Nova shouted at the sack of flesh, desperate to understand the situation. "Anny, can you hear me?! Anny!"

Something within the mass shifted at the sound of his voice—a faint tremor that rippled across its surface like a stone dropped in still water.

He ran over to the pulsing sack of meat and grabbed hold of one of the many arms, one with dark blue fur and four long fingers. The limb was surprisingly warm and twitched in his grasp. His essence pulsed through the veins of the arm, traveling through the ball of meat like a wave.

The pulse echoed back, giving him an overview of its makeup.

'What the hell?'

It was not a reassuring result. Hearts—at least seven of them—beat in arrhythmic discord throughout the mass. Organs pressed against each other in impossible configurations, some recognizable, others entirely alien. Veins and arteries twisted and coiled, pumping blood through the labyrinth of flesh. Muscles contracted and relaxed without purpose, causing the entire mass to undulate. Everything mixed together, far greater in number than any living being should have.

But there was only one brain, at the center of it all. A human one, exactly where Anny had sat.

"Annelie! If you can hear me, control yourself! Refine whatever energy you're feeling in your body, and do it slowly! You'll be fine, I promise!" Nova pressed closer, ignoring the slick sensation of fluid seeping through his clothes where he leaned against the mass.

The blob pulsed as the limb he had grabbed found his arm, squeezing it lightly. The gesture was so intentional, so Annelie, that Nova nearly collapsed with relief.

'Oh, thank god. At least she's still somewhat conscious.'

The contact point where they touched began to stabilize as the fur receded slightly, revealing patches of human skin beneath. He could feel her essence responding to his own, following his guidance.

"Take your time," he said, much steadier now. "This could make you much stronger if done correctly. If you can breathe, take long and deep breaths while circling your essence around your core."

The hand squeezed again, firmer this time. A series of muffled sounds emerged from within the mass, rhythmic enough to suggest Annelie was trying to control her breathing.

Slowly, the blob started shrinking. With each labored breath, the excess flesh receded. A feline paw disappeared into the mass, absorbed back into the core. A scaled tail with bony spikes retracted with a sound like sandpaper against stone. Each patch of fur disappeared into the ball one by one, leaving only pale skin.

'It's not like I would have failed if I didn't use the divine focus either... And I knew Annel-Anny might make a breakthrough. Although, I never would have expected something like this.'

After several long moments, all that remained of the giant blob was a tiny girl. Her clothes had been torn to shreds during her transformation, but she didn't seem to care much. She just stared up at Nova, still holding his arm.

Despite her human appearance, subtle differences remained. Her eyes held flecks of gold that hadn't been there before. At the base of her neck, hairs had turned white instead of their usual black. And finally, her teeth looked decidely more carnivorous, with her canines poking at her lips.

"How are you feeling?" Nova asked gently. He kept his voice calm and measured, not wanting to alarm her after what she'd just experienced.

"Like I just turned into a giant blob of mishmashed body parts without any warning." Her voice was dry, but a slight tremor betrayed the lingering shock. Her fingers flexed against his arm, as if testing whether they were truly hers again.

Nova breathed a sigh of relief. At least her humor was still intact.

"I'm sorry. I did not expect that to happen." He watched her carefully, looking for any signs of lingering transformation. The residual essence around her was settling, finding equilibrium with her new form.

"It's fine. I'm used to my body being unfamiliar." She stretched her arms experimentally, wincing slightly as joints popped and muscles realigned themselves.

"Do you know what triggered it?" Nova asked, finally releasing her arm when he was certain she had stabilized.

"Well, sort of. There was a loud crack in my body as I was focusing on the imagination-stuff. Then the beast parts in my body stirred and went out of control, like I was activating them all at once."

"Hmm, I didn't expect it to happen like that."

"...What did you expect?" Her eyes narrowed, suddenly suspicious. The golden flecks in her irises caught the forge light, gleaming with unnatural brightness.

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"Well, I know of a cultivation technique that uses beast-cores to get stronger." Nova sat back on his heels, running a hand through his hair. Soot from the forge left dark streaks in the white strands. "I had hoped you could use that to refine your body, integrating each beast-form into your own muscles and blood. The basic technique is to breathe like I told you earlier. It's not supposed to be used on that many beasts at once, but it seems like it worked."

Instead of replying, Anny kept staring up at him. Her expression shifted subtly, relaxing her narrowed eyes. Then she started tightening the grip on his arm. It hurt.

Nova winced as pain shot up his arm. "Oh, so it worked then—you can sto-ooowwwWW OKAY I'M SORRY!"

"Sorry for what?" Her voice remained calm, even as her grip tightened further. Small ridges formed beneath her skin, reminiscent of tiger claws just below the surface.

"For not being there to help you sooner, for not telling you how to counter it before you reached the first stage, and for seeing you naked?" His words tunbled out in a rush, surprised at how easily she managed to coerce him.

"Why is it a question?" She tilted her head slightly, reminding him of any number of four-legged creatures he had encountered before.

He took a steadying breath, calming his mind. He was still rattled by seeing her in that form previously. But now, she could sever his arm if she wanted; he wouldn't flinch. "Because I don't know exactly why you're mad."

"Hmph, you covered most of it." She flexed her fingers once more before releasing his arm. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Nova rubbed his arm, blood rushing back into the compressed tissue. Deep red marks remained where her fingers had been, already darkening into bruises. "I didn't want to get your hopes up in case it didn't work."

"...Fine." Her expression softened slightly, though her posture remained tense. She glanced down at the tatters of fabric spread across the floor and frowned. "Give me your robe."

Nova didn't hesitate, pulling the robe over his head in a swift motion and handing it over. The forge's heat against his now-bare chest was almost uncomfortable after the chill of fear he'd experienced. He turned around, letting her dress in peace.

Behind him, he could hear the rustle of fabric as she slipped inside it. The soft padding of her feet against the stone as she adjusted her stance. The subtle changes in her breathing—deeper, more controlled, as if testing a new capacity.

"Did you at least make something good?" Her voice came from closer behind him than expected.

"I made a ring of storage." Nova turned, finding her standing barely an arm's length away. The robe was a bit too big for her, but it was clearly better than nothing.

He showed her the ring on his finger, then demonstrated its power by retrieving the hammer with a simple thought, pulled from the dimensional pocket hidden within the ring. The tool's dark metal gleamed as if eager to return to work. "It should help us bring supplies and tools. But this one only has the room of a small chest."

Her eyes narrowed, studying the complex enchantments that shimmered just beneath its surface. "...Damn it! Why does magic have to be so cool?"

Nova chuckled, dismissing the hammer back into the storage space with another thought. The pressure of displaced air rustled his hair as the weapon vanished. "I'm glad you like it. If we find some better materials in the dungeon, I'll make you one as well later."

"But didn't you want us to go in separately at first?" Anny tugged at the oversized sleeves, eventually rolling them up to free her hands. The exposed skin of her forearms bore faint, tiger-like stripes that seemed to shift and fade as she moved.

"Yes, for the first few levels, absolutely." Nova moved to extinguish the forge, using his essence to command the flames down. Heat still radiated from the stone, warming the cool air between them. "We would double our loot by going in alone, and I'm very sure we would survive the first floors solo."

"Yeah, I understand the logic." Anny flexed her fingers experimentally, watching as the subtle striping beneath her skin intensified briefly before fading again. "But you'll be the only one with a ring during that time."

"...You can have it." He slipped the ring from his finger and held it out to her. "I probably have the most versatile skillset of us, so it's only fair."

The ring caught the light, reflecting it back in unusual patterns that danced across Anny's transformed features. Her expression shifted from surprise to something way more annoying.

"You're giving me a ring?" she asked, covering her mouth and staring at him with wide eyes.

"Don't make it a big deal, please." Nova placed the ring in her palm, closing her fingers around it. The skin-to-skin contact confirmed what his eyes had noticed—her body temperature now ran several degrees warmer than a normal human's. "How strong are you now, anyway?"

"Spoilsport..." She slipped the ring onto her middle finger, where it adjusted to fit perfectly. "Uhm, all my physical aspects are close to a hundred thousand now."

"Wow, already?"

"It will get higher?" Anny lifted her hand, examining the veins beneath her skin.

"Usually it grows as you cultivate the beast cores further..." Nova circled her slowly, assessing the changes with an expert eye. "But I don't know if that will work with your beast powers. They're somewhat different, after all."

"Mmh..." She rolled her shoulders, testing the new strength coiled within her muscles. A soft cracking sound accompanied the movement as her spine realigned itself. "Well, either way, I'll get access to much stronger beast powers once I reach a hundred thousand Soul Power."

"Right, due to your unique trait." Nova completed his circle, coming to stand before her again. The forge's dying embers cast long shadows across their faces, highlighting the inhuman quality that now lurked beneath Anny's familiar features. "But you could grow stronger by absorbing others before then, right?"

"I guess." Her tone was noncommittal, but a predatory gleam flickered briefly in her eyes. Now that any beast power could make her stronger, perhaps she already had something in mind.

"Do you feel any different? Is your essence still the same as ever?"

"...Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Well, when cultivating the Thousand Beast Sovereign, you usually fill up with a very volatile power." Nova picked up a stray tool, returning it to its proper place. "But I guess the system has converted it to raw physical aspect increases."

"Hmm." Anny flexed her fingers once more, then straightened the borrowed robe with a decisive tug. "You know what? I think it's time for our spar."

Nova's lips curved into a smile as he let his tools lie. "I suppose it is."

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