants of the space-that-isn’t-a-space known as the Void. Many take on the properties of the Void itself, some going so far as to become Void elementals; others represent the Void in other ways or simply live there. Many myths are based on the Lacunae, as they are foreign to normal Space and do not make intuitive sense to those from SpaceTime.

Note: Most Lacuna options will damage the Death-Eater Path

That had to be because of his Void affinity, but it sounded more appropriate than most of the other options - depending on what was in there, of course. Serenity didn’t want to be a Cthuloid monstrosity that drove people insane by looking at it, but Void itself was useful. If he selected Lacuna, he’d have to be really careful to avoid anything madness-inducing.

More and more, Serenity was beginning to think that his understanding of Void was missing something important. There was no way anything could live in a Void that was literally an absence, which meant … what? Serenity wasn’t sure.

Child of Time was still a strong contender. Right now, Lacuna and Child of Time were the best available options.

Let’s see Child of Time again.

[Child of Time]

Child of Time is a name given to those who have stepped into the rapids of the River of Time. Rare are those who try and rarer are those who succeed. None emerge unchanged. As a Child, you have passed the first hurdle but many more shall follow. More than that, you have found and been accepted by a Seer, one born to ride the winds of Time. For this feat, both gifts and dangers await.

Blind seer, Prophecy’s Child, or forger of a new path, your success can only be measured by yourself.

Open your eyes to the wonders of Time, but beware lest they blind you to the present.

Subspecies options available

Note: Child of Time will damage the Death-Eater Path

The description had changed, but self-measured success sounded better than anything else.

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Author's Note: It's going to be either Lacuna or Child of Time. Which one should he go with?