Chapter 34. Evolution Complete.
Gavin's body ached and throbbed as he slowly opened his eyes. Then immediately shut them and winced from the bright light that flooded his eyes. "Seven hells, too bright." His throat burned and was dry as he spoke.
A soft gasp came from his left as he spoke. "You're finally awake! Erza wake up, he's awake!" Gavin could hear excited movement as Erza was woken up and she hurried over to check on Gavin.
"About time you woke up," Erza's quiet voice was filled with relief and a quiet tension as she walked over. She studied him carefully as he kept his eyes closed.
She walked over and closed the tent flap to reduce some of the light in the tent. "Is that better?" She asked as she walked back to his side.
Gavin blinked his eyes slowly several times then nodded. "Yeah, thank you." His words were filled with gratitude as he sat up in bed and pulled his legs close to him.
Congratulations. Evolution into Dread Howler has been completed. The penalties from the Overdrive skill have ended. All status values have been returned to normal.
As a Dread Howler, you have reached the second stage along your evolutionary path. Your strength has been recognized by the system. Your howl will freeze the hearts and wills of enemy armies. You have started on the first path of gaining dark power. With the new passive skill, Soul Sense, you are able to detect the souls of living beings within a certain range. At higher levels, you will gain access to the Soul Vault.
Congratulations. You have taken the first step on the necromancy path. At higher levels, you will be able to raise armies of the dead to fight alongside you and protect your loved ones and your pack.
So many messages bombarded Gavin's vision while he struggled to keep up with everything and felt nauseous. He tried to push the feeling back as his face grew pale. Aria saw the change and quickly grabbed a grocery bag and handed it to him in time as he leaned over the bed and emptied his stomach.
Erza frowned as she watched him throw up; her eyes went to the scar of a bite mark on his shoulder as the blanket fell around him. "So, do you want to explain just what in the seven hells happened to you?" Her tone was low, not angry; but flat and equally dangerous as she pulled the chair over and took a seat next to Aria.
Gavin hesitated at the question as he finally finished, and Aria quietly took the bag outside to give them some privacy. He took a ragged breath as he ran his fingers through his matted hair and winced as his fingers got caught. Without a word Erza handed him a brush from the floor beside her foot.
"It's a long story. I don't even know where to begin." Gavin's voice was quiet, thoughtful as he looked at her.
Veronica? Gavin asked the question with just her name. He sought his partner's advice. He had grown to trust and rely on her while they were in the dungeon.
It should be fine, go ahead. Veronica's encouraging words were what Gavin hoped to hear.
"Well, what happened when you left camp?" Erza asked again, not letting the matter drop. She clenched her jaw. Don't you dare tell me you went and let some other bimbo touch you… no. No, he wouldn't. He's not like that. No matter how hard she tried, a cold sting of betrayal still coiled in her chest; ugly, irrational… but impossible to smother.
Gavin watched as her eyes glowed faintly brown as she stared at him. "In order to explain, I have to start that night at the studio." Gavin's words were soft, gently spoken as he struggled with where to start.
Erza lifted one eyebrow and gestured for him to continue.
"This is going to be a lot to take in," he paused before he reached out for her hand and interlocked their fingers. "But I will tell you everything I know." His promise confused her as she squeezed his hand.
He took a deep, ragged breath as he started. "We both know that I was found and adopted. That night I shifted for the first time when you were in danger. I…" his words paused for a moment as he swallowed his feelings of regret from that night. "I killed two people to save you, then when the danger was eliminated and you were safe, the shift ended and I passed out." He reminded her as he began his tale. His thumb rubbed small circles over the back of her hand as he spoke.
She nodded and leaned forward, her red hair spilling over her face as she brushed it behind her ear. Her words were a soft admission. "You were the most terrifying thing I had ever seen that night."
"Yeah, tell me about it. I still have nightmares." Gavin's remark was a little too lighthearted, too forced. "But when I passed out," he continued, eyes locked on their hands together. "My consciousness, my soul, I'm not sure exactly what to call it, got pulled to another dimension and I met someone there." He continued, his voice dropped an octave as he recalled his first meeting.
"Who did you meet?" Her question was hesitant, but she had to know, was this who had bitten Gavin's shoulder? Was there another woman after all? Her mana flared slightly around the tent as she awaited his response.
Gavin jumped a little on the bed at her sudden display of power, and a chill ran down Gavin's spine. She didn't scream or shout. She didn't raise her voice, but her anger rolled off her in waves. He quickly continued while he stared at her glowing brown eyes. "He called himself Koray, the patron god of shifters and earth magic."
Erza did a double take as she heard those words. "What do you mean the god? The god's aren't real." Her words were filled with self-doubting disbelief at his statement. How did he meet and talk with a god? That makes no sense.
Gavin let out a bitter bark of laughter. "Six months ago, I'd have said the same damn thing." He let out a sigh of annoyance. "But I promise you; Koray is real, and he is a demanding prick." Erza noticed the way his voice dipped and filled with irritation as he spoke about Koray.
She let his hand go in surprise and leaned back in the chair. "You're dead serious, aren't you?" Her words were breathless as her mind raced.
He nodded as he regarded her carefully. "I am. He told me many things that night. He also gave me a mission, quest, task. Whatever you might wanna call it." He informed her in a soft tone.
Her head snapped up to lock eyes with him. "What kind of mission?" Her tone was guarded and full of worry.
For a moment Gavin didn't speak. The last thing I wanted was to drag her into this mess. But at this point, there is no way to avoid it. It's fine, it's fine. I'm way stronger than I was that night. I can protect her. I WILL protect her.
The silence was like a bomb ticking down between them in the tent. Her eyes glowed faintly in the early morning light as she adjusted her position in the chair and reached out to grab his hand. "Tell me, please?" Her soft, spoken plea felt louder than a stadium on game day.
Gavin felt his mana rise and matched hers as a faint crimson mist filled the tent and mixed with her brown. "He told me of an ancient travesty that happened to the shifters. There was a group, known as Alpha Shifters. They were the most powerful of our kind. Capable of using all six elemental magics." Gavin started to explain in a quiet tone as his hand trembled slightly in hers.
She said nothing as he continued, and his voice grew bolder with what felt like anger. "They were too strong, and people feared what they might be capable of. So, the world governments worked together and tried to purge the Alpha Shifter clans from existence. The Wolves, were one of those clans." His voice dripped with enough venom and anger that it left Erza too stunned for words.
Gavin didn't pause, he continued as if unloading all this was something that mattered to him. "They didn't obviously get them all. I'm proof enough of that. Enough survived and went hiding in the forests and mountains of the world. Secret. Hidden from the world at large." He took a ragged breath as he turned his body and swung his legs over the mattress and leaned forward.
She listened intently as she looked from his face to their hands. Her long, slender fingers interlocked with his thick, rough ones. Wait, when did his hands get so rough and confident? She inhaled deeply and took a moment, her mind made up as she locked eyes with him. "Go on baby." Her fingers tightened around him; not desperate, not fearful. Just certain that this was the same boy that won her heart. "I'm listening."
Tears stung his eyes at the emotion he felt coming from her. That silent decision to continue hearing him out, and belief that he wasn't making some grand story up felt like a knife in his chest. How could I have hidden this from you all this time? I should have trusted you from the beginning. Regret filled his mind as he held both her hands in his.
You kept it hidden because you were still learning what all of this means. You did not really understand the magnitude of what Koray has asked from you until recently in the dungeon. Veronica spoke up for the first time since he began his tale, her words a soft comfort.
Either way, I still feel like a total ass over hiding this from her.
"Koray gave me a task. He wants me to find an ancient valley where the rest of the Alpha Shifter clans are, help them. Avenge the wrongs of the ancient past and lead them into a brighter future alongside everyone else." His words were barely audible as his eyes searched hers. Will she stay, or run far away from what I have to do?
Erza leaned back in stunned silence. Both her eyebrows were raised as she digested that quest. "What a prick." Those uttered words shocked Gavin as his head shot up. Erza realized she spoke out loud, and a slight blush crept over her cheeks. "Sorry, what I meant is how could this god put such an insane task on the shoulders of a barely eighteen-year-old?" Her mana flared out slightly as her tone was laced with barely contained anger.
How dare this Koray put the man I love in danger like that. No consideration, no pretense, just a suicide mission. She leaned in, calm but filled with a controlled fury. Her eyes caught the dim light and gleamed like polished amber as she asked him. "What else did he tell you?"
Gavin swallowed hard, unable to stop the tears of relief that flowed down his face. She's staying. She's not throwing me out or calling me a liar. She is choosing to stay. "He gave me a way to grow stronger; a path, he called it. A system." Gavin hesitated. "An intelligence, bound to my soul. She calls herself Veronica."
He saw Erza's eyes flicker, but she didn't pull away. So, he continued.
"It's like… an RPG interface brought to life. Status points. Levels. Skills. Quests. All of it, woven into my instincts. Into my blood." He swallowed. "She adapts to me. Evolves me. Every time I gain a level in the system, she makes me stronger. Faster. More capable."
Erza's eyes narrowed. "You speak of Veronica like she talks to you." Her words were flat. Emotionless. Cold. That made Gavin widen his eyes as he noticed her leashed anger and perhaps something more.
He carefully nodded. "She talks to me, like you and I are right now," his explanation did nothing to calm the fury that he could see building in her eyes.
"You still haven't explained how you got all these scars. You didn't have them when we went swimming." She pressed him as her eyes focused on the bite mark on his shoulder.
"When we did the magic test the other day, I received a quest from the system and the reward was something called a Divine Key. It links to a part of Koray's dimension or realm. I used it when I went on the run. Inside was a dungeon designed for me to grow stronger. Defeating enemies, gaining levels and skills." He stopped for a moment as he recalled the three floors of brutal hell he endured.
He reached up to rub the bite on his shoulder. "Time flows differently there. Koray told me that no matter how long I stayed and fought through the dungeon, I would return to the exact moment I used the key. No time would have passed in the mortal world." He gently massaged the scar as he remembered the fire that filled his blood when the Vampire Lord bit him.
"How long were you there?" Her voice was cautious, but curious at the same time. He spoke as if he was older, or more experienced than he was two days ago. There was a certainty in his words that made her pause.
He shook his head as he considered his time there. "I honestly don't know. There was no real way to tell the passing of time there."
"So, that's how you got all scarred up? Countless battles to try growing stronger?" She questioned him, her tone rose in pitch slightly as she tried to keep the hurt out of her tone. Are you trying to leave me behind?
Gavin nodded, his eyes locked on hers. "Yes. I fought through three floors. The first was a pack of shadow were-wolves led by a big alpha type. That was nerve racking." Gavin said as he shook his head. "After I killed them, I collapsed, struggling to breathe and exhausted from the fighting." He went on to say. "Would you believe me if I told you shifters weren't the only non-human race that existed in the world?"
His question caught her off guard and she couldn't help but let out a shaky laugh. "At this point, I have no choice but to believe you." Her words were light but filled with wonder and curiosity by the latest info dump.
He nodded; his lips curved into the barest hint of a smile. "Apparently there are eight gods that exist in our world. Each god is associated with an element of magic that we know. Light. Fire. Water. Earth. Wind. Darkness. Order and justice are the last two." He continued as he reached for a bottle of water nearby and had a long drink.
She got up and sat by his side on the bed. She brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes as she looked at him. "Do you need a break?" her tone was kind and caring as she noticed all the new marks on his body.
He closed his eyes as he fought back a yawn and leaned against her shoulder, her presence more comforting for him than all the medication in the world. "You deserve to know the truth," he said tiredly as he rubbed his eyes.
She let her eyes linger again on a certain scar as she traced the lines with her finger. Her touch was feather light and sent goosebumps all over Gavin's body. "Vampire Lord. I wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for Veronica." Gavin's whispered words stole Erza's breath for a moment as she leaned forward, tucking her hair over her other shoulder so she could look at him closely.
"Vampires exist too? Of course they do." She paused before she asked, "If Veronica is bound to you, does she see everything you see, hear everything you hear?" Her words grew quiet as she trailed her hand up his chest, her nails scraping skin every so gently. "Feel everything you do?"
Gavin sucked in his breath as her touch ignited something inside him. His eyes burned red as he turned to face her, face inches away from hers. What he saw stunned him. There was a soft, crimson glow around Erza that he'd never noticed before. It outlined her body in a gentle caress as she watched him. It was bright, beautiful and warm.
He blinked hard. The glow didn't fade—it deepened, threads of amber braided through the red like sunrise through smoke.
Soul sense.
"That's you," he whispered, awed. "Warm. Steady. You feel like home."
Her hand stilled on his chest. "Answer me, Gavin. If she's bound to you… does Veronica see what I do, hear what I say? Does she feel it?"
He shook his head. "No. She only knows what I route to her—combat, status, spells. I can shut her out of anything else. And I will. You come first."
Alert. Boundary set: Veronica access limited to combat, status, and spell queries unless otherwise noted by user.
Gavin heard a huff of annoyance in his mind as the message screen appeared. I'm sorry Veronica. He apologized for the limit. I need to know somethings are just me, not you or us. At least for now. No reply came as he looked at Erza.
Some of the iron in Erza's shoulders uncoiled. "Good." A breath, then a wry half-smile as she continued to trail her hand down his chest towards his stomach. "Because if a Vampire Lord bit you and you still came back to me, I'm not sharing with an AI."
He huffed a laugh that turned soft at the edges. His eyes darkened with desire as his breathing hitched. Her touch set fire to his body in a way no one else did. "I don't want to be shared."
Outside, a twig snapped; someone outside pretending not to hover.
Inside, the tent held the hush of a promise.
"There's more," he said. "Necromancy. The evolution. The cost."
Erza's fingers stopped just above his navel. "Then we learn the cost together. And we choose what you become." She leaned in and captured his lips with hers; her hands slid up and tangled in his hair.
"Only you get to see me and have this." Her words a whisper of a promise as she broke the kiss to see his dazed expression on his face. A wide smile broke out on her face as she walked over and sealed their tent before she turned to face him.
She saw the raw hunger in his eyes as he looked at her, and it stole her breath. She never felt more desired than she did right then as he stood up from the bed and slowly walked over to her, his eyes never leaving hers.