Supreme Magus

Chapter 3910: Proper Evolution (Part 1)

Lith rushed to the crystal tank, his readings identical to those he had obtained in his other forms. The shape of his life force, however, couldn’t have been more different.

It still looked like a colossus, but made of countless prismatic threads. The seven elemental spheres had now moved to his head, and six vortices connected the colossus’ back to his chest.

Six atrophied mana organs could be seen where his brain, lungs, kidneys, and liver were supposed to be. A small, flaming black star replaced the heart and contained the compressed life forces of the Void and the Voidfeather Dragon.

The heart absorbed the world energy coming from the wings and transmitted it to the eyes and the mana organs through the prismatic threads.

Unlike the other evolved humans that the Infirmary had examined so far, the threads of Lith’s life force had no fixed color. It changed according to which of the seven elements they carried and reverted to the same deep red of his skin once the flow ended.

"Do you see that?" Baba Yaga said. "That’s what a proper evolution should look like. It displays both deep and superficial changes, just like I told you. The life force of a rank 0 human is too stiff, making it hard for them to shapeshift or cure a congenital disease.

"My hypothesis is that going from human to Red Human-"

"Hey!" Lith cut her short. "The more you call my evolved human form like that, the more likely the name will catch on."

"How should I call it, then?" Baba Yaga crossed her six arms in front of her chest.

"Indech." Lith replied, knowing that Kamila and Solus would probably never let him hear the end of it.

"What does it mean?" The Red Mother asked in puzzlement.

"Absolutely nothing." Lith lied through his teeth. "But at least it’s not as lame as ’Red Human’."

"I can’t argue with that." Baba Yaga nodded and resumed her explanation. "As I was saying, my hypothesis is that going from human to Indech requires replacing the clunky blocks with the fluid threads.

"They conduct the mana better and can accommodate the mana organs needed to filter and process the elements." She tapped on the whirlpools, the elemental spheres, and the various mana organs in the making that belonged to the different ranks of evolved humans.

Lith’s life force exhibited more mana organs than Ryla’s, but they were either atrophied or incomplete. Six of the Fomor’s mana organs were fully developed, while the rest still showed signs of growth.

Urhen possessed only a few mana organs, and they were fully functional.

"And your theory matches my findings." Quylla said. "I noticed different parts of Ryla’s life force becoming thinner and smoother as her treatment advances, but I expected it to result in some sort of blood circulatory system that would support the existing framework, not replace it."

She highlighted and zoomed in on the sections of the Fomor’s life force that had experienced the most evident changes since Quylla had started working on a treatment.

They still looked more like building blocks than threads, but the resemblance to Lith’s Indech life force was undeniable. The impression the two evolutionary stages gave while displayed side by side was that of a finished product compared to an early prototype.

"If you are right, Yaga, then I can expect Ryla’s unfallen life force to be similar to Lith’s. Just with fewer threads and mana organs." Quylla pondered.

"Is this useful for your research?" Ryla asked.

"More than you think." Quylla nodded. "I still have a lot of work ahead, but this data gives me a clear direction. Until this moment, I was going blind, whereas now I know what your life force should look like and the level of complexity it should reach."

She pointed at Lith’s Indech life force first and then at Morok’s.

"This also saves me a lot of trial-and-error procedures for you Balors, Urhen. Once I’m done devising the proper treatment for Ryla, I should have everything I need to start working on yours."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The Balor and the Fomor jumped with joy, hugging Quylla, Baba Yaga, Morok, and Lith.

Yet while Quylla was lifted in their arms like a little girl, the Tyrant and the Indech were tall and big enough to give a completely different vibe. Especially when they returned the embrace, and the two women buried their heads in their chests.

’Calm down. Urhen and Ryla are just happy.’ Quylla and Kamila never stopped smiling, yet they clenched their hands so hard that their knuckles popped. ’There is no reason to throw a fit. Think of the baby/ies.’

"I didn’t understand much." Aran said in confusion. "Does all this Healer jibber-jabber mean that one day I will look like Big Brother?"

"Good question." Lith nodded. "Tista?"

"On it, Little Brother." She took his hand for courage, closed her eyes, and focused on the melody of the human life force.

The transformation was as smooth and fast as Lith’s, with only one difference. It was accompanied by the sound of tearing fabric and ripped clothes as Tista grew bigger in every direction.

"Tista!" Elina reproached her daughter while covering Raaz’s eyes with her hand.

"What’s wrong with you, Lil Sis?" Rena snarled while forcing Senton to turn around.

"What’s the p- Gods, why?" Tista whined as her seven eyes opened and she saw the tattered remains of her Skinwalker armor.

During her stay in the Desert, she had left Ishka’s Honor inside the Spark to further its refinement process, like Tista always did when she didn’t expect trouble. She was currently wearing an old model of enchanted armor that could fit an adult man up to Lith’s size.

Alas, Tista had turned into a 2,2 meters (7’3") shapely woman with crimson red skin and a set of snow-white wings on her back.

Her arms, shoulders, hips, and wings had torn her clothes open in the process, exposing much more skin than was proper. The heart protector enchantment of the artifact had held, but what was left of Tista’s dress could easily pass for a form-hugging one-piece swimsuit.

The magnitude of her curves and the perfection of her features that almost reached Tyris’ beauty made things many times worse.

"Why did this happen only to me?" Tista stared at Lith and Kamila in outrage.

"I assumed this might happen, and I changed into my Voidwalker armor before picking you guys up." Lith shrugged.

"I knew this might happen and didn’t skimp on the materials for the Voidfeather armor." Salaark’s voice answered for Kamila. "It’s my wedding gift and I’m no stingy Dragon."

"Don’t worry too much, Tista." Morok shrugged as the female Indech managed to turn even redder. "There’s only family and women here."𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Except you!" She reverted to her human form, and the Skinwalker armor instantly repaired itself. "You are neither."

"Consider me offended." The Tyrant grunted. "After everything we went through together, I considered you family."

"But you are not!" Quylla chimed in to no one’s surprise.

"What’s the big deal?" Aran asked, making everyone realize that it was a discussion for another day. "That thing wasn’t different from the swimsuit Big Sis wears on the beach, was it?"