Beast Evolution Forge

Luna sank deeper into her chair, suddenly looking older and more worn. The silver threads around them seemed to slow their dance, as if they too were waiting to hear her words.

"The truth," she repeated, her voice no longer carrying that mocking edge. "The truth is that you were never meant to be split in the first place."

She gestured at the black mirror, which now showed only darkness. "What I showed you before—the beast, the ritual—those weren't false memories. But they weren't complete either."

"Go on," he prompted, his eyes never leaving her face.

She took a deep breath. "You weren't always... human, or whatever approximation of human you thought yourself to be. You were something else—a being of immense power. The Void Walker, some called you. Others named you the Boundary Keeper. Others the end of all things and so on."

[She's right about that much.]

"Your purpose was to maintain the barriers between dimensions, to ensure that the void between worlds remained stable," she continued. "But something happened. An incursion, a breach in reality so severe that containing it required more power than even you possessed."

The carved box in Wren's hands pulsed more urgently now, as if responding to Luna's words.

"So you made a choice," she said softly. "You drew power from the void itself, becoming something greater—and more terrible. You stopped the breach, but at a cost. The power was changing you, consuming your... humanity, for lack of a better word."

"And that's when I decided to split Myself," he concluded.

She nodded. "Yes. But it wasn't just a matter of dividing power. It was about preserving your essence while containing the void energy that had infiltrated your being." She looked directly at him. "You created the Void Lattice not just as a prison, but as a filter—a way to gradually purify yourself of the void's influence."

"And Viana?" he asked. "Where does she fit into all this?"

[Listen carefully now. This part matters.]

Luna's expression softened slightly. "Viana wasn't a beast companion as I implied earlier. She was... is... a fragment of your original consciousness. When you split yourself, you created three parts, not two."

The room went silent as everyone processed this revelation.

"Three parts?"

"Yes. There was the Hollow Throne, which contained the bulk of your power and the void energy. There was the human form—you—who retained your core essence and just enough power to survive. And then there was Viana."

[You designed me to help you grow strong enough to conquer your other half.]

"...Before you decided to split yourself, you went on a rampage throughout the tower and killed millions...haaah, after you successfully split yourself, you passed out and unfortunately, the holy knights showed up, took you away and seal you away. That was the last time I saw you but since we were still connected, I sensed when you seal broke a few years back, giving me hope that you finally woke up." She looked at him with genuine happiness now.

"Welcome back, master." She stood up and bowed before him.

The word "master" hung in the air, heavy with implication. He stood motionless, processing her revelation and unexpected display of deference.

"Millions dead..." he whispered, the weight of those words settling over him like a shroud. "And you call me 'master' still?"

She straightened, her eyes clear and direct for the first time since they entered her home. "I call you what you are. What you've always been."

The girls exchanged uneasy glances. Ruby's tail lashed anxiously, and Ada moved closer to Vell's side, her expression guarded.

"Master," Ada said softly, "does this mean... were you the one who created the tower itself?"

[Not created. Maintained. There's a difference.]

"No," he said, the answer coming with surprising certainty. "The tower existed before me. I was its... guardian, perhaps. Its caretaker."

Luna nodded. "The tower has always been a nexus point between dimensions. Your role was to ensure nothing crossed that shouldn't." She moved to a shelf and retrieved an ancient scroll. "But power has a way of changing perspective. What began as protection became control. Then domination."

"And that's why I needed to be split," he concluded. "To stop myself."

"Partly," she agreed, unrolling the scroll to reveal intricate diagrams that matched the seals on his hands. "But there was another reason. The void energy you absorbed was... corrupting you. Changing your very essence."

[She's being selective with her truths again. Ask about the original incursion.]

He narrowed his eyes. "What exactly was this 'breach' that required such power to contain? You've been vague about that."

A flicker of unease crossed her face. "Some questions are better left—"

"No more evasions," he interrupted, his voice quiet but firm. "I need the complete truth. All of it."

She sighed deeply. "It was called the Hollow King. A being from beyond the void, seeking entry to our dimension. Its power was... unfathomable." Her hands trembled slightly as she continued. "To stop it, you had to match that power. You drew energy directly from the void, becoming something that could stand against the Hollow King."

"And I won," He said, the statement somewhere between question and conclusion.

"Yes and no." Her voice had dropped to nearly a whisper. "You stopped the incursion, but in doing so, you began to... merge with what you fought against. The very thing you sought to defeat was becoming part of you."

[That's why the prison is called the Hollow Throne. You became what you defeated.]

A chill ran through him at these words. "So when I split myself..."

"You were trying to contain that essence," she finished. "The Hollow King's power, its consciousness, merged with your own. The Hollow Throne doesn't just hold your power—it holds that merged identity."

Regina, who had been silent until now, stepped forward. "But if that's true, then what's happening now isn't just about Master Vell remembering who he was. It's about this... Hollow King... trying to return."

Luna's eyes locked with Regina's. "Precisely. And that's why the barriers are so important. Why they must be maintained."

The room fell silent as everyone absorbed this revelation. Vell looked down at his hands, at the seals that had been with him for a while now. Not just symbols of power, but warnings. Reminders of what he had become—and what he had tried to leave behind. And that's when it hit him.

"...When did the barriers start weakening?" He asked, still looking at the seals on his hand.

"About a year ago, why do you ask?"

"is that so...." His thoughts drifted off.

[master, what's going on, did you remember something?]

'I think... remember that time in the forest when I went berserk and you had to save me from being corrupted? That's it isn't it, the hollow king and the void power?'

[....]

'So I am right. fuck, so the seals on my hand are the timers. the more I unseal, the more the barriers fade. This explains so much now.'

[I didn't think you would recall that.]

Luna watched as understanding dawned on his face. She recognized that look—the pieces falling into place, the truth settling in his mind like a key turning in a lock.

"The seals on my hands," he said, turning them over to examine the intricate patterns. "They're not just markers of power... they're countdown timers."

Luna nodded slowly. "Each one you unlock accelerates the process. Weakens the barriers further."

"And the fractures we've been sent to repair," Ada said, her eyes widening. "They're signs of the barriers failing, aren't they?"

"Yes. The system was designed to be self-maintaining, but as the seals weaken, as more of your power returns to you..." She gestured helplessly.

Wren, still holding the carved box, looked down at it with new understanding. "So this contains part of the barrier system?"

"A control node," she explained. "One of seven scattered throughout the tower's levels. Together, they maintain the integrity of the Void Lattice." Discover more stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Ruby's tail swished agitatedly. "But if unlocking the seals weakens the barriers, why would the Tower send Master on missions that require him to use more power? Aren't they working against themselves?"

"The tower? The system told you to clear fractures?" Her expression darkened.

"Yes, it told me that clearing them would help restore the balance."

"The Tower sent you to clear fractures..." she repeated, her voice hollow. "This changes everything."

"What do you mean?" He asked, the silver threads pulsing more intensely around them.

She began pacing, her earlier composure completely abandoned. "The Tower's sentience shouldn't be directing you toward fractures. It was designed to keep you away from them." She stopped abruptly, facing him. "Unless..."

"Unless what?" Ruby demanded, her tail bristling.

"Unless the Hollow King has already begun influencing the Tower's systems." she ran her fingers through her hair. "The fractures aren't random failures—they're deliberate weaknesses being exploited."

[She's right. I've suspected this for some time, but couldn't tell you directly.]

'So the missions weren't helping stabilize the barriers at all. They were accelerating their collapse.'

"Every fracture you've 'repaired'," she continued, "has actually been a controlled release of the barrier's energy. The Tower—or whatever is controlling it now—has been using you as the key to your own prison."

Wren clutched the carved box tighter. "So what happens now? If Master stops fixing fractures..."

"The process has already begun," she said grimly. "But perhaps we can still slow it down." She gestured to the box in Wren's hands. "That node can be recalibrated to strengthen portions of the Lattice."

Ada stepped forward. "You said there were seven nodes. Where are the others?"

"Scattered throughout the Tower levels. Each one controls a different aspect of the barrier system." She moved to a cluttered shelf and retrieved a map. "This shows their original locations, though they may have been moved over time."

"We should get started then."