The first waves of electricity struck.
Leo's body convulsed. Pain seared through every nerve.
But something unexpected happened.
Instead of crumbling under the assault, his mimic abilities responded. Adapting. Electricity that could have made him faint flowed through controlled paths. His rapidly shifting body redirected it.
Is this Silva's power at work again? Leo gritted his teeth. Excitement crept in despite the agony.
The electric assault intensified. Each second brought fresh waves of current. But as it did, Leo felt himself growing stronger. More attuned to the energy. His extra limbs, stuck in the Void Predator's teeth, started to pulse with electric energy.
The void, once empty, now responded to his will.
Leo focused and reversed the energy flow. He channeled the Void Predator's attack back through his limbs and into the monster's mouth, making it several times stronger.
It thrashed violently. Its massive body convulsed as the redirected energy surged through its system.
"You're not the only one who can adapt," Leo growled, pushing harder, forcing more of the creature's power back upon itself.
As electricity flowed through the Void Predator's huge body, Leo thought it would writhe in pain. But to his surprise, the creature shook off the attack with relative ease. Its body trembled, momentarily stunned, but the devastating effect he'd expected never came.
"Impressive."
Leo's eyes narrowed as he studied the beast.
"Of course, you've shaped beyond your own limits," Leo muttered.
The void forces evolution.
A newfound respect for the creature bloomed within him, mingled with growing curiosity. The Void Predator was more than a mindless beast. It thrived in its harsh surroundings. It was built to survive and rule this dark world.
Suddenly, Leo felt an odd sensation stirring in his chest. It was as if something deep within him was resonating with the Void Predator, calling out to it. His body felt a strange urge. It was a pull so strong that his muscles twitched.
"What the—" he started, but before he could finish his thought, his body acted on its own.
His four limbs twisted and combined into one enormous arm. His heart pounding as awe and unease coursed through him.
Time seemed to slow for a heartbeat.
Then, without warning, the massive limb shot forward with blinding speed.
It stretched out, impossibly long, racing towards the Void Predator. As it reached the creature, it began to expand even further, enveloping the monster's titanic body in a dark, living shroud.
A surge of alien power flooded Leo's senses. His mind connected with the Void Predator's, drawing from its primal essence. This creature had been formed by ages of survival in the dark.
It was as if he was connecting directly with the Void Predator, tapping into its very core. He felt its strength and primal fury. There was also something else. A deep well of knowledge built up over millennia in this endless void.
"This is just like my perk," Leo muttered, awe creeping into his voice. His mimic skills, inherited from Silva, were growing again. Surpassing all he had imagined.
As the dark shroud tightened around the Void Predator, Leo felt a surge of information flooding into his mind. After centuries in the void, the predator faced many battles with monstrous beings. The secrets of navigating endless darkness flooded his mind in a dizzying rush.
The Void Predator thrashed wildly, its massive form bucking and twisting as it fought against Leo's grip. But with each passing second, its movements grew weaker, its struggles less frantic.
Leo gritted his teeth, focusing all his will on maintaining control. "Just a little longer," he growled, pushing himself to the limit.
As the absorption neared its completion, Leo felt a final burst of energy from the Void Predator. It was more than raw power. It was a flicker of consciousness, a final roar against its fate.
For a brief moment, Leo saw through the creature's eyes. He glimpsed the vast void, filled with life and danger beyond human understanding. He felt the Void Predator's primordial hunger, its ceaseless drive to hunt and devour. And in that instant, he understood that he had gained far more than just power.
He had inherited the mantle of an apex predator of the void.
As the Void Predator's essence faded, Leo's extra limb shrank back to normal. The void around them fell silent, the epic struggle ending as suddenly as it had begun.
Leo floated there, panting heavily, his mind reeling from the experience. He looked down at his hands flexing his fingers as he felt the new power coursing through him.
As the last bits of the Void Predator faded away, Leo sensed a new disturbance in the endless dark. His new senses buzzed with recognition, and a grim smile touched his lips.
"Coming for your partner, are you?" His voice was a low rumble that seemed to resonate with the void itself.
The memory of the absorbed creature flashed through his mind. Two titanic forms moved in perfect synchronization, hunting together through the timeless expanse.
A pang of guilt tugged at him. An unexpected empathy for the creature he'd just consumed. Memories of isolation and endless hunting flickered through his mind. But he felt a tingling sensation on his face, instantly clearing his mind.
"You're truly amazing hunters," Leo acknowledged, his voice carrying a hint of admiration. "I can't give your partner back, but..." His eyes gleamed with a predatory light. "I can take you with her."
Without hesitation, Leo extended his hand towards the approaching behemoth. A huge limb shot from his back. It raced toward the second Void Predator at an alarming speed. In the blink of an eye, it expanded, taking on a form that dwarfed even the monstrous creature racing towards him.
The limb changed into a giant Void Predator. Its mouth was a dark cavern, big enough to swallow whole worlds. Bioluminescent patterns swirled around its body, looking like galaxies. A hypnotic display of power and hunger. It was as if Leo had summoned the ultimate apex predator of the void. A nightmare given flesh.
The approaching Void Predator seemed small and weak, despite its size and ferocity. But instead of backing down, the beast charged ahead, driven by its primal instincts. It was a creature of pure survival, pushed to challenge the void.
With a sound that seemed to shake the void, Leo's creation lunged forward. Its massive jaws closed around the other Void Predator, engulfing it completely. There was no grand fight or long struggle.
It was simply the victory of a stronger predator.
As the second Void Predator was consumed, Leo felt a surge of power and knowledge fill him. The void seemed to pulse around him, acknowledging the rise of a new master.
Leo closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the essence of the two Void Predators settling within him. When he opened them again, there was a newfound reverence in his gaze.
"Partners in life, united in power," he murmured, his voice carrying a new depth, a resonance that spoke of the vast energy now at his command. He flexed his fingers, feeling the strength of the Void Predators coursing through him. "Your hunt will continue through me."
The enormity of what he'd just experienced began to sink in. He survived the void's fiercest creatures and even became one of them. Leo gained their ancient knowledge and unmatched strength.
He turned his gaze outward, toward the endless expanse of the void. With his new powers, he sensed energy currents in this strange realm. He found hidden paths that led to other places.
"Hold on tight," he called out to Ai and the cats, still safely encased in the protective cocoon he'd created.
"We are just beginning," Leo murmured, his voice carrying a weight that seemed to reverberate through the void.
"Now, the real hunt begins."
He started to move through the void.
No longer lost.
Instead, he was driven by his new skills in this dark realm.
The World Tower awaited, and with it, the path to saving Amanda and Roxanne.