Xavier carefully held the Egg, rushed inside his room, and found a cushion to place the egg on top of. He also put a few towels around the egg to keep it from slipping.
And then he sat on the floor cross-legged and watched the Egg hopefully. After the first crack, Xavier grew impatient and could not wait to see his new companion. But the little guy inside seemed to be taking his own sweet time.
After what felt like ages, a second crack appeared on the shell, and Xavier almost jumped up in excitement.
“Come on”
He urged, and then there was another crack. Xavier began saying words of encouragement, hoping that his companion could hear him and would feel motivated. The coarse black surface of the Egg was now littered with cobweb-like cracks. But unlike Glut’s cocoon, which was a blazing inferno, the Egg did not emit heat.
Chips of the outer shell of the Egg began falling away slowly as the hatchling fought its way to freedom. And Xavier saw darkness seep out of the Egg, slowly filling the room. He sensed energy burning inside the egg, devouring the eggshell as it slowly crumbled.
A dark mist enveloped Xavier and the Egg, making it almost impossible for him to see what was going on. But his eyes saw the faint outline of a head as the top layer of the shell was devoured by the darkness. And then he saw two round eyes slowly open and peek at him from the crumbling shell before lowering its head again. They were a brilliant shade of purple.
“Come out, little guy, I am not going to harm you.”
Xavier said in a reassuring voice, and those eyes popped up again. Xavier smiled as the two eyes went wide, and the head tilted from one side to the other, studying him.
“That’s right, I am here for you.”
The head stopped tilting and focused on him before revealing a small pink nose underneath.
“Huh?”
Before he knew it, something burst outside the remaining eggshell and jumped straight on his chest, sending him toppling to the ground. Xavier grinned from ear to ear as he saw a cute little black ball of fluff standing on his chest, looking at him with his big, round eyes.
Xavier’s heart melted at the sight of his new companion, who meowed before lowering his head to rub it against his chin.
“Aww, man”
Xavier slowly raised his hand and scratched the kitten’s chin. The kitten was completely black except for the purple eyes, which were a striking contrast to the black fur. The kitten weighed almost nothing but had the energy and speed of a fully grown cat. He soon began chasing the shadows, jumping through the room playfully and meowing loudly as Xavier sat up again.
For the next five minutes, he only observed the cute kitten as it ran around and explored the surroundings before returning to him for snuggling.
“Welcome home, buddy.” Xavier pulled the kitten close, and it meowed and nuzzled against his chest. He immediately felt a strong connection to the kitten and was happy that he had always used Nourish on the Egg.
He had only been confused to see a kitten hatch out of the Egg at first, but he immediately fell in love with the adorable fluff ball. His mind was already beginning to wonder what evolution paths the kitten could have and how he could aid him in battles. Xavier was busy scratching the kitten’s ear when he heard the sharp, angry chirping of Glut.
The golden sparrow was disgruntled that Xavier was showing all his love and attention to the new member. Glut spread his wings wide open, flew in through the window, and perched himself on Xavier’s shoulder.
“Hey Glut, see we got a new friend. Say hi” Xavier tried to introduce Glut to the kitten but Glut only chirped loudly before nipping his ear.
“Ow, why are you angry? I didn’t forget you.”
Glut chirped a bit more and did not step down to look at the kitten, who was staring at the bird curiously. He had raised his left paw to reach for Glut, who let out a shrill chirp and flapped his wings loudly before sitting on Xavier’s head.
“No, he is not food. You guys have to be friends, not enemies.”
Xavier spoke to them, hoping that the kitten would understand him.
The kitten lowered his paw and kept staring at Glut, whom Xavier forced to stand in front of the kitten.
“Ok, let us try this again. Kitten, he is Glut, your friend…or rather our friend. He is an important member of our team, so no harming him, okay?”
Glut chirped loudly, pleased to receive Xavier's praise, and flew towards him to rub his head on his chest as well.
The kitten took a step forward, but Glut chirped loudly at him, making the kitten step back.
“And no yelling at the little guy, Glut. You are his big brother. You will teach and train him, right?”
Glut puffed his chest out at being called a responsible mentor, finally allowing the kitten to come closer. The kitten took a sniff, his nose twitching near Glut’s tail before he finally inched closer to the feisty little sparrow and licked him, covering his feathers in saliva.
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Xavier chuckled as the kitten meowed. He pulled both his companions close, hugging them with a wistful smile.
Xavier patted the little kitten and used Eye of Evolution.
[Unnamed]
Superior Monster
Nightshade Panther
Healthy(Overjoyed)
10
Evolution Paths
“Nightshade Panther?” Xavier’s interest was piqued, and a strand of darkness manifested in his right palm. His Innate Ability’s Soulshare triggered the moment the Unnamed Egg hatched.
Xavier was rewarded with a slight increase in his Foundation and two affinities; Shadow and Darkness. His understanding of the affinities was not that high, but it felt natural to use them. It was like they were made for him.
A shadow ball conjured in front of him at will. Xavier compressed the shadow ball and expanded it with some simple mental commands. He added the darkness affinity to add spikes to the shadow ball and manifest needles made of compressed darkness all around him.
“Why is it easier for me to use Darkness and Shadow than Glut’s flames?” Xavier wondered, his eyes landing on the little kitten once again. He used Eye of Evolution once again to find out what evolution paths the little troublemaker was hiding.
Unlocked Evolution Paths (0)
…
Hidden Evolution Paths (16)
1) Rare Evolution Path – Reign of Darkness.
Requirements to unlock:
– Consume 1000 enemies(in Darkness)
–Break through the shackles of Stage-1 without external help.(Foundation above 2500)
–.....Pass through the Gat–....
–
2) Rare + Evolution Path – Beast King
3) ...
4) …
Even though the Tamer Card Set was already at Level 21, Xavier couldn’t see more than some of the kitten’s evolution requirements. Most of the Nightshade Panther’s Evolution Paths had yet to be unlocked, but it seemed promising. Some requirements of the first Rare Evolution Path were already visible.
16 Hidden Evolution Paths and the first two are already Rare Evolution Paths. The remaining Evolution Paths should be Rare or even better, right?
A corner of Xavier’s lip curled upward. The little kitten was a promising companion.
The kitten was still quite curious, sniffing around every corner of the room and meowing loudly before starting to sniff again. Xavier could not help but stare at him in wonder, much to the dismay of Glut, who felt he was being ignored. Glut flapped his wings loudly and hovered before Xavier to make him look at himself.
“What?” Xavier asked as Glut chirped again, sharing his disappointment with the new entrant.
“Oh, come on, my precious little Glut. You know you are the best, right?” Xavier said, raising a hand to pat Glut’s head. But Glut shook his head when he noticed Xavier’s eyes were still glancing at the kitten occasionally.
The kitten hopped up on the chair and climbed on the table near the open window, struggling to get near it.
“Go, teach him how to be a good companion like you are,” Xavier suggested, and he felt Glut a slight note of superiority in Glut’s voice as he flew towards the kitten, who was now balancing himself on the windowsill.
The curious kitten peered outside, looking at the trees and scenery with his large purple eyes. Glut flew in front of the kitten and flapped his wings to stop it from going forward, as the kitten curiously raised his paw.
Glut chirped again and flew forward, making the kitten lose its balance and tumble on the table, rolling like a ball.
Xavier laughed as the kitten shook his head, feeling slightly disoriented. He gave a small hiss in Glut’s direction. Glut chirped loudly to exert dominance, and the kitten shrank back again.
“I said train him, not scare him, Glut.” Xavier remarked, and Glut stopped flapping his wings loudly.
He settled on the table in front of the kitten and tilted his head, motioning the kitten to follow suit. The kitten tilted his head too and Glut hopped closer.
The kitten let out a small meow before jumping on top of Glut and starting to lick his feathers with his small, pink tongue. Xavier got up from the ground and went near his two companions, who started playing with each other before the kitten slowly grew tired and curled up into a ball, resting his head on Glut’s feathers.
He patted both of them affectionately and wondered what to name the kitten.
“How does Umbra sound, little guy?” Xavier asked the kitten, who let out a tired meow and snuggled closer to Glut.
“Umbra it is, then.”
He had barely spoken that line when the door to his room opened, and he heard his grandmother mumble, “Xavier, I need your help with the-”
Zora Vador stopped abruptly when her eyes fell on the kitten, who had jumped up and rushed behind Xavier’s back to hide upon sensing her arrival.
“What is that?” She asked in surprise as Xavier slowly pulled Umbra forward and held him in his hands, gently caressing the kitten.
“The Egg hatched, and I found Umbra.”
Xavier showed the kitten proudly as Zora beamed at his grandson. She slowly reached for the kitten and caressed him.
“What evolution paths did you see for him?” She asked while scratching Umbra’s chin.
“Sixteen in total. Though I could not see their details at all.”
“Excellent.”
She caressed Umbra and placed him back near Glut as they both went back to sleep. She was excited about her sparrows' evolution paths and asked Xavier to take a look as soon as possible.
Both chatted excitedly about their companions, how to tame them, and the possibilities the future held for them.
Instead of going hunting with the Nightshade Panther cub, Xavier integrated his Soul Essences into Umbra first. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to his little friend. At this point, a Foundation of 10 was insignificant compared to the weakest monsters that could be found everywhere around Haven. Xavier couldn’t afford to lose his youngest companion so soon.
The Nightshadow Panther had to be properly nourished and trained before they could leave the settlement to go hunting.