Crack!

Levi sat about two hundred meters from the Raving Entity, by his small campfire, cooking several pieces of undeveloped bird meat. The birds were skewered on a stick and placed near the fire to cook evenly. 

Levi bit into one of the skewers, chewing the meat with a hint of irritation.

"When is it going to come out?" Levi mumbled, weary of the monotonous taste of the meat.

Much time had passed since Levi had formed his core, he could feel the light beard starting to grow on his face. In this period, he had killed all the black cocoons except for the boss monster. 

The reason for leaving the boss was simple—he was waiting for it to evolve. As soon as the monster evolved, he would kill it.

There were two reasons for this approach. Firstly, Levi was almost certain that this wasn't the last floor of the sanctum. 

At least one more floor—and with it, a new type of monster—was likely awaiting him. If he was going to fight them regardless, it made sense to do so after gaining experience from battling the evolved form of the Raving Entity. He reasoned that this opponent would probably be weaker than those he would face on the next floor and that this would prepare him for the tougher battles ahead.

Secondly, Levi could now freely use his Demonic Transformation. Although the aftereffects left him tired and depleted, the power he gained was undeniable. 

Thus, he chose to wait. However, the uncertainty of when the evolution would occur was becoming frustrating.

"I'm really getting tired of waiting," Levi thought, contemplating whether to destroy the cocoon and move to the next floor. 

Yet, he held back, glancing at the cocoon.

[Raving Entity]

[Rank: Wicked-Vile (Evolving)]

The monster was on the verge of evolving into the next ranl, and Levi wondered if he could handle something even more formidable than the Vile monster.

"Let's wait for maybe another two naps. If it doesn't come out by then, I'll move to the next floor," he decided.

Two naps were his way of keeping track of time, as there was no day or night in this realm. Since he wasn't feeling drowsy yet, he opened his status to check his demonic essence.

[Demonic Essence: 77/1000]

That was the essence he had gathered after eliminating all the cocoon monsters on the current floor. And along with it, he had also discovered a change since his evolution. 

Absorbing essence from demonic crystals no longer granted two points of essence but only one. It wasn't that the essence in the crystal had decreased, but the absorbed essence was now getting more concentrated, making it more challenging to fill his core. 

Currently, he needed over nine hundred essence monster crystals or crystals from even higher-level monsters—neither of which was easy.

"Well, at least I can get some sleep," he decided. 

After setting aside some meat for later, Levi extinguished the fire and went to sleep.

***

Levi lay in bed, the morning sun filtering through the curtains and bathing the room in a warm, golden light. The gentle rays warmed his face, and the soft chirping of birds outside created a serene atmosphere. 

His mother entered the room with a soft smile. "My little sunshine, it's time to wake up. Come and have breakfast," she said, her voice a soothing melody that pulled him from his slumber.

He stirred, his eyes fluttering open. "Is it already time?"

Levi stretched lazily and shuffled to the kitchen, where the aroma of freshly cooked food greeted him. His mother had prepared a traditional breakfast, fluffy, golden pancakes stacked high, each topped with a dollop of creamy butter and a generous drizzle of maple syrup. 

The table was set with fresh fruit—sliced strawberries, blueberries, and a few wedges of ripe orange. A steaming cup of rich, aromatic coffee and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice completed the spread.

They sat together, enjoying the meal. Levi savored the pancakes, their sweetness perfectly complemented by the tang of the fruit and the warmth of the syrup.

"So, did you sleep well, Sunshine?" his mother asked, her eyes twinkling with genuine concern.

Levi looked up, a smile playing at his lips. "Yes, I did."

He took another bite, adding, "The breakfast is amazing, Mom."

His mother's gaze softened. "Of course, who do you think made it?"

She joked before her expression turned to concern. "You know, Sunshine, you were talking in your sleep a bit. Did something happen?"

Levi blinked, surprised. "Really? I don't remember that. What did I say?"

She hesitated, her expression thoughtful. "I couldn't make out everything, but you kept mumbling something about… Lunacy, larvae….cocoon? You seemed quite troubled."

Levi frowned, trying to recall but finding no memory of it. 

"That's strange. I don't remember anything like that."

"Is it? Leave it then. How was your game yesterday?"

"Oh! That, you know Mom, I managed to score a goal! You should have seen the face…"

They continued their conversation, discussing Levi's day, his plans, and sharing light-hearted jokes. Levi began to relax, enjoying the comforting presence of his mother. 

Just as he was about to ask his mother more about her day, her face suddenly changed. She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Why are you crying, Sunshine? Is something wrong?"

Levi was taken aback by her question and his hand instinctively moved to his face. 

His fingers came away damp, and he realized he had been crying. "What? I—I am crying…?"

Before he could react further, the tranquility of the scene shattered. The room around them seemed to blur, the warm light from the morning sun dimming as shadows stretched and twisted. The kitchen dissolved into a haze of darkness, and Levi reached out for his mother, but his hand met only empty air.

"Mom…!"

His eyes snapped open, and the familiar desolate land came into view. It took a few seconds for reality to sink in, before Levi realized it had all been a dream. 

"...Ah!" he gasped, his hands involuntarily moving to his eyes. His eyes were wet. 

"It seems I was crying in my sleep too," he murmured, his voice tinged with confusion.

A dry laugh escaped him as he shook his head. 

Suddenly, his attention was drawn to the cocoon of the Raving Entity. And his heart skipped a beat as he saw it.

The cocoon was cracking!

---***---