I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

Chapter 1199: The Twilight Matriarch

Spare. Eggs. Future. Swarm.

”Huh.”

Northern’s hand went to his head.

”Wasn’t expecting eloquence... from a monster.”

[The Broodmother has achieved partial sentience through centuries of evolution. She comprehends death]

”That’s... actually awkward.”

Northern’s gaze moved from the massive spider to the destroyed eggs coating the passage, then back to the spider.

”I mean, you did try to kill me first.”

Territory. Defense. Instinct.

”Yeah, but now I feel kind of bad about the Solar Ascension thing. Those egg sacs looked like they hurt.”

[Are you seriously having a moral crisis while aura farming?]

”Maybe?”

His shoulders sagged.

”Look, here’s the deal. You’re an Abysmal Behemoth. I need your form for my collection. That’s non-negotiable.”

The Broodmother’s legs tensed, coiling for a final desperate attack.

”But,” Northern raised one finger, ”I can create Echoes. Copies. Your death doesn’t have to mean your swarm ends.”

The Broodmother went still.

...Explain.

”I kill you. I copy your form. I create Echo versions of you that can spawn new offspring. Your swarm continues, just... under new management.”

...Not real. Copy.

”I mean, philosophically speaking, are any of us ’real’?”

Northern’s shoulders lifted.

”I can turn into you. Am I you? Is a copy with all your capabilities different from you? These are the questions that keep people up at night.”

[This is perhaps the strangest negotiation I’ve observed]

The Broodmother’s eyes dimmed. ...Acceptable. Swarm... continues.

She lowered her head, exposing the vulnerable joint where her skull met her thorax.

Northern stared. ”Wait, you’re just... surrendering?”

Swarm. More. Important.

”Well.” Northern’s breath caught. ”That’s... surprisingly noble. Didn’t expect that from a spider.”

[You’re stalling]

”I know I’m stalling!” His hands shot up. ”This feels weird now! She’s being reasonable!”

[She tried to eat you]

”I’ve moved past that!”

[Ten minutes ago]

”Character growth happens fast in combat!”

The Broodmother’s mandibles clicked—a sound that might have been impatience or possibly amusement.

Young. Human. Strange.

”I’m not young, I’m seventeen—okay, that’s still young. But I’ve lived to twenty-nine in another world!”

Northern closed the distance between them. ”For what it’s worth, you fought well. The whole ’sacrifice your children as meat shields’ thing was dark, but tactically sound.”

Thank. You.

Northern’s hand settled on the exposed joint.

[You’re using Ignis Dominus]

The monster’s temperature spiked, steam erupting from its body. The Broodmother melted rapidly under the intensity of its own body heat.

’It’s surprisingly cool to even control one’s temperature...’

[Ignis Dominus is complete mastery over all fire. Control, temperature, intensity, color and properties. You can even make fire that freezes, burns souls, or never dies]

’Ahh... all Ignis Dominus used to be about was fireballs. Did Daemon of Form do all this too?’

[You have slain an Abysmal Behemoth: Crimson Broodmother]

[You have gained 126 talent fragments]

Northern stood in the sudden silence, surrounded by destroyed webs, shattered eggs, and the corpse of a monster that had ruled this territory for decades—perhaps even centuries.

”Well. That was emotionally complicated.”

[You now have 2,362 talent fragments]

”Yeah, but at what cost, Aoi? At what cost?”

[The cost was approximately twelve minutes and minimal essence expenditure]

”I meant philosophically.”

[I don’t have philosophy protocols]

Northern’s head shook before his hand returned to the Broodmother’s corpse.

”Alright. Let’s see what you can teach me.”

[Analyzing defeated entity...]

[Crimson Broodmother data complete]

[Echonization available]

[Form available for copying]

[WARNING: Essence Manifestation detected - The Crimson Weave. Complexity level: HIGH]

Northern’s eyes lit up.

”Oh. Now we’re talking.”

[Initiating Form Copy...]

[Analyzing: Physical Structure]

[Analyzing: Ability Framework]

[Analyzing: Essence Signature]

[Analyzing: Soul Pattern]

[Analyzing: Essence Manifestation - The Crimson Weave]

[Copy Complete]

[Form Acquired: Crimson Broodmother (Abysmal Behemoth)]

[Essence Manifestation: The Crimson Weave - Stored]

[Brood Spawning - Stored]

[Web Manipulation (All Types) - Stored]

[Predator’s Gaze - Stored]

[Seismic Sense - Stored]

[Infinite Iteration Activated]

[Creating Variants...]

Northern felt the familiar sensation of Endless working—taking one form and splitting it into possibilities. Usually smooth. Usually instant.

This time, something caught.

[Variant 1: Frost Weaver - Cold-based mutation]

[Variant 2: Shadow Spinner - darkness-based mutation]

[...Wait]

”What’s wrong?” Northern’s eyes narrowed.

[Something is... hold on]

The air around the Broodmother’s corpse shimmered. Two separate essence signatures began to form—the variants taking shape. But instead of diverging cleanly, they began to overlap. Bleed into each other.

[Warning: Consciousness merge detected]

[Warning: Variant identity collapse]

[Warning: This shouldn’t be possible]

Northern took a step back.

”Aoi, what’s happening?”

[I don’t know]

The two forming variants—one wreathed in frost, one draped in shadow—began to pulse in sync. Their separate consciousness threads, which should have been distinct and autonomous, were weaving together. Intertwining. Becoming... one.

But not just one. Something more than one.

[Emergency intervention required]

[Deploying Advanced Fusion to stabilize]

”Wait, using my abilities without my consent—”

[I am not separate from you. I AM you. Your system interface. Your organizational consciousness. When you use abilities, I am the mechanism that executes them]

[You’re using Advanced Fusion - Emergency Protocol]

The overlapping variants suddenly snapped together. Frost and shadow merged, creating something that was neither and both. The form grew. Expanded. The seven-core structure of the Behemoth rank began to reshape, soul cores multiplying as the fusion stabilized.

Seven became eight.

Northern stared into the internal structure of the fusing forms.

”Did that just—”

[Soul Rank Evolution Detected]

[Abysmal Behemoth → Apex Belial]

[Eight Soul Cores Confirmed]

The merged Echo solidified. Where there should have been two separate Broodmother variants, there was now a single entity. Larger than the original. Its carapace bore patterns of both frost and shadow—crystalline ice formations along one side, void-black chitin on the other. Eight eyes blazed with unified consciousness.

And it was aware. More aware than the original Broodmother had been.

[Echo Manifestation Complete: Apex Belial - The Twilight Matriarch (Frost-Shadow Synthesis)]

Northern’s jaw hung open slightly.

”That’s... not supposed to happen, is it?”

[No. Variants should maintain separate consciousness. Separate forms. The fusion should only work when you manually trigger it]

”So what just happened?”

[I don’t know. But I have a theory]

The newly formed Apex Belial lowered its head toward Northern—not in submission, but in acknowledgment. Recognition. The intelligence in its eyes was sharper than anything the original possessed.

[When Endless creates variants, it’s not just copying and modifying. It’s exploring possibilities—alternate evolutionary paths. But these two paths...]

”They were too similar?”

[No. They were too compatible. Frost and shadow aren’t opposites—they’re complementary. Frost preserves. Shadow conceals. Both serve the same function: protection and concealment of the swarm]

[When their consciousness formed, they recognized each other as... the same purpose expressed differently. They chose to merge]

Northern processed this. ”They chose?”

[Your Echoes are not mindless summons. They are autonomous entities with their own will, bound by loyalty to you. These two recognized that together, they could serve you better]

”And the rank evolution?”

[That’s the part I can’t explain. Fusion should combine power, not create it. But somehow, merging two Behemoth-rank variants produced a Belial-rank entity. It’s as if...]

Aoi paused.

[...as if the fusion revealed a potential that already existed. The Broodmother was stuck at Behemoth rank, unable to evolve further. But through Endless, through the creation of possibilities, through the fusion of those possibilities...]

”We completed an evolution she could never achieve on her own. One that was never possible for monsters.”

[Yes]