NOVEL NEXT 32: Syntropic Merger
[System Alert: Convergent Evolution of Emotional Amplifiers Detected. These are not the same bulbees you encountered in the City Which Must Not Be Named! These are Ferguson Bulbees - a Local Varietal with enhanced empathic sensitivity. Well done, you've discovered a new species! Achievement Unlocked: "Emotional Entomologist"]
"New species?!" Nessy squealed, her pitch reaching heights that made Krysanthea wince. "We discovered something new! Ha, I'm the scientist now! An emotional entomo-whatevs!"
"Convergent evolution... that would suggest parallel development rather than migration. A local variant. They must indeed have been hiding somewhere in my forest, if the System is to be believed," Kristi murmured. "Right… I've seen strange lights in the mountains occasionally, but assumed they were just atmospheric anomalies from Systemfall. I never imagined they were... these damn things."
"They're beautiful," Nessy whispered, her blue eyes reflecting the shifting patterns of light.
Gradually, all of the Bulbees began to move toward Sandwichu. One by one, they alighted on the crystalline buds that decorated its branches. Upon contact, each bud opened like a flower, revealing faceted glass petals that captured and refracted the bulbees' light in prismatic bursts of color.
"What's happening?" Kristi stared at the electric insects with wide eyes
"Eeeeeeeeeeeee! They're pollinating it," Nessy clarified. "Look, look!"
The process continued until every bud had bloomed into a crystal flower, each cradling a bulbee at its center. But they didn't simply rest there - they began to sink into the glass petals, their bodies merging with the tree's structure. The boundary between insect and plant blurred, their lamp-light glass bulbs becoming part of the tree itself, pulsing through its branches like luminous flowers.
With each fusion, the tree grew more vibrant. Its glass branches elongated and thickened, new branches forming along their length. The concrete base bubbled, roots of crystalline material spreading visibly beneath the container, creating intricate patterns that resembled circuit boards made of living glass.
"They're... becoming part of it," I uttered, watching as the last bulbee fused completely with its flower.
"Is that... normal?" Krysanthea asked.
"None of this is normal," I pointed out. "But it doesn't feel threatening. Right, Ness?"
"Right," the husky inhaled and nodded. "They're friendly as far as I can smell."
The tree began to produce something new–not the simple sandwiches of before, but crystalline fruits that contained what looked like liquid light, pulsing with the combined energy of tree and insects. They grew and ripened before our eyes, the size of tiny apples, translucent and gleaming with inner radiance.
"So pretty," Nessy let out.
"This wasn't part of the plan," Kristi hissed. "We needed the tree pollinated to produce healing sandwiches for Alec, not to become a permanent habitat for System insects!"
"I think it's both," Nessy voiced. "I reckon they want to stay here forever for the tree to produce fruit."
"How do you know?" The raptor asked.
"Foresight powers!" The husky fired back.
"This is so wrong on so many levels," Kristi said. She placed the plexiglass cover onto the container with a shudder.
[Syntropic Fusion Initiated: Bulbees + Sandwichu = Symbiotic Entity Established. Pack bond strengthened by 27%. Questline achievement unlocked–Pack Trio solidified! Upgrading involved participants...]
The System message flashed brighter than any previous one, accompanied by a surge of energy that rippled through the air. All three of us gasped as the silver text expanded, surrounding us in a cocoon of light.
"See? They ain't going nowhere," Nessy inhaled, her tail wagging with near-dangerous velocity. "They are totally becoming part of the tree… forming a Syntropic bond between two separate concepts!"
"Upgrading participants?" Krysanthea repeated, her voice edged with both wonder and alarm. "What does that—"
Before she could finish her question, brilliant columns of light erupted around each of us, my body feeling like every nerve was tingling from within. Three translucent stat screens materialized, hovering in the air in front of us.
| Name: Alec Benoit Foster
| Species: Human (Reconstituted)
| Level: 2 [Level Up!]
| Core Affinity: Reconstitution
| Health: 100/100%
| Reconstitution: 100/100%
| Strength: 14
| Agility: 4
| Dexterity: 12
| Vitality: 31
| Charisma: 9
| Foresight: 2
| Intelligence: 37
| Wisdom: 30
| Skills: [Reconstitution], [Pack Leader], [Depictomancy]
| New Skill Unlocked: [Syntropic Fusion]
| Name: Nessy Rex Whitepaw
| Species & Subtype: Pradavarian - Husky
| Level: 2 [Level Up!]
| Core Affinity: Scrutiosmia
| Health: 97/100%
| Scrutiosmia: 100/100%
| Riffweld: 100/100%
| Strength: 23
| Agility: 29
| Dexterity: 25
| Vitality: 14
| Charisma: 18
| Foresight: 30
| Intelligence: 3
| Wisdom: 3
| Skills: [Scrutiosmia], [Riffweld], [Pack Bond]
| New Skill Unlocked: [Emotional Resonance]
| Available Points to Allocate: 5
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| Name: Krysanthea Liss Strand
| Age: 25 [soul] / 23 [body]
| Species & Subtype: Pradavarian - Velociraptor
| Core Affinity: Fallbeast Slayer [Cursed]
| Level: 10 [-9]
| Health: 63/100% | Corruption Perception: 100/100%
| Strength: 127 [-64]
| Agility: 119 [-64]
| Dexterity: 96 [-64]
| Vitality: 88 [-64]
| Charisma: 78 [-64]
| Foresight: 22 [-21]
| Intelligence: 126 [-64]
| Wisdom: 67 [-64]
| Skills: [Taintsense], [Fallbeast Slayer]
| Afflictions: [Highway 69 Dungeon Soul Damage - 64/65], [Apeirophobia - 63/64]
| Available Points to Allocate: 5
| Pack Quests:
| "Make it bloom" - Completed, congrats on your numberage evolution, adventurers!
| "Dungeoneering 101" - Clear the Birchwood Dungeon of its acidic slime infestation.
| "The Prodigal Son Returns" - Maintain cover for Alec to reinforce his alliance with the Strand Raptor Clan.
| "Fort Pack" - Establish your domain and reinforce it against foreign invaders!
| Pack XP: 0/100%
"HOLY SHIT WE LEVELED UP!" Nessy howled, leaping to her feet and dancing around the stats floating in the air. "Look at all those pretty green numbers! AAAAAAH! Everything reloaded! Alec's at one hundred Reconstitution! My sniffery is maxed out too, yass!
"We did it! We did it!" she sang, performing a victory dance around the RV. "Packmates forever, magical tree friends, I knew we could do it!"
Krysanthea stood transfixed, staring at her own stat screen. "My... affliction," she whispered. "It's healing. The soul damage is actually healing!" A single tear escaped her amber eye, tracking a glistening path down her scaled cheek.
"We need to distribute our points!" Nessy exclaimed, bouncing around us. "Where should I put mine? Intelligence? Wisdom? NAH! MORE AGILITY! I wanna be the fastest doggo in Ferguson!"
"Stop flapping around like you're on fire," Krysanthea hissed out. "The freaky bees might respond to excessive stimulation."
As if to prove her point, the bulbees inside the container pulsed brighter at Nessy's celebration, their tiny bodies flashing in synchronicity with her movements.
"Nah! See? They like me!" Nessy declared, pressing her nose against the container. "Hello, little sparkle-bug-flowers! Welcome to Fort Pack!"
"Fort Pack?" I echoed.
"Our RV domain," she explained, as if it were obvious. "Every pack needs a fortress. I just thought of the name. It fits, doesn't it?"
Krysanthea pinched the bridge of her snout with her claws. "This is an old RV and a temporary accommodation, not a... fortress. Would you stop dancing around?"
"Temporary is what you think," Nessy countered, flashing a wide grin. "But my nose knows better. This place smells more like home every minute. Soon it'll smell like our pack forever!"
"Now that's a horrifying thought," Krysanthea muttered.
"A magic RV bus isn't horrifying–it's awesome!" Nessy declared. "Think of all the places we could drive it into! Also, what's everyone investing in?"
"We should consider our strengths and weaknesses," I suggested, studying my own stat screen. "Maybe balance things out, Ness?"
"Pfft, balance is boring," Nessy declared. "I'm going all-in on what makes me ME!"
[Distribute your points wisely. Or don't. The System enjoys rating your choices almost as much as it enjoys rating the consequences...]
"Pfff. Even the System's sass leveled up," Nessy giggled.
"I'm considering putting all five points into my low-ass Foresight," Krysanthea declared without hesitation. "If I'm going to protect Ferguson, I need to feel the threats coming."
"Smart lizard," Nessy nodded approvingly, then bounced on her toes. "I think… I'll be splitting mine between Agility and Charisma! Three for zoomy-zoom and two for extra charm! Because who doesn't need more charm?"
"Someone who already licks people's faces without permission?" Krysanthea suggested dryly.
"Exactly! Imagine how irresistible I'll be with even MORE charisma!" Nessy's tail wagged at hyperspeed. "Maybe if I acquire enough Charisma, someone might actually ask me to lick their faces! That'll be a glorious day."
"Yeah, that's never going to happen," Kristi said.
"A girl can dream!" Nessy laughed.
I considered my options carefully. "I think I'll put everything into Vitality," I decided. "The more immune my body is to damage, the better I can handle whatever tries to kill me."
As we allocated our points, the stats on our floating screens adjusted accordingly. When the last point was assigned, the screens flashed once and then dissolved into motes of silver light that sank into our bodies. A warm sensation spread through me, a tingling that started at my core and radiated outward to my fingertips and toes. I felt dizzy for a moment, but then the sensation passed.
"Whoa," Nessy breathed, examining her paws as if expecting them to look different. "I feel... stronger. A touch faster. Bet I could run all the way around Ferguson without stopping!"
Krysanthea closed her eyes, her feathers rising and falling with deep, measured breaths. "Hmmm… The weight," she whispered. "It's... lighter. Not gone, but... Marginally more bearable." Her amber eyes opened. "I can think clearer now."
Meanwhile, the tree continued its transformation, seemingly levelling up too. The crystalline fruits swelled to maturity, their inner light pulsing in synchrony with our heartbeats - a visible manifestation of our strengthened connection.
[Sandwichu Evolution Complete: Introducing the Bulwichu Tree - A syntropic fusion of positive emotional resonance and glassine matter. Its fruits contain concentrated Reconstitution energy with side effects that may or may not include euphoria, increased empathic capacity, and occasional glimpses across dimensional boundaries. Enjoy responsibly!]
"What Dimensional boundaries?!" Kristi growled. "Bulwichu Tree? Who names these things?"
"Mostly me," Nessy said. "I'm a naming champion. I thought that it should be named that a few minutes ago."
Below the container, thin, translucent roots began to extend from the concrete base, spreading across the floor of the Airstream like veins of liquid crystal.
"Umm, guys?" I pointed at the floor. "Look."
The roots were pushing through the bottom of the plexiglass container, breaking it open from the inside. They spread rapidly, anchoring themselves into the metal floor of the RV, merging with it, transforming it. Where the roots touched, the aluminum took on a subtle, crystalline quality, as if the very substance of our shelter was being incorporated into the tree's growing network.
"Gah! It's breaking containment!" Krysanthea exclaimed. "Fuck!"
[Domain Foundation Established: "Fort Pack" recognized by the System. Congratulations on your first permanent territory stake! Your Bulwichu Tree has successfully rooted into the conceptual foundation of your RV home, creating a stable anchor point resistant to Systemfall corruption. All pack members will experience greater Syntropy while within domain boundaries. Warning: Damaging your domain's heart-core may cause severe withdrawal symptoms for domain inhabitants. Choose your parking spots wisely–An Entropic location will degrade your mobile domain gradually. Dimensional boundary established! Domain interior Space expanded by +10 centimeters.]
The RV groaned slightly; its interiors wobbled a tiniest bit as the space between us and the tree seemed to increase by ten centimeters as the tree grew upward, obliterating the container entirely with its glass branches and leaves.
"Did it just fucking stretch space?!" Kristi barked. "What the shit?!"
The raptor spun her head around at the transformed RV, now with shimmering crystalline roots gradually spreading across the floor and up the walls, merging with the aluminum structure in elegant, circuit-like patterns. The entire space hummed with a subtle vibration, like a tuning fork struck at just the right frequency.
"That's neat," the husky-girl commented. "I was concerned about the lack of tail-swishing space. Guess, it decided to fulfill my wish?"
"So you're to blame for this?" The raptor glared at Nessy.
"Maybe!" Nessy declared. "What are you grouching about? Maybe if we vibe in here harder it'll give us a second floor!"
"I'm not grouching! My job is to keep Systemfall out of the valley, not to create bloody dimensional anomalies!"
Nessy stuck her head out of the door, swiveling her ears left and right and sniffing the air. "It's fine as long as nobody goes in. It looks perfectly ordinary on the outside.
"Slayer help me," the raptor exhaled.