The blood was still fresh.
Zareth surged forward, legs pounding against slick rock as relentless momentum carried him. The scent of the Scytherachnid's wound was intoxicating—thick and metallic, laced with fading rage and growing desperation. It painted a perfect trail through the gloom, each smear on the cavern wall a silent cry for vengeance.
The air thickened as he descended, colder and more humid than before. Moisture condensed on the tips of his antennae, weighing them down—but not dulling them. He could hear it now—the erratic scraping of claws ahead, the unsteady hisses of a wounded predator barely clinging to its pride. Zareth clicked his mandibles once in grim anticipation.
Then, something changed.
The tunnel narrowed abruptly, the walls closing in with jagged, damp stone. Bioluminescent moss became sparse, and a sickly violet glow began to pulse from deeper within, reflecting off veins of some unknown mineral. With each step, the stone grew darker, almost obsidian, and emitted a subtle warmth that clashed with the damp cold.
Zareth paused at a fork.
The blood trail continued left, a thick smear along the floor. But a few drops had splattered right, far less pronounced—a feint, perhaps? He lowered his body and brushed the ground with his antennae. The left path reeked of ichor and panic. The right was faint, almost sterile.
He chose left.
Further in, the cavern's structure began to warp. Spindly columns of stone rose like twisted tree roots, arching into a ceiling that oozed a faint, acidic drip. Each droplet sizzled softly where it touched the floor, and the air grew hazy with a faint yellow mist. The sound of skittering grew louder, but not just from the Scytherachnid.
Zareth slowed.
Movement danced at the edge of his perception—a blur of many-legged creatures clinging to the ceiling. Pale and eyeless, they watched in utter stillness, mouths twitching with anticipation. They weren't scavengers. They were opportunists.
And they knew a wounded predator was near.
The moment Zareth moved again, they descended.
With a hiss, he lashed out, skewering one of the pale creatures with a serrated leg. Another clamped onto his back, mandibles digging for a soft spot in his shell. He rolled violently, slamming into a column and dislodging it with a thunderous crack. Stone and pale flesh rained down. The swarm shrieked and flailed, momentarily disoriented.
He didn't hesitate.
He burst forward through the chaos, following the blood. His legs tore across the softened ground, and the tunnel opened suddenly into a wide basin, a hollowed chamber surrounded by broken stalagmites and an underground stream. Across it, the Scytherachnid stood, breathing raggedly.
Its leg stump still oozed ichor.
But it was no longer alone.
From the far side of the basin, another presence emerged—larger, bulkier, with a shell so black it absorbed the light around it. Its mandibles were fused into a jagged maw, and its back bore hardened ridges like a buried fortress. Crimson eyes locked onto Zareth with cruel intelligence.
A guardian? No. A mate? Perhaps. Whatever it was, it had been drawn by the blood—or by the Scytherachnid's call.
>————<>————<
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
Alert: You have entered a Shared Predator Territory.
New Sub-Objective: Survive the Guardian.
Optional: Eliminate both predators to claim Hollow Basin as Secondary Domain.
Rewards: +400 EXP, Evolution Trait Unlock.
>————<>————<
Zareth's legs dug into the earth.
He had chased prey into its den. And now, the den had teeth.
The Guardian's roar shook the cavern walls.
Zareth roared back.
The Guardian struck first.
With shocking speed, the bulk of black shell launched across the basin, jagged limbs shattering stone underfoot. Zareth darted sideways, narrowly dodging a devastating blow that crushed a stalagmite behind him into dust. He didn't engage. Not yet. This wasn't the target he came for.
Instead, he used the Guardian's assault as cover—and lunged toward the weakened Scytherachnid.
It reacted too late. One serrated limb rose to block, but Zareth was already past it, slamming his full weight into the creature and pinning it against the cavern wall. His mandibles tore into the exposed joint near its remaining forelimb, cracking through cartilage with relentless precision.
The Scytherachnid shrieked.
Then a warning spike pierced the air—Zareth twisted, feeling the wind shift just in time as the Guardian's clawed leg came down, narrowly missing him and gouging a crater beside them. He was moving again in an instant, a blur of motion as he circled wide.
The Scytherachnid tried to flee, its movements jerky and blood-slick, but Zareth would not allow it. He struck again—one, two, three punctures in rapid succession, disabling the creature's hind legs. It collapsed, twitching.
The Guardian roared again, more furious now. It thundered toward him, jaws wide and pulsing with foul breath. Zareth leapt, scaling the cavern wall in a desperate sprint before launching himself off a jagged ledge. He landed behind the Guardian, skidding across damp stone, and lunged once more at his dying prey.
This time, his strike hit true.
His mandibles punctured through the Scytherachnid's thorax, twisting until the final screech died in its throat. The creature convulsed once—and then went still.
>————<>————<
[Predator Eliminated]
Hidden Objective Achieved: "Predator's Final Claim"
Reward: +200 EXP | +1 Mutation Key | Evolution Threshold Met
>————<>————<
But before Zareth could even savor the victory, the world exploded in pain.
The Guardian's limb slammed into his side with brutal force, cracking his shell and hurling him across the basin. He crashed against the stone, vision flickering, limbs numb, fluids leaking from the fractured plates of his exoskeleton.
He couldn't move. Not yet.
>————<>————<
[WARNING: Critical Condition]
[Evolution Ready: Processing...]
[Void Resonance Achieved: Evolution Type Pending]
>————<>————<
The Guardian advanced slowly now, savoring the kill. Zareth's vision blurred, flickers of red and white dancing in his mind.
But something else stirred. Something ancient.
The system's final words echoed through the void like a heartbeat.
Evolution Type Pending.
And from the depths of his being, something vast began to awaken.
>————<>————<
[EVOLUTION COMPLETE: Abyssus Scarabothis → Abyssus Scarabothis: Prime Variant]
Processing...
New Form Acquired: Prime Variant – Tier I Mutation Detected
New Biological Traits:
Hardened Carapace Ridges – Outer shell now features segmented armor ridges laced with obsidian-veined plating, increasing durability against heavy physical trauma by 40%.
Void Pulse Mandibles – Mandibles can now discharge a pulse of abyssal energy upon impact. Short cooldown. Effective for destabilizing armored foes.
Predator's Dread – New passive aura. Lesser creatures (or wounded foes) entering Zareth's proximity suffer from panic-induced hesitation, reducing their reaction speed.
Instinctive Riposte – Once per combat, when struck below 25% health, Zareth automatically counters with a lacerating multi-limb strike. (Cooldown: long)
Previous Traits Enhanced:
Adaptive Exoskeleton → Reactive Chitin Matrix: Repairs minor cracks in real-time. Slight resistance to acid and extreme heat added.
Burrowing Predator → Rift Tunneler: Can now shift through semi-solid mineral walls or corrupted matter with less resistance.
>————<>————<
Zareth's limbs twitched.
Then moved.
And then he rose.