The Glorious Evolution

Nurah and Jojo quickly checked the crimson bottle, then turned to Levi, staring at him as if he were a sheep ready for slaughter.

Their own turns couldn’t come soon enough!

”Don’t start,” Levi muttered.

He had already explained why they needed to wait... even after more than six days, that heavenly sensation still lingered in his mouth, tempting him to seek another perfect combination before the withdrawal symptoms faded.

Just thinking about it made his tongue tremble again, and he caught it between his teeth, biting down until he tasted blood.

It was an unpleasant new habit, but the pain helped stop the trembling for a while... unfortunately, it did little to erase his craving.

Nurah and Jojo knew his situation... neither wanted him to lose himself in the research, but watching Shia hold her finished concoction left them craving his tongue’s capabilities.

Shia led them to an open patch of grass a short distance from the camp, taking the bottle and her glaive with her.

Blee’der’s mouth widened into a grin along its crimson blade, eager to get started, too.

Shia wasted little time removing her jacket and settling onto the grass.

Blee’der left his weapon form before she uncorked the bottle.

His body needed to undergo the evolution too... remaining in his weapon form would prevent the changes from taking their proper course.

Levi stood a few paces away with the others, following Blee’der through the Spiritual Bridge of Darkness.

Levi smiled a little at the serpent-manta’s scarlet crystals... every Perfect Evolution Shia had undergone since Junior rank had started with a formula from him.

The first began with a lie and ended with the recommendation letter he so desperately needed. Then came the formulas he left in Mount Thurnak’s treasury after robbing it clean... and now, the concoction in her hand.

They sure had come a long way from that first deal...

Shia emptied the bottle, swallowing the thick, metallic concoction before a fierce warmth settled in her stomach.

She put the bottle aside, recited the incantation, and pressed the tattoo on her arm.

Her consciousness entered the Rooted Plane alongside Blee’der’s, where the golden tree stood above the still waters with its dark reflection below.

Its branches reached toward them, closing around Shia’s limbs and Blee’der’s serpentine body as the Seed examined the traits the concoction had unsealed.

Shia felt the first change through her blood as heat gathered along the branches touching her, then rushed through the connection to her body... her heartbeat grew so forceful that she felt each pulse in her teeth.

Outside the Rooted Plane, crimson light poured from her tattoo.

The maroon tint of Shia’s skin deepened slightly as fine red lines spread along her arms, shoulders, and chest.

They followed her blood vessels, branching across her body before crystallizing into thin blood-red tattoos... every tremor made them catch the light, like tiny rubies embedded in her skin.

Three short crimson stripes appeared on each cheek, resembling a cat’s whiskers.

Then, the channels brightened, and her muscles contracted violently.

Shia endured the first few spasms in silence, but the next forced a strained cry through her teeth... the heat pushed beyond her veins, burning through her flesh with every heartbeat!

A bead of blood emerged on the back of her hand, then another along her wrist... within seconds, blood seeped through her pores and gathered around her in trembling droplets.

Beside her, the solid interiors of Blee’der’s three back crystals softened as dark red fluid spread through them... branching into smaller passages like veins growing inside gemstones!

Those passages connected to his body, while his crystalline horns curved farther back and filled with the same crimson channels.

Inside the Rooted Plane, Blee’der writhed against the tree’s branches.

Shia felt his distress, but she could barely spare him a thought... her own blood kept escaping through her skin!

’Is this normal...?’

She tried pulling it back, only for the evolution to force more out.

Regenerating wounds was one thing... feeling her blood leave through perfectly healthy skin frightened her quite a bit.

’Hmm?’

Yet, as more droplets gathered around her, Shia noticed something strange.

Her Blood Aspect already allowed her to control spilled blood, but now... she could feel every droplet as clearly as the blood flowing through her chest!

It was as if her veins extended into the air around her!

The droplets joined into thin streams, floating around her arms and torso. Even outside her body, they retained their vitality... her blood remained alive!

As her panic turned to astonishment, the golden tree holding her began changing as well.

Dark red spread through its bark, while its leaves crystallized into blood-red gems. Drops gathered at their tips and fell into the still waters... even its shadowy reflection changed with it.

This scene wasn’t foreign to anyone, as it was a known fact that once a Shadowlife Seed grew into a Mature Tree, its standard golden form and shadowy reflection transformed to reflect its owner’s evolutionary path.

The same form that would appear outside whenever she summoned her Dominion!

The branches slowly released her and Blee’der, while a rush of understanding revealed the bloodline mutation behind the changes in their bodies.

Gorathi’s Living Blood!

After the last streams of blood returned to Shia’s body, Levi approached to check on her and Blee’der... but before he reached them, her spiritual aura suddenly erupted!

Whoosh!

The wind ruffled their clothes and swept Shia’s long hair behind her, while the same spiritual image of her new tree started forming at her back.

’Oh? Is this her Mature Tree?’

Levi examined it through his spiritual vision, curious about something he had never experienced during his own breakthrough.

Although reaching Warden gave him limited access to a Dominion, his evolution certainly didn’t end with a tree appearing behind him.

Ash’Kral had told him that those limited Dominions belonged to the Ancestral Trees... Origin Seed holders could borrow their authority over Laws before reaching Solarbound, but using such power came with a punishment and a price.

In other words, his Seed could let him use its Dominion, but it wasn’t acknowledged under the Universal Order.

Meanwhile, Shia was rightfully bestowed with the permission to own a Dominion and use it as she wished.

As blood rained down on Shia from the scarlet tree, the wind tossed her long crimson hair around her face, scattering drops over her shoulders.

She remained seated, blood dripping from her chin and her crystal tattoos glinting through the downpour.

The whole scene looked like some demonic blood ritual!

”Damn...”

Arthur gulped a mouthful in dread.

He already disliked being on the receiving end of her glaive during their spars... now, even standing near her made him reconsider every joke he planned to make about those tattooed whiskers.

Nurah and Jojo exchanged a glance, both reaching the same unpleasant conclusion.

Shia could beat the living crap out of them now!

They knew a Solarbound breakthrough would widen the gap, but feeling her spiritual aura press against theirs made it painfully clear just how far ahead she had moved.

Only Jasmine watched with a calm smile, seemingly unbothered by the pressure.

Levi could hardly blame the others for their reactions... Shia was already difficult enough to kill before her Seed gave her an entire Dominion suited to her powers.

’She’s going to be even more reckless now...’ He smiled wryly.

Before he could think further, Shia rose from the blood-soaked grass, and her spiritual aura swept through the camp once more.

Meanwhile, Ash’Kral and the Titan continued watching Shia with a different thought in mind.

Her maroon skin, scarlet tattoos, and wild crimson hair already reminded them of an old companion... but the tree raining blood over her made the resemblance unsettling.

Ash’Kral felt a slight shiver.

’That damned witch...’ the Titan muttered through their private connection.

The blood dripping from Shia’s crystal leaves dragged Ash’Kral back to a battlefield he could never forget.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers advanced over ground littered with corpses... and among the dead stood a barefoot woman in torn robes, laughing with her crimson hair plastered to her bloody face.

Then, she opened her mouth.

Blood burst from the corpses’ wounds, twisting into thick streams that rushed down her throat. Bodies shriveled inside their armor... entire piles of dead soldiers emptied as she drank enough blood to fill a lake!

She threw her head back and breathed crimson mist into the sky.

The clouds turned red.

Then, blood hammered the battlefield.

A mere hundred Gorathi berserkers raised their faces to the downpour, drinking with open mouths as blood flooded their wounds.

Torn muscles rebuilt. Broken bones snapped into place... even warriors who lay dying rose with enough strength to charge!

Their roars drowned out the enemy’s war horns!

Ash’Kral watched a sword cleave one through the waist.

His upper body struck the mud... yet his hand caught his killer’s ankle. Before the soldier could wrench himself free, blood gathered between the severed halves and dragged them together.

The Gorathi rose, laughing, and split the man’s face with his axe!

Across the battlefield, spears pierced hearts and spells tore bodies apart... but the rain kept pouring, and the berserkers kept getting up!

The army broke.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers turned to flee from a mere hundred blood-soaked lunatics who no longer bothered defending themselves!

The Mad Witch drank from every fresh corpse, breathing their blood into the clouds while her descendants chased down the living.

The more they killed, the harder it rained.

Their enemies’ own blood kept restoring them to their peak... feeding the slaughter until there was no one left to kill.

And through it all, the Mad Witch never stopped laughing...

...

’You still hope to bring her back?’ the Titan asked privately.

’More than ever.’

He had recommended that bloodline for a reason... becoming an Origin Heir had always been a shot in the dark for Shia, but watching her now, he finally saw a real chance of awakening the Mad Witch even if she never reached that point.

The Titan studied his old friend’s face, finding the same cold resolve he remembered... no matter how much Ash’Kral seemed to soften or open up, nothing had changed when it came to his goal.

He let out a deep sigh.

’Awakening her means giving her Shia’s body... Are you fine with that, even if Levi loses a friend?’

Ash’Kral turned a cold stare toward him.

’Don’t get soft on me now, Old Bark.’

’I’m asking if you’ve considered what this would mean to him.’

’What awaits us down this path is no regular war,’ Ash’Kral replied. ’We need the Mad Witch back. If Shia can’t survive her awakening... then that’s a loss I’m willing to accept.’

’Levi isn’t.’

Ash’Kral’s stare remained emotionless.

’So be it.’

Meanwhile, Shia celebrated with Levi and her friends, unaware of what her growing strength would eventually cost her.

With each evolution, she crept closer to her own damnation...