The timer was much shorter than ever before, but Leo didn't let that affect him. He steadied his breathing, clearing his mind of unnecessary thoughts. Only the words of the phantom echoed in his head, along with the name of his new unique skill.

  Visage of the Indomitus.

  While the long-dead Akirian had failed to explain how much time he had to unleash it before something bad happened, he didn't plan to wait. As soon as the timer dropped to zero and he warned Naz'Tor, he was getting the hell out of there. The Primes had never failed him before, and he wasn't about to stop trusting them now—especially when dealing with something he barely understood.

  With the entire secrecy surrounding the Veil, even Naz'Tor couldn't really help him. Though… Leo had plenty of questions for him once he dealt with this new mess.

  Let's do it.

  As the final second on the timer dropped, the cocoon slid off his form, filling the area around him with thick steam. He pushed through it and ignored how different his body felt. Something else was also burning underneath his skin, some sort of slumbering power that grew stronger with each second.

  Somehow, Leo knew he could squash it, flip the switch off, and forget about this weird sensation for the time being. Yet, he didn't do that, the phantom's warning ringing loudly in his head. He let the power grow, keeping it caged—at least for now.

  "Naz'Tor!" He shouted when he couldn't find his way through the fog. He tried following his connection to Nyx, but even that felt distant, almost unreachable.

  "I'm here, kid!" The merchant's voice rang out from somewhere to his right. "What in the Void did you evolve into to cause this?! Even I can't see through this stupid fog. Damned System restrictions…"

  "I need to go!" Leo shouted again, ignoring the alien's rambling. "The evolution. It did something to me. I have to deal with it now. Take care of my godson and Nyx. I will be back soon."

  "What?!" Naz'Tor yelled. "What are you talking about? Kid! Get back here! Right now!"

  "Sorry! Promise it won't be long."

  "Damn it, kid…"

  Naz'Tor kept shouting, but Leo was already gone.

  On instinct, he unfurled the two new massive appendages attached to his back and leaped into the air. The sheer strength of his body alone propelled him above the swirling steam, and with a powerful clap of his new organic wings, he soared even higher.

  He didn't look back and turned toward the setting sun. Away from Naz'Tor's shop. Away from London. And all the while, the hot burning power underneath his skin continued to grow.

  Faster!

  The land beneath him became a blur, be it from the pure speed or the effort it took to keep the power from breaking free. Yes, he wanted to let it out, but not yet. He had to put as much distance between himself and his group as possible. Who knew what would really happen once he used the transformation skill.

  Hold on.

  The heat inside his body turned into a fiery inferno, searing his new violet-black scales. They melted at the edges, spilling blood and liquid fire over his form. That was when Leo understood he couldn't hold back any longer.

  He either let the power out or flipped the switch inside his mind and forced it to go away.

  The choice was obvious.

  Show me what you got. Visage of the Indomitus…

  Violet plasma, black flames, and the miasma of Ruination erupted from his body, climbing over every inch of his skin. At the same time, all of the Essence within his soul escaped outside. The emptiness, however, didn't stay for long.

  Bloodlust, unlike any other he had felt before, spread through every pillar, flooding him with energy as strong—if not stronger—than his own Essence. It filled up his soul in a second, forcing it to twist and expand to accommodate the ongoing flood.

  Meanwhile, outside in the real world, his bones cracked as they shifted and regrew in their effort to reform his body. Two more appendages tore free from his back, joining the massive new wings that, somehow, remained untouched by the cocoon of combined affinities.

  More changes followed. The blades of his arms faded while his tail multiplied yet again. By how much? That Leo didn't know, nor did he care. Not when he was fighting another losing battle.

  Hunger and rage, unfiltered and stronger than ever before, attacked his consciousness, trying to rip the control away from him. Fueled by the bloodlust that had once stood at his side, he almost lost right away.

  That was until he remembered the final part of the phantom's warning.

  Become one with it. Very well…

  At once, Leo stopped resisting and instead drew the rage and hunger into himself. It accepted the invitation and allowed him to stay in the driver's seat, though not without becoming a co-pilot.

  A roar split the skies, followed by a clap of thunder and an explosion that consumed everything around him.

  Afterward, Leo knew no more. There were only flashes of blood and destruction. Of torn flesh and trees. Of screeches and wails echoing in his ears. The world became a blur while he and his bloodlust turned everything in their way into dust.

  "Fucking hell," Leo muttered as his eyes flickered open. Darkness greeted him, but his night vision got rid of that, too, slowly painting quite the picture in front of him.

  He lay in the center of a massive crater—larger than the one Geron had created in London. Dust and scorch marks marred its surface, while its edges gleamed like perfectly cut obsidian.

  Leo winced, rubbing his head. He remembered some of what happened, but nothing that led to the creation of this place. There was only a blank spot in his mind, and no matter how hard he tried to force the memory to return, it didn't work.

  "Wouldn't be the first time," he groaned, raising to his wobbly legs. "It's like college all over again…"

  At least, unlike back then, he still had most of his equipment on his body. Sure, his enchanted pants looked a bit torn, and only a scarf remained of his Shadow's Veil, but all that could be fixed with time.

  His chest armor, however, was… gone.

  Whatever… it only caused problems anyway.

  Sighing, Leo glanced down at his new, improved body. While the changes brought on by his new skill had long since faded, he never really got the chance to inspect how the new evolution transformed him. All he knew was that he had proper wings now.

  Speaking of…

  With a flick of his back muscles, the two massive appendages unfurled.

  Holy shit…

  His earlier assumption had been correct—his new wings were organic, draconian in shape. But that wasn't all. Instead of the usual delicate membrane tissue, they were composed of swirling dark violet plasma and black liquid flames.

  His hand reached out and slid over the elemental mix. A shiver shot down his spine the moment his claws touched the soft surface there—a bit like normal skin but also so much more. And unlike the lightning wings he had wielded before his evolution, these felt real, like a part of him that he couldn't go without.

  "So different," he marveled.

  Even better, the moment he touched the wing, he noticed a connection to them inside his mind. Slow and hesitant, he reached out and nudged it.

  The wings faded from the physical world, shattering into specks of violet-black particles. Yet, despite that, he could still feel them on his back. Not their weight, but their phantoms sitting and waiting for his command.

  Nice, very nice, he thought, averting his gaze from the now invisible limbs.

  Instead, he looked down at his hands, where some minor changes also occurred. For one, his claws became quite shorter and more flexible, giving him almost the same range of motion as human fingers.

  The next change, though, didn't come from his blades—those remained the same—but from his scales.

  While he had already taken note of their new color and increased thickness, he had missed the tiny symbol engraved into them. For a moment, he thought they resembled the runes Naz'Tor used, but a closer look refuted that. The markings on his scales were much more complicated, with more lines and curved strokes.

  "But why?" he asked.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Yet, there was no one to answer his question.

  Leo shook his head and searched for more nuances to his body. His increased height and mass were easy to notice, but aside from that, there was nothing more. Even his spiked tail remained the same, though it had definitely grown a bit longer. Overall, it was one of the milder evolutions if he ignored the addition of half-organic wings.

  And the new form of course…

  I guess my face could have changed too. No mirror to check, though. Gonna have to ask Nyx to share her sight again… Wait!

  As if someone had shot him, Leo scrambled to reach for the link with his partner. It was still there but dormant, closed off. He tried to pry it open, only to fail with every attempt. Something happened, and his new skill had to be responsible; there was no other explanation.

  System? What the hell is happening?

  The entity responded, just not in the way he wanted.

  Visage of the Indomitus is now dormant. It shall stay this way until you complete the next Trial of Primes. Well done, User.

  "Not sure what I did to deserve the praise, but thanks, I guess…"

  Just to check, Leo also searched for the link to the Trials of Primes. As always, it lingered deep within his soul. Only now, it was active, staring right back at him, challenging him.

  Not yet.

  He dismissed the notification, only for another one to take its place. His eyes widened once he read it.

  Beware, User. With your ascension to the fourth stage, the System-issued task will no longer be available to you. Similarly, your access to the shop has been limited to Ether items only. May you find your luck in the wider universe.

  So, it really was slowly taking away my tasks… I was right. He hummed. Well shit… No more free Ether farming, it seems. As for the shop… I never used you anyway. Gotta tell Lily about this though. Not that anyone is close to stage four…

  He shrugged and summoned back his wings. With a leap, he flew out of the crater. Yet before he could go any further, his gaze fell on the surrounding area.

  Oh… I did that?

  What had once been a dense stretch of forest was now a wasteland. Trees lay uprooted beyond the crater, most splintered into small pieces, while parts of unrecognizable monsters were strewn all around. The ground wasn't much better—a mix of scorched earth, blood, dust, and other pieces of the forest.

  Leo let out a low whistle.

  Whatever his other form had done at the end of the transformation, it sure didn't hold back. Maybe a full-powered Call of the Storm could cause similar damage, but somehow, he doubted that. This had all the marks of Ruination—at least when it came to the crater.

  Let's just hope I didn't happen upon any traveling survivors… For some weird reason, I don't think they would have survived this. Oh well… nothing I can do about that.

  Just like that, Leo left the massacred forest behind and headed back toward Naz'Tor's shop. His link with Nyx might be dormant, but he still had the right coordinates active in his transmitter.

  Now the question is… was I gone for a few hours or days?

  To his pleasant surprise, Naz'Tor and Nyx were waiting for him at the front of the shop. While the merchant slowly walked down the porch without a word, the feline pounced at him right away, her claws drawn.

  "You stupid idio—"

  She never got a chance to finish, as the moment her claw touched his scales, their bond flared up like a miniature sun. Different feelings—anger, fear, happiness—rushed across it within a second, filling up the emptiness they both hated at this point.

  Nyx? He spoke, using their link again. You there?

  'Of course, you idiot,' she answered, huffing on the outside. The shadows around her faded as she circled him. 'What did you do this time? Can't you go through a single evolution without something going wrong?'

  Leo winced, reaching out to ruffle her head. Sorry, I had to act fast. Look into my memories. They will explain everything.

  'Oh, trust me, I will,' she muttered, leaning into his touch. At the same time, her mind touched his own. 'Huh… So that's what happened. I'm starting to think you might be a magnet for trouble.'

  He snorted. You just realizing this now? I figured it out the moment I found Nikra's shard.

  'Fair enough.'

  Before they could continue their back-and-forth, a loud cough interrupted them.

  "As much as it pleases me to see this little reunion," Naz'Tor said. "I would like to know what happened, kid. Ignoring the fact that you ran off, I felt that surge of power. For the Void, I think half the UK heard it."

  Ouch. Leo flinched. There went his hopes that he had put enough distance between himself and the others.

  "That bad?" he asked.

  "You tell me. I have felt your power, but that's all."

  "It's a long story?" It really wasn't.

  The top part of Naz'Tor's body tilted to the side. "We have time. Thankfully, you were only gone for an hour."

  Leo let out a sigh. At least there was that. If he wasted a day or more on his new skill, he would have been a bit annoyed.

  "Fine… Can we go inside?"

  "If you can make yourself smaller? Sure, kid," the alien motioned toward the door. "Go on. I'm waiting."

  Nyx, I have a weird feeling he's kinda mad at me.

  The feline rolled her eyes at him. 'You don't say. What gave it away?'

  A little more support would be nice, he grumbled in their link.

  'Your mess, you clean it up. I'll just sit back and enjoy watching you try to explain yourself. Oh, this is gonna be good.'

  Leo scowled and turned away, focusing on shifting into his sealed form.

  "That's…" Naz'Tor muttered. "Wow… And here I thought I heard everything after you mentioned a shard of the Old One. Yet here we are… Endless Four. Interesting…”

  Leo stayed silent as the alien continued to talk to himself. Explaining everything hadn't been easy—especially with all the details about the Veil he had to avoid—but after twisting the truth here and there, he had managed to share most of the important information. Whether Naz'Tor believed him was another matter.

  'Not bad,' Nyx admitted. 'I will give you a solid seven and a half.'

  He rolled his eyes. Thanks. You were very helpful.

  'I wasn't trying to be.'

  "Endless Four," Naz'Tor spoke a bit louder, interrupting their banter. "In hindsight, it makes sense. You're an Indomitus. Slaying and absorbing Ddraig might have helped, too. Yes, this could be it. But still… an Akirian with such an evolution? I will need to check some records…"

  Leo perked up a bit. "So you know what all that means? What those Endless Four are?"

  Naz'Tor looked up. "You don't? Yet you still chose that evolution without hesitation?" he asked, sounding more than a bit amused. "Oh my, oh my…"

  And he's back. Leo crossed his arms. "Evolution only mentioned the depths of the Endless. Nothing about any special Four."

  Naz'Tor chuckled. "Sometimes I forget how little you actually know. You would think I'd have learned by now." He sighed and waved a tentacle. "Very well. Endless Four… It is an unofficial classification for some particular species that only reside in the Endless part of the Void. Now, they aren't some all-powerful beings that cannot be killed, but they are more dangerous than most Voidlings."

  Leo nodded. That much he had already assumed. "Elaborate, please."

  Naz'Tor raised four tentacles. "Kraken, Leviathan, Goliath, and Dragon. Four evolution lines that adapted to the Void and created the perfect killers. They are powerful, massive, and… almost extinct for all we know."

  Leo blinked, his brow furrowing. "What?"

  "You heard it right. Perfect killers they might be, but all four species are dumb as bricks. Usually, Voidlings grow smarter with age and power, but those four?" Naz'Tor scoffed. "They are all instinct. It got so bad that once they locked onto you, they wouldn’t stop chasing you until one of you died. A bit like Nightmares, but even those are smarter. This is actually why they're nearly extinct. Around the 30th Outbreak, a few factions united to lure them out—one by one."

  And here I thought they are some scary bogeymen that everybody avoids. Well…

  Leo looked back at the alien. "But why?" he asked. "Why risk hunting them? Other than for experience, that is."

  "Many reasons," Naz'Tor said casually. "Ether. Unique body parts for mutations. Requirements for advancing your evolution. And most importantly, making the Endless safer."

  "And? Did it work?"

  The alien snorted. "Hell no. The Endless Four is only one blip on the radar in a sea of red. That's one of the reasons why we call it the Endless. Endless lands, endless problems."

  Leo inclined his head. "I guess it fits."

  "It does, doesn't it?" Naz'Tor beamed. "Now, how will all this affect you? Honestly, I have no idea. I have seen plenty of survivors follow the path of the Four. Some succeeded. Some did not. The Chief of Narzak is a Kraken, and no one has tried to take his title for over twenty Outbreaks now. You're an Akirian, though, and a Prime at that. I have never heard of any of your kind that walked this path."

  I did, Leo thought, recalling the phantom's words. But something went wrong back then. And I have no idea if it was the first and only case. I need to go through that next trial soon.

  "Can you look it up?" he asked out loud. "I will pay you of course."

  Naz'Tor waved him off. "No need. I'm curious too. I would have done some digging anyway. Just don't get your hopes up. Normal Akirians, while not as secretive as Primes, still don't like to share. I would need access to the Archives of Ediovr to be certain, but not even I have people who can reach those."

  Leo arched an eyebrow. "Archives?"

  "A story for another time. Now, kid… as much as I would love to chat more. I've already wasted enough time waiting for you, and I have a business to run," the alien said, rising from his seat. "Come, let us retrieve your godson. You can ask questions on the way."

  And so Leo followed the merchant out of the office and toward the basement. He considered pushing for more information about his evolution, but ultimately stayed silent. As much as he wanted to know more, his own head was a mess. Better to give it some time and then figure out the rest.

  "Here we are," Naz'Tor said as they entered the basement. "Go on. You can take him back inside your soul. You won't need to support him with your power from now on."

  Leo nodded and made his way through the dark chamber. The massive runes had long since faded, leaving Adam lying motionless in the center. Every now and then, faint blue light flickered beneath his skin, but otherwise, he looked the same as before.

  Sorry, kiddo, he thought, and with a snap of his Essence, he stored the boy back inside his soulscape. Maybe soon. We're on the right path now.

  As he returned to the stairs, Naz'Tor offered him a curt nod. "That should be it for today. As promised, I will contact some people. Ask if anyone could help your godson. Other than that, I will call you tomorrow. There is some stuff you will need now that you're at stage four. And! We have to plan your trip into the Void. Like I said, I have some ideas, but you should think about it too. Maybe there's someplace you would like to visit?"

  Leo shrugged. "Doubt that. Still know nothing about the Void."

  Naz'Tor patted his shoulder. "Just think about it. That's all I ask."

  "I will try."

  "Good," the alien beamed and pushed him toward the exit. "Until tomorrow, then. Enjoy your last few days on Earth, kid."

  Leo nodded and left the shop. Nyx was already waiting outside in her true form. After a look at each other, they spread their wings and headed toward London.

  Now, he just had to explain everything that happened to Lily.

  Lovely…

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