Chapter 534: 534: Scarlet Vows II
---
[Guided kin devour initiated.
Processed corpses: 6,183.
Essence yield: high.
Unallocated stat points gained: 6,183.]
The numbers rolled into his awareness like a wave.
His own status window unfolded in response, familiar lines settling into place.
[Host: Kai
Rank: 7★ Monarch Devourer (Lord)
Strength: 807
Speed: 807
Stamina: 807
Available unallocated stat points: 6,183]
A faint red line glowed under the core stats.
[Limit notice: at current star rank, safe structural maximum per attribute: 850. Further direct allocation risks core instability and physical collapse.]
Kai frowned.
"So I cannot just stack all of that on myself," he thought. "If I push past 850 in any stat, my body pulls apart."
[Correct,] the system replied. [Your current shell and core matrix are rated for gradual growth to 850 in each attribute at 7★. You are already approaching those ceilings. Forcing more power into the existing frame without corresponding evolution will result in fractures at levels we cannot glue.]
He rubbed his forehead.
"Then what exactly am I supposed to do with six thousand points if I cannot use them," he asked. "Start a decorative number collection?"
There was the faintest hint of smugness in the system's tone.
[New function unlocked at 7★ rank,] it said. [Previously you did not meet the conditions. Now you do. Unallocated stat points may be used to strengthen marked subordinates and bonded partners.]
He went very still.
"Explain," he said.
[As hive Lord,] the system continued, [you are now permitted to invest surplus essence into those who carry your mark. This includes sworn subordinates recognized by the core, and spouses or consorts bonded to your devourer path. You may allocate points to their attributes, raising their physical and aura stats up to —but not beyond— the safe maximums associated with your current rank.]
Kai stared at the floating numbers.
"I can rank up everyone under me," he said slowly. "If I wanted to pour all six thousand points into one person, could I? Make one monster and let the rest fend for themselves?"
[Negative,] the system said promptly. [Subordinates cannot surpass the host. No single subordinate may exceed your current individual attribute ceilings or star rank. You may not dump all points into one target to create a creature stronger than yourself. Distribution must respect both your rank and the recipient's structural limits.
In simple terms: you can raise them toward you, not past you.]
He exhaled, a slow, sharp breath.
"So I could bring the core of my hive up," he said. "Shadeclaw. Silvershadow. Azhaza. Skyweaver. The captains. And…"
His thoughts snagged where they always did now, on faces that had stepped closer rather than further away when he changed.
Luna, with blood on her hands and a scalpel in her teeth.
Akayoroi, standing calm in the din, eyes like deep wells.
Miryam, golden-scaled and new and terrifying.
And others.
A different warmth uncurling in his chest reminded him of one particular princess.
He dragged his focus back to the system.
"Why did you not mention this before," he demanded. "We have been bleeding on battlefields for months."
[Because you could not do it before,] the system replied bluntly. [Only a Lord at 7★ or higher with a stable domain qualifies as a true allocator. Before now, any attempt to force-feed your people stats would have broken them. You barely survived your own growth. Do not pretend you were in any state to be handing out power to others.]
He could not argue with that.
"Fine," Kai said. "We will start with my wives. Luna and Akayoroi have carried more than their share. I want them stronger before the next storm lands on us. But later. If I think about redistributing six thousand points now, I am going to get dizzy."
[Logged,] the system said. [Target list may be set when you are done staring at numbers like a hatchling.]
He closed the status window.
There would be time for careful allocation later, for charts and thresholds and arguments with Luna about why she did or did not need more Stamina. For now, there was one more place he needed to be before the day was truly done.
The egg chamber.
The mountain's heart was warmer than usual when he reached it. The great vaulted chamber hummed like a hive of wires under strain, low and constant. The air was thick with the soft, damp scent of hatching fluid and the sharper tang of new shells.
The eggs were ready.
Rows upon rows of translucent, amber-veined ovals filled the essence pool. Cracks webbed their shells in fine lines, fissures widening with every heartbeat. Drones moved among them in well-practiced patterns, checking supporting braces, adjusting temperature vents, murmuring soft clicks that echoed off stone.
As Kai stepped onto the central platform, a wave of awareness rolled through him, through the link, through them.
They felt him.
The first egg split with a wet, satisfying sound.
A newly formed drone tumbled out, limbs flailing, plates soft and shining. A four-star aura flickered around its ant frame, unsteady but present. It shook itself, chittered once, and lifted its head toward him with the unquestioning certainty of a being who knew exactly who its Lord was.
Then another egg cracked. And another.
Soon the chamber was full of the sounds of hatching — shells splitting, soft bodies thumping onto padded stone, first cries and the low, humming reassurance of older drones guiding the newborns into lines.
Three thousand, the system counted. Three thousand and rising. All marked four stars. All his.
Kai extended his awareness, not to control, but to nudge. Subroutines spun out from him like threads, each one aligning with a different segment of the new brood. They wove themselves into command bands he had prepared in, ready to be handed to trusted lieutenants.
"Shadeclaw," he sent along the Net. "Silvershadow. Vexor. Command packet incoming. We have new teeth. Settle them, sort them, train them. Do not rush. I would prefer they do not stab themselves before they ever see an enemy."
Acknowledgments flickered back, tired but steady.