Evolution Online: I Can Fuse With All Things

'What is going on with me?'

Lucien couldn't tell. His entire body felt different than it had just a second ago, before the notification appeared.

A tide of raw strength surged through his body. The feeling was so vivid that he could sense it wasn't entirely his own.

He narrowed his eyes.

'Did I just fuse with a Dragon?'

According to the system, this was the case. But how? He hadn't even started the fusion himself.

While a thousand questions raced through Lucien's mind, he was still in deep trouble.

The strange metallic bird had already broken free from the giant white snake's grip and was now charging forward. Its steps carved deep wounds into the earth.

Lucien stood before it like an ant. He had to protect himself somehow.

His thoughts scattered in all directions, so he could only rely on the traits he knew well. He hoped they'd slow down the strange bird and give him a chance to escape this place.

He shot his hand forward and shouted for once.

"Cleave!"

The entire area shuddered. Everything—the winds, the ground, the trees—trembled.

Then the world seemed to stop for a moment. Reality itself appeared to be slashed apart.

The players pursuing the Scorchwing Sentinel froze for a second. Before that second could finish, the Sentinel bird crashed to the ground.

The bird's upper body was cleanly cut away from the lower half. A purple pool of blood spread beneath its body in the ruined garden.

A general announcement thundered across the entire world.

<Player Cien has killed a servant of one of the twelve Apostates that last saw Osiris. The death of the Aetherion will anger his Master, and the world will be drowned in blood once again>

Lucien, still confused, didn't know exactly what was happening. All he knew was that the notifications kept coming without end.

[You have gained 13,284,000 fusion points]

[You have Leveled up]

[You have gained +3 generic points]

[You have gained +5 specific points]

[You have Leveled up]

[You have gained +3 generic points]

[You have gained +5 specific points]

[You have Leveled up]

[You have gained +3 generic points]

[You have gained +5 specific points]

[You have Leveled up]

[You have gained +3 generic points]

[You have gained +5 specific points]

[...]

The players in the air froze in shock. Their faces turned pale and stunned. For a minute, they couldn't gather their senses.

Then the Harpy boy frowned.

"Wait… Player Cien! That's him?!"

He pointed down.

The person standing on the ground wore a white armor set that looked really strange. It didn't match anything they knew.

But they were skilled enough to recognize that it looked like a level 60 - 80 armor set.

The Harpy boy frowned.

'No way… did he one-shot a level 300?'

They might have dealt heavy damage to the monster, but that didn't change the fact that they still had work left before the raid would be complete. Somehow everything had spun out of their control when the monster suddenly decided to flee.

Of course, they expected such wild behavior from a Deviant… but they never thought it would rush toward a city. The Harpy boy felt like something was completely wrong with that behavior. It almost felt triggered.

As though the Scorchwing Sentinel was chasing something rather than running away.

'Bro! This isn't the time to think about all this! Player Lucien is right before my eyes. If I can get him to join the Clan or become my friend, I'm sure the Clan leader will be very pleased with me! I might even get forgiven for accidentally killing White Snake.'

Gripping his bow, he strengthened his resolve and flew down.

But Lucien was already moving. He had picked up Lady Varlyeth and her daughter and resumed his race.

Lucien's mind was still in complete chaos.

'All I wanted to do was deal some damage to help me escape. I didn't mean to steal their kill!'

Lucien cried internally as he ran through the forest as fast as he could.

"Player Cien! Player Cien!"

Seeing that the winged guy was chasing after him, he didn't stop for one second. Instead, he recklessly poured fifty points into Speed and raced off like a sports car.

The Harpy boy, despite his flight speed, couldn't even come close to Lucien. He stopped at the top of a building, watching as Lucien carried the two bodies and disappeared between buildings with crazy speed.

He would have continued his pursuit, but he couldn't. The Wardens of the Federation were already moving. They had to find a way to escape and leave the scene as it was, or what they just did would land them jail time.

And when jail time is active, players usually can't log out.

It's the one thing players hate aside from dying.

At least he hated it with passion.

Luckily, he didn't need to think much. He could just log out and escape the crime scene.

The pain of not landing the last hit stung. It was going to hurt the Clan badly because the evolution points from the kill would be enough to advance ten players into their next Evolution form.

But all of it went to one player.

What's more, he was now closer to the main scenario. He had taken the edge that the Clan held.

There was no question—Player Lucien had to be recruited into the Golden Wing clan at all costs.

He stared down at the city one last time before he vanished.

***

Lucien suddenly burst inside his room with two wounded women.

Gaya, who happened to be on his bed sitting cross-legged, frowned as she saw him enter.

"Where have you…"

Her words stopped as she saw the two bodies he gently placed down. The question she hadn't finished asking. Now, her gaze darkened and she asked even more fiercely.

"Where… have you been?"

Lucien slumped to the ground and leaned against the wall. He was breathing heavily.

"It… it's a long story… please… Can you just check if they can make it? Do you have one or two healing spells?"

Gaya looked at him with a dark look still in her eyes.

She sighed and looked at the younger girl.

"This one seems quite alright to me…."

Then she shifted her gaze to the other body. Her face went pale.

Lucien, seeing her expression, frowned a bit and leaned forward.

"What's wrong?"

"Her burns are devastating… it's shocking she's even alive…"

She suddenly looked intensely at Lucien and asked:

"Did she get burned by a divine flame?"

Lucien shook. His mind was still disturbed by how suddenly everything had happened.

"To be honest, I have no idea… everything happened too fast. It was a bird with four legs. More like a griffin, I think, but it was a bird, and it had a metallic body and could spit fire."

Gaya's expression immediately turned vicious.

"Aetherion."

Lucien looked at her.

"Yes, yes, it was called that. It's a named monster. What is it?"

Gaya sighed. Lines of stress seemed to mark her face.

"How did Aetherion suddenly show up within the walls of the city?"

Lucien shook his head in complete defeat.

"I think he was being hunted… as to why he suddenly decided to attack me, I have no idea."

Gaya glared at him.

"You have no idea? Really? Are you not the one who ate the bone of a god? You are a walking treasure chest of Divine fragments and you have no idea?"

Lucien looked at her in confusion.

"What does that have to do with any of this?"

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, sighing.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully. The gods are very playful, and when I say playful, not in the way you think. The Scorchwings, for example, were created by the Apostate of Flame when he was seven years old. This was thousands of years ago—humans hadn't even come into existence perhaps. The Scorchwings are a race that came into existence because a seven-year-old kid was playing with fire.

"Aetherion was the first to gain awareness because he was the flame bird toy that the boy loved to play with the most. He was the one who received the love of the Apostate. But he is not the first. These things, these creatures can sense… anything divine, and I am sure you know that Divine fragments never truly digest. Even if they do, if one of these Divine races eats you, they can also gain the abilities you have."

Lucien frowned as the truth hit him.

"So… you are saying the monster sensed my divine fragment and was going to eat me so it could become stronger?"

Gaya nodded with her arms folded.

"As simple as that."

He looked down at Lady Varlyeth and Valerie.

"So… all this is my fault?"

Gaya sighed.

"That's one way to see it… but then, you also saved them, so it's even."

Even though Gaya said that, Lucien didn't exactly feel that way. He still felt crushed, especially considering that he could have just dropped Valerie and gone back. Maybe the bird wouldn't have noticed him.

Gaya glared at him.

"You better not be thinking useless things. You already broke even, so let it be."

Lucien looked at the elf.

'She's so cold… even her care is cold.'

He let out a breath.

"So… can you save them… her… please?"

Gaya lifted her chin slightly.

"You do not need to beg me. I am more than capable of saving anyone and anything."