Darkness.
It was not the comforting kind found behind closed eyes, nor the shade beneath trees. This was an ancient, absolute emptiness—the kind that came before stars, before time, before memory. In this void, something stirred. It was not alive. Not yet. But it pulsed.
A twitch. A ripple.
Something that might become life.
The entity had no limbs, no bones, no organs. It had no name. It had no need for one.
It simply was.
A formless, translucent blob drifting through thick, viscous fluid. If one could peer deep into its nucleus, they'd see nothing remarkable—no spark, no mind, only a primitive instinct locked in dormancy.
But something changed.
A flash. A tremor. As if the void had drawn a breath.
From above—or what it perceived as above—a rift tore through the black. Not a sound, not a light, but a pulse of alien energy. Cracked data. Scrambled commands. A forbidden frequency drifting through the fabric of space like a forgotten signal.
And the thing—this creature that barely qualified as life—absorbed it.
[System Core Fragment Detected][Host Suitable: Primitive Organism – Type: Amoeboid][Initializing… Rebuilding Core Sequence…][Error: Missing Core Components. Booting Auxiliary Protocols.]
The world—its world—shuddered. For the first time in its microscopic existence, it felt.
And that feeling had a name.
Pain.
It had no word for it, but it thrashed, every molecule convulsing under the weight of sudden awareness. Data—alien, fractured, incomprehensible—seared through its form like fire and ice poured into the same cup.
Then, silence again.
But it was no longer the same.
A presence had awakened.
Inside its membranous body, a flicker of thought emerged. A need. A primal whisper echoed through its consciousness:
Survive.
Then—
Consume.
The thing—now a being—twitched. Its outer membrane shimmered faintly with a sheen it never had before. Something deep within it had changed. It could not comprehend what, only that the void was no longer enough.
It was hungry.
Around it, the void was not so empty anymore.
Particles floated. Strands of glowing protein, drifting cells, strange spore-pods spinning slowly like microscopic stars. A delicate ecosystem in an enclosed bubble of primordial soup. The creature had never seen it before. It had never seen anything. But now it noticed.
Color. Heat. Motion.
Its first prey hovered nearby—a dull red sac, pulsating weakly. It didn't think. It didn't question. Instinct, now fused with something sharper, pushed it forward.
It moved.
Its membrane expanded slightly. A ripple shot through its body like a wave, propelling it clumsily but surely toward the target.
It enveloped the red sac.
Absorbed.
Digested.
[Red Nutrient Spore Consumed][Energy +0.011][Genomic Material Recorded. Mutation Level: Basic]
The warmth that followed was indescribable. Satisfying. Addictive.
It shuddered, stretching its form. A single message blinked in its mind like a newborn star:
[Mutation Option Unlocked]
Choose One:
Cilia Burst – temporary speed boost
Toxin Veil – passive damage to enemies
Nutrient Filter – increased absorption efficiency
It paused. Not because it understood the choices, but because something inside urged caution.
A whisper—not from the system, but from itself.
Speed meant escape. Toxin meant survival. Efficiency meant growth.
Slowly, it reached inward—an act it had no right to know how to perform—and made its first decision.
[Toxin Veil Applied][Host Cell Structure Reinforced. Enemy Contact Now Inflicts Passive Damage.]
Its membrane pulsed green, barely perceptible, but sharp. It was no longer harmless.
It moved faster now. Not because its body was stronger, but because it had purpose. The hunger didn't fade. It deepened.
Two more spores. Then three. Each time, its mass grew. Not visibly, but the system registered it.
[Energy +0.008][Energy +0.014][Skill Unlocked: Adaptive Digestion Lv.1]
From somewhere deeper in the void, a shadow approached. Long. Threaded. Dangerous.
It coiled through the soup like a snake made of silk and teeth.
[Warning: Predatory Lifeform Detected – Thread-Leech Larva][Threat Level: Low-Moderate][Engage or Evade?]
There was no fear. It didn't yet know what fear was. But the system did.
And it suggested:
Evade.
But something inside it hesitated.
This thing—this enemy—held more biomass than any spore. More than anything else it had consumed. If it survived, it would grow faster. Adapt sooner.
Risk.
The concept formed suddenly, like a bubble breaking the surface.
The amoeba surged forward.
The Thread-Leech responded instantly. It lashed a filament forward—barbed, razor-thin. The amoeba twisted, coiling itself unnaturally, letting the filament slide off its new toxin veil.
A sizzle.
The Thread-Leech retracted its arm, stunned.
Opportunity.
The amoeba wrapped around the tip and flooded it with acid.
[Enemy Damaged: 9% Integrity Loss]
It coiled tighter. Its body vibrated with heat. The toxin spread.
The leech writhed, curling inward to attack—
But it was too late.
A final surge.
Absorption.
[Thread-Leech Larva Consumed][Energy +0.031][Foreign Genetic Material Logged. New Trait Available: Sensory Fiber Lv.1]
Something clicked inside its body. A thread-like nerve emerged from its core—barely visible, but pulsing. For the first time, the creature sensed its surroundings.
Shapes. Motion. Pressure gradients.
The void had a shape now.
It was not alone.
[System Core Stability: 23.8%][Neural Activation Threshold Reached. Partial Self-Awareness Unlocked.]
In the stillness after the hunt, it floated.
Silent. Watching.
It looked down at itself—not with eyes, but with something else. It didn't recognize what it had become, but it knew it was no longer just matter.
A memory stirred—faint, broken, not its own.
A ruined world. Metallic towers devoured by biomass. A man screaming into a sky torn in two.
It vanished as quickly as it came.
It couldn't make sense of it.
Not yet.
But it would.
Because now, it had a purpose greater than hunger.
Survival wasn't enough.
It wanted more.
To grow.
To learn.
To dominate.
[Local Environment Detected: Genesis Zone – Sector Null][Dominance Rank: 62nd of 64]
A new whisper came from within.
Not the system.
Its own voice.
I will rise.