Rivers of the Night

Right now, the Alpha was too weak to be of any help to Theron. However, that didn't mean that this would be its limit.

Theron had managed to evolve the Alpha this far already. Who was to say that he couldn't do it again?

Right now, the Alpha was still on the verge of the Fourth Golden Resonance, but the main issue was that it was only a Runebound Beast.

On the continent, this was a shocking thing. Only Clans as powerful as the Blacks and the others of their level could possibly have such a beast under their control. Yet, Theron had had one.

However, here? Theron had already run into so many Arcane Beasts that it was a miracle he was even alive.

Of course, what Theron didn't know just yet was that Arcane Beasts were incredibly rare here. It was the fault of the Howling Shadow Blade that so many had appeared in this river.

Due to the appearance of the legacy here, the concentration of Dark Mana had multiplied several times over, practically creating a separate evolutionary path for the Beasts that called this place home.

The Alpha would be considered a powerful beast here as well. It was just unfortunate that its cultivation was too low to sit at the top of the food chain.

However…

Theron pulled out a Core and lifted the crystal ball off of the podium. With a toss, he threw both at the Alpha.

Saliva dripped from the Alpha's maw, its jaw practically unhinging as it leapt through the air at them.

Theron watched this scene indifferently. There were only two ways that such a thing could go.

Either the Alpha would die in the attempt or come out completely evolved.

In truth, this wasn't strictly true. Under normal circumstances, the Alpha would die 10/10 times. The reason was that its talent was too weak. The Core of a Treading Cloud Realm expert was too powerful for it to swallow now, and the crystal ball suspending a single droplet of blood wasn't just more powerful—it was complex in ways the Alpha wasn't capable of grasping.

Luckily for it… it had Theron.

With a flash, Theron pulled out the Karmic Thread and Scissors once again, piercing his own heart and that of the Alpha's at the same time.

The latter shuddered, thinking for a moment that Theron was trying to kill it—until it felt all of the insights that Theron had gained over the last several hours.

All of a sudden, the chaotic confusion in the Alpha's mind cleared, and it understood the legacy as though it had become the true genius in this situation.

The crystal ball burst in its stomach, allowing the droplet of blood to bleed into it.

As though a fire had erupted in its gut, the Alpha raised its head to the skies and howled, tendrils of black flooding it.

Its body was quickly atrophying as the evolution it was undergoing put its very life at risk.

But then the Core of the Howling Shadow Blade appeared.

The flood of energy pooled into the Alpha's body, its blood churning wildly.

Its howls grew more feverish, its body bristling as though raging winds were passing over it. Its fur stood on end, making it look almost 50% bigger than usual.

Blackened claws that looked carved from black, unpolished iron extended from its paws, cleaving a path out of its once silver claws. Complex runic patterns were painted into the depths of its eyes, and staring into them practically felt like staring into an ancient well of mystery.

Sparks of crimson lightning flashed out of it, its aura growing more violent, more menacing.

And then it happened.

Chi.

The sound of glass breaking echoed, all of the fur of the once-red Alpha turning black in a single instant. And then, as though it had atrophied and been poisoned, it shed in waves, falling from its body and revealing a frail, shivering form that seemed to have lost all of its muscle.

Theron's eyes narrowed, but he didn't panic. Glancing at the Alpha's claws, he noticed that something more substantive was happening.

After the Alpha lost its fur, its flesh began to peel away. As though diseased and wrung dry of all its blood, it fell in waves of dead skin and ash instead of a sloppy, wet, grotesque mess.

And then… all that was left was the bone.

It stood there, seemingly dead. In fact, a blackness was spreading over the bones as well, as though they too would turn to ash.

Slowly, it crept over the white, etching into it and swallowing it whole until there was no more white bone to speak of. Instead, there was the dull, unpolished, and even somewhat coarse blackened bone remaining—almost as though the Alpha had been carved out of cast iron.

A silence fell, and for a moment, Theron almost shook his head. He didn't believe that he would have died like this had it been him, but he felt that it was a shame that the Alpha would suffer in this way. It would have also been very helpful if it had managed to complete its evolution.

However… was it dead?

The runes…

Slowly, in the coarse cast iron the Alpha's bone had become, the irregular bumps began to organize, becoming hard-to-read and obscure symbols and runes.

They grew denser, more compact, and even more complex with every passing moment—until they began to sizzle.

Heat rippled out in all directions.

BADUM.

The echo of a heart almost ruptured Theron's ears—so loud and prominent—and yet there was no heart to speak of in the Alpha…

Until an energy roared to life, exploding out from the bone.

Chi. Chi. Chi.

The Alpha's skeleton shattered—or rather, that was what it looked like upon first glance.

In reality… it broke free from its shell, a resplendent jade etched with complex runic patterns being revealed a moment later.

And then, in a sudden turn, flesh began to weave itself out of thin air, wrapping around the bones with a furious momentum.