Unnamed Changes
"An evolution..."
Athelei mumbled when he suddenly felt the energy pulsations that caused changes in his body had peaked.
On his back, where his first pair of wings were attached, another extremely detailed and solid pair of wings suddenly sprouted just a bit above the first pair. The new wings were tiny, about the size of Athelei's hands, but they were formed out of the same special fog that composed his first pair of wings.
There was a power lingering within this new pair. It was subtle, or dare I say, dormant... But it was there, awaiting Athelei's commands.
'My second pair of wings...' Athelei felt a surge of nonexistent adrenaline course through him when he moved those tiny wings. Satisfaction came with the adrenaline as he sighed deeply and thought, 'Finally...'
He had been wondering what it would take to form another pair of wings. He was capable of creating the shape of wings with his Nightwalker fog-body, but he was never able to use that special fog that looked perfectly corporeal. There was always something... missing.
And now Athelei vaguely knew what it was.
FWOOSH!
Athelei flapped his two pairs of wings, causing several ripples to occur in the surrounding magic waters. It went to say that he felt absolutely amazing. Stretching his second pair of wings felt like he had freed a part of his body from solid ice.
It was liberating, and he couldn't wait until his new wings were completely grown. To add to that, he instinctively knew that the dormant power in his wings would be awakened only when it reaches maturity through the consumption of consciousnesses.
After relishing in this wonderful feeling for a few minutes, Athelei turned his attention to his updated Cosmic Interface.
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Orien (Hidden: Athelei, Inactive: Angel, Nikiri Mist, ... )
- Race: Unnamed Mutation (100%)
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He was then pleasantly surprised to see another multi-coloured screen had popped up beside the results of his channelled Inspect.
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- Detected a Special Circumstance.
- Naming authority has been granted to User, Athelei...
- Please grant a name to the Unnamed Mutation.
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'Another chance to name something... What an honour,' Athelei couldn't help but smile upon seeing those words. A beautiful white coral bench was nearby and that was where he sat down to allow himself to think about things a bit more.
He mulled over it for a minute as his entire journey so far flashed before his eyes. From the way he devoured the minds of the dead to the involvement of the [Stain of Existence] in his evolution, there was a common theme he had spotted. It was a theme caused by his own tendencies, habits, and dreams.
It was a theme that I have no need to repeat. Thus, Athelei decided on something simple yet appropriately encompassing.
"Endbringer," Athelei announced with a playful smile on his face,
"From here on out, I am an Endbringer."
Tiriring!
There was a bell of approval and glimmer of light. Upon acknowledging Athelei's words, the Cosmic Interface rippled and blurred. The colours of its screen shifted as the information recorded there was updated and rewritten.
Athelei nodded in satisfaction when he saw the updated text,
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Orien (Hidden: Athelei, Inactive: Angel, Nikiri Mist, ... )
- Race: Endbringer (100%)
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'A unique race, just for myself...' Athelei thought as he chuckled and commanded, "Status,"
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=} User: Athelei (Tier 1 User) {=
=} Interface Authority Level: 1.15 {=
Age: 4
=o=o=o=o=
=} Physical Attributes {=
Health: 8/8
Strength: 4 -> 5
Dexterity: 7 -> 8
Defense: 4 -> 5
=o=o=o=o=
=} Mental Attributes {=
Mana: 14/14 -> 15/15
Intelligence: 28 -> 30
Will: 21 -> 23
Psychic: 19 -> 21 (Unique)
=o=o=o=o=
=} Other Attributes {=
Energy: 10/10 -> 11/11
Charisma: 22 -> 24
Luck: Questionable
=o=o=o=o=
=} Skills {=
- Cyan Analysis Skill: Examine (Level 7/10)
- Purple Analysis Skill: Appraisal (Level 7/10)
- Orange Analysis Skill: Judgement (Level 7/10)
- Trinity Analysis Skill: Inspect (Level 7/10)
- Orange Tier I Skill: Shop (Level 1/10)
- Trinity Tier I Skill: Sneaky (Level 1/10)
=o=o=o=o=
- [Invisible] mode is currently active.
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'An overall increase in statistics...' Athelei noticed how his evolution was a special one. 'I'm probably a special Rank 0 Evolver... No...'
'I'm not a human Rank 0 Evolver, but an Endbringer Rank 0 Evolver instead, and that changes a lot of things...' This realisation dawned upon Athelei as a few theories popped into his mind. He questioned the state of the Evolver class and how Battle Prowess affected those who advanced through its ranks.
'It is likely that living beings made up of consciousness clouds like the Starless race have a different manner of progressing along the path of an Evolver... Their techniques for fighting and strengthening may be related to the mind or perhaps more accurately, their consciousness. Humans have physical bodies, making things about their muscles, blood, and more. It's safe to say I'm half-corporeal and half-consciousness, so how am I supposed to progress? Human techniques should still work at least theoretically if I'm truly half and half...'
Athelei's thoughts went wild but after an hour of just pondering and questioning, he knew that he would have to wait, test, and see. A lot of things remained to be seen, and such a venture into the unknown was making him excited.
'I need to focus on the present for now,' Athelei thought and stood up from the bench he was sitting on. His sparkling eyes of obsidian black scanned the beautiful city of Atlantis around him.
"Should I pay Sir Weizhe a visit?" He asked himself as four wings of grey spread from his back.
Those wings then turned into tails that morphed and churned as Athelei figured out what kind of shape would work best in the waters around him. He glanced at one of the nearby sharks and recalled how the texture of his tails looked akin to their scales when under the influence of the Nefarious Icon.
'Perhaps it is only right to mimic these sharks for the time being... I'll experiment with other shapes in the future.' Athelei thought to himself as he launched himself forward.
With a refreshing swiftness, a tailed child swam through the waters around Atlantis, staying close to the streets. Athelei enjoyed the sensations of movement underwater. It was different from flying in the air where every movement was brisk due to the pull of gravity. Moving through the deep waters felt like he was moving in slow motion.
When he wanted to, he could simply float in suspended animation without having to move his tails. If he had been in the air, the constant flapping of his wings would be an unavoidable affair. Unless of course, if he turned into a thin grey fog, becoming more or less weightless in the process.
Here underwater, he was... relaxed. He could fall asleep or rest anywhere he wished, bringing about a great comfort.
.
.
.
{[ Remnants of Great City Avina, Holy Nation of Illyas ]}
Irene was looking out from a blackened seashore.
Her feet walked on a mix of dead ashen soil and cooled lava. Rivers of bubbling oranges and yellows flowed here and there, bringing in the heat. A few bursting lava bubbles shot hot igneous rock at random, threatening to set any living being aflame if there were any.
Irene had to clad herself in an armour of gold Tangible Will to avoid those stray splashes occurring dangerously close to her as she scanned her surroundings.
In front of her was a boundless horizon of blue, with restless waves lapping onto the shore and sizzling with the erupting magma. It was a massive bay, formed by the sinking of the great seaside city of Avina and the birth of Atlantis.
'Isn't this... where Avina used to stand?' Irene asked herself with a gaping mouth. She couldn't help but recall the grand earthquakes she had to stay balanced throughout and the sound of the earth's fracturing that shook her bones.
She then glanced behind her where a cave lay, drilling into a tall earthen wall. It was the cave from where she had emerged after exploring an ancient ruin and experiencing the earthquakes.
When Irene fully turned around to face the cave, she wryly shook her head at the sight that consumed her peripheral vision. There was a wonder that had been excavated before her very eyes. A wonder of architecture and history, and one that was heavily veiled by the unknown.
'A portion of the subterranean kingdoms...' Irene licked her lips as she eyed the exposed ruins and tunnels all sticking out of the cliffside. Hallways, corridors, and broken rooms littered sporadically along the entire bay, and as far as Irene could see. There were staircases that lead deep underground as well as natural caves bearing stalactites and stalagmites aplenty.
Where Avina had been ripped from the continent, appeared a city even grander than itself. One that lay beneath the earth and was not built by human hands.
'What a surprise...'