Simon closed his eyes and entered his sea of consciousness.
Black water stretched beneath his feet. A gnawer emerged nearby, shook itself, then scurried toward a large demon dog lying on the surface.
The dog lifted its head when it noticed Simon. Farther away, the abyssal grass cutter crouched with its bladed forelegs folded. Its head turned toward him, but the rest of its body remained still.
Other beast Wills moved through the darkness.
They were all black, their bodies formed from his mental energy. Despite that, they behaved much as they had when alive. The Mad Scientist's instructions had described obedient puppets. Simon had somehow ended up with creatures that played, slept, and bothered one another.
He watched the gnawer climb over the dog's foreleg.
"I need to find stronger beasts and take their Wills."
These beasts had been useful when he was weaker. Against the enemies he faced now, he needed more than clever ways to use a few rats.
His attention moved upward.
