Evolution

(AN: First of all, welcome to all the new readers. I'll do my best to listen to you all and keep the story engaging, so don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts!)

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Regardless of the bloody carnage, a singular maddened beast had caused during the darkness of the night, as the sun emerged from below the horizon in the next morning and lifted this despair-filled veil, - it was like nothing has happened at all.

Everything was back to normal, minus the grotesque trail of blood, bones, and gore alongside with splintered remnants of the demolished treeline that ultimately lead into a seemingly inconspicuous cave.

Inside this barely habitable tiny hole in the side of a moderate hillside, a humanoid-shaped figure, Aziel laid on the cold, hard rocky ground, still unconscious.

During the nightly rampage he lost himself in, he had consumed a vast amount of mass from animals ranging from the tiniest to those 'medium-sized', that could reach all the way to the canopy of trees. Eventually, his body reached its limit, a sort of threshold, causing the subsequent collapse and loss of consciousness.

Since then, several hours have passed by, with Aziel succumbed to his current seemingly peaceful slumber.

"Aaarrgh..." Shattering the serenity of the silence, a groan escaped from the reptilian-man-hybrid.

Slowly coming back to his senses, Aziel felt groggy, dizzy even. He was disoriented, even worse, he lost control over his body, he was unable to move, to even sit up.

He sighed, already having an idea what was happening to him. After all, it happened once before, back in Nova. His body was currently undergoing a grand shift, trying to process the overflow of genetic information he had assimilated without a care, without a thought to the consequences.

His skin was trembling, ripples of his distorted flesh wobbled constantly, shifting, changing, and fluctuating every parameter of his body each second. These changes were caused by the mass assimilation of all the creatures he had consumed, his skin increasing in density, while also changing itself to a more lightweight, condensed material.

Aziel's body also began to shrink, returning to its previous size of 6 feet. His body was not simply only getting smaller, it was condensing its mass, and greatly increasing its capabilities all the while maintaining all the strength of his much larger form.

His tail losing its previous log-like thickness, it gradually became thinner, even gaining a hardened point at its tip. His claws turned smaller yet denser, gaining sharpness and becoming slightly more manageable. The layer upon layer of scales he once had, began to fuse, becoming a thinner, denser layer of compact and smooth skin.

He was undergoing an evolution, a greater, much greater transformation than before.

Knowing full well what this whole process would entail, Aziel stopped trying to make note of every minuscule transformation for the time being and slowly closed his eyes while heaving a soft, defeated-sounding sigh.

He calmed his turbulent mind, and slowly traversed back into the land of dreams, allowing his unique physique and ability to take its due course over the passage of time.

After all, if anything time was the resource he had a copious amount of...

...

Time moved forward, the bright daylight turning into the afternoon gloomier glow, eventually allowing the shroud of darkness to descend once more.

As the sun rose once more, the sole resident inside the cave was still unmoving. His body was now covered in a strange, thin layer of membrane, a sort of hairlike thickness. The protective layer, while it looked rather fragile, still was surprisingly sturdy and elastic. In its current form, it could most likely withstand even a full-powered tail strike from the tank-like creature!

The rose-colored layer of semi-transparent skin showed a dark silhouette of a humanoid figure inside it, still undergoing its first real evolution.

...

Days turned to weeks, those weeks eventually turning 6 full months before finally, the majestic cocoon twitched. His consciousness returning to reality, Aziel knew his body had finally processed all the traits he had assimilated.

Sensing this, Aziel's eyes snapped open, revealing a bright glowing pair of yellow slits instead of humanoid pupils.

Testing his capabilities, his fingers moved first, the joints cracking loudly after the prolonged hibernated state. Following this small success, Aziel then began to slowly move his limbs, and eventually his body.

Sitting up, he tore away the protective embrace of the membrane that covered his body like an oversized body bag and sat up.

*POP*

The sounds of joints popping resonated in the small cave as Aziel's body began to wake up from its completed metamorphosis.

After a few awkward movements on the ground, Aziel had started to get used to his new, improved body. It was much more responsive, much more agile than before. Though it was still far from being in the state of his previous self, he was brimming with newfound energy. Energy, different from the mana present in Nova, but something similar to Vitality, the essence of life of all living beings. He felt vigorous, energetic, refreshed!

Positioning himself against the ground, he pushed himself up.

*BOOM!*

Unaware of his current physical standards, Aziel had exerted way too much of his strength. So much in fact that he effectively launched himself into the top of the cave, sinking into the walls, opposite of his goal of simply getting off the floor and standing up.

He was oblivious to the changes his body had gone through, he did not know the limits of his new form or what he was capable of now.

Falling from the newly created hole in the ceiling, Aziel was perplexed. He tried a gentler approach in his second attempt, slowly pressing himself up from the floor while examining himself.

Noticing how different he looked from his previous self, he was shocked, mainly by the fact that he was smaller. He rather liked his increase in height.

Looking at the exit to the cave, he took a step in its direction. As he did, his feet stomped the ground loudly, each step he took carried an immense amount of weight behind it, displacing the soil at his feet.

Choosing to ignore this, for now, Aziel walked outside the cave to examine the area. Seeing nothing interesting, he continued on his track, trying to get used to his current self.

As the fresh air and afternoon shine of the sun caressed his face, Aziel decided to test the changes in his body and learn his current capabilities.

Picking a random direction, he began walking which soon turned into running, his speed slowly, gradually picking up the pace. He kept getting faster and faster as he constantly adjusted, the pace soon reaching speeds beyond anything possible by the creatures in this period.

Becoming excited, he began going even faster, causing a gust of wind so strong, that the trees swayed as he passed by them. Building up momentum, he directed his body towards a boulder, running at it full speed.

*BOOM!*

Crashing through it like a comet.

Planting his feet to stop himself, his momentum dragged him through the ground leaving a trail behind spanning several yards.

Looking back, Aziel grew even more excited, he was leagues above what he was before.

Seeing how dirty he became, he decided to wash himself off somehow, searching for a river or any water available.