A wisp was floating in the streets of the city. She went through the alleys, full of houses and other buildings created for Limiteds that gave up their journey. Finally, she stopped some minutes later in a building without windows and with quietness all around it. She implanted a portion of her energy in a device on the top of the door, making it open.

Instead of a room, the door leads to an orange portal. The wisp entered the portal without waiting for a signal, and after crossing it, a pair of insectoid Limited rec3eived her in front of a vast space where other shady limited made their deals. Both Insectoids looked like a human with the build of a Gorilla and the exterior of an ant. The one on the right was red, and the one on the left was gray.

"Ihe, Kaua, how are you guys?" — Asked the Wisp, referring first to the one on the right.

"Dusanog, strange seeing you here. The last time you visited, you brought some interesting information about some champions." — Replied Kaua, the Gray.

"Yes, well, I am back. I need Asther." — Voiced Dusanog with some contempt towards the ant brothers.

"Hmph, I see you are still with that mindset of yours. If you are looking for some Asther talk with Aslam, that narcissistic Lionoid is around the casino's plaza." Replied with derision Ihe, the Red.

"Assholes, because they are in the fifth tier of this damned place, think they are superior to most here."

Dusanog wandered this place resembling a Casino filled with Limited trying not to be noticed by others with their shady dealings. That's when She found the person the ant brothers mentioned, Aslam, A thin Lionoid with a suit of white color surrounded with androids of different shapes but with a purpose in common, to please him.

Dusanog began to float towards him. Two of the androids tried to stop her, but the brown Lionoid stopped them while he sat on a couch.

"Hello, little wisp, are you perhaps lost? Hmm?" — Asked Aslam with a sadistic smile, showing some of his teeth.

"No, I am not lost. I want to sell some information. I need Asther to get out of the first tier." — Responded Dusanog with subsided anger.

"Ah, a Low tiered Limited, I see. It is not a surprise for one of you to come here asking for deals and still be thinking that they are "good" inside of themselves. You are of the ethereal kin, but you are one of those that collect souls to become stronger. In this place, morality doesn't exist." — Voiced Aslam before continuing.

"We are assassins, traitors, killers, seekers of fortune or power. We are selfish, trough and trough. That's why this place exists, the Shadow of the Stròmata. It's You who needs to stop being the Asshole, thinking you are better than us, for showing disgust towards us, Dusanog."

"... How? I didn't tell you my name."

"It is not necessary. I can read your surface thoughts. Despite being a Lionoid, a race of warmonger warriors, I was born being a Psychic user. That's why I am thinner than I should for my race. Either way, tell me yourself, what do you want to sell?" — Inquired Aslam.

"... I want to sell the Information of a Champion and its whereabouts." — Replied Dusanog.

"Very well, and what makes you think this information makes it valuable?" — Insisted Aslam, being massaged by two of the feminine androids while talking.

"He has Ethorgal blood inside of him." — Said Dusanog, making Aslam twitch with interest.

"Ethorgal, you say... Lesser to be sure, but still, you can't give a piece of that beast if the creature has no compatibility with it. If your words are genuine, I can provide you with enough Asther to jump straight to the Third tier... Some Limited might want to complete the lesser essence inside their champions to get ahead of the games. Now tell me everything."

[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Penrose-dreieck.svg/526px-Penrose-dreieck.svg.png]

The Specimen "Basil" got [The Survivor] Achievement Be alive after having lost more than 80% of your life with the possibility of full recovery.

As the Owner of Basil, you are being awarded 3000 Asther for use.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The amount of Asther received is multiplied by the number of complete mutations of the Specimen if it gets the same achievement twice.

The Specimen "Basil" got [The Escapist] Achievement Run against the odds and escape your pursuers in the worst situation. As the Owner of Basil, you are being awarded 2000 Asther for use.

The Specimen "Basil" got the [Tough as nails] Achievement Survive the attacks coming from different sources and still be able to walk it off. As the Owner of Basil, you are being awarded 3000 Asther for use.

The Specimen "Basil" got the [Guardian] Achievement Protect whatever is precious to the specimen to the point of self-harm. As the Owner of Basil, you are being awarded 10000 Asther for use.

Evalyne revised the vitals of Basil, and most of them looked critical. His life force hasn't got out of that state in hours, preoccupying her. Still, he survived, at a cost, but he was alive. She wanted to use her Asther units to buy something for him, but each time she mentioned the idea was stopped by Bik and Moraeus.

"Why can't I buy Basil something to make him feel better?! He lost an arm, for fuck's sake!" — Yelled Evalyne at the others in the room.

"Because if you want him to feel better, you should know that the cells of his body can only resist a degree of continuous mutation. If you were to pour more things in a filled Jar, it could explode or, worse, become an abomination with no mind, like the Mutant Sikara he killed before." — Bik responded calmly.

"But..." — Tried to say Evalyne but was interrupted by Mardok.

"Bik is right, Evalyne. He knows this stuff better than us. After all, he is flesh and bones, and we don't enter that category, not even Moraeus here." — Contested Mardok.

"They are right. I reached this plane by doing some dark rituals all and all to become like this." — Replied Moraeus. — "Maybe we will talk about that at another time. What is his status?" — Said the shadow while looking at Evalyne.

"He consumed part of his life force as a last resort to escape the cavern. He is weak and hungry by this point, and It has been a day since he started to walk in that hole's path, but Basil hasn't found any food source, and he can't return now.

"Have faith in him, Evalyne. If he managed to survive by this point, he would continue to do so. Still, there is something that intrigues me, what happened to the golemite that was with him?" — Inquired Mardok.

"You mean Auriz? It seems to have been shattered by the Lesser Wurm Basil killed." — Said Evalyne with some pondering on her face.

"Is it dead?" — Asked Bik.

"Not precisely, constructs and energy beings cannot die in the same manner as living beings. It is probably in hibernation or has been degraded because of the breakage. It would have died if all its energy got sucked out or dispersed in the open." — Voiced Moraeus.

"I don't know anything about that, but it seems the little guy had a liking for it. So, can it be repaired? I see Basil still has a fragment of it in his mouth, and there has to be something we can do, right?" — Bik asked, fascinated.

"... Why the sudden interest in it?" — Questioned Evalyne with some fear of the answer.

"Well, I always believe a good old romance is enough for two people to stay alive in the worst of times." — Replied Bik while giving a grin as he accommodated on the couch.

Everyone just looked with disbelief at the answer of the minotaur, and Mardok tried to object.

"They are from different species!"

"That didn't stop you from liking her, salad." — Contested Bik while signaling Evalyne.

"That's not the issue here! Those two are kids in mentality and don't even know what romance is. Even if it were to "magically" appear at some point, it would not work if one of them is decommissioned." — Said Evalyne, obfuscated at the constant harassment of her champion.

"Ok, the question is, shall we help him reconstruct her?" — Replied Moraeus changing the point of the discussion.

"Well, it looked to be functional in defending Basil when he was out, so maybe?" — Contested Mardok.

"Both will need to learn more stuff, and even if he becomes strong by himself, being alone is a deterrent in some mental aspects. Now that he is more conscious of his abilities and has a better intelligence, a personality will arise from all these experiences. So, yes, it is necessary by this point." — Voiced Moraeus towards all.

"It is decided then." — Completed Evalyne.