A Universe of Bloody Evolution

"By the way, just so you know, I was serious about that first flight," Clara said as the entire group moved to a more secure location. They still had to stay outside, as Leo couldn't fit through any of the doors—something that Frank promised to fix so he could at least access the warehouse.

"I can't fly." He sighed and pointed to the floaters on his back. "See those? They are my supposed wings, and according to my trait, they are still developing. I bet it will be a while before I can use them."

The woman crossed her arms, pouting. "Ruin my fun, why don't ya? You became a dragon and don't have wings. That's a scam if I ever saw one."

"I'm not a fucking dragon," he repeated for what felt like a thousand times. "I just have a head similar to those bloody reptiles. That's all."

"So, no breathing fire?" Lily asked from her position beside him, an amused grin on her lips.

Not you, too, he thought. "No. No fire."

"What about the desire to hoard stuff?" Frank quipped, joining in the fun.

Oh, you have to be kidding me. He pinched his snout, closed his eyes, and counted to ten. "I swear, I will eat you all if you don't shut up. Where is Holden when you need him?"

The Fallen chuckled. "All right, enough of that. No reason to tickle the sleeping dragon." The man quickly raised his hands when Leo threw him a glare. "Just kidding, kidding. Tony should be here soon. I told Dylan to fetch him."

"Great," Leo muttered. "How are things here after today?"

"Better than we expected," Clara moved to answer. "We had a few people panicking while the Myrdrak raged across the city, but most remained calm if obviously scared."

"Aye, and now they want to throw a party," Frank snorted. "Bastards did a complete one-eighty when the rewards came. I think everyone here experienced a complete rollercoaster of emotions today."

"Party?" Lily perked up. "I'm down. My last drink was an open bottle of beer I found in one of the ruined flats. I could use something better."

Leo almost facepalmed when Clara jumped at the declaration. "Now, that's what I'm talking about, sister! Finally, a kindred soul. We're gonna get along just fine."

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about, he grumbled internally. "You're not drinking anything today, Lily," he said before the two women could make more plans. "One of us still needs to go back to London today."

"Ah, shite. I forgot about that." His sister looked at Clara and shrugged. "Sorry. Maybe next time?"

The redhead grinned. "Definitely. I bet I can persuade Tony to—"

"Persuade me, you say? To what?" Holden's familiar voice stopped the woman from finishing her sentence. "Go on, I'm listening."

"Maybe another time." Clara chuckled sheepishly. "Nice of you to join us, Tony."

"I see," Holden muttered and turned away from her. "Leo, Lily. Good to have you back. We were a bit worried when you didn't return after the last notification came. My scouts couldn't find you either."

Leo shrugged. "We've been around, as you see. My new evolution took almost two hours. I had to do it instantly, or I would lose some stuff."

"Understandable." The man nodded, looking around. "Where's your other companion? I thought... she would be with you."

"Nyx can't enter safe zones yet," he explained, hoping to ease some tension. "And yes, just like I said before, she is a female. I can talk with her thanks to our link, so you don't need to fear that she is some unintelligent beast. Trust me, she is far from that."

"When it comes to you, I can believe that." Frank chuckled, throwing an arm around Holden. "How do you even get a companion like that?"

Leo offered him a wry smile. "It's complicated."

"I bet." Lily snorted quietly, but he ignored her. He wasn't planning to explain anything about Nyx anyway.

"Enough about that," Holden stated. "I would appreciate it if you could tell us what happened after we left. The entire city heard the roars and buildings collapsing left and right, but aside from that, we know nothing."

Leo shared a look with his sister, and they both nodded, beginning the short tale. He let Lily talk as long as she could before taking over when they got to the part where he had to embrace the third stage of Ruthless Efficiency. He finished with his evolution at his old house, and there was that.

"So those bloody nest mothers can rebuild entire Nightmare factories?" Frank whistled. "Bloody hell. We dodged a bullet here. I bet the new graveyard would be twice as dangerous as the previous one."

"Knowing the Void, you're probably right," Lily said.

"I don't know about you, but I'm more curious about those domains," Clara pointed out. "That Nightmare used it to block out the effects of the sun and create a barrier of lightning. Just imagine what else it can do."

"Indeed." Holden nodded. "Leo, do you know anything else about those things? If even a few of us learn to use them..."

As the Chief of Eden let the words hang between them, Leo shook his head. "I told you all I know. I could ask the Void merchant for more info, but for some reason, I doubt I have the necessary funds to pay for it."

Holden grimaced. "Aye, I can see how that would be a problem. Still, if you could just ask."

"Sure, no promises, though."

"I don't expect any. However, I would like to know what you plan to do next. Wolford is fairly safe now. The obvious thing would be to establish contact with the other leader of Lily's group and start organizing ourselves."

Leo nodded. "That's pretty much it. Lily and Nyx will return to London as soon as we finish here and start preparing people there."

"What?!" The feline and his sister shouted at the same time.

Fully expecting this reaction, he elaborated, "I can't go yet. I'm unused to this body, and then there is the issue with the Void Gate. So, Lily, you obviously have to tell Malcolm what is happening. Nyx will join you, and thanks to our link, we can remain in contact."

'We haven't tested our bond over such a big distance yet,' the feline pointed out in his head.

Well, there's no time like the present. I'm sorry, but this needs to happen if we want to organize ourselves properly.

'Doesn't mean I have to like it.'

No, you don't, but think of it this way. There is nothing for you to kill in Wolford, and you still need one level for evolution. You can get that in London.

This time, she didn't argue. As such, Leo turned to Lily and quirked his non-existent eyebrow. "So what will it be? Nyx agreed."

"I will go." She sighed. "I don't have any better idea anyway. But when will you return?"

"Hopefully as soon as the Void Gate is dealt with." He looked at Holden. "Think we can gather some people that would like to go with me in three days?"

Frank beat the other man to the answer. "Aye, with the levels we all gained from Myrdrak and Graveyard, it won't be a problem. You can even help me with training those who want to go. They could use some experience fighting against opponents who are much stronger and have an affinity."

"Sure, why not."

He could always use those spars as a way to get familiar with his body again. Learning control against weaker enemies should even speed that up. Besides, nobody said he couldn't practice his skills and affinity in the meantime.

"Bloody great!" Frank exclaimed. "We have a plan, then—or at least a base of one. Tony, how are we on Ether? When can we enable that whitelist feature for Eden?"

Right. Forgot about that.

"We are sitting at over eight thousand. I can buy it even now," Holden stated. "Graveyard's destruction really solved a lot of our problems. A few people even received some useful items."

"Lucky bastards." Frank shook his head. "I barely got any Ether."

"You didn't do anything," Clara was quick to point out.

"What?! I trained those people!" The Fallen scowled. "If not for me, I bet they would have screwed up somewhere."

Leo chuckled, seeing Holden glaring at the bickering pair.

Ah, might as well, he mused and reached for an item within his soul. Then he promptly threw it towards Frank, who stopped talking and caught the glass-like globe filled with a sickly green substance.

"Huh? A poison core? Why give me that?"

"Because standing next to you is like breathing in poison," Clara muttered.

Snorting, Leo elaborated. "Use it however you wish. You might get lucky and get an affinity out of it."

Frank blinked before shrugging. "Dobut that, but thanks."

"If you're done, we should finish here. Work is waiting, and the night is near," Holden said, looking at the settling sun.

"I should get going then," Lily stated, stretching her wings. "Where's Nyx?"

"Waiting for you on the road we came from," Leo answered and hugged his sister. It was awkward with his new form, but still better than nothing. "Good luck out there, and be careful. If you see Payne, let Nyx know right away. I will be there as fast as possible."

"You go it." She grinned. "Have fun babysitting."

Before he could answer, Lily jumped high and flew away. He shook his head fondly.

Stay safe out there.