Beast Evolution Forge

Chapter 133 Cain 2

The Village of Whispers lived up to its name. As Vell walked through the streets, conversations died, replaced by hushed murmurs that seemed to dance on the edge of hearing. The buildings were a peculiar mix of ancient stone and makeshift repairs, as if the village had been patched together over centuries of decay.

People scurried away as he passed, ducking into doorways or averting their eyes. Their clothes were worn but clean, their faces bearing the same haunted look he'd seen on the scavengers outside. The air itself felt wrong—thick with an energy that made his skin crawl.

[Something's off about these villagers. Their mana signatures are... distorted.]

"Noticed that too, huh?" He muttered, his eyes scanning the streets. Every person he saw had traces of foreign mana woven through their bodies, like invisible chains binding them to something—or someone.

A child's laughter cut through the silence, jarring in its normalcy. He turned to see a young girl chasing a ball, her movements carefree and natural but as the ball rolled to a stop at his feet, he saw it—her shadow was wrong, moving independently of her body.

The girl froze when she saw him, her eyes widening with recognition. "You're like the others," she said, her voice carrying an otherworldly echo. "But different, stronger." She tilted her head, studying him with unsettling intensity. "He's waiting for you, you know. In the tower."

Vell followed her gaze to a structure that somehow seemed both impossibly tall and hidden in plain sight—a tower of black stone that stretched toward the sky, its surface writhing with patterns that hurt to look at directly.

"And what makes you think I'm going there?" he asked, kicking the ball back to her gently.

The girl caught it, her movements too precise, too controlled. "Because that's what you came for, isn't it? To challenge him?" Her smile widened, showing too many teeth. "They all do. But none of them understand—Cain isn't just in the tower. He is the tower. He's in every stone, every shadow, every breath of air in this place."

[She's not lying. The mana signatures... they're all connected to that tower. Like a web.]

His eyes narrowed as he processed this information. The girl wasn't just a messenger—she was a puppet, speaking with Cain's voice. "Tell your master I'm coming then. But first..." He crouched down to her level, his voice softening. "What's your real name, little one?"

The girl's face flickered, like a mask slipping. For a moment, genuine fear showed through. "I... I don't remember," she whispered, her voice her own again. "None of us do. He takes them, you see. Names have power here."

"Then I'll give you one" he said, standing. "When this is over."

The girl's expression shifted back to that unnatural smile. "If you survive," she said, Cain's voice echoing through hers once more. "The last one who made it this far lasted six days. Would you like to know what's left of him?"@@@@

He didn't answer.

He walked past her, toward the tower that seemed to pulse with godly energy. The villagers watched from windows and doorways, their shadows stretching toward him despite the sun's position.

[Something is not right here, dungeons all have one spawn point, so why are you separated from the others?]

"It's obviously that bitch's doing, she sent me to a different dungeon, higher rank at that. I can't wait to rip her apart." His eyes showed a hunger that had not been shown in a long time.

"Get your filthy hands on our sacred tower!" A humanoid looking lizardman appeared, and with him were many other lizardmen.

They surrounded him with their weapons raised but this did not scare him one bit, he simply observed them silently. The humanoid one appeared to be their leader, wearing more elaborate armor and carrying a sword that pulsed with a faint magical energy.

"Sacred tower?" His mana bubble shimmered around him, the deflected spears scattered at his feet. "Interesting choice of words for a prison."

The leader's eyes narrowed, his forked tongue flicking out. "You know nothing, outsider. This tower is our salvation, and Lord Cain is our protector."

Vell chuckled, the sound devoid of humor. "Is that what you call someone who chains your souls?" His eyes glowed faintly as he expanded his mana zone, feeling the same distorted signatures in the lizardmen that he sensed in the villagers.

The leader hissed, raising his sword. "You dare insult our lord? Brothers, tear him apart!"

The lizardmen charged as one, their movements coordinated with unnatural precision. Spears thrust forward while others circled around, trying to find a weak point in his defense.

"You know," he sighed, his mana bubble pulsing outward, "I'm getting really tired of these welcomes." The bubble expanded suddenly, sending the closest attackers flying backward. "But at least you're more entertaining than the guards at the gate."

[They're stronger than the ones outside. The tower's influence grows stronger the closer we get.]

"Good," he smirked, gathering mana in his palms. "That means we're on the right track."

The leader leaped forward with surprising agility, his enchanted sword crackling with energy as it struck Vell's barrier. The impact sent ripples through the air, but Vell didn't flinch.

"Not bad," he admitted, studying the sword with interest. "Nice sword but too bad its in the wrong hands." He clenched his fist, and the mana bubble imploded, creating a shockwave that sent the remaining lizardmen stumbling backward.

The leader managed to keep his footing, his scales bristling with rage. "You cannot hope to defeat Lord Cain. His power is beyond your comprehension!" Explore stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Vell's eyes gleamed dangerously. "That's what I'm counting on." Without warning, he vanished, reappearing in front the leader. He was too shocked to attack, the look in Vell's showed that any sudden moves would lead to death.

"What's your name?" His voice was distorted now, making the lizard feel pressure on his very core.

He exhaled, his body trembling and sweating, "M-My name?.... M-My name is-" His voice trailed off, his body stopped shaking at the air around him changed. Vell instinctively jumped back, his hands covered in mana ready to go.

"Hmm, how amusing." The lizard got up but it wasn't him anymore, something was wrong. "So you are a challenger?" He scanned Vell for a bit, " at your level you dare enter my territory? who sent you? did the order sent you? No, that makes no sense, they wouldn't sent someone so weak, then why, who is he, why is he here, is this a sign, should I just kill him? More importantly, how he get in this this area, alone at that, I didn't sense him until a few hours ago."

He continued talking to himself, completely ignoring Vell until his head unnaturally turned and he instantly appeared before Vell.

"WHO ARE YOU?"