The triumphant system chimes faded, leaving behind a ringing silence in the cavern now thick with the smell of ozone, void energy, and burnt chitin. Adam let out a long, shuddering breath, the monumental weight of the battle finally settling on his bruised and exhausted frame.

"Everyone... is everyone alright?" Adam's mental voice was raspy, broadcast to all three of his companions.

«I'm okay! I'm okay! That was amazing!» Ignis's enthusiastic, fiery thoughts chirped back instantly. The young Solar Drake, scales still glowing with residual heat, bounced on her claws and practically skipped over the debris. Before Adam could react, she threw her forelimbs around his thick neck in a draconic hug, nuzzling her snout against his scales. «We did it! You did it!»

"Whoa, easy, Ignis," Adam winced, both physically and mentally. "Every part of me is screaming in pain right now. Easy on the hug."

Ignis either didn't hear or chose to ignore the complaint, squeezing tighter for a moment before pulling back, her eyes wide with excitement. «But Adam! I feel it! I'm so close! I can evolve again too!»

«Hey, you scaly pyromaniac, get off him!» Alice's voice, laced with protective irritation, cut through. The Voidweaver Panther padded over gracefully, though a slight limp betrayed her own fatigue. She nudged Ignis firmly away from Adam with her head. «Can't you see he's still injured and exhausted? Your enthusiasm is going to finish what the spider started.»

«I was just hugging him!» Ignis protested, but she relented, taking a step back and looking slightly chastised.

A calm, elegant psychic voice washed over them. «I am... intact. My injuries are manageable, and the influx of essence is... profound. I had not anticipated evolution would be possible again so soon.» Lilith, the Pale Widow Queen, carefully picked her way across the battlefield, her eight legs moving with deliberate, recovering grace.

"That's probably because of the sheer amount of points we just got," Adam explained, shifting his massive serpentine body to a more comfortable position. A wave of pain made him grit his teeth. "Most of it must have been the EP from all the smaller spiders the Big Mother cannibalized. Their essence, funneled through her and then claimed by us."

«So, are we evolving here?» Alice asked, her tail twitching as she scanned the ruined cavern. The walls were scarred, the floor littered with webbing and shattered stone. «This place doesn't feel secure. That battle had to attract attention.»

Adam followed her gaze. She was right. The cavern was a beacon of chaos. But the pull from the Devourer-Queen's corpse was immense, a siren song of concentrated power he couldn't ignore.

"No," Adam decided, his voice firming with resolve. "I'm evolving first. Right here, right now. I don't want to risk losing the chance to consume that." He angled his head towards the massive, twitching form of Ophiarachna. "The essence is freshest now, and I need every advantage it can give me for what's coming next. We'll have to risk it. Alice, Ignis, Lilith—guard the perimeter. This is going to take a while, and I'll be vulnerable."

Alice immediately approached, her elegant void body pressed against Adam's side. «Don't worry, I'll take care of you,» she whispered, her mental voice soft and soothing. She gently rubbed Adam's side, as if trying to soothe the pain that must have been ravaging him.

Lilith, despite her fractured body and one broken leg, crept toward him gracefully. Her crimson eyes radiated a deep calm. «Leave it to us.»

Ignis puffed her chest out, flames flickering in her throat. «I'll burn anything that comes close!»

Adam gave them all a grateful mental nod.

[ Evolution Paths Available: ]

1. Tyrant Abyssal Serpent - Apex physical predator. Focus: Strength, Vitality, New Skill: 'Tyrant's Roar' (Area Fear & Debuff)

2. Void-Thread Abyssal - Spatial and shadow manipulator. Focus: Agility, Intelligence, New Skill: 'Void Thread' (Spatial Cutting Wires)

3. Eclipse Dragon Serpent (Legendary) - A being of cyclical duality, balancing solar ferocity and lunar resilience. Focus: All Attributes, Draconic Ascension, New Trait: 'Celestial Phenomenon'.

The choice was laughably easy. The first two were powerful, logical progressions. The third was a leap into the realm of myth.

'Of course I'm picking the rare one,' Adam thought, his resolve firm. Go big or go extinct.

[ Selection Confirmed: Eclipse Dragon Serpent. ]

[ Consuming 3500 Evolution Points... ]

[ Evolution in Progress... ]

Agony, once again, but of a different kind. It wasn't the brutal, breaking pain of battle, but the profound, deep-seated ache of his very essence being rewritten, stretched, and reforged on a celestial anvil. His scales crackled, not with heat, but with a cascade of miniature, silent starfalls—flecks of light and dark peeling away.

His body elongated further, his frame broadening, muscles and bone weaving with new, dense power. The change was most intense along his spine and wings. His leathery wings stretched, their membrane thickening and then being sheathed in a layer of profound, velvety darkness. From the leading edges and along strategic veins, sleek, jet-black feathers emerged, each one seeming to drink the light around it yet faintly glowing with a soft, internal warmth.

The crown of horns on his head twisted and grew, forming a more regal, draconic crest. His eyes, previously serpentine slits, melted and reformed. The pupils became vertical, but around them, the irises shimmered with a mesmerizing, cosmic pattern—deep blues and blacks speckled with tiny points of silver and gold, like a nebula contained within each gaze.

The process felt eternal, but when it was done, Adam lay in the center of the cavern, a new leviathan. He was significantly larger, his presence no longer just monstrous, but ancient and awe-inspiring. The soft, warm radiance from his feathered wings cast gentle, shifting shadows.

«Whoooa, Boss! You look… more… shiny! And scary-cool!» Ignis blurted out, her own draconic instincts recognizing a superior form. She circled him, head tilted.

Alice approached more cautiously. Her feline curiosity overrode her usual aloofness. «You… have feathers on your wings now.» She stretched out a paw, gently brushing the soft, warm plumes. A soft, contented rumble escaped her throat. «They're warm. Hmm… I might just sleep next to you all the time now, Adam.» She nuzzled her head against the downy base of his wing.

Lilith observed from a slight distance, her psychic voice a blend of amusement and genuine awe. «Fufu… if you continue at this rate, Adam, you will soon outgrow even the grandest of caverns. A true king requires a fitting palace, no?»

Adam shifted, testing his new body. The power was immense, flowing through him like a steady, unstoppable tide. He felt stronger, tougher, faster, sharper. But as he coiled, trying to manipulate a large fragment of rock with more finesse, a sudden, profound frustration hit him.

'Wait… why do I still not have hands?!' He stared at his powerful, but decidedly limbless, serpentine forebody. He had just undergone a Legendary evolution, sprouted cosmic-feathered wings, and his eyes held galaxies, yet the simple, versatile utility of opposable thumbs remained maddeningly out of reach. He could crush, constrict, and breathe fire, but the thought of delicately holding something, of crafting, felt locked behind a door he couldn't even see.

His musings were interrupted by a new, subtle pulse from within. It wasn't a muscle or a skill. It was his mind. The Human Ingenuity trait, that last stubborn anchor to his humanity, hadn't been overwritten. It had been… refined.

Forged in the fires of this legendary ascension. The +5 Intelligence bonus was still there, but he felt it differently now. It was less of a stat and more of a lens—a profound, crystalline clarity of thought, problem-solving, and comprehension that integrated seamlessly with his draconic instincts. He could almost see the patterns in the dungeon's mana flows, understand the underlying principles of the skills he used.

The message was clear, his body had ascended to a legendary draconic form, but his human intellect had not been left behind. It had been elevated, becoming the crown jewel of his new existence.

Perhaps… perhaps this was the prerequisite. To master this form and this mind, then the next evolution could bridge the gap.

And maybe his next evolution will be a humanoid body.

[ Evolution Complete! ]

[ Species: Eclipse Dragon Serpent ]

[ All Attributes Significantly Increased! ]

[ All Existing Active & Passive Skills have gained +3 Levels! ]

[ Active Skills Enhanced: ]

· Constrict Level 2 → Level 5

· Phantom Onslaught: Level 1 → Level 4

· Stormrend: Level 1 → Level 4

· Abyssal Glide: Level 1 → Level 4

· Earthshaker: Level 1 → Level 4

· Blooming Vitality: Level 2 → Level 5

· Fire Breath: Level 2 → Level 5

· Ember Shard Shot: Level 4 → Level 7

· Monarch's Pierce: Level 1 → Level 4

· Pressurized Spines: Level 1 → Level 4

[ Passive Skills Enhanced: ]

· Iron Will: Level 3 → Level 6

· Mana Core: Level 3 → Level 6

[ New Trait Gained: Celestial Phenomenon - Your very presence subtly alters the local environment, cycling between a passive 'Solar Corona' (increases fire-affinity and minor outgoing damage) and 'Lunar Veil' (enhances stealth and mana regeneration) state. ]

[ Trait Upgraded: Human Ingenuity -> Celestial Calculus. Retains all previous benefits. Your mind is now optimized for rapid skill acquisition and mana manipulation. You learn and improve skills at an accelerated rate, and your mana efficiency is greatly increased.]

[ Evolution Points: 4034 -> 534 ]

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