At a discrete spot in the dome, hidden underneath an egg was a half-human half-fish Frenzy Beast. It was an Observer, its strength at the bottom of Tier 1. But despite that, it wasn't discovered by all the Skeps that were around.
The Tier 1 Frenzy Beast made an incision on the egg, inserting its hand into it before pulling out the hatchling growing within. Faint black radiance spewed from her hand, dicing the hatchling into numerous even pieces.
It popped a piece into its mouth at discrete intervals, soon finished with the hatchling. It didn't even leave behind the hatchling's developing bones, devouring everything. Once it was completed, it placed its thumb on the incision, trailing across it once.
The incision slowly healed, now making the egg look the same as before, without any damage. Black radiance converged on its body, forming a barrier. It disappeared from its spot, appearing underneath another egg situated far away in the dome. The dome had a radius surpassing 30 kilometres, a massive place underwater.
In its previous place, a black radiance outlining its silhouette still existed. As time passed, the silhouette began to steadily shrink, eventually disappearing. This ensured not even a ripple would be created when the Tier 1 Frenzy Beast had teleported.
Surrounded by tens of Skeps, it had to exercise maximum caution. The Tier 1 Frenzy Beast made a similar incision on the egg it hid under, dicing up the hatchling within before devouring the pieces one by one.
When it was done, it disappeared from the spot. As time passed, the eggs in the area began hatching, all except it. A guard beast arrived, watching it in silence before noticing the oddity. It cracked the shell open, gazing at the egg matter that spewed out.
It shook its head and began to clean up the area. Soon, a Skep arrived at the location, birthing hundreds of eggs. The eggs formed a cluster in the water, drifting with the currents. The guard beasts hurriedly collected them and attached them to the wall in neat order, using their saliva as an adhesive.
The Tier 1 Frenzy Beast watched everything in silence, trying its best to hide. Whenever a guard beast came close or was on the verge of discovering it, a blue radiance would seep into their bodies. An instant later, they would just gloss over its existence.
'My expenditure is greater than my recovery.' The Tier 1 Frenzy Beast thought, frowning as it held its chin. 'The hatchlings have too little energy in them. I am just wasting too much of my energy in teleporting my stool to their dumping area.'
It drank the fluid within the egg to relieve its thirst, its eyes shining with resolve. 'I have been lingering here for the past 6 years ever since I located their nest. But, my gains are too small. At this rate, I would fully expend my energy reserves.'
It then sighed, 'I wonder how Laila is faring. Hope she can pull through before the time limit.'
It gazed at the water surface, looking beyond at the moon that was moving past the horizon. It stared at the moon until it disappeared, sighing before it continued with its task. After eating three more hatchlings, it stopped, gazing at a Skep hovering nearby.
Its gaze was serious, suffused with resolve. It inspected the condition of the Skep, trying to glean as many details as possible. 'Its flesh is at the peak of Tier 5 and it seems to possess numerous abilities, some of which can counter me.'
It then disappeared from the spot, appearing underneath another egg, inspecting the Skep nearby. 'This Skep has more robust flesh than the latter but its abilities are a bit lacking. Even then, it has an ability that can counter me.'
It changed locations once after another, observing the Skeps. It had accumulated a lot of information over the years, knowing the dome like the back of its hand by now. When it first entered the ocean post-death of Gajara Rahi, it faced a lot of trouble.
But eventually, it managed to find the location of a Skep's nest, taking refuge in the place while planning its next objective.
Jyavreh Sahi!
When Gajara Rahi died, she created two beings: the human Laila and the half-human half Frenzy Beast Jyavreh Sahi. Both had their own objectives to accomplish. Laila had her plans in the human city while its plans were in the ocean.
Laila was already traversing the Parasite System, the same path Gajara Rahi had traversed to the peak of. So, her situation was a lot easier, having the abundant experience to rely on. But, Jyavreh Sahi faced a lot of difficulties.
After all, it wished to proceed in the evolution path of the Skeps, trying to gain strength external to the Parasite System. It was why it remained at Tier 1, devising its plans all along.
Soon, it arrived underneath an egg, watching the Skep hovering nearby. 'This Skep has a lot of abilities, a tad more than the rest. But, none of its abilities can counter mine. Alright, it's a do or die situation now. If I delay any longer, I will run out of energy to affect anything.'
The Skep was currently giving birth, spewing out eggs in large volumes. Jyavreh Sahi watched with bated breath, finishing its preparations. A black barrier covered its body, condensing to the limit.
It unleashed three soul tendrils, seeping them into the Skep's body. They moved around, relaying everything they found to it, soon traversing every nook and cranny of the Skep's body.
The moment the Skep spewed out the final egg, Jyavreh Sahi teleported to the hole in the Skep's birth organ, entering it. Covered by the black barrier, it was as if Jyavreh Sahi existed in another dimension. The Skep was unable to detect it.
Jyavreh Sahi hurriedly moved inside, arriving before a sea of cords. There were hundreds of them in the area, their extremity blowing out a small bubble that was growing in size. Among them, a cord had already blown a bubble the size of the egg from before, solidifying it while faint mist circulated within.
Jyavreh Sahi teleported within that bubble, unleashing a certain influence through its soul tendrils while retracting its black barrier. Faint blue radiance seeped into the Skep, affecting it. At the next moment, the bubble stopped solidifying; the remaining bubbles had finished solidifying by now, becoming eggshells.
Faint liquid began to flow into it, corroding Jyavreh Sahi's body. Jyavreh Sahi squinted under the pain, its body trembling while the skin began to melt. A couple of seconds later, it teleported out, returning to its position underneath the egg.
'That was risky. It was only birthing a Swarm member.' It then began to influence the Skep through its soul tendrils. Time passed in such a manner. Soon, the Skep spewed out another batch of eggs. The moment it finished, Jyavreh Sahi teleported inside its birth organ.
A couple of seconds later, it returned, looking disappointed. 'From everything I had investigated, it was this Skep's turn to birth a Skep. But, it seems to need some more time for it to happen.'
Jyavreh Sahi continued to teleport in and out the Skep, unwavering in its actions, displaying incredible patience. Soon, its actions bore fruit. All the cords inside the birth organ converged to one spot, collectively beginning to blow a single bubble.
This bubble was different from the ones before, its size being massive while the bubble itself was tremendously tough. Soon, the bubble finished forming, beginning to solidify. The Skep's body suddenly began to tremble, the action increasing to fervour in a matter of seconds.
Suddenly, all the cords began to burn while a bluish-white radiance leaked out from them. Bluish-white mist gushed into the bubble, condensing into a crystal half the size of the Skep's energy crystal. The moment it condensed, it was as if the Skep had lost half its power, turning incredibly weak.
Four Skeps converged around it, guarding it while they continued to give birth to more eggs.
'The Skep's birth crystal! It's finally here!' Jyavreh Sahi teleported into the bubble, creating a black barrier over her spine. Her spine was instantaneously diced into dust and teleported to a spot where the Skeps dumped their body waste.
As a chain reaction, her body began to break down. But, before that could finish, she pulled out a tiny chip from her mouth. The chip was a piece of flesh, the aura imbued within being extremely frightening. If it unleashed all the aura contained within it in an instant, it could obliterate the Skep.
But, Jyavreh Sahi didn't do that, connecting tens of thousands of soul tendrils to it, transferring soul energy to it in a torrent. It was to such an extent that its eyes instantly dimmed while its body turned sluggish.
Within a second, the chip glowed with a gentle radiance. Through its Will, it manipulated the radiance, wrapping both its body and the Skep's birth crystal, activating the effect.
Tier 6 Skill—Fusion!
It was Gajara Rahi's Tier 6 Skill. Using her abilities and research results, she shaved off a part of her spine and made it retain her Tier 6 Skill. It became a Tier 6 Relic, though it could only be used once, after which it would evaporate.
Jyavreh Sahi's body broke down—due to its Wisdom Parasite getting destroyed. Anyone else only had the option to die. But, it was different; Jyavreh Sahi hovered in its soul form, watching everything in calm. Its breaking body fused into the Skep's birth crystal as a result of the Tier 6 Skill.
A second later, the soul form of Jyavreh Sahi entered the birth crystal, not facing any resistance. Now, the Skep's birth crystal was its genuine body. Bluish-white mist entered the bubble and was absorbed by the birth crystal, beginning to form a layer of flesh over it.
The flesh soon grew, from a blob of meat to a set of defining features. 'Now, I only have to wait. When I am born, I will be reborn as…'
'A Skep!'