Perhaps it was the utterly baffled expression plastered across my face that prompted her to speak.

“The allure of the forbidden has a knack for making one’s desires even stronger, don’t you think?” she said, once again with that annoyingly confident tone. Wait, what on earth—hold on, what was she implying?

It took a moment for the penny to drop. Lotte’s words echoed back in my mind. Up until this point, not a single book had mentioned the sun or light. Yet here they were, the last two remaining books on this ridiculously ornate shelf, practically mocking me with their mystery.

“I know our mind all too well,” she continued, gesturing lazily at those temptingly embellished rainbow volumes. “Anything that fits neatly into a dream or desire? Oh, it’s guaranteed our mind will obsess over it.”

What kind of evolutions were hidden in these books, if even my own bloody doppelgänger had gone out of her way to warn me off? It felt like tormenting myself on two fronts: knowing how maddeningly close I was to the truth, and at the same time, being forced to accept I could never have it. And if these pages held anything to do with the sun or light, well, there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d ever get my hands on them. Not after last time. I wasn’t about to ignore Lotte’s advice ever again.

….Or was I?

Blast it, my curiosity had well and truly taken the reins now. That nagging, infuriating urge to know had been dogging me ever since I became a blasted dragon. Before I could stop myself, my hand shot out, seizing the first of those rainbow-hued tomes as if it were about to vanish into the ether.

TO HELL WITH IT! I HAD TO KNOW!

And I flipped it open, but not before I saw the label.

Solblood Dragonling

The illustration inside stole my breath. It was a dragonling, roughly my size, but where my scales were the darkest midnight, this one gleamed with a divine, radiant gold. Its wings shimmered, translucent as if woven from pure sunlight, with fiery orange and red veins glowing within them. Those wide eyes were twin golden orbs. And the tail—what I had earlier thought to be a spike was more like a blazing flare.

It was… beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking. And terrifying. Because the name alone screamed something related to sun. My stomach twisted. I knew what that meant, I almost didn’t want to flip the page. But that blasted curiosity of mine had a mind of its own, and before I could even consider stopping, my hands were already turning the page.

...I was right.

[Description: A rare evolution tied to the power of the sun. Grants the user the ability to draw upon solar energy, significantly powering up in sunlight and weaponizing this energy in devastating ways.]

[Stat Bonuses: +10 Intelligence, +10 Will, +10 Durability, +10 Strength per level until next evolution.]

[New Skills: Available for acquisition.]

[Unlocks Special Mana Core: Helios Core – A specialized mana core attuned to solar energy, enabling vast internal mana storage.]

[Unlocks Solar Affinity – Solar mana is a hybrid form of fire and light mana.]

[New Organ: Helio-Synthesis Gland – A unique organ near the heart converts solar energy into internal mana, allowing storage and harnessing of sunlight at any time. It also increases the healing rate while in sunlight.]

[New Ability: Radiant Metabolism – The user’s body is powered by sunlight, absorbing and converting it into stamina, health, and mana. This enables extended activity under the sun, reducing reliance on food or sleep.]

What. The. Bloody. Hell?

I snapped the book shut, my brain doing somersaults trying to process the sheer madness I'd just witnessed. I stood there, gormless, while the sound of my doppelgänger’s cackling filled the air. My face must’ve been stuck in the expression of a slapped cod, because she abandoned her potion-making, doubled over like a loon, clutching her sides in a fit of laughter.

“Hah... Hahahaha! I told you!” she wheezed, barely able to catch her breath. “I bloody told you!”

Yes, yes, she had. But was I still completely flummoxed? Abso-bloody-lutely. What in the name of all things holy were these stat bonuses? Forty? FORTY bloody points? That’s like—what—ten times more than the gold-tier boosts?

This was madness. Utter madness!

And those organs? Converting actual sodding sunlight into mana? A special core with massive mana reserve? And don’t even get me started on that ludicrous ability! I mean, sure, just give me the power to do everything as long as I stand in the sunshine. Why not?

This wasn’t just a rung above the other evolutions. No, this was a whole new ladder! But why, in the name of Thalador’s beard, had Lotte given me that warning about anything remotely connected to the sun or the light? What was the catch?

I hadn’t a clue. With a rather satisfying thud, I slammed the book shut again.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Honestly, maybe it was best not to know. Not to even give it a second thought. Ignorance, as they say, is bliss.

“Got anything that can scrub the last five minutes from my memory?” I asked, deadpan. “And if so, do me a favour and lock these cursed rainbow tomes somewhere I’ll never stumble upon them again, will you?”

Cue even louder, borderline-hysterical laughter from my doppelgänger, now gasping for breath like she was on the verge of keeling over.

I sighed, exasperated. But I couldn’t deny it—she’d hit the nail on the head earlier. The allure of the forbidden, directly proportional to how badly one wanted it. And hell, I could already feel it gnawing at me. This wasn’t just an evolution; it was the key to unimaginable power. And it was only the second stage. Who knew how far I’d go, starting off with something like this?

But something about it stank. Why was this evolution even on offer? Lotte had told me I’d need to earn every evolution, each step of the way.

I unlocked the Hungerborn Hatchling by gorging myself senseless on those creepers’ corpses, practically bursting at the seams. Upgrading every organ along the way probably didn’t hurt either. Then there was Flamecore Hatchling—that one was no mystery. It was all down to pushing my fire gland to its limits, advancing it further.

Shadewalker and Shadowstalker? Those were a dead giveaway—direct results of having the stealth ability and picking all the sneaky organ upgrades. Windrunner Wyrmling? Definitely tied to the flexibility and agility buffs I’d been stacking. It all made sense, like I’d earned them through some sort of effort.

But this, this Solblood Dragonling? Aside from Lotte’s warning not to touch anything sun or light-related, I hadn’t the foggiest clue why it was even on the table. There was no obvious connection, no earned right as far as I could tell.

I shot a sharp glare at my doppelgänger, who was still cackling like a mad hatter. “Are you planning to just stand there, chortling like a loon, or do you actually have a proper explanation for all this?”

She dabbed at a tear, still wobbling on the brink of another giggle fit. “Oh, crikey, you think I’ve got all the answers? That’s a corker.”

I folded my arms, unimpressed. “Well, seeing as you’re me—technically—and supposedly the version of me that actually gets this whole system… fiasco my poor brain can’t process, yes, I’d expect a bit more cleverness, maybe even a smidge of brilliance.”

“Should be, yes. But alas, here we are, both of us gawping at a rainbow book, and neither of us any the wiser,” she shot back with a shrug.

“Fabulous. So, you’ve been laughing at me for five minutes with zero actual helpful input?” I raised an eyebrow, fully unimpressed now.

“Oh, I’d say I was laughing with you, but you’ve got the emotional depth of a puddle at the moment,” she quipped, finally pulling herself together. “I did know about the contents of the books and, naturally, how each potion corresponds to an evolution. But as for why they’ve all popped up here? No clue.”

I groaned. “So all that dramatic cackling was for… nothing?”

“Absolutely. But it was a laugh,” she said with a cheeky wink.

“Glad someone's enjoying themselves.”

“Oh, chin up, Jade. You’ll figure it out eventually. Or, you know, you’ll just blunder ahead, ignoring everything and dive headfirst into chaos. Either way, it'll be a riot to watch.”

With that, she flashed me one last grin and turned back to her potion brewing. Brilliant. Absolutely bloody brilliant.

I glanced at the second book.

"You reckon I ought to give this one a gander as well, or just leave it be?"

"Ahh, now that's a question only you can answer."

Of course. Knowing what was hidden in the first, why on earth would I stop now? I slid the second rainbow-hued tome out.

Photonic Dragonling, it read.

The first page greeted me with another image—another dragon my size, only this one was shimmering with dazzling, opalescent scales. Light danced off them at odd angles, some parts even disappearing into thin air. Its wings, broader than mine, gleamed like polished silver, much like the rest of its body. The eyes, too, were pure silver, staring back at me with a spectral glow.

[Description: A rare evolution embodying the essence of pure light. Grants the user enhanced control over light, allowing fine manipulation of light mana.]

[Stat Bonuses: +10 Intelligence, +10 Will, +10 Durability, +10 Strength per level until next evolution.]

[New Skills: Available for acquisition.]

[Unlocks Special Mana Core: Prism Core – A unique mana core aligned with pure light mana, enabling vast internal mana storage.]

[Unlocks Light Affinity.]

[New Organ: Prism Lattice Network – A complex system of crystalline structures embedded in bones and muscles, amplifying and fine-tuning light mana manipulation.]

[New Ability: Photon Unit – The user constantly absorbs ambient light and light mana, storing it as energy. This energy can be used for rapid healing or to enhance light-based mana attacks.]

Quite similar to the Solblood one, but somehow... not. Solblood was all about brute force, power from the sun, and generally being like a walking explosion waiting to happen. This one, though? It seemed more... finessed. Still deadly, of course, but leaning into the whole "master of light" thing. Where Solblood seemed like it would unleash bursts of solar energy, Photonic told of a delicate, controlled manipulation of light itself.

I shut the book, sliding it back into its fancy spot on the shelf.

Hah.

Suddenly, it made perfect sense why Lotte wanted to chat before I kicked off this evolution business. She probably had all the answers tucked away in that brilliant head of hers. Maybe I could badger her for a hint, in case there was some dangerous bit I was missing.

I threw one last glance at the rainbow-covered tomes, grit my teeth, and grabbed the gold-covered one instead. Time to face my doppelgänger, who looked like she was just about finished.

She clasped the potion, a slender tube of glass, swirling its dark, shimmering contents like a pocket storm. The more I stared, the more it seemed to warp reality—an illusion, like one of those Winter Salamander’s sighs. Too many teeth for comfort, and an eye that blinked into existence only to vanish, like a trick of the mind.

"Last choice, is it?"

Nothing else mattered now. Magic was everything. And, well, not crossing Lotte was quickly becoming equally crucial. I gripped the Golden Tome tighter in my hands.

"Yes."

She held the vial aloft, beckoning me closer. But just as I reached out, she sidestepped my grasp and wrapped her arms around me in a swift, unexpected hug.

“Hugs always did the trick for us, didn’t they?”

She wasn’t wrong. I returned the embrace, holding on tightly, grasping at this strange part of myself that …understood me. Perhaps even better than I ever had. Her embrace felt like staring into a mirror—one with far too much emotional clarity, reflecting parts of me I hadn’t yet faced. The sensation of being hugged by her was unsettling, like feeling exposed to emotions I’d kept buried.

I closed my eyes. Something inside me began to unravel, something I hadn’t even realised needed unravelling. The tears welled, unbidden, from all those bottled-up feelings—ignorance, confusion, the weight of taking lives and the knowledge that I would take more.

She probably noticed. Of course, she would. She was me, after all.

“I’d say it gets better,” she muttered, “but I’ve no time for lying to myself.”

Blunt. No wonder we got on so well—she was the version of me I always imagined staring back from the mirror.

“Figures,” I said, finally taking the potion from her hand. “Looks like we’ll be meeting again soon.”

She just smiled that knowing smile. “I’ll be here, waiting.”

And with that, down went the potion. Gulp.