Chris looked at the, orb glowing crimson and gold color with anticipation.
With a shaky breath that turned into a laugh, he reached out his hand,
The moment his hands were about to touch the orb, the orb pulsed brightly, a blinding flash of crimson and gold that forced Chris to squint.
"Boom!"
The orb shot towards him, like a bullet but instead of slamming into him, it suddenly divided into millions of tiny particles, merging as it touched his skin, seeping into his chest, his arms, his legs and his entire body, as if he was a sponge absorbing water.
"Bang!"
A loud bang went off in Chris's head and an unimaginable sensation ripped through him.
"Hmph!"
Chris felt an intense heat tore through his body like a volcano was rupturing from his very insides!
His teeth clenched, a scream caught in his throat.
But just as he thought he would be burned to ash, a wave of pure, cool radiance washed over him, the golden energy soothing the fire, mending what the crimson had torn. It was like being plunged into a forge, then into a holy spring, back and forth, a violent, chaotic dance of opposing forces within his soul.
He felt his very being stretched, reshaped, broken down, and rebuilt.
Light, both brilliant and shadowy, flashed through his right and left eyes like disco lights.
"Rooooar!"
Beastly roars echoed from inside his head which was instantly quelled by a melody that sounded so divine.
They both clashed and harmonized with each other, creating a new world order that was so chaotic and yet so stable and so very terrifying.
Immense, raw, untamed power flooded every fiber of his existence. He could feel it, a seething ocean of energy now residing within him, a blend of something fierce and demonic, and something pure and divine.
As the torrent of sensations began to stabilize, an holographic image appeared before him.
[Primal Beast Essence: Heavenly Devil Crimson Tiger (SSS-Tier) successfully bound to host soul.]
[New Racial Attributes Acquired. Analyzing…]
[Status: Chris Holland]
▌Race: Heavenly Devil Crimson Winged-Tiger
▌ Level: 1
▌ Title: Beast King
━━━━━━━━
⟨ CORE ATTRIBUTES (Base) ⟩
➤ HP: 100/100
➤ Mana: 100/100 (Dual Pool – Divine Mana & Demonic Fury)
➤ Strength: 10
➤ Agility: 10
➤ Physique: 10
➤ Perception: 10
➤ Stamina: 10
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
⟨ Innate Talent (Racial) ⟩
◈ Dual-Affinity Manipulation: Active. (Ability to harness and utilize both Divine Mana and Demonic Fury)
◈ Soul Devour: Active (You can absorb essence from slain enemies to unlock skills/evolve.
◈ Blood Devil Tiger Form: Able to transform into the blood Devil Tiger at any time.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
◈ Celestial Crimson Tiger Form: Locked (Requires specific conditions/evolution)
◈ Blood Infernal Tiger Form: Locked (Requires specific conditions/evolution)
◈ Heaven Demon Fusion: Locked (Mythic – Requires extreme conditions & balance)
Chris gasped, the pain receding from his mind.
The sheer potential laid out before him was staggering.
His body felt… different. Stronger. More alive.
The chaotic energy still churned within him, but it was now under his control.
He could feel the two distinct pools of power, one warm and radiating light, the other burning with a darker, more ferocious chaos.
"This is…"
Chris had no way to describe it as he flexed his hands.
They felt the same, yet imbued with a latent strength he'd never known.
He furrowed his brows slightly and then concentrated on the Blood Devil Tiger Form on the panel.
Suddenly, an unconscious deep growl rumbled in his chest and in an instant, his bones began to shift, creaking and popping with an alarming speed that made Chris's eyes widen in shock and fear.
"What the hel-"
Before he could finish his words, he felt his spine lengthen, his shoulders broaden. A wave of heat washed over his skin.
Thick fur, the color of rich, dark crimson, like dried blood, sprouted across his entire body. It was dense, surprisingly soft yet was even stronger than steel. Streaks of glossy black fur, like a tiger's stripes, patterned the crimson canvas, sharp and defined.
His face elongated slightly, his human features sharpening, becoming more angular, more predatory.
His teeth tingled, and he ran his tongue over them. They were longer, sharper, especially his canines, which now felt like true fangs. His ears stretched, moving upwards and becoming pointed, distinctly feline, capable of swiveling to catch the faintest sound.
He blinked, and when his eyes opened, the world seemed sharper, colors more vibrant.
He caught his reflection in a dimly shimmering patch of the ethereal floor.
His eyes were no longer brown in color but yellow and they weren't round either but like a cat's eyes.
His fingers elongated and extended, forming a formidable, black and wickedly sharp claws, extending an inch or so past his fingertips. They looked like they could tear through steel.
His body elongated to more than two meters in height as he stood there on two legs.
As he saw his transformation, he was stunned. He didn't transform into a beast but neither did he look human.
Instead, he looked like a fusion of man and tiger, as immense power filled him to the bones as though he could crush the heavens and the earth with just his claws.
A new system prompt sounded in his mind.
["Genesis Grace" period is active. Duration: 6 Days, 23 Hours, remaining.]
[Eight Gates of Descent are now open. Choose your starting domain wisely, Beast King. This choice will significantly impact your initial development.]
Before him, as if summoned by the announcement, eight immense archways of shimmering, distorted light materialized in a semi-circle.
Each gate was a swirling vortex of different colors and energies, vague images flickering within them like scenes from another world.
Chris, still getting used to his new, towering form and the feel of fur and claws, turned his golden eyes towards the gates.
He took a deep breath, the air tasting different to his enhanced senses.
As he set his eyes in the gates, his Divine sight immediately went to work as the details of the gates appeared in his mind.
[GATE OF Dominating Woods]
▌ Destination: Primeval Forest Region – Verdant Expanse
▌ Resource Profile: Abundant basic resources (timber, common flora/fauna, stone).
▌ Energy Saturation: Weak (Low Divine Mana, negligible Demonic Fury).
▌ Growth Potential: Low (Limited rare resources, few challenging beasts for Soul Devour evolution).
▌ Native Threats: Common forest creatures, low-tier nature spirits.
▌ System Note: A safe but slow start. Minimal immediate danger, but stagnation is a risk.
Chris's eyes widened. This was the perfect place to stay if one wanted to stay safe! But them he formed when he thought deeply about it.
His growth would be incredibly limited and he it would take a long time to get back to earth. He needed to grow stings fast. The faster the better as seven days of grace wasn't a long time. The heroes could come for him and then kill him.
His gaze shifted to the next gate, a vortex of murky blues and greys, from which he felt a faint, chilling dampness.
[Gates Of Sunken City Ruins]
▌ Destination: Submerged Ancient Metropolis – The Drowned Halls
▌ Resource Profile: Rich in ancient artifacts (potential for lost technology/magic). Rare minerals encrusted on ruins.
▌ Energy Saturation: Moderate (Ambient magical energies, residual sorrow/ethereal echoes).
▌ Growth Potential: High (Unique items, potentially powerful spectral essences for Soul Devour).
▌ Native Threats: Powerful guardians, Unstable architecture.
▌ System Note: High risk, high reward. Survival depends on navigating hazardous environments and overcoming formidable, non-corporeal foes. Underwater exploration may be required.
"Ancient artifacts sound good, but 'powerful guardians' and monstrosities' sound like a quick way to test that 'True Death' rule," Chris mused, his tiger-like ears twitching. He wasn't a battle maniac and right off the bat felt like a bad idea.
He moved his Divine sight to the third gate. This one pulsed with angry reds and oranges, radiating a palpable, dry heat that even he could feel on his crimson fur.
[Gate of Volcanic Wastes]
▌ Destination: Ash-Covered Volcanic Plains & Magma Flows
▌ Resource Profile: Abundant fire-aspected minerals, geothermal energy. Rare fire-elemental creatures.
▌ Energy Saturation: Extreme (Saturated with Demonic energy, ambient fire/magma energies).
▌ Growth Potential: Moderate to High
▌ Native Threats: Highly aggressive fire elementals, magma beasts, environmental hazards (lava, toxic fumes, earthquakes).
▌ System Note: Suits Infernal Tiger Form development. Limits Celestial aspects due to lack of Divine Mana. Extremely hostile environment. Only for the truly fire-attuned or reckless.
Chris grimaced. While the Demonic energy saturation might benefit one side of his new nature, the "extremely hostile environment" and scarce Divine Mana made it a poor choice for balance.
He needed to nurture both sides of his Heavenly Devil essence if he ever hoped to unlock that "Heaven Demon Fusion."
None of these felt quite right. Each had significant drawbacks that could cripple his early growth or get him killed too easily. He still had five more gates to examine. Somewhere among them, there had to be a place that offered a better balance, a strategic advantage for a fledgling Beast King like himself.