“Good job.”

  Isaac blinked upon hearing those words. The field of crimson surrounding him was the first to register in his mind. Then, his gaze landed on Rakin, who stood a couple of feet away from him.

  Again? Already? He wondered, rising to his feet. “Thought I wouldn’t see you again at least until the end of the first round.”

  Rakin finally turned to face him and shrugged. “Yeah, so did I, kid. Circumstances change, though.”

  Isaac nodded, coming to stand next to the alien. Without another word, they both looked toward the crimson horizon. At this point, he understood why the Overlord always brought him here. It was beautiful. Peaceful. Now, if only the company weren’t so rotten.

  He sighed. “Not a social call then?”

  A faint chuckle escaped Rakin. “No, not at all. I got a warning for you.”

  At once, Isaac’s mind rushed back to the consequences of awakening a Genesis. To all the powerful beings that would now want him dead. He swallowed the grimace threatening to form and simply glanced at the Overlord.

  “Oh?”

  “It’s about the Zerians,” Rakin said. “Their Sire got mad that everyone is pretty much against his new people and decided to interfere a bit more than he should have.”

  Relief washed over Isaac. He didn’t show it, though, and asked instead, “How bad is it?”

  Rakin gave him a quick look before facing forward again. “They know your army is coming. Right now, Zerians are flooding the Battleworld in hundreds every minute. Your element of surprise is gone.”

  This time, Isaac couldn’t hold back the grimace. So much for their plan A. Still… it could have been worse, or so he hoped.

  “Do they know only about the army, or… about all our plans too?”

  Rakin smiled, as if pleased about the question. “Thankfully, just the army. Mad he might be, but their Sire isn’t stupid enough to risk his own life for a single weak planet. He gave them just enough to have a fighting chance without actually stepping on anyone’s toes or breaking major rules.”

  “Yet here we are,” Isaac pointed out.

  The Overlord shrugged. “Fair play is fair play, don’t you think? I’m just balancing the scales after that upstart decided to interfere without going through proper channels.”

  “Channels?”

  Rakin waved him off. “Nothing you need to worry about, kid. That’s for me and the other Overlords to handle. You just focus on destroying the army that will be waiting for you. Not that breaking through should be an issue. Not with what you have now.”

  That pulled Isaac’s thoughts back to what happened before he arrived here. His eyes narrowed. “My Genesis. Right… Anything you can tell me about it?”

  “I could, but I won’t.” Rakin chuckled. “Learning about your Genesis… It’s best done from the source. Don’t be so impatient.”

  Isaac sighed. “I guess…”

  The Overlord clapped him on the back. “Chin up, kid. It’s the final stretch. Have fun and give them hell. We will talk again after you win.”

  Isaac turned, his mouth opening. Yet, before he could utter a single word, the world around him faded to black. He gasped and could do nothing as sleep claimed him once again.

  When Isaac awoke, his vision was once more filled with crimson. Only this time it wasn’t a field of flowers stretching before him. Instead, it was a thick, glowing shell that surrounded him in some kind of a cocoon.

  He could move, though. Not much, but there was enough space here to turn around and even sit down. Quite strange.

  Just what are you? he wondered.

  Isaac didn’t expect an answer, yet he still got one. A thrum from deep within his Core spread through his mind, and somehow he understood it. “Protect,” it said. “Host,” it continued.

  “Oh…” he muttered, his focus not even on the words, but on the thing that spoke them.

  His Core, or rather the entity now living within it. The Scar was gone, replaced by something that reminded him of his old Blood Core, only stronger, yet smaller.

  His Genesis.

  The thrum came again, confirming it.

  So it really happened. Isaac laughed. And of course, I passed out afterward. Hope the others are fine…

  He reached toward the cocoon, his palm brushing against its surprisingly warm and soft surface. Right away, he felt it—the blood within—something he could dismiss with a single thought. He wasn’t trapped here then.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  Still, he didn’t dissolve the shell just yet. As much as he wanted to return to his friends and tell them about what he had learned from Rakin, he had quite a few notifications to check first. If he didn’t do it now, he wouldn’t get a chance anytime soon.

  Okay, hit me with it, Interface.

  To no surprise, first came the obvious.

  You have leveled up twice. You are now level 45. Distribution of Ascension Power has failed to advance any of your attributes. No further changes detected.

  Two levels for killing an enemy this strong wasn’t a lot by any means. However, given just how many Hosts took part in this battle, it was a miracle he even got that much. He was more disappointed that none of his attributes advanced.

  Oh well. Next.

  The following skills have advanced tiers:

  Obliteration (VIII->IX)

  Crimson Cataclysm (I->II)

  Well done, your need for control has awakened a new Origin skill, Blood Thief.

  [Blood Thief | Grade: Mystic | Tier I]

  A fairly powerful utility skill. Allows the user to use any spilled blood in a certain radius to create or enhance other skills. Be warned, stolen blood will never be as potent as the Host’s. Additionally, depending on your foe’s power, even their spilled blood may resist your control.

  Huh… Isaac blinked. So that’s how I controlled all the blood inside the worm. Useful. Very useful.

  For the time being, though, he ignored the potential of the new skill and summoned the next notification. This one, at least, he remembered.

  Blood Genesis unlocked, Chimera Protocol.

  [Warning! You are now the lone bearer of Genesis of Blood. Your connection to your Origin has been greatly enhanced. All future evolutions, advancements, and choices will be affected.]

  Isaac’s eyebrows rose. Should I be worried?

  No answer this time. No matter, his Genesis was waiting.

  [Genesis: Chimera Protocol]

  The primordial ability of the Blood Origin, carried by only a single Host at any time. Life and Death entwined. Passive and active. A potential without limits.

  Death: You may now absorb the blood of powerful creatures with a strong link to the Mystical World. Doing so grants you a portion of their power in the form of an Inheritance tied to the slain monster.

  Life: Transform into a battle form that combines all absorbed creatures in the most efficient configuration. This transformation places immense strain on the Host.

  First Chimera Inheritance unlocked, Worldeater’s Skin. Note: All Chimera Inheritances grow stronger alongside Genesis.

  [Inheritance: Worldeater’s Skin]

  You have stolen a fragment of what makes Worldeaters so difficult to kill, their armored skin. The toughness of your outer shell has been greatly enhanced.

  For a good moment there, Isaac just stood frozen, his gaze glued to the notifications. Before, he had wondered what could possibly make Genesis of Blood so dangerous that it had to be sealed. Now…

  Now he really understood.

  Sure, a single new Inheritance wasn’t much by itself, but that number would grow. He could hunt and kill, gathering more and more power for himself. Limitless potential. That was the only way to describe this.

  And then there is the transformation, he thought, shaking his head. Now, it’s just the worm. But later... Chimera Protocol indeed.

  Isaac’s eyes fell to his arms, to the tan that shouldn’t be there. He brushed a fingertip across his skin and shuddered at the roughness beneath it. Nowhere near sandpaper, but definitely no longer human.

  He chuckled, letting his arms drop.

  Nothing I can’t get used to.

  With that, he reached for his connection to the blood cocoon. Even though his mind couldn’t let go of the Chimera Protocol and what it meant for him, he couldn’t waste any more time here. The Zerians knew they were coming, but that didn’t mean he should give them more time to prepare.

  All right. Let me—

  Isaac paused as the Interface flashed before him. Apparently, he had missed one notification.

  Congratulations, Hosts of Earth. For slaying one of the Worldeaters, you have been granted the Blessing of the Desert. You may now walk the sands of Smoldering Mountains without fear.

  Is this… is this what I think it is?

  Their plans had never even considered such a thing. But if this blessing really meant they could traverse the red zone without worrying about the worms… Well, maybe the Zerians waiting for them wouldn’t be such a big problem. Especially if his new transformation could mimic even a fraction of the Worldeater’s power.

  Back to work, then.

  At once, the cocoon around him shattered like glass. His eyes darted left and right, catching both parts of the dead worm beside him. Then there were the people, only a few though, and most he recognized. Their faces the moment they saw him, however…

  He sighed and mentally prepared himself for the inevitable.

  As Isaac had predicted, his friends spared him no questions. He answered what he could before telling them what he learned from Rakin. That, at least, got them off his back and forced everyone to concentrate on what mattered.

  The raid.

  What followed was a whirlwind.

  With a few quick messages, they gathered all the people who mattered and began adjusting their plan of attack. It was necessary, and not only because the Zerians knew they were coming. No, there was also his Chimera transformation to take into consideration, as well as the fact that thanks to the Blessing of the Desert, a lot more people could now join the main force.

  Not everyone would, of course. A decent chunk of the army would remain in the yellow territory, spreading out and killing as many monsters as they could in the coming days. Those were the people who wanted to help but couldn’t face other Hosts for various reasons.

  No shame in that. Almost everybody had a limit—a line they wouldn’t cross, no matter what.

  Isaac, apparently, didn’t have one. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here, standing next to the larger part of the defeated Worldeater. Why the Overseer hadn’t claimed it yet, he had no idea.

  Not that he minded.

  Quite the opposite.

  He lifted his hand and pressed it against the worm’s rough, brown armor. Despite the heat of this territory, the corpse had long since gone cold. It was time to see if he could change that.

  Isaac closed his eyes and reached for the power slumbering in his Core.

  Awaken, Eater of Worlds. Red Puppeteer.

  For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

  Then… the flesh beneath his fingers twitched.

  Isaac smiled.

  "A Universe of Bloody Evolution" Book 3 (New release):