Beast-Tamer: Limitless Evolution

Some Truths

Osho's eyes narrowed, but he didn't immediately speak.

Seeing this, the being on the throne locked its head ever so slightly. Was that curiosity within its gaze? Perhaps amusement? Or both?

"Interesting. I am not well-versed in your kind, but I assumed that fear was a common trait you shared, especially in situations like this. Were my predictions off, or are you simply... special?" Hearing it speak, Osho was silent for a few more seconds, then he asked calmly.

"What are you?" His question seemed to catch it by surprise.

"What an odd question. Naturally, I am a product of your creation." Osho scoffed at this, trying to ignore how oddly familiar the thing seemed when it spoke.

"A beast capable of pulling me into its soul while still within an egg and is capable of advanced speech, while also having some knowledge on human matters despite — in theory — having never existed before. Compared to what I did, your existence is an anomaly." When he finished, there was silence for a moment... and then laughter.

The entire space trembled as the being on the throne laughed despite not having a mouth, and Osho could swear that he heard sounds of flesh coming undone before regenerating along with the eerie sound.

"Haha. How... interesting. You truly are not aware." It stated, and Osho's expression darkened.

"Enlighten me."

"Haa. Very well." The creature regarded Osho for a moment before closing its eye.

"You are incorrect. What you did was indeed enough to bring forth my existence. As for matters like my intelligence, well, existences past a certain point are... aided, by the world itself, as soon as they come to be. I do not need to bother myself with mundane things like learning vocabulary. It just comes to me." It paused, as if waiting to see how Osho would react, but his expression remained neutral. So it continued.

"As for me pulling your consciousness into my soul. Actually, you knowing what that is makes things easier. But to summarize," The creature continued. "I exist on a different plane entirely when it comes to what can and cannot be done. Laws you believe to be rigid and unchangeable don't have as tight a hold on me compared to other creatures." The creature's eye squinted slightly, and it reminded Osho of a smile.

"Something you have become a bit familiar with recently, haven't you, Architect?"

'... Is it referring to my ability?' He wondered, though, he was fairly certain about his guess.

"You've referred to me as 'Architect' twice now." He pointed out.

"Merely a fitting title," The creature waved one of its spindly limbs dismissively. "That is what you are, are you not? You design things in ways that... are beyond what is considered reasonable."

Osho's expression remained calm, but his thoughts were churning.

"Beyond reason, huh? That's one way to put it." He huffed. However, the creature narrowed its eyes slightly at this.

"Do not feign modesty. What you did, rewiring 'conduits', as you call them, didn't simply shape a beast. You directly interfered with the source code of creation itself." Now those words really got Osho's attention.

"Using rare materials to add or remove a few abilities from a beast hardly seems like screwing with a concept as elaborate as creation." Osho countered despite knowing that the creature wasn't far off. After all, he himself stated that altering the conduits was the same as creation when he figured out it was a possibility.

"Ah, you are incorrect again, Architect," The creature shook its head. "You seem to believe that whatever you do. Or rather, the process of what you do, involves making use of certain items as fuel to accomplish your goals." Now Osho frowned at this.

This was the most basic facet of his ability. Whether it was evolving a beast normally, fixing cracked ribbons, or altering conduits, all of it required some resource or the other to make the process possible. But now this thing was saying his perception of the matter was wrong?

As if sensing his confusion, the creature continued.

"Altering conduits isn't simply a matter using the right methods or methodologies. It may be the case for simple evolution, but to change the conduits is to change the fundamental 'code' of a creature. Effectively rewriting its existence on an informational level. It isn't something that can be replicated or learned. The items merely acted as guides before fueling YOU, not the conduits. What truly allowed you to do what you did was your will. It is something unique to you, and you alone. You asked why I called you the Architect, and to that I say, what else is fitting?" Osho fell silent at that.

After a while, he sighed.

"You said you are a product of my creation. So let me rephrase, what are you meant to be?" This earned him another wave of that same, eerie laughter.

"Better. I am a being of old. I don't exist in any record books or civilizations. I simply have been, until I died, and then you brought me back." Osho was taken aback.

"How is that possible? Sure, beasts can have bloodlines that allow them to resemble their ancestors, but..." He trailed off, the answer already entering his mind.

"... Bloodlines." He muttered.

"Indeed," The creature replied mildly, it's tone oddly soft. "You have not merely created something new, Architect. You have brought back something that was lost. Brought back something that once was. Somewhere, buried deep within folds of the fabric of existence itself, you carried and restored fragments that were long forgotten. The conduits you 'repaired' and altered did not simply alter the beast within. You called back something that should have been lost in time.

Had Osho's skin been white, he might have paled slightly.

"That shouldn't be possibls." He said firmly. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍

"Perhaps. But you and I know that 'possible' has a loose hold on us," Its voice was almost tender. "The moment you did what you did, you reached into a facet of existence most beings cannot even perceive, let alone alter. You reached beyond time's authority and brushed against something that came before."

"... So I revived you?" Osho asked slowly. "Like necromancy?"

"Not necromancy. That is merely imitation. You did not summon me from death. You remembered me, and in doing so, the world was forced to bring me back." At this, Osho crossed his arms.

"Fine. Let's say I believe all of that. Let's say you are truly the fragment of something unfathomably old that I revived through my ability. That still doesn't explain one thing." His eyes narrowed. "How do you know so much about me? About my ability? About things I'm still figuring out myself?"

The creature went silent for a long while, and in this bloody domain, such a silence was heavy. Almost suffocating. Then, it finally spoke.

"Because, Architect... You and I are connected." Osjo frowned at that.

"How so?"

"When you rewrote the conduits, your intent, you'd raw will, it was imprinted onto ms. You wanted to create as well as understand, and that desired shaped me into what I am just as much as my ancient self did. You must have noticed it, haven't you? The strange way creatures become fond of you when you use your ability on them, even when they aren't yours. But it's on a far deeper scale here. I know you, because part of you persists within me."

Osho didn't reply immediately. His thoughts were spiraling again, but beneath it all was realization.

"I see... That's why you felt familiar." He mumbled and looked up. "You aren't just an ancient soul. To a degree, you are... me. Or, at the very least, you have fragments of who I am embedded within you."

The creature's eye narrowed ever so slightly, and if Osho didn't know anything better, he would have called that amusement.

"You're beginning to understand," It nodded calmly. "It's a shame, really, but sadly, our conversation must come to an end here." Hearing this, Osho didn't seem surprised.

"I can't keep you, can I?" He asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Indeed." It said simply.

"Why not?"

"Both of our presences bend and ignore the rules of this plane of existence. Alone, it's manageable, but together? Things will become... messy. Even now, the fabric of existence becomes unstable. So we will have to cut our talk short." As it said this, Osho's body suddenly started to fade.

"Will we see again?" He asked quietly.

"Naturally." It nodded.

"When you become stronger, things as trivial as maintaining the structure of existence will come naturally. But who knows, we might meet even earlier, but that depends on you and the actions you take." Osho's vision started to fade, but not before the creature said some parting words.

"Grow strong, Architect, and when the time comes, we shall meet again."

And then Osho was back in his room.

He blinked a few times and felt his body.

'I'm back.' He thought with a sigh as he looked at the table.

The egg was gone.

However, he knew, somehow, that it was somewhere within his body.

'... Great. Add eldritch entities and rewriting the essence of creatures on an informational level to my growing list of issues to deal with. At least it's not a pressing matter.' He rubbed his temples and turned to his two worried beasts.

"I need a nap."