Chapter 19 - Development.
— Tenka's P.O.V. —
The camp looks good. In just three weeks, the now-awakened people have cut a lot of trees. With Berth's help, they managed to build twenty cabins already. Sam's tools really make things easy. When I showed them how to use the crankshaft and the pulleys, they looked at me like I was a wizard; they were practically enlightened.
With Barabas in my head, I have access to some of Sam's memories, though it isn't a direct connection. I even spent time with Riley and her daughter, Ruly, teaching them the basics of blacksmithing, or at least, what Barabas could gather.
Now that he is not connected to Sam directly, he has to remember things by himself. It's like searching for a specific book in a library where all the books have been thrown on the floor; he has to sift through a mess of intel from Sam's whole life. I can see progress, though.
I heard Red was skulking around all the time while we were away. He stayed by Temate and Suki and slept most of the time. However, once Salaba brought us back to the camp, he left immediately without waiting for me to wake up. Not that I blame him... He's still a wolf, after all. We were supposed to meet him a day later, and now, it's been almost three weeks. On top of that, Sam is not here with us yet. Poor Red... he must be so confused.
The rain keeps pouring every day. It's usually a slight drizzle, but it is constant, soaking everything to the bone. Dark, heavy clouds gather ominously in the direction where Sam is...
I decided to leave the logistical command of the camp to Temate. What I did with my time instead was establish a school. Of all the idealistic ideas Sam has, this is the first on the list.
I personally teach the teens. There are seven of them: Izuka (15), Akira (14), Mily (13), Pachy (15), and Enta (12)—all orphans. Then there is Tema (13), who was adopted by Uli, a young mother, and her true daughter, Utata (11).
Matema, Tali, and Rita have taken charge of the toddlers and the nursery. We have Tio (2), daughter of Xeo; Sera (4), daughter of Sati; and Luqui (5) and Mito (3), the daughters of Rita. (Sam called Rita a "MILF"... Cough... I still don't know exactly what that means, but knowing him, it's probably rude.) Then there is Kely (6), the daughter of Kata, and finally Zama, the baby boy. Ruly (7) spends most of her time with her mother, Riley.
That leaves eleven able-bodied people for Temate to lead, including the three elders who are now healthy. They gained enough pep to walk about, at least, and not croak from old age.
The exception is Nalia. She took part in the battle herself, and even in her sixties, she now looks like she is in her thirties. She trains at her own pace, alone. She observes what she learned from us, but I spied on her and saw she just adapted our routine to fit her own style. The restricted way of life we had in the old village prevented her from sharing her life experience before. Now, her knowledge of this world and its people astounds many. Unlike Sam and the others, it was not the first time she had witnessed supernatural things.
She told the group about the big stone city in the West, where people like us could be freer, though the danger is not any less. She spoke of the Great Ocean in the East, the Fiery Lands in the North, and the Great Crater in the South.
This region is called the Dark Forest. The fierce nature here keeps most humans away. They have busy lives and don't care much for this place. They said even further west, there are other races...
Nature was the best place for Nalia, so she came back home and settled down in peace until Sam appeared... She even came up with a "Wind Slash" technique on her own and teaches it to whoever can learn it.
Days go by, one by one. Slowly, two months pass.
There is no news of Sam at all. Red never came back either. I stopped worrying a while back. I keep looking forward, knowing in my heart that he will come back.
This place is perfect. It offers defense, offense, and a retreat route across a retractable rope bridge that we can cut if necessary.
Talk begins to happen regarding our circumstances. We only have one male, and he's not even a year old yet.
I told them it's still a bit early to worry about population, but I was actually shot down! It was the first time that I lost an argument... But in the end, I'm the one who proposed the plan to capture males from outside. Nobody would object to my battle plans, but I admit, I lack skills in the relationship area. If those girls are repressed, they might rebel...
Before the team could finish the plan, Mily came running, gasping for air.
"Sam is back!"
(Talk about timing! Hahahaha, I can't wait to see his face when he hears about the plan!)
— Red's P.O.V. —
(Two months earlier...)
(I smell Master!)
I run with all my might, my paws tearing up the earth. But when I get to the source of the scent, I see Tenka and Salaba fainted on her back. I confirm that the smell comes from them, but he isn't here.
(MASTER! What happened!? I will find out myself!)
I bolt toward the last place that we saw each other. In a mere hour, I made a trip that takes the weak humans three days of running. Even the bad weather didn't slow me down.
Once I get there, the place is a mess. There is nothing about our old life left intact. All that remains is a huge crater, shaped like half of a doughnut. In the protruding center rests a brown ball, sucking air and energy from the land like a parasite. The clouds gather from all around and disappear above the ball. Even with all that rain, the crater is still completely dry...
Suddenly, I feel a presence behind me, appearing out of nowhere. No smell, no sound. My fur stands up on end. Before I can turn around, the person talks to me telepathically.
("Hello, child. Your master seems to have a hard time.")
I turn around to see a strange woman. Her skin is green, and her revealing clothes are made of spider silk, some of it still weaving itself as we speak. You can see a few spiders still taking care of the light dress, crawling over her, but her skin looks healthy...
("What's wrong? Can I help him?") I ask, projecting my thoughts.
("I meant, he nearly lost his life and close ones just a little while ago... No, right now, he's fine, don't worry. It will just take some time. Now, why do you stay with him? You could go into the forest and be the king, live the best life. You chose to stay in danger with him and be lonely. You don't have to stay, you know?")
I look at her, not feeling even a ripple of doubt in my heart as I say to her:
("At first, for two years, I just lived off his prey. But my pack eventually found his traces because of me and attacked him. I couldn't do it... Then, the evolution happened, and we became friends. He trusts me... It feels good. I'm not just a beast anymore, all thanks to him. I want to see more stuff like this. I want more of my life.")
She smiles, a look of genuine amusement on her face.
("Sigh... I was right about him. We are lucky... I won my first bet ever with Arianna! Hahaha! Since you want to follow him, I will help you a little. I will unlock more potential inside of you. Poor boy, your potential is already tapped out. Sam evolved way too fast. I was not planning this, and his body was not ready, but he kind of shattered any expectations I had of him... Now, what I'm doing is only opening the door. You have to walk the way yourself.")
As she is talking, I feel millions of tiny spiders already crawling up my body, but I don't have time to panic. The slight second I take my eyes off her, the lady stabs my neck with her now-elongated, wooden finger. Once the finger retracts back to normal, my eyelids feel heavy. The spiders are now crawling inside my body, some even entering from inside her wooden finger, but I keep what she said in mind.
"I open the door, you walk the rest yourself."
("Once this is all over, I will meet with your master to clear things up and make sure he relaxes a bit.")
A swirl of leaves appears, and she disappears with the wind.
Meanwhile, the spiders enter my body in a tide, and I'm now truly falling asleep.
— 3rd Person P.O.V. —
Red's body gets wrapped into a big, reddish cocoon. Inside, the spiders multiply and become smaller and smaller until they reach the cellular and even viral levels. Millions of viruses fit in a single cell, and these magical arachnids work on that microscopic scale. They unlock his genetic pattern, pulling from higher-level, ancient canine species. Even godly canine figures of all flavors, from this world and Sam's old world, get thrown into the lot. It's up to him to draw the winning ticket.
This mechanism appears in a mathematical way, derived from the subconscious, DNA, Soul (Will/Placebo/Stigmata), and external factors of the Evolver, like nutrition. Right now, he is beside the huge vortex that Sam is causing, which is an important external factor.
The mass of energy that Sam became exerts immense pressure on him. One of the last thoughts Red had before falling asleep was:
(She said "poor boy," but if I managed to peak my potential before even a quarter of my lifespan passed, imagine what I could do with even more potential! :P)
No vortex happens on Red's side. Instead, roots come from the ground, connecting to the mass of spiders and silk. In a giant web, they connect him through the forest, transferring the required strength to form his evolution.
From somewhere unseen, the Spider Lady watches.
("This is the first time in my millions of years of life that I have seen such freaks. What kind of bloodline did this dog go toward!?")
A little strand of silk and tiny spiders extends from the cocoon, flowing with the wind, reaching for the ball that Sam is in, and connecting the two. Black goo comes from Sam's side, while gray goo—silk made of trillions of spiders—meets at the center to exchange a bit of material. Once a drop of goo exchanges sides, the silk breaks off, and they absorb their respective drops, not needing more than that.
One week passes.
The vortex is a lot smaller than before, and Red's absorption also seems to slow down. The clouds finally manage to soak the ground. Thunder starts falling, too. Rain pours down, and most rivers overflow, the land getting over-soaked.
The unnatural behavior of the atmospheric and earth energy attracted the attention of many eyes and ears through all the races in the vicinity of the Dark Forest. Luckily, it's not the whole world, because the Dark Forest alone is as big as the surface of the Earth.
Some hope to find treasures, some want to fight, but one specific group wants to use their Brotherhood to deal with a problem that just got even more troublesome.
Beno, after his disgraceful but not unexpected failure, reported the tale as if he was not there, completely unconcerned. He gave the Chaos Brotherhood everything he could on Sam. Not that he could hold anything back anyway, knowing too little for his taste...
Then the phenomenon happened while he was still in Mefalon City. He got grabbed before he could leave. He was interrogated and beaten a bit, then released... He even got demoted. Not that they could demote him further, so they just punished someone else to go deal with the territory on top of him.
Chuckle...
They sent a Bitch. Could you believe it!?
That was one of the only few bitches who think it's a good idea to join a brotherhood. Of course, if you don't want to die brutally, you had better not piss her off. They are bloody crazy.
So now, this is the new nightmare he has to face every day. Beno is slaving for her... She has been sent here because her "hobby" extended to the Brotherhood members and caused trouble.
In Beno's brain, it means she raped and tortured many brothers, enough to get reassigned here. That is without thinking of her enemies and civilians that she probably used besides our men.
Beno thinks: (I can't help but admire her. She is a true, wicked soul... Sigh.)
Of course, these wicked souls get stronger by accumulating negative karma, feelings, and energy, depending on races and other things... In the grand scheme, they are super small-time compared to people who create wars, conflicts, and atrocities—like a genocide or atomic bombing.
— Back to the M.C. —
The ball, now just barely two meters wide, has become gray-white, smooth like ash. A lightning bolt falls on it, announcing the end of his transformation. It crumbles to dust, revealing a near-death state Sam.
The lightning barely grazed him and didn't do any damage. He has some of this element in him, after all, in one of those internal doors. It would need to land on his heart or head to do some major damage.
It's his mind that is the problem. He has only one-seventh of his mental faculties active.
His body is changed at the atomic level. It's not visible from the outside, but inside, he feels like a new world. His coordination is all wrong. Right now, he is lying in the mud, drinking rain, his mouth opened, trying to catch more of it. He lets his mind and body slowly come out of the stupor. The "others" in the Mindscape seem to be still sleeping.
Sam thinks: (It's like being drunk to a whole new level. I hate being drunk! I don't even want to think about the Mindscape now; I will just puke.)
He tries to stay awake, but it's futile.
However, Red instinct kicked in, and he seems to wake up because of his master's connection.
He did not come out of the cocoon yet, but he connected to the roots to know if someone was coming close. He urged the completion a bit but without rushing things too much. Just being awake while your body is being rebuilt must be... strange. On top of this, he can feel through the trees' senses.
The energy he was absorbing was one that Sam did not absorb himself it was not purely from the environment, but from matter in the trees this time. It was vitality. A precious resource in a body. He balances himself to have the same potential as Sam, which is currently Unknown, but high...
Two days later, the cocoon shreds to pieces.
A humanoid wolf stands there on two legs. He does not look human, but more like a wolf with human shaped, furry limbs. He has a straight back and a shorter nose and jawline. His golden eyes didn't change. He still has his red fur and tail. But now, he has five true fingers, and claws grow from the tips. His feet are almost human, but he stands on the tips of his toes, his nails digging into the ground.
"Ahouuuuu!!!!"
— Sam P.O.V. —
I shout in a hoarse voice, still not making much noise, my throat feeling like sandpaper.
"Shut up and help me, Red!"
("Master! Hahaha!")
He runs to me in his new form and sees my state. He crouches down and starts licking my face frantically.
"Haaaarg... you... fuck... BACK OFF!"
He seems to feel bad, his ears drooping.
"Sorry, Red," I groan, wiping the slobber off my face. "Don't lick me in this humanoid form. It's weird. Get used to it, cause your erected cock is never coming near me again, dude. And I need food NOW! My head hurts out of hunger. And again, don't feel bad, you just need time to adapt. I will never leave you behind. This was just a bit gay, remember that!"
"Hai!" Red barks.
His first word, hehe.
And my first meal happened to be a raw hedgehog. Once I got past the trauma, the taste was delicious. It felt like my brain finally came back to life, if only a little bit...
Red got many more things to eat for me, berries, and more hedgehogs, since I think it's the safest meat to eat raw like this, except fish, but Red is not the fishing type...
Better safe than sorry...