Eo drifted in the abyss, his body still shifting from the lingering resonance of his last transformation. Something had changed. He could feel it—not just in the way his body moved but in the very essence of his being.

  The Mist flowed within him, no longer just an external force but something inseparable from his flesh. Bloodlust, once a primal hunger that surged uncontrollably, now pulsed in harmony with the Mist, no longer a reckless force but a controlled, burning power.

  This wasn’t a simple adaptation. This was evolution.

  Eo had spent his existence mimicking and refining, but now, his body wasn’t just reacting—it was creating. Evolution in nature was slow, gradual, and blind. Creatures survived long enough to pass on their best traits, refining their species over millennia. But Eo? He had bypassed that entire process.

  His form no longer resembled anything natural—it had become a perfect biological mechanism tailored for survival. He was not just adapting to his environment. He was shaping himself in real-time.

  The Mist no longer clung to him like an external shroud. It had become part of his biological structure, reinforcing his membrane, altering his cellular density, and creating something entirely new. It was no longer just mist—it was his mist, a unique extension of himself. The Bloodlust, once an uncontrollable surge, now circulated through him like an energy source, powering his form, enhancing his reactions.

  Then there was the other sensation—the one he had never noticed before.

  A presence.

  The world itself pulsed with something beyond mere mist, something deeper and more intricate. He could feel the movement of energy within the environment, something layered beneath the mist itself. Before, he had been blind to it, but now—his body could sense it.

  The realization struck him like a tidal wave.

  This was what separated him from others.

  Other creatures wielded the mist like an extension of their bodies, but Eo had merged with it. He was no longer using it as an external force—he had internalized it, reconstructed his very being around it. And in doing so, he had begun to perceive the world differently.

  For the first time, he became aware of something beyond mist. Something deeper.

  Eo flexed his form, shifting, testing. His transformations were no longer just surface-level. They carried a new essence. Before, he could mimic, stretch, and extend, but now—he could refine, optimize, and create.

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  No longer just a water polyp. No longer a simple creature evolving to survive.

  He had become something else entirely.

  Something only he could be.

  Eo’s body trembled as the changes continued. He hadn’t just gained new abilities—his very structure had shifted.

  Before this transformation, he had been small, nearly imperceptible in the vast waters of Tangea. A mere 15 millimeters, an existence so insignificant that most creatures wouldn’t even notice him. But now, as his form settled into its new state, he realized something critical—he was no longer that tiny, fragile being.

  He expanded.

  His flexible body unfurled, stretching, growing. Not through the traditional means of biological development, but through the sheer refinement of his mist-integrated physiology. He could feel the density of his form increasing, the way his once-threadlike tendrils now carried substance.

  He stretched further, his body adjusting, expanding beyond his previous limits.

  Fifty millimeters… One hundred… Two hundred…

  And then it stopped.

  Roughly half a meter in total length, Eo had reached a size that was no longer ignorable. While still small compared to the true leviathans of the deep, he was now far larger than the minute polyp he had once been. A creature of his size would now be considered a predator in its own right, no longer insignificant.

  And yet, size was not his true strength.

  Despite his growth, his form remained optimized, streamlined for movement rather than brute force. His body, once thin and fragile, had adapted into something both durable and flexible. He had retained his natural advantage—his ability to shift and mold himself to his environment—but now, he could enforce it on a larger scale.

  More importantly, he felt powerful.

  His reach had extended. His mist-infused limbs could now lash out farther, strike with more force, and shape the world around him in ways he had never been able to before. This wasn’t just an expansion in size—it was an expansion in potential.

  And as he pulsed with newfound energy, Eo knew—

  This was the first step into becoming something the world had never seen before.

  Eo pulsed his body experimentally, feeling the way his new size affected his movement. His once-microscopic tendrils now swept through the water with noticeable force, stirring the currents in a way he had never been able to before. The simple act of extending a limb sent ripples outward, a physical presence where once he had been nearly imperceptible.

  He tested his agility, coiling and twisting. His flexibility remained, but there was a newfound weight to his actions. He wasn’t just an amorphous wisp drifting through the currents anymore—there was substance behind his movement, a core of density where his mist and bloodlust had solidified into something new.

  He realized, with some fascination, that even his predatory aura had changed. Before, his presence had been easily ignored, his bloodlust too faint to register to stronger creatures. But now? As he let his instincts flare, the water itself seemed to shudder around him.

  Not overwhelming, not yet—but undeniable.

  For the first time, Eo understood what it meant to exist as a force rather than just a being.

  He was no longer just prey.

  He was becoming something greater.