Chapter 151: COLD STOPS
A second notification appeared before Aiden's hands stopped shaking.
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[ LIFESPAN INVESTED: -20.0 Years ]
[ CURRENT LIFESPAN: 70.0 Years ]
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"Twenty."
Miasma pressed harder against his side.
Aiden flexed his fingers. They still worked, even if they felt heavier than they had a minute ago.
"You got yours for free yesterday. Don't look at me like that."
Miasma kept looking at him.
"Fine. Twenty is a lot. Cinder will hate it."
The Voidglass hummed louder.
Aiden turned back to it.
The crystal vibrated hard enough to disturb the water along the wall. Miasma moved away from Aiden and faced it with her spines raised.
"Come on, Nyx."
The hum climbed until Aiden covered one ear. He expected another notification, Nyx coming out, anything that would tell him what was happening inside.
Instead, the surface of the Voidglass rippled.
"That's new."
The black crystal shifted again. Its smooth surface pulled inward around the center, then returned to its old shape.
Miasma moved closer.
"Careful."
She stopped before reaching it.
The cold in the Pocket suddenly stopped getting worse.
Aiden waited.
A few breaths later, the hum faded too.
The silence felt strange. Water dripped somewhere behind him. Miasma's claws clicked once against the stone when she shifted her weight. Then two pale eyes appeared inside the Voidglass.
Aiden grinned.
"There you are."
Nyx pushed her head through.
The grin stayed, but Aiden's eyebrows went up.
Her head was much larger than when she'd gone in.
A longer muzzle emerged, followed by pointed ears and a thicker neck. Nyx planted one forepaw on the stone, then pulled the rest of her shoulders through.
"Oh."
The little Shadow Pup had gone into the crystal barely larger than a house cat.
Her legs had grown long and lean, her chest deeper, and her body longer and narrower than before, like a cross between a Frostmane Lynx and a Cinderhound, with a lighter, more elegant build.
The clean outline she'd gained after her last feeding had survived the evolution. Even at this size, the shadow stayed tight around her paws, ears, and tail.
Her pale eyes hadn't changed.
Nyx looked down at her new paws and took a few steps across the Pocket. Her first turn was too sharp for her longer body, forcing her to catch herself before her hindquarters swung into the wall.
Aiden smiled.
Nyx stopped and stared at him.
"I didn't say anything."
Her ears flattened.
"I was being supportive."
Nyx crouched.
Aiden knew that posture.
"Wait."
She launched herself at him.
Aiden was still weak and Nyx hit him square in the chest and knocked him onto his back.
Miasma hopped aside.
Aiden lost most of his breath.
Nyx shoved her head beneath his chin and settled across him exactly as she had when she was small.
Aiden managed to get one arm around her neck.
"You know you're bigger now, right?"
Nyx pushed closer.
"Much bigger."
Her tail swept across his legs.
"This worked when you weighed about as much as my bag."
Nyx closed her eyes.
Aiden laughed and scratched behind one of her ears.
"You're not sleeping like this anymore."
One pale eye opened.
"Don't give me that look. I need my ribs."
Nyx shoved her head farther under his chin.
"Strong argument."
Miasma approached while Aiden remained trapped and sniffed Nyx's shoulder. She checked one foreleg, then the other, before moving along Nyx's side.
Nyx allowed the inspection until Miasma reached her tail.
The tail moved away.
Miasma followed it.
Nyx moved it to the other side and Miasma changed direction.
Nyx lifted her head from Aiden and gave her a warning stare.
Miasma stopped, apparently satisfied with everything except the tail.
Aiden pushed against Nyx's shoulder.
"Now that your examination is over, can I breathe?"
Nyx stayed where she was.
"You're crushing the person who just lost twenty years for you."
One ear flicked.
"Yes. I'm using guilt."
That finally got her up. Aiden sat and pulled in a full breath.
"Effective. Good to know."
Nyx immediately pushed her muzzle into his hand and Aiden scratched her again.
"Greedy."
The ache in his arms began to fade.
He paused.
The weakness that had hit him when he accepted the evolution was disappearing quickly now. His fingers stopped shaking. His legs felt normal again.
Warmth spread through his chest.
"Hold on."
The notification appeared.
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[ TIER EVOLUTION COMPLETE ]
Beast: NyxAffinity: Void-TypeTier: 1 → 2Form: Shadow Pup → Umbral StalkerLineage: D (anomalous)
Lifespan Invested: -20.0 YearsLifespan Returned: +45.0 Years
Trait Inherited: Shadow Clone
[ CURRENT LIFESPAN: 115.0 Years ]
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Aiden stopped on the last number.
"One hundred and fifteen."
He read it again.
Still one hundred and fifteen.
Miasma came over and looked up at him.
"She gave forty-five back."
Nyx sat beside him. Aiden looked from the notification to her.
"I withdraw some of my complaints."
Nyx's eyes narrowed.
"Some."
He read the rest more carefully.
Tier Two. Umbral Stalker.
And Shadow Clone.
That one belonged to him.
Aiden could feel the new trait waiting somewhere inside him, but testing it could wait until they were outside.
"Shadow Clone."
Nyx's ears lifted.
"Later."
They flattened again.
"You've been Tier Two for five minutes."
Nyx stared at him.
"Maybe three."
That didn't help.
The notification disappeared. Only then did Aiden notice the Voidglass.
There was almost nothing left.
The huge black crystal had shrunk while Nyx evolved. A thin ridge remained on the shelf, small enough for Aiden to cover with one hand.
Nyx noticed it too.
She stepped toward it.
"No."
Aiden caught her around the neck while Nyx stretched her muzzle toward the last piece.
"You've eaten enough ancient crystal for one morning."
She pushed against his arm.
"Nyx."
The remaining Voidglass contracted before she could reach it. The black ridge shrank to a narrow line, then disappeared into the stone.
Nyx sniffed the empty shelf.
Aiden released her.
"You ate the whole thing."
Her pale eyes curved.
"Of course you're happy about that."
Miasma inspected the shelf once, found nothing worth her attention, and started toward the exit.
Aiden picked up his bag.
"Good idea. Before Nyx finds something else expensive."
Nyx bumped his hip on the way past.
"You're proving my point."
They made their way back through the fissure and up toward the barrier.
Cinder was waiting on the other side.
Miasma crossed first.
Then Nyx stepped through.
Cinder froze. Her ears rose.
Nyx stopped too.
Aiden had enough time to think this might be a calm reunion.
Cinder bounded forward.
Nyx tried to dart back through the barrier, but Cinder was faster. She hooked one foreleg around Nyx and pulled the new Umbral Stalker against her chest.
Nyx yelped.
Aiden laughed.
"I told you she wanted to see the evolution."
Cinder squeezed.
Nyx hissed from somewhere inside the red fur.
"Cinder. She does need air."
Cinder loosened her grip just enough for Nyx to escape. Nyx slipped several steps away and glared at her.
Cinder's tail hammered the ground.
Nyx hissed again.
"You're wasting your time. She's thrilled."
Cinder approached more carefully this time and sniffed Nyx from her muzzle to her shoulders. She checked the longer legs, circled around her, then pushed her nose into the side of Nyx's neck.
Nyx endured it with flattened ears.
Aiden leaned against the rock beside the barrier.
"Tier Two. Umbral Stalker."
Cinder looked at him.
"And she gave more years back than she took."
Cinder left Nyx immediately and pushed her muzzle against Aiden's chest.
He put both hands against the sides of her face.
"I have one hundred and fifteen. Can you believe it? I should have died at twenty-five. Now I could live to a hundred and thirty-nine."
Cinder's tail struck the ground once and she stayed close.
"I'm better than fine, actually."
Nyx walked over and nudged Cinder's shoulder, apparently offended that the attention had moved away from her already.
Cinder pulled her back in with one paw.
Nyx hissed.
Aiden smiled.
"Yeah. Everything's normal."