Jade stood over the corpse of the Sand Beast.
For several seconds, he simply stared at it.
The enormous humanoid monster that had nearly overwhelmed him moments ago was now completely motionless.
Its eight compound eyes had lost their terrifying glow.
Its sandy body had stopped moving.
The battle was finally over.
Jade slowly exhaled.
Then his stomach growled.
He blinked.
"...Right."
"Food."
He crouched beside the corpse.
The Sand Beast had nearly killed him, but that didn't mean Jade was going to waste it.
He reached into his storage space.
A familiar dagger appeared in his hand.
Sharp Beast.
Jade carefully began cutting through the creature's flesh.
The dagger easily sliced through the remaining hardened material.
He separated several large pieces of meat before placing them into his storage pouch.
The meat would be useful later.
After surviving for so long in the Spiritual Realm, Jade had learned one simple rule:
Nothing should be wasted.
Especially not the corpse of an Awakened Mythic creature.
Once he finished, Jade stood.
Only then did he properly examine himself.
His armor was damaged.
Several cuts covered his arms and chest.
His muscles ached.
His essence reserves had fallen considerably.
Even his breathing was slightly heavier than usual.
Jade looked down at himself.
"...I really got beaten up."
He shook his head.
Then—
Crimson flames suddenly erupted around his body.
WHOOSH!
Blood-red fire wrapped around him.
The flames looked terrifying.
They covered his arms.
His chest.
His legs.
Even his face.
To an ordinary observer, it would have looked as though Jade was being burned alive.
Yet Jade didn't move.
He simply stood inside the flames.
The destructive heat gradually disappeared.
A different kind of blood flame replaced it.
Warm.
Gentle.
Healing.
The wounds across Jade's body began closing.
Cuts disappeared.
Bruises faded.
His damaged muscles recovered.
Even the exhaustion that had settled deep within his body gradually vanished.
Within moments—
Jade looked as though he had never fought.
He stretched his arms.
Then rotated his shoulders.
"Much better."
His gaze shifted toward the two beings standing nearby.
Ant Demon was still there.
Her dark figure remained calm and imposing.
She had watched the entire battle without showing much emotion.
Jade smiled.
"Great job."
Ant Demon nodded.
Then she suddenly raised one hand and made a small gesture.
Jade blinked.
"...What was that?"
Ant Demon repeated the gesture.
It looked almost like she was trying to imitate a person giving a polite bow.
Jade stared for a moment.
Then laughed.
"You're welcome."
Ant Demon nodded again.
Jade turned toward the other figure.
Titan Devourer stood several meters away.
The powerful humanoid beast remained completely motionless.
Its expression was as calm as ever.
"You too."
Titan Devourer didn't respond.
He simply stood there.
Jade shook his head.
"Still quiet."
A moment later, Titan Devourer 's body began dissolving into dark essence.
The Echo returned to Jade.
The battlefield became much quieter.
Jade looked toward Ant Demon.
She had already become far stronger over the past month.
Her evolution from the egg had transformed her completely.
She was now an Awakened Tyrant.
Even Jade had to admit that Ant Demon's current strength was frightening.
Then there was Titan Devourer.
Jade had merged the former Titan Beast with another powerful data called Essence Devourer, and the resulting existence had eventually transformed into Titan Devourer.
His current rank was Awakened Demon.
That meant Jade now possessed two terrifying companions.
One Awakened Tyrant.
One Awakened Demon.
And Jade himself...
He had grown considerably stronger as well.
His physical strength alone could already rival an Awakened monster.
When he combined his shadow abilities with his Blood Flames, his combat strength could reach the level of an Awakened Devil.
And then there was his God Body.
Jade's expression became slightly serious.
He had only used it twice inside the Spiritual Realm.
The first time had been to test his strength.
The second time had been when he needed to disguise himself as a mysterious figure.
He still hadn't fully explored what his God Body could truly do.
But whenever he activated it...
His strength reached another level entirely.
Comparable to an Awakened Tyrant.
Jade looked toward Ant Demon.
Then toward the place where Titan Devourer had disappeared.
"Everyone is getting stronger."
A strange feeling suddenly appeared inside his Soul Sea.
Jade froze.
He felt something.
Something familiar.
A tiny crack.
Not in his body.
Not in the ground.
Inside his soul.
His eyes widened.
"...Little Black?"
The sensation became stronger.
Crack.
Jade's expression changed.
A second sound echoed within his consciousness.
Crack.
Crack.
The connection between him and Little Black trembled.
Jade immediately entered his Soul Sea.
The familiar crimson ocean appeared before him.
The dark sky stretched endlessly above it.
And there—
Two eggs floated above the crimson water.
One belonged to Ant Demon.
But it had already opened.
The other...
Little Black's egg.
The enormous black shell had remained sealed for a long time.
Jade stared at it.
Thin cracks were now spreading across its surface.
His heartbeat accelerated.
"So you're finally coming out?"
He slowly approached.
Another crack appeared.
Then another.
The entire egg trembled.
Jade couldn't help smiling.
He had expected Little Black to hatch much earlier.
In fact...
He had thought Little Black would leave its shell before Ant Demon.
Yet somehow Ant Demon had already evolved and emerged.
Jade couldn't understand it.
"How did you hatch before him?"
He stared at Ant Demon's empty shell.
"You're supposed to be the one who came later."
Then—
The system's voice echoed through the Soul Sea.
"Little Black has evolved."
Jade froze.
The black egg suddenly exploded.
BOOM!
Dark essence flooded across the crimson ocean.
The waves rose several meters into the air.
A small black figure emerged from the center of the explosion.
Jade's eyes widened.
A creature landed gently on his shoulder.
A cat.
A completely black cat.
Its fur was smooth and dark enough to absorb the surrounding light.
Its eyes gleamed with intelligence.
Jade stared.
"...A cat?"
He had expected something else.
A tiger.
Perhaps a beast.
Maybe even some terrifying monster.
But a cat?
The system continued.
Name: Shadow Mind
Rank: Awakened
Class: Calamity
Power: Mind Attack,Chain mind
Path: Mind
God Body: Heavenly Tiger
Jade's eyes widened.
"Calamity?"
He stared at the little creature.
Then at the system.
Then back at the cat.
This tiny creature had just emerged as an Awakened Calamity.
That was already terrifying.
But what caught Jade's attention even more was the God Body.
Heavenly Tiger.
So the little black cat wasn't actually his final form.
This was simply its normal body.
Its God Body was something else entirely.
Jade slowly raised one finger and touched the cat's head.
The cat looked at him.
Jade felt something strange on his shoulder.
Warm.
Soft.
But incredibly powerful.
He blinked several times.
Then finally spoke.
"There..."
"I was thinking his God Body would be a human form like Aviana."
The cat immediately opened its mouth.
"Jade."
Jade froze.
The voice was clear.
Completely understandable.
"You've changed."
"The last time I saw you—"
Jade's eyes widened.
He immediately interrupted.
"Wait."
"You can talk?"
The black cat stared at him.
Then tilted its head.
"Meow."
Jade's mouth opened.
The cat continued calmly.
"Of course I can talk."
Jade stared at it.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Jade slowly looked at its body.
"Little Black..."
"Where are your silver stripes?"
The cat calmly lifted one paw.
It began licking it.
Then it casually replied,
"I only have those in my God Body."
Jade blinked.
"...Your God Body?"
Little Black continued licking its paw.
"Yes."
Jade frowned.
"I thought you were a cub."
"Maybe you would grow into a tiger."
"Or a lion."
"Or something like that."
Little Black stopped licking its paw.
It slowly turned toward Jade.
Then—
Facepalm.
With one tiny paw.
Jade stared.
The cat looked genuinely exhausted.
"That's my God Body."
Jade remained silent.
Little Black lowered its paw.
"The form you're looking at is simply my normal body."
Jade opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Then finally decided against asking another question.
"No."
He shook his head.
"I'm not doing this."
Little Black blinked.
"Doing what?"
Jade sighed.
"Trying to understand your existence."
He looked toward the distant crimson ocean.
"Aviana was already confusing enough."
"And now you're telling me you're a black cat with a Heavenly Tiger God Body."
Little Black smiled.
"Pretty impressive, right?"
Jade stared at him.
"...Annoying."
Little Black laughed.
"That's what you get for leaving me inside an egg for so long."
Jade immediately frowned.
"I didn't put you inside the egg."
Little Black paused.
"...Fair."
For the first time since the battle with the Sand Beast ended, Jade genuinely laughed.
The little black cat remained comfortably seated on his shoulder.
A new companion.
A new power.
A new mystery.
And judging by the way Little Black spoke...
Probably a new headache.
Jade looked toward the distant horizon.
Shadow Heart was still ahead.
He had come here searching for Shadow Fragments.
He had expected to find powerful shadow creatures.
Instead...
He had gained something else.
A newly awakened companion.
An Awakened Calamity.
A being possessing the Mind Attack power.
And a God Body known as the Heavenly Tiger.
Jade smiled.
"Well..."
"Welcome back, Little Black."
The cat's tail gently swayed behind him.
"Good to see you too, Jade."
For a brief moment, the Spiritual Realm felt peaceful.
But neither of them knew...
The moment Little Black had awakened—
Something deep within the darkness of Shadow Heart had sensed it.
Something old.
Something powerful.
Something that had been sleeping for a very long time.
And now...
It had opened its eyes.