[Venom Dagger]

Each breath focused the dagger a little deeper. Locked together motionless.

I could take her if it came to a fight. Her injuries from the boar were severe. The problem was I couldn't without losing the eye. I had no way to tell if that counted as a devastating injury. If so, I'd never see from it again. With no depth perception I'd be unable to use my leaps. She'd still kill me, but it would be days from now when mistakes caught up with fate.

We stood, one behind one ahead. The chasm wailed around us, the natural flow of wind and death in hell. It felt like everything waited on the two of us. Only the board had the indignity in its death to rot. Already sweet notes mixed into its musky animal scent.

After a few moments, I stepped forward. The dagger sliced a deep gash through my tough hide. The fluids seeping out of the wound pooled forward to my eye. One step. Another.

Three. Four arm lengths away.

Dagger was between me and the boar's corpse. Turning showed her standing, motionless, bone knives still at the ready. I hadn't noticed the others. The fight would not have been one sided after all. Their breathing was slow and steady. Even through the pain of that shattered arm they seem composed.

They began to back up as well, moving closer and closer to the boar. She needed the meal. It seemed we would keep our truce as long as I didn't go for more spoils. Was shared experience enough to level up? It wouldn't matter if she didn't set the break.

I watched, curious. They prepped the corpse. Where I would dig in, Dagger cut into the flesh, carving off strips of coarse hide. She was making a sling? She dug in deep to its chest. stripping out a long rib. A splint.

Satisfied, they began digging into the belly to eat.

I charge forth in a scream. The venom!

Dagger pulled away with a deep hiss, transitioning to short angry clicks. The daggers came up again, turning to shield the broken arm. How could we communicate? I paused, making nodding motions to the boars head. She followed. Raising my arm, I tried to force the venom through my stinger, letting it pool in clear drips. Dagger walked over, curious.

Taking one of her bone weapons, she caught a drop and brought it close for inspection.

[You have envenomed Rough Bone Dagger created by Unnamed Lesser Wailing Cliff Hugger]

The way they pulled back, they must have got a similar notification. Good. Without speaking the system had let us communicate in a bare bones fashion. I hoped they would infer the danger. The system had assigned a maker to the dagger which was useful information to know. What else would it identify as craftsmanship?

Dagger turned the knife over in their hands and then looked back to the corpse of the boar. The wounds to its face were deep and seeped in poison. Considering their options, they returned to the beast's hind quarters. With effort they roughly cut another thin long strip of flesh. This one they used as a wrap. Were they making a glove against the poison? I couldn't tell if they were trying to seal off exposed wounds.

With great care to avoid the bulk of it, they began forcing their bone knives into the boar's mouth. My confusion didn't pass until with a wet slop the first side of the jaw unhinged. They were still harvesting for parts. As they worked, I was aware of the differences in our hands. Clawed and multi jointed theirs made nimble working the skin from the bone. Already lacking dexterity, my own stinger had fused the joints of my fingers into a weapon.

Small changes were drifting us apart. What would the other cliff huggers look like?

Dagger seemed satisfied, splint and trophy collected. I wished that hers wouldn't have the same haunted consequences as the mad head. It still lay in my Dominion. I consumed what they left to rot, immune now to my own toxins. It seemed like a fitting compromise.

We separated with caution, locking eyes and reversing step by step. We were too rich a target for each other for there to be any lasting trust now that the danger was gone. Dagger climbed high up the wall into one of the upper levels of tunnels. I wouldn't have survived the climb from my own battle, boars head dragging behind me. Their dominion must be in those upper reaches.

I made my way back to the Dominion as well. With two dead boars under my belt it was time to see what evolution waited in the deeper sections of the system.

The boar head remained covered. Left to its own devices it seemed content to remain an object. The visions seemed distant now. I thought I had dreamed the entire moment in a fit of hysteria, mind cracking under the strain of recovery. There was some real possibility for simple insanity in a realm of demons.

With luck the system seemed as cooperative as ever. Determined, I would force my evolution now. I was leery seeing the progress dagger had made on their own. The injury they had sustained. Jutting bone seeping blood and puss into the open air. I didn't have limbs to spare.

[System Display: Evolution]

[You have the required levels for one or more evolution]

[Your ability Beginners Foresight has advanced. Unlocked evolution details. Base Evolution discarded. All evolution will advance Tier]

[Available Evolution:

Lesser Venomous Cliff Hugger

50 Soul

Organ Requirements Met

Strong and nimble variant of the Lesser Wailing Cliff Hugger. Venom Gland and the delivery system separates from hand. Dexterity system allowing finer movement.]

[Locked Evolution: Lesser Scribe Cliff Hugger

100 Soul

Weak and fragile variant of the Lesser Wailing Cliff Hugger. Grants increased power and selection to Rites. Modifies the Domain.]

[Available Evolution: Lesser Shrieking Cliff Hugger

50 Soul

Organ Requirements Not Met

Loud and Durable variant of the Lesser Wailing Cliff Hugger. Increases range of challenges]

[Available Evolution: Lesser Cliff Wraith

50 Soul

Organ Requirements Met

Available to Students of the Last Rite.

Contorts to a form suitable for direct kills. Organ Variant available]

[Locked: Lesser Wrathful Cliff Hugger

50 Soul

Organ Requirements Available

Available to Supplicants of the Boars Wrath

Converts pain into berserks power. Organ Variant available]

[Available Evolution: Maddened Chasing Shriek

1 Black Soul

Cursed Final Evolution

Strong Lesser tier form. Prevents further evolution and limits access to the system. Wide amount of Organ Variants available]

[Available Evolution: Maddened Leaping Shriek

50 Soul

1 Black Soul

Cursed Final Evolution

Fast Lesser tier form. Prevents further evolution and limits access to the system. Wide amount of Organ Variants available]

There were more, still locked. Level requirements, organs, knowledge. Some doors would have to remain closed forever.

Thinking like that made the choice calming. I knew I was picking my future opportunities. There would be others. There had to be. Mother. The Boar King. Their paths would have had many decisions like this. All choices, it seemed, would lead to power. The only choice was how.

[Your resolve has rewards. Beginners Foresight has increased in ability.]

With the system agreeing with me, I browsed through looking for evolution's that I missed. There was one that looked like I would also need to unlock the poison organ. More requiring 75 or more souls. Deep in the list I found Lesser Greedy Cliff Hugger. 1000 souls. 1 black soul. How much power would a thousand souls grant? The hunger welled up in me. A bit of patience.

Too much risk.

I locked my selection in with the system and waited.

I expected the immediate torture of the organs but nothing came. I walked about, trying to figure out where it had gone wrong. I tried switching through titles, but nothing seemed to draw the system to action. The souls were gone. In a tempt of fate I even tried to unlock the poison organ. Nothing.

The only logical step was rest. If the system needed time, I would give it.

[Your intuition has rewards. Beginners Foresight has increased in ability.]

My belief in that was waning. locked out of the true ability system by my tier I had no proof. The system could push these notifications out to torture me with little enjoyment. Walking over to the skins, I tried to chase sleep.

[Domain Modification Unlocked: Evolution Chamber]

Nothing seemed different at first. I was itching, looking around the room.

Then the burning started.

My flesh began to drip onto the floor in long tarry rivers. I tried to scream but there was nothing to press lungs against. No way to make sound. As my teeth fell out into the soup below me, the pooling flesh began to rise. The black was starting to block out the light. White bone glinted through the tearing remains of hide and sinew.

Engulfed. Then Darkness.