Marked Skull stood before the Elder Tree, its colossal roots forming an intricate labyrinth around him. The faint hum of life echoed in the chamber, resonating with the bioluminescent glow of the moss and the soft ripple of water from nearby pools. The air was thick with the rhythm of existence, and Marked Skull felt it thrumming in his very bones. He took a step forward, kneeling at the base of the massive tree, his skull-marked face tilted upward.

“Oh, Elder Tree,” he hummed, his voice low and reverent. “Life-beat of the forest, mother of the Wendren, we seek your guidance.”

The glow of his eyes intensified as his hum deepened, carrying the weight of his people’s sorrow and confusion. “The predators—they come with fire and glittering skin, with sharp sticks and poisoned air. They slay without hunger, harm without need. My siblings… my sister… lost to their rage. My herd cowers in fear. How do we endure? How do we thrive?”

The humming of the Elder Tree grew louder, resonating with the tree's roots and vibrating through the ground. Marked Skull felt the rhythm change, becoming faster, more urgent. He placed his three-fingered hand against one of the tree's roots, feeling its warmth and pulse. The parasites within him stirred, syncing with the life-beat of the Elder Tree.

His voice rose, desperate yet determined. “We are Wendren. We live by your beat, your will. Teach us to protect, to grow stronger, to understand. Shall we fight? Shall we flee? Or is there another way?” His hum became a deep, mournful resonance, carrying the pain of his people. “Guide me, so I may guide my siblings. Show me the path.”

For a moment, silence fell over the chamber, the only sound the faint trickle of water and the rustle of unseen creatures in the shadows. Then, the beat of the Elder Tree shifted once more, a rapid, rhythmic pulse that filled Marked Skull with both fear and anticipation. The mosses brightened, and the shadows deepened, as if the very air around him was alive with potential.

Then it came—an unmistakable message, not in words, but in the beat itself. It was not the Wendren who needed to change alone; it was him. Marked Skull, the marked brother, must evolve, must carry the strength and wisdom of his siblings forward. He must bear the will of the Elder Tree.

The realization dawned on him, and he lowered his head, a mix of reverence and dread filling him. “I am your vessel,” he hummed softly. “Do with me as you will.”

Adrian:

Adrian’s attention flickered between the floating Wendren, Marked Skull, and the glowing evolution chamber. His mind raced, fueled by his lingering manic excitement from Lucy’s transformation.

"Let’s see just how far I can push this," he muttered to himself. Biomass flowed like a torrential river, flooding into Marked Skull. The Wendren’s body jerked violently, bioluminescent patterns blooming across his skull and skeletal frame, illuminating the dark chamber in a haunting array of green and blue hues. The glowing patterns pulsed like a heartbeat, synchronized with the Elder Tree's rhythm.

Marked Skull rose higher, his hums of reverence morphing into silent screams as his body struggled to adapt. His skeletal structure cracked and reformed, his parasites squirming under his skin as if trying to escape or merge. His glowing eyes burned brighter, almost blindingly so, before dimming as his vision tunneled into darkness. His airways constricted, and his body sagged, caught in a deadly balance between life and death.

Adrian watched intently, his focus absolute, not even noticing the muffled ding of a system message appearing:

WARNING: Subject Vital Signs Critical.

"Fascinating... more biomass..." Adrian mused, his thoughts tinged with manic obsession.

Then a sudden hiss snapped him out of his trance. The evolution chamber’s door creaked open, releasing a pressurized cloud of glowing mist. Adrian’s attention snapped to it as Lucy’s altered form stumbled forward, collapsing to the ground in a tangle of human and insect-like limbs. Chomp immediately darted to her side, whining in distress, nudging her carefully with his nose.

The overcharge on Marked Skull faltered as Adrian’s connection to the dungeon was momentarily disrupted by the chamber’s sudden release. The Wendren fell from the air with a heavy thud, his body convulsing as he gasped for air, clawing at the ground as his lungs finally expanded again.

Adrian blinked, his frenzy melting into a cold clarity as the reality of what had nearly happened settled over him. He scanned both of his subjects, each profoundly altered by his experiments. Marked Skull lay still, his glowing marks now faint but still visible as he curled into himself, humming a soft, dissonant tune that reverberated with pain and awe.

Lucy groaned, her new form glistening with the residue of the chamber’s fluid. Her insectile legs twitched, flexing involuntarily, while her human hand curled into a fist as if grasping for stability. Chomp circled her protectively, casting wary glances between her and Adrian.

Adrian’s voice returned, calm but tinged with remorse. "I pushed too far." He looked down at his hands—or what would have been hands if he still had a physical form. "I nearly killed him." For a moment, silence filled the hollow tree, save for the faint, erratic beats of Marked Skull’s hum and Lucy’s labored breathing.

But then, Adrian’s gaze sharpened. His thoughts churned. Despite the danger, despite the recklessness, his experiments had worked. Marked Skull had survived the overcharge, and Lucy… well, she was standing—more or less.

"Fascinating..." he whispered, this time with a hint of awe rather than mania. But even as his voice echoed softly, Adrian’s mind already began calculating what to do next.

Lucy´s new legs clicking against the ground in a delicate rhythm. She blinked groggily, still adjusting to the sensation of her transformed body.

Before she could even take in the full extent of her changes, Chomp bounded over, his tail wagging like a hyperactive pendulum. His wide, unblinking eyes scanned Lucy from top to bottom, lingering on her insectile legs and the delicate abdomen that swayed behind her.

“The giver of noms…” Chomp whispered, his voice dripping with reverence. “Also gives legs!”

Lucy, still half-dazed, froze at his words. “Chomp, what…?” she started, but the moment was already spiraling into chaos.

Adrian’s voice echoed through the chamber, dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, great. Just what I needed—a cult forming under my roof. Should I expect a shrine next, Chomp? Maybe some daily offerings?”

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Chomp turned, utterly oblivious to the biting tone. “Master! It’s true! You gave her the greatest noms! Look!” He gestured wildly with his stubby arms toward Lucy’s new form.

Adrian sighed, the deep, world-weary kind of sigh that only a dungeon heart could muster. "Oh, for—"

And then it happened.

From the highest perch of the swamp to the deepest recesses of the labyrinth, every single one of Adrian’s Oculnids simultaneously rolled their many eyes in synchronized exasperation. The dungeon itself seemed to groan under the weight of their collective disdain.

Adventurers on the first floor paused mid-fight, their weapons slack in their hands as they stared at the unsettling phenomenon. "Did… did the eyes just… roll?" one stammered, his voice trembling.

"I knew it!" another hissed, eyes wide. "It’s a sign! The dungeon is mocking us!"

Back in the heart room, Lucy was doing her best not to laugh, her abdomen twitching slightly as she stifled giggles. “You know,” she said, turning to Adrian with a sly grin, “if you didn’t want people worshiping you, maybe don’t make it so easy.”

Adrian’s core pulsed faintly with irritation. “I swear, Lucy, one more comment like that and I’m putting you in charge of Chomp’s next ‘spiritual awakening.’”

Chomp’s ears perked up, tail wagging faster. “More noms?” he asked hopefully.

Lucy couldn’t hold it in anymore. The giggles turned into full-blown laughter, echoing through the chamber as Chomp tilted his head in adorable confusion.

And somewhere in the dungeon, the Oculnids all sighed silently as one.

As Lucy turned back to Chomp, her laughter still echoing through the chamber, Adrian took the chance to focus on her transformation. His thoughts sharpened, slicing through the lingering humor of the moment. He zoomed in with his Oculnids, scrutinizing every detail of her new form.

“Well,” he began, his voice almost reverent, though tinged with his ever-present curiosity. “This… is unexpected.”

Lucy’s body had changed more profoundly than Adrian had anticipated. Her once frail, human legs were now replaced with four insectile limbs, each joint segmented and glistening faintly with an almost metallic sheen. The legs, supported by her sleek, glossy abdomen, moved with an eerie grace, each step confident yet alien. Chitinous plating covered her legs, shifting subtly as she moved, while thin bioluminescent veins crisscrossed the surface, pulsing gently with a soft green glow.

Her upper body retained its human structure but now bore subtle additions. Along her arms, thin chitin plates formed a natural armor, tapering off at her elbows. Where fingernails once were, short, elegant claws extended—sharp enough to draw blood but still delicate enough for precise movements. Bioluminescent patterns shimmered faintly across her skin, forming intricate, almost floral designs that pulsed gently in time with her breaths.

The moss-and-bark dress clinging to her frame seemed to grow naturally from her, as though it were part of her transformation. The dress was adorned with tiny glowing flowers and veined with thread-like mycelium, the edges trailing faint motes of light as she moved.

Adrian’s gaze lingered on her face. Her features were still recognizably human, though her eyes had shifted, now larger and flecked with the same glowing patterns as her skin. When she turned to glance at him, he caught the reflection of light in her pupils—a gleaming mix of human warmth and something far more alien.

He shifted his focus to her abdomen. The large, rounded structure swayed gently behind her, supported by its own segmented limbs. The surface was smooth, shimmering faintly in the dim light of the heart room, and Adrian noticed small, glowing tendrils extending from the base, twitching occasionally as though testing the air.

“She’s… beautiful,” he muttered absently, his analytical mind wrestling with the strange mix of grotesque and mesmerizing.

Lucy tilted her head, catching his words. “What was that?”

Adrian blinked, quickly snapping his thoughts back into focus. “I said you’re… functional,” he corrected, his voice adopting a deliberately clinical tone. “Strong limbs, bio-luminescent markings, additional chitin armor, and—” He gestured vaguely at her abdomen. “—that thing. Altogether a… resounding success.”

Lucy crossed her arms, her glowing claws tapping against the chitin plating on her elbows. “Gee, thanks, Adrian. Glad to know I’m ‘functional.’”

“You’re welcome,” Adrian replied, entirely missing the sarcasm. He tilted his Oculnid slightly, zooming in again. “You’ll need training to use those legs properly, though. Climbing potential, increased stability, even some latent pheromone signals—this could be… fascinating.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow, her expression a mix of amusement and wariness. “Training, huh? What kind of training?”

“Climbing walls, for starters,” Adrian said, gesturing toward a nearby root. “Perhaps a high-speed run. And we’ll definitely need to test your abdomen’s functionality—”

Lucy took a step back, her claws raised defensively. “Oh, no. I’m not being your next experiment, Adrian.”

Adrian’s core pulsed faintly with amusement. “Too late, Lucy. You volunteered the moment you stepped into the chamber.”

Lucy groaned, her abdomen twitching slightly. “Why do I feel like I’m going to regret this?”

Chomp, who had been watching intently, wagged his tail and piped up, “Master gives legs and training! Can I try next?”

Adrian ignored him, his Oculnids focusing intently on Lucy again. Yes, she was a marvel of biology and evolution, a perfect combination of human ingenuity and parasitic brilliance. And yet, there was still so much to learn.

Adrian’s thoughts swirled as he observed Lucy. She was already adjusting to her new body, her movements tentative but growing more natural with each step. It struck him as odd—she showed no distress, no hesitation about the drastic transformation. For a moment, he mused, She’s pretty quick to accept all this. Faster than I expected. Could that be an effect of the evolution chamber? He recalled past experiments. Every creature he had subjected to the chamber emerged altered, not just physically but behaviorally. The new instincts they gain… none of them ever showed distress about the changes, just adaptation. Is it the chamber itself? Does it rewrite the mind to match the body?

He leaned back, a mixture of satisfaction and unease bubbling beneath his thoughts. “Another experiment for the list,” he muttered to himself, already considering the implications.

Marked Skull:

Marked Skull slowly pushed himself upright, his massive frame towering higher than ever before. His breathing was labored, but he steadied himself, his three eyes glowing fiercely as they took in his surroundings. The hollow tree's chamber had not changed—the eerie red glow of the heart cast its rhythmic pulses over the room, and the organic walls pulsed faintly, their life force a constant reminder of the tree’s power. But amidst the familiar, one thing was strikingly new.

Another figure stood nearby, unlike anything he had ever seen.

Four insectile legs supported a sleek, chitinous lower body, but above them was a figure that mirrored the predators—soft-skinned, humanoid, yet alien in her balance of grace and strength. Glowing bioluminescent markings adorned her form, pulsing faintly in time with the beat of the sacred tree. Her gaze was curious but kind, a calm intensity radiating from her.

Marked Skull’s first instinct was to react with caution, perhaps even aggression, but an overwhelming sense of serenity washed over him. His muscles relaxed, and the remnants of the violence that coursed through his veins only moments ago dissipated. She was… peaceful, radiant. Not a predator. Not a threat. No, she was something more—a vessel of the beat, a new aspect of the elder tree’s will.

His breathing steadied as he took her presence in. Words of reverence formed in his mind but caught in his throat, his body still weak from the transformation. As he glanced down at the floor, a sudden realization struck him. The ground was… farther away. Much farther than it had ever been. He stretched his arms, feeling the newfound power in his muscles, the weight of his strengthened limbs, and the subtle ache in his joints as they adjusted to his expanded form.

“I have… changed,” he rumbled, his voice deeper and steadier than before, resonating like a low hum that seemed to fill the room. He looked back at the strange being, studying her carefully. “You… are not of us. Yet you are… one of us.” “I’m Lucy,” she said simply. His legs trembled faintly with the effort of standing. “Marked Skull,” he said, his name feeling strangely new on his tongue. He straightened further, towering over her but sensing no fear from the smaller figure. “The elder tree… the beat. It chose us both, did it not?”

Lucy blinked, then smiled faintly. “Maybe,” she said, glancing toward the pulsing heart that hung above them. “I guess we’ll have to find out.”

Marked Skull lowered his gaze, his voice now almost a whisper as he murmured reverently, “Chosen… by the sacred beat…”

Adrian, observing the exchange through the eyes of his oculnids, chuckled to himself. “Well, that’s one way to interpret it,” he muttered, his manic curiosity beginning to settle into fascination. “This is going to be interesting.”