Beast Evolution Forge

"Hm? You know Vell?" Kana stared at it with a curious but also strange look in her eyes, as if testing it.

{...No, it cant be, i was thinking of something else.....}

{'it can't be....that thing is alive?'}

It looked nervous but it tried to act like it was nothing but Kana was quick to catch on. "Don't play dumb with me, bird. You're clearly hiding something. If you know Vell, or even just heard the name before, spill it."

Jolly tilted her head slightly, glancing between them. "Wait, what's going on? Who or what is Vell? Why would that name make you so nervous?"

It ruffled its feathers, its nervous energy betraying the calm facade it was trying to maintain. {You two are far too inquisitive for your own good. That name… let's just say it stirs memories best left buried.}

Kana leaned back, crossing her arms but keeping her piercing gaze locked onto the creature. "Memories, huh? Sounds like excuses to me. Whatever you're holding back might help us."

{You misunderstand the balance of knowledge, human. Some truths, when unearthed, bring ruin rather than clarity. But… fine. If you insist. I'll tell you what little I know—that thing is ......}n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Huh, why did your voice just cut off?"

{Seems the truth about that thing is still being locked behind rules of the world.}

"What? your words make no sense, explain things properly dammit!" Her anger was beginning to boil over, she wanted to know what it was hiding.

'fuck fuck, this is so weird, why can't i remember.....its like he came out of nowhere and just joined our lives....what is going on?'

The bird stared at her, sensing how her mana was raging inside her. {'It seems she is started to be aware, that thing is not human, its a dangerous thing that was sealed away, just when did it escape? I will need to report this when I am better, I am sure this will get me my position back'}

Kana's eyes flared as the tension thickened. "You're saying rules of the world? What kind of nonsense is that? Stop talking in riddles and tell me the truth!" Her voice was sharp, but beneath her anger was a deep frustration, an instinctive need to uncover whatever secrets the bird was guarding.

Jolly placed a hand on Kana's shoulder, trying to steady her. "Calm down. Let it explain, even if it's not making sense right now. Maybe it can't just... say it outright?"

She shrugged off Jolly's hand, pacing as her mana flickered visibly around her like a wild, untamed flame. "I'm tired of half answers and cryptic nonsense! If it knows something about Vell, I deserve to hear it. We deserve to know!" She turned her glare back to the bird, her fiery aura intensifying. "Well? Speak!"

{Do you think I wouldn't tell you if I could? Foolish human. This is not a matter of choice, there are forces far greater than you or I at play. I've already said more than I should. Your anger will not change that.}

Kana opened her mouth to argue, but her words caught in her throat. Something strange flickered in her mind—a memory, hazy and incomplete. She saw a figure, blurred and indistinct, standing before her with an aura that felt... wrong. It was cold, suffocating, yet oddly familiar. Her fists clenched involuntarily, her breathing uneven.

'Who… who was that?' she thought, panic creeping in as the memory dissolved as quickly as it had appeared.

The bird eyed her with a powerful gaze, as if seeing something leaving her body, {'it seems the mention of that thing broke a seal placed on her mind, interesting....but I wonder, why did he choose her specifically?'}

Jolly noticed that Kana was breaking down and she took it out on the bird. "What the hell is happening to her, talk!" She grabbed it by the throat but something was off.

{Humans are really so careless, how are you only now realising that your power is gone, you have no mana in your body, foolish.}

She glanced at her trembling hand, realizing that she indeed felt... nothing.

"W-What do you mean?" Her voice cracked as she stumbled back, panic beginning to set in. "How could I not notice? I am powerless now?"

Kana, though still caught in her own internal turmoil, snapped her attention to Jolly. "What? Your mana—" She stopped mid-sentence, her fiery glare shifting to the bird. "You! What did you do to her?" Anger took over and she grabbed the bird by the throat, squeezing it, ready to snap.

{Foolish human, you dare!}

It released a shockwave that sent them crashing into the dashboard. Kana groaned, shaking her head as she tried to gather herself. Her fiery aura, though dimmed momentarily, reignited as her rage boiled over. "You've got a death wish, bird!" she spat, struggling to stand.

Jolly, however, remained slumped against the console, breathing heavily. Her face was pale with her wounds bleeding out. "Kana, wait... don't..."

{You are reckless, human, blinded by your emotions. Had I been at my full strength, that little outburst would have reduced you to ash.}

"Try me. I'll turn you into ashes, right now."

It's gaze shifted from her to Jolly who was badly hurt, {you really know nothing about the world. your cores are full of corrupted mana, its how you are able to hunt and do things that should be possible. Now use that little brain of yours, what would happen if that mana is removed? not depleted? But removed, completely.}

She knew the answer to that question but she just didn't want to admit it.

{You want to be free from the hold they put on you, well, that means starting back from nothing.....there is no other way......I think that should be enough.} It looked way better than when they found it, as if in that short time it healed itself.

{Thank you for the meal.} It said, staring at Jolly before it flew out of the car and disappeared into the sky.

Kana's fists trembled as she stared after the bird, her aura flickering with indecision. "That damn bird.... It played us!" she hissed through clenched teeth, her anger wavering as her eyes turned to Jolly slumped against the console.

"Hehehe, it seems so. Can't believe it used corrupted mana to heal itself. We should have seen it coming, it is a monster after all."

"Yeah, but next time we meet, I am going to turn it into a turkey."

---

"Phew, that should be enough, we have been training all night."

Yenna said, sitting down to rest for a bit. Just then a familiar voice greeted her.

"Well you look sweaty as hell."

She turned around, over joyed she almost jumped to hug him but her will was barely strong enough.

"Hey, welcome back, how was your exploration?"

"Not bad but I think it's time we move on, we have so much hunting to do."

He smirked.