The Descent of Twin Divinities: Beneath the Light of Dawn

The nights in Dawnlight Haven were usually calm and peaceful.

But that evening, just as Ila bit into a creamy butter stick, a voice — both unfamiliar and strangely familiar — rang out from the sky.

"Ila! Ila, come quick! Luka's in trouble!"

She turned her head and saw —

A boy, around 1.6 meters tall, with messy orange-red hair, cat ears peeking out, and a tail swishing behind him.

Ila blinked. "Who are you?"

Ashu scanned him with a quick pulse of magic and almost choked.

"That's—Barley??"

Ila nearly dropped her butter stick. "Barley?!"

Ashu squinted, his tone growing complicated.

"…He evolved into a semi-divine cat. This magical intensity… wait, don't tell me—"

He snapped his head toward Ila, remembering the day she brought Barley home and fed him that one special cookie…

Ashu fell silent for three seconds, then pinched the bridge of his nose with a deadpan voice:

"Alright. No logic finally matches no logic. Not even surprised anymore."

Barley was about to cry, his cat ears twitching anxiously.

"Luka got caught! I saw her fall into a monster trap! I—I didn't expect her to be following me…"

He sneaked a guilty glance at Ila, adding softly,

"I… I wasn't even ready for her to see my human form yet…"

Ila looked him up and down — and gasped in shock.

"You're wearing pants now!!"

Ashu rolled his eyes.

"Priorities, please. Context first, pants later."

The story actually started three days ago—

After evolving into a demi-divine cat, Barley had gained a humanoid form… and a tail that absolutely refused to cooperate with any normal pair of trousers.

He wasn't good at talking, and even worse at expressing feelings.

He wasn't sure if Luka —

The same Luka who raised him into a chubby housecat, who nagged him daily, saying "Don't jump on the table!" and "No stealing food!" —

would be able to accept this new version of him — a pants-wearing, talking cat-boy.

So, Barley decided to stay in cat form at home, playing the small, helpless, utterly harmless pet.

But every night, he secretly snuck out of Greenleaf Town into the forests of Dawnlight Haven…

To meet Freya — the silver-furred leader of the magical cat tribe.

They met by accident, grew close chasing butterflies and sitting together under the moonlight, and eventually… they fell in love.

And Barley?

He hadn't found the courage to tell Luka yet — especially because it sounded too much like the plot of a weird cross-species soap opera.

Besides, she didn't even know he could turn into a human.

But Luka had already noticed.

She noticed how Barley had been sneaking out, acting suspicious at night.

So today, she made up her mind — she would follow him.

That evening, she shadowed Barley through the forest and from a distance, saw him —

transforming under the moonlight, and…

holding hands with a stunning catgirl.

In her shock, Luka let out a tiny but sharp "Ahhh!" —

Snap.

A twig broke under her foot.

Instant silence.

Two cats and one human froze like statues for three full seconds.

"Luka?!" Barley's fur bristled, his ears shooting up.

Freya: "…A human?"

Luka: "Y-y-you turned into a person?! And—and—you have a girlfriend?!"

And then—Luka turned and bolted.

Running with the pure rage and heartbreak of a betrayed cat owner.

Barley shouted after her, "Luka!!!"

Chasing her like his life depended on it.

But Luka panicked and ran the wrong way —

right into the eastern edge of Dawnlight Haven,

where she slipped straight into a stone-fungus tribe's trap.

Bound and tangled in vines.

"Got her! We finally caught a hostage!"

The mushroom-headed tribe chief sobbed as he tightened the ropes:

"We haven't eaten properly in three days! My wife cried and my spirit broke! I'm not a bad monster, I just wanted to get her some sweets!"

Luka rolled her eyes toward the heavens.

"…Seriously, what even is my life right now."

These monsters, known as the Stonecap Tribe,

looked terrifying but were actually notorious for being ridiculously whipped by their wives.

They originally lived on the Black Marsh plains, but environmental collapse forced them into harsh nomadic survival —

which eventually led them to try setting traps for "just a bit of ransom money"…

and accidentally caught a human instead.

—

Back to the present.

Barley knelt in front of Ila, panic written all over his face. His ears were pressed tightly against the back of his head.

"Please… please help Luka!"

Ila froze for a second —

then her eyes sharpened, filling with unwavering determination.

"Luka is my friend. I'll definitely save her."

Ashu, floating lazily to the side, glanced at the gathered Dawnbeast Tribe and Crystbone Folk, flipping through his records with a sigh.

"…You evolved into high-grade battle units, and you're just planning to stand here and cheer?"

The two tribes exchanged awkward looks and hung their heads.

In their eyes, the strongest tactical command in this new town was:

"Friends shouldn't fight. Share your cookies instead."

Fighting and killing were things of the past.

And now, without the option to fight, none of them knew what else to do in a crisis.

Following Barley's lead, the group tracked Luka's scent across the eastern side of Dawnlight Haven, eventually reaching a near-collapsed old forest outpost.

It was the temporary camp of the Stonecap Tribe.

There, tied to a wooden stake in the center of the ruins,

was Luka — tightly bound but unharmed, though her energy was so drained she looked like a phone running on 1% battery.

The moment Ila spotted her, her eyes contracted sharply.

"Luka… you're starving, aren't you?"

Hearing that familiar voice, Luka's lashes trembled.

Slowly, painfully, she lifted her gaze.

And what she saw—

was the same smiling face she used to draw and paste above her bed,

the one she stared at every night to fall asleep…

That face was now running toward her through the firelight.

"…Ila?"

—

When Ila saw Luka like that, she didn't say a word.

Even her usual sunny smile disappeared.

She simply turned to face the Stonecap Tribe.

They were a group of gray-skinned creatures, each one scrawny to the bone, their oversized mushroom-cap heads drooping low behind the campfire.

They stood there like guilty children, unable to meet her eyes.

"Why did you tie her up?"

Ila's voice wasn't loud, but it made the entire air fall silent.

The Stonecap chief gritted his teeth, his eyes reddening.

"We're not bad… really, we're not… it's just, we haven't had a hot meal in so long.

My wife… she said she wanted some soup…

We thought if we caught someone, we could maybe ransom for some…"

He hadn't even finished speaking when a frail female creature beside him tugged at his arm.

She looked almost translucent with exhaustion, her swollen belly a clear sign of new life.

Her gaze was so gentle it could break your heart.

Ila's eyes softened.

She stayed silent for a moment, then slowly walked over and knelt down in front of her.

Gently, she placed a small hand on the woman's belly, like she was tucking in a sleeping child.

"Don't be afraid," she whispered, "she's doing just fine… and that's because you've fought so hard to keep her safe."

There wasn't a shred of anger in her voice — only a warmth so deep it could make even stone weep.

"I won't blame you," Ila said, looking up at the gathered Stonecaps.

"You only wanted to keep your loved ones alive.

And you never truly wanted to hurt my friend."

She stood and turned to all of them, her voice steady:

"Let's be friends instead.

In Dawnlight Haven, there will be no hunger.

You won't have to lose anything anymore."

At her words, a faint light began to rise from beneath her feet—

not the explosive miracles of before,

not some blinding flash of holy glory,

but a light as gentle as a mountain stream,

as soft as morning mist,

as warm as the first breath of spring.

It flowed from her body in a quiet ripple, touching the grass, the earth, and every weary face.

No commands.

No force.

Just an embrace, asking nothing in return.

The Stonecap creatures stared—then one by one,

they fell to their knees.

Not out of fear,

but like a weight had finally lifted from their tired shoulders.

They bowed their heads.

Some trembled.

Some sobbed aloud.

Some hugged each other tightly, murmuring again and again:

"…We thought we wouldn't make it…"

"…We lost so many brothers… we thought the world had forgotten us…"

"…Is this really happening…?"

An elderly Stonecap woman leaned heavily on her cane, tears running down her weathered face.

"My son… he starved to death when he was just seven…

I thought the world would never, ever speak for people like us again…"

Nearby, a young warrior knelt down, laughing bitterly through his tears:

"I thought we were born to be villains…

I never imagined someone would still accept us."

It wasn't that they didn't want to live better lives.

It was that, after so much hunger, so much loss — they didn't dare to dream anymore.

Ashu floated overhead, his voice unusually soft as he muttered:

"Blessing activated… emotional catalyst type.

Not enhancement.

Not reconstruction…"

"…It's understanding."

The moment Ila said, "Let's be friends,"

the magic didn't explode.

It didn't tear open the sky.

It simply flowed outward like a warm bowl of soup passed into frostbitten hands.

Gently, quietly —

the way people who've been cold too long finally learn what warmth feels like again.

—

A few minutes later,

the first to evolve was the Stonecap chief — Darm.

His once oversized mushroom cap began to glow with faint golden patterns, and the swollen spore sack on his back retracted into sleek channels of magical energy.

His figure straightened and broadened — standing tall and proud, as if the scrawny mushroom had morphed into a mighty mushroom king.

The surrounding mushrooms gasped:

"Boss leveled up! He's… he's become a 'Mushroom Overlord Species'!"

Next came the tearful old Stonecap grandmother — Ba'er.

The brown age spots on her shriveled skin faded rapidly, her sagging wrinkles bounced back into shape, and she tossed her cane aside, shouting:

"Who said I was washed up!?

Back in my day, I could lift a water barrel and wrestle pandas with one hand!"

Ashu squinted at her, deadpan:

"Who… are you?"

The old lady blinked innocently:

"Ba'er, your grandma, of course."

Finally, there was the chief's wife — Polumina.

Her sickly pallor disappeared, replaced by a soft glow of vitality.

Even her belly—where new life was forming—flashed with a gentle light.

She gasped in awe, realizing that even her unborn child had evolved!

Now full of energy, her face flushed with the healthy blush of her youth.

Blinking her large, sparkling eyes at Darm, she said dreamily:

"I just dreamed… the babies were dancing inside my belly~"

Darm ran over and hugged her tightly, sobbing:

"Wife!! I'll never let you go hungry again, never ever!!"

And it wasn't just them—

the entire tribe of Stonecaps underwent full evolution, stepping into a brand-new species form:

[New Species: Spiritcap Mycoking Tribe]

Nicknames:

Mushroom Overlord Monsters, Dawnlight Gourmet Corps, Magic Nutritionists.

[System Notification!]

[Stonecap Tribe → Fully Evolved into: 'Spiritcap Mycoking Tribe']

[New Traits: Advanced Mushroom Gastronomy / Magical Air Purification System / Emotional Nourishment Fields]

[New Role: Camp Support + Blessed Food Creation / Emotional Recovery Cuisine]

—

Meanwhile,

Luka had finally been untied by Barley.

She rubbed her wrists, which were red from the ropes,

and looked at Barley—

this familiar cat she'd raised,

now sprouting cat ears, a tail, and the ability to talk—

with a complicated expression.

"I don't blame you for having a girlfriend," she said slowly,

"but next time, can you just tell me you're capable of turning human?"

Barley's ears drooped as he scratched his head, mumbling:

"Sorry… I shouldn't have hidden it from you…"

Luka tilted her head, a faint smirk tugging at her lips:

"If you do it again, I'm not cooking fish-and-rice bowls for you anymore."

Barley's eyes lit up instantly, nodding frantically:

"I wouldn't dare!"

Just then, standing awkwardly in the back,

Frey shrank her shoulders and quietly tried to tiptoe away.

Luka followed Barley's gaze and spotted her.

After a few seconds of staring,

Luka suddenly said:

"I'm not mad at you either."

Frey's previously drooping ears shot straight up with a "pop,"

her amber eyes sparkling.

Like a cat seeing her human come home,

she pounced forward and hugged Luka tightly!

"Thank you!! You smell so good!!"

"W-wait—are you complimenting me, or trying to eat me?!"

Luka stumbled under the attack but couldn't stop laughing.

Off to the side, Ashu had been idly watching the chaos—

until Frey passed by him.

His gaze instinctively scanned her—

—and froze.

His expression stiffened.

Slowly, his eyes dropped lower…

and locked onto Frey's belly.

"…Hold up… that magical fluctuation…"

His face twisted in rare, genuine shock.

He smacked his forehead with a loud whap.

『No way… This can actually happen?!』

Ashu silently glanced at Barley, then at Ila—still laughing innocently (the true culprit)—

before burying his face in his hands and muttering:

"Sigh… Fine. At this point, there's really nothing left that's impossible anymore."

[System Notification]

[New Residents of Dawnlight Haven: Spiritcap Mycoking Tribe × Full Tribe]

[Camp Upgrade: Magical Kitchen Association Established]

[Detected Abnormal Magical Signature: Suspected Divine Bloodline]