Beast Evolution Forge

He stared at the drawing until his eyes burned, trying to force more memories to surface. The empty throne seemed to mock him with its silence.

"Get some rest," he told himself, putting the notes away. "We have a long journey ahead."

But sleep proved elusive. He lay awake, watching the stars through gaps in the forest canopy. The silver threads of the Void Lattice were visible even here, stretching across the night sky like luminous spider silk.

[You're brooding.]

'I'm thinking, If I created these fractures as seals, why make them so... unstable? Why not something more permanent?'

[Perhaps permanence wasn't the goal. Think about it - a rigid seal would simply break under enough pressure. But a network of controlled fractures...]

'Could adapt and redistribute the strain.' He frowned. 'Like a living organism.'

[Exactly. You didn't just create a prison - you created a system that could evolve.]

A twig snapped nearby. He sat up, hand moving to his sword, but it was only Wren. She was sitting by the dying fire, poking at the embers with a stick.

"Can't sleep either?" he asked quietly, moving to join her.

She shook her head. "Too many thoughts."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching sparks drift upward into the darkness. The silver threads seemed to bend around Wren, he noticed, as if avoiding her entirely.

"That person we're going to see," Wren finally said, "who is she to you?"

"I'm... not entirely sure." He struggled to grasp the memory that had surfaced earlier. "But I remember her being involved with me personally."

"Master...who were you?"

He stared at her for a moment, seeing no fear or suspiciousness in her eyes. "I was...its hard to explain as I don't know either but I know I was sealed before coming to zenith, I don't know how I got unsealed or ended up there but I think the organization had something to do with it. I-"

She turned into her weasel form and jumped on his shoulder, rubbing herself on his cheek, "It's ok. I understand now, you don't have to continue. You must have suffered so much, bottling up everything and taking all the burden. I am here with you now, you don't have to feel alone."

He felt something warm in his chest at her words. Her small form stayed on his shoulder, providing silent comfort.

[She really does care about you.]

'Yeah... I don't deserve their loyalty after keeping so many secrets.'

"Thank you, Wren," he said softly, gently petting her head. "You know, for someone so young, you understand things better than most adults."

She transformed back into her human form, sitting beside him. "It's because you taught us to think carefully about things. To look underneath what's obvious."

The fire crackled softly as they sat together. In the distance, an owl hooted.

"Master," she said after a while, "about this person we're going to see... do you think she might be dangerous?"

He thought about it. "Honestly? Probably. Anyone who knows about dimensional magic and sealing techniques isn't likely to be harmless. But right now, she's our best chance at answers."

"Should we wake the others? Take turns keeping watch?"

"No, let them sleep. I'll stay up." He smiled at her. "You should rest too."

She nodded and went back to her sleeping spot, but not before giving him one last concerned look.

Once alone again, he pulled out the black box and studied the researcher's notes one more time. Something about the drawings of the Hollow Throne kept drawing his attention.

[Those symbols around the throne... they're the same ones you used to create the fractures.]

'Can you read them?'

[Not exactly. But they feel familiar, like something you'd understand if you remembered everything.]

He traced one of the symbols with his finger. As he did, silver light flickered around his hand.

'Tomorrow we start looking for answers,' he thought. 'And hopefully, we'll find out who - or what - I really am.'

[Just be careful. Some truths are sealed away for good reasons.]

The night grew deeper as he kept his silent watch, wondering what mysteries tomorrow would bring.

---

He watched the sunrise slowly light up the sky. He has not slept at all, but strangely didn't feel tired.

[That energy is still sustaining you. But you should rest eventually.]

'Later. We need to move first.'

He woke the girls gently. They packed up camp quickly and quietly, a routine they had practiced many times before.

"Which way now?" Ruby asked, adjusting her daggers.

He pointed east. "There's a village called Moonhaven. That's where we'll find her."

"Do you remember her name?" Ada asked as they started walking.

"Luna," he said, the name coming to him suddenly. "She's... she was a researcher of some kind."

They walked through the morning, keeping to small paths through the forest rather than the main road. He kept checking for the silver threads, making sure none followed them too closely.

Around midday, they stopped by a stream for rest. While the girls filled their water containers, Vell practiced with his new power. He created small patches of solid air, testing how long he could hold them.

[You're getting stronger. The core's energy is becoming more integrated.] Stay connected with My Virtual Library Empire

'Is that good or bad?'

[Depends on what you do with it.]

Suddenly, Jia called out from upstream. "Master! There's something weird in the water!"

They all rushed to where she stood. In the stream, the water flowed around what looked like an invisible wall - another fracture, but smaller than the last one.

"Should we try to seal it?" Regina asked.

He studied it carefully. "No, this one's different. It's... stable somehow. Like it's meant to be here."

[It's part of the original network. One of your anchor points.]

"Let's keep moving," he said. "But mark this location on our map. We might need to come back later."

They continued their journey east. As they walked, Vell noticed Ruby kept looking at him strangely.

"Something wrong?" he finally asked.

"You seem different," she said. "More... sure about things. Like you know where we're going even though you said you didn't remember much."

He considered her words. "It's hard to explain. It's like... walking through a familiar house in the dark. You don't see everything clearly, but your feet remember the way."

[Nice explanation. Poetic even.]

'Shut up.'

By evening, they could see smoke from chimneys in the distance - Moonhaven village was close.

"We'll camp here tonight," he said, stopping in a protected hollow. "Tomorrow morning, we'll go into the village. But remember - we need to be careful. No mentioning fractures or the guild."

As they set up camp, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them. Not threatening exactly, but... waiting.

[You feel it too? We're getting closer to something important.]

'Yeah. But what?'

The answer would have to wait until tomorrow, when they finally met Luna - and hopefully started getting some real answers about his past.