"What do you mean he disappeared?" A tall man in blood-red robes asked in exasperation, cold sweat rolling down the side of his wrinkled face and unto his long, frizzy beard as he spoke. "Why would the arch-magos disappear?"

The acolyte, dressed in simple black robes with a hood covering his face, shrugged. "The archmagos journeyed into the Eternal Glade a week ago. He mentioned something about finding a lost artifact from the age of gods. I'd been monitoring his location up until a two days ago, when his signature vanished, lord-magos."

"Where?" The lord-magos asked, a single eyebrow raised - though his eyes lingered upon the withered pages of the massive tome in front of him.

"His last known signature was in the ruins of Calhadros, lord-magos." The acolyte answered. "He was there for nearly two days, when his life-force simply vanished. I do not presume to know what happened to the arch-magos."

The lord-magos nodded, humming to himself as he stood and turned to face the acolyte, who bowed his head in turn. "I will be dispatching an investigation team as soon as possible; with any luck, we might just find out what happened to the arch-magos. Thank you for your service, acolyte; you may return to your station."

The acolyte bowed, before turning and exiting the lord-magos' chambers. Glimmering books of ancient magical lore and archaic artifacts from the age of gods catching the mage-in-training's eyes as he walked. Alfaer eyed the acolyte's form as he stepped through the doorway and disappeared after turning; the boy's magical energy was strong, for one as young as him, and the lord-magos had no doubt that that acolyte would - given time - grow to be a powerful mage. After all, was that not the reason why the arch-magos deigned to assign him the task of monitoring his magical signature?

Alfaer shook his head, eyes narrowing as he turned. 'If the arch-magos' signature has truly disapppeared, it can only mean one thing: something or someone has taken his life and absorbed his energies.'

The Eternal Glade was known to be the home of powerful divine beasts and dark creatures; the further one delved into the ancient woodlands, the more powerful the beasts. Cultivators and mages alike would journey into the Eternal Glade in search of power, wealth, and glory - and many of them would not return. The arch-magos was powerful - so powerful, in fact, that only people, who could possibly rival him, without adding gods and demi-gods into the mix, were either fellow arch-magos's or Dao-saint cultivators. Those were few and far between.

Still, Alfaer knew that power wasn't all that massive a factor in combat. A weaker combatant may, with but a single lucky strike, bring down a much stronger enemy. It certainly wasn't a rare occurence in the world. Unlikely, but certainly plausible. Another, much simpler explanation might be that the arch-magos fell to the numerous, non-magical hazards that existed in the Eternal Glade - venomous fauna, for example. Also unlikely, but also certainly plausible.

It was often easy to forget how frail humans are without Qi or Magic to bolster their defenses. Many great warriors and heroes have died specifically because of this.

It was a grim thought, to be sure, but if the arch-magos was dead, then Alfaer himself would be next in line to inherit the title.

Still, he wondered, why would the arch-magos venture deep into the Eternal Glade by himself? Such expeditions often involved entire armies of mercenaries, cultivators, powerful adventurers, and fellow mages, specifically because of how dangerous the Eternal Glade is. Only fools dare venture there alone and Alfaer doubted the arch-magos was a fool. No, whatever artifact he was looking for likely held such immense power and potential that no one else was allowed to even glance upon it.

Then again, it was useless to ponder on such things without having sent in an investigation squad.

Sighing, Alfaer reached for the Orb of Tones at his desk, a spectral green artifact, commonly used by mages. "Prince-magos Tevan, assemble an investigation squad to venture into the Eternal Glade; I have a task for you of the utmost importance."

There wasn't much meat on the frail and spindly body, but the nectar that flowed from it was sweet and nourishing - far sweeter than honey and far more nourishing than an entire school of salmon. It was strange, but not at all unpleasant. The strange nectar brought about a warmth in my chest, a most welcome sensation as the forest had a tendency to grow extremely cold at night. The human's bones also held within them a strange sweetness, not like the sweetness of the nectars of the flowers or the juices of the berries that grew in the bushes around my den. Still, I'd never tasted anything quite like this before and it wasn't exactly unpleasant.

The warmth in my chest turned into a dull rumbling, which slowly spread outwards across my entire body.

I gorged myself on the scant bits of bone and meat and whatever else was attached to the human - they were all so delicious. Even the strange things that clung onto the human's outer fur were sweet and delicious, like honey. I gnawed on the skull and stopped when my eyes caught something dangling down the human's neck. I hadn't noticed it before when he pounced on the man and broke his back. It was a strange, orbed thing that looked almost like a walnut, but not quite. It was definitely a fruit of some kind. The scent that came off of it was sweet, but not like the sweetness that oozed through the human's flesh and bones. This was different.

This was much sweeter, as though every single fruit and berry I'd ever eaten was somehow condensed into one single thing.

It was amazing. The first bite was the sweetest. The strange fruit seemed to crack in my mouth as I chewed and chewed until all the sweetness flowed out of it, before swallowing with much delight.

For devouring the Divine Level Item "The Eye of the Watcher" you have gained the following new perks: "Gaze of the Watcher" and "The Mind of the Beast"!

New Skill Unlocked!

Scan level 1

'What?'

A not-too pleasant warmth made itself known in my head, like a dull, throbbing headache, but not quite as painful.

Qi incompatible with bestial physique - initiating alteration.

Mana incompatible with bestial soul - initiating alteration.

Success!

By combining both Qi and Mana you have unlocked a new branch of power: Psionics!

New Perk Unlocked!

Eldritch Soul

'What is going on?' There were words fluttering through my vision. They didn't seem hostile, not like the lions and other beasts that share this forest with me. Even stranger still was the fact that I could understand them at all, but then...strangely, it felt as though I've always been able to understand them.

Words...how interesting.

Psionics

New Skills Unlocked!

Telekinesis level 1

Nuokinesis level 1

Cosmokinesis level 1

Something screamed at the back of my head, and every fur all over my body tensed at...something. My senses blared and I knew that danger was close. I'd eaten most of the human's corpse by that point and the only thing left were the few bone fragments and bits of hair I hadn't bothered with eating. Satisfied and more than a little confused, I ran from the bloodied clearing and into the woods. My lair wasn't too far ahead, and it would serve me well to rest after after eating. There were many dangerous creatures in these woods, and many of them were more than capable of killing me. And so the feeling of being watched from afar was not entirely unfounded. Though, I could smell nothing out of the ordinary; I'd already memorized the scents of all the dangerous predators in the woods and I couldn't detect any of them close enough to alert my senses.

You have attracted the attention of a God-like Entity!

Volos, the Bear-God, is watching you with curiosity!

"What?"

For attracting the attention of a deity, you have been granted a True Name!

Ursus, the first of the Ursine Sapien race.

It was dark by the time I'd reached by den. The sun had dipped into the clouds by then and many dangerous predators would soon emerge from their dwelling places to hunt in the night. I had no wish to compete with them, having already eaten my fill. Instead, I settled upon a pile of leaves and twigs and closed my eyes.

Basic Status:

Name: Ursus

Race: Ursine Sapien

Title/s: The First

Level: 1

HP: 1000/1000

MP: 100/100

SP: 1000/1000

Strength: 500

Speed: 200

Agility: 100

Intelligence: 30

Wisdom: 5

Luck: 10

XP: 0/100

Perks:

Gaze of the Watcher: Illusions have no effect on you. At all times, you are able to perceive only the true nature of things.

Mind of the Beast: Your intelligence is not like those of humans, and so the concept of Karma does not affect your soul in the same manner as it does humans. Good and Evil has no claim over you.

Eldritch Soul: Your soul is a twisted amalgam that has never truly been witnessed before in all of creation. Given enough time, it may evolve into something more. You are able to communicate with other Eldritch beings.

True Name: By having a true name, human mages and cultivators will not be able to bind you to their will.

Skills:

Scan level 1: You are able to discern an entity's total HP and SP. Costs no MP.

Telekineses level 1: You are able to move objects, weighing 50 kilograms or less, with your thoughts. Costs 5 MP per second.

Nuokinesis level 1: You are able to control the minds of small insects for 24 hours. Costs 5 MP per entity.

Cosmokinesis level 1: Alter 1 Cubic Meter of reality for a period of five seconds. Costs 100 MP.