Information floods into me. The pain was the most pressing, my new brain allowing me to process it down to the smallest detail. But it also allowed me to think through it, problem solve even with agony burning my body up from the inside.

I had to get rid of the two objects that were lodged inside of my body, if I wanted to heal. Whatever material they were made of, it was disrupting the connection I was able to maintain with all of my structures through my Core. Muscles churned, and they were plopped out of my body to the ground.

Better. Regeneration has sped up tremendously with them gone. Biomass is being instantly converted to energy for cellular growth. Already, I’ve repaired about 30% of the damage. But it’s not enough.

Tired.

BOOOOOM! BOOM BOOM BOOM!

That brings me to my second course of action. Assisting the pack.

I have to prepare before I went. My first thought is to develop armor. I might have done that, before I developed this new brain.

But I dismiss the thought now. Whatever structures they were using, I know instinctively that the armor would barely hinder it, if it did at all. No, what I need is to be faster.

Reduce overall size. Remove wings. Convert the biomass from those structures into white muscle fibers. Replace most of the red muscle tissue in them with the white muscle. Condense bones, to support the strain these changes would bring. Refine all.

Boom boom booooom!

Breathe in. Breathe out. The amount of information I’m able to process now is staggering. Before, it was all passive, but now I am able to pick out even the smallest details in scent or sound. The rustling of wind in the branches, brushing lightly against my fur. The scurrying of smaller prey, as they attempt to flee from the unnaturally loud noises. Fear scents, blanketing the area, so tantalizingly sweet.

Body is 70% repaired. It will have to be enough.

A new, raw energy courses through my muscles. I can feel it. The biomass it will consume will be staggering, but the performance…

Wrap tentacles around Ground-Walker’s body. Develop mouths on tentacles, to consume it while I move.

My muscles tense, pressure building. And then… release.

Boom.

Wind whips around me, past my ears and fur, as my body shoots forward. SUCCESS! The condensed white muscle fiber conversion has a 400% increase in effectiveness!

Devour Ground-Walker while moving.

Trees blur past my vision, blending in different shades of greys, whites and blacks. The sun’s light is now completely gone, replaced by the Moons’ light. Ground-Walker’s body is now completely devoured, its biomass quickly being consumed by my new design. Which frees up my tentacles.

My paws lightly skin the ground, barely touching it before sending me flashing forwards again, lightly maneuvering around trees.

Boom! BOOM BOOM!

Wrap my tentacles around one of the trees, sling myself upwards, past the treelin-

And I’m back? On the ground?

…

Wrap my tentacles around one of the trees, slin-

Back again!?

Wrap my tentacles arou-

BACK!?

Forcefully stop my body, skidding to a halt.

Ah. So that’s what it is.

Time-Breaker has returned from his hunt, to defend our pack.

As far as I was able to discern during the two moons I’ve been with the pack, Time-Breaker’s Core ability is actually quite simple. It resets everything back a few breaths of time, wiping all of their memories of the event except for his… and, for some reason, mine.

Feel a few more iterations of this happening, my body being reset to its sprint before I kill my momentum again.

BOOOM!

Reset.

BOOM BOOM!

Reset.

BOOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

I wait for a few moments, muscles already tensing to stop myself…

But time doesn’t reset anymore.

…

Time-Breaker must not have enough Core energy left to use its ability. MUST HURRY!

Muscles tense, and I explode forwards again, wrap a tentacle around a tree, and send myself flying upwards, breaking the treeline.

I spread out and widen my tentacles. I removed my wings to give myself greater speed, so all I’m able to do is widen my tentacles in a wing-shape to glide. Wind whips around me, my speed still greater than it would have been having to constantly dodge the other trees.

I see the den-tree, much taller than all of the other trees. I’m almost there.

A bright flash of light envelopes the area! Sun-Walker!

BOOOOM!

…

And no more loud noises come.

…

If even three interferer-preys had the same structures as the ones I encountered…

Calculating chance of survival for the pack.

17%.

And if there were only two interferer-prey?

49%.

A new feeling rises up in my body, before settling into my altered stomach.

It’s a heavier, denser feeling compared to fear.

I’m almost right next to the den tree. I glide around, and observe with my tentacles.

There are… five interferers.

0% chance of survival for the pack.

And this appears to be true. I see… Time-Breaker’s body, and Sun-Walkers, as well as four others lying on the ground just outside of the den. The interferers hold out three Cores, placing them into another interferer's hand. The feeling sinks further.

“The two big ones should be Class 3’s, but the small one is probably only a class 2. It displayed some category 2 characteristics, but nothing special. Mostly just asked us why we were killing it’s family.”

“Well that’s… actually dpreessing. God I hate fighting category 2s.”

“Whatever, it’s good pay. I’ll finally be able to rub it in Sariel’s fucking face.”

“...? Sari- OH! The chick who made you piss yourself! HA! I almost forgot about that.”

“SAY THAT AGAIN! I DARE YOU!”

I finally notice...

Mind-Walker's body.

RAGE!

“Hold on, Core sensor’s picking up three more signatures, all within ten meters.”

HATRED!

“Really? Damn. Isn’t this forest supposed to be low class? Why the hell does one wolf pack have… what are we at now? Six cores?”

RAGE!

DEVELOP PSIONIC LINK WITH ALL INTERFER-PREY.

“Ĩ̷̘’̷̪̅L̵̮̾L̴̝̄ ̶̧̎R̵̦̍E̶͓͝N̵̙͒D̴͙̈ ̴̤̆Ŷ̵̗O̸̡͑Ư̵ͅR̷͖͒ ̶̘̄F̶̪͒L̴̰͊E̵͜͝S̸̘̈́H̶̫̑ ̵̯̄F̶̧͒R̴͕̔O̴̳͛M̸͎̿ ̷̧͠Y̷̩̒O̸̭͛Ư̸̹R̵̫̈́ ̶̗̚B̸̹̑O̵̩̅N̸͓͠É̵̥S̴̘͒!̷͚̂ ̶̧̇I̷̭̿’̸̹̓L̵̨̎L̷̜̕ ̴̲͑R̸̹̊I̴͈͂P̸̥͠ ̷̜͌Y̶̘̓O̶̟͒Ȗ̵̩Ṛ̶͗ ̴̙̂Ḯ̸̱N̵̹̑T̶̙̃É̶̤S̴̛͈Ţ̴̔Î̷̬Ņ̵̍E̷̜̍S̶̩̈ ̶̚ͅO̶̥͝Ǘ̸̯T̵͐,A̸͎̓N̷̪̓D̷̡͐ D̷̰͌E̸̩͝V̸̻̏Ỏ̸̡U̴͎̎R̶̢͗ ̶̠̓Y̴͈̾O̵͈̽U̴͖̎R̷̩̄ ̶̲̊C̸̡͊O̶̯̽R̸̥̓P̸̙̕S̸̨͑Ė̵̺!̷̹̐”

Core energy is at 14%

TIRED. BUT DON’T CARE. I WILL KILL THEM.

All of the interferers clutch their heads. GOOD!

“WHAT THE FUCK!? ANOTHER CATEGORY 2!?”

DIVE!

BOOOM!

Crush an interferer underneath my main body. Blood mists into the air, while the interferers look at me.

“What the f-”

STAB!

I send my tentacles streaking forwards, piercing into the largest of the interferers. The rest react quickly, pointing their held structures at my main body.

Leap towards the held one, forcing every one of my tentacles into its body.

BOOOM PAIN BOOM BOOM DODGE DODGE DOGE.

The rest of the interferers fire their structures at me. But my white muscle system is far superior to my previous design, and allows me to dodge almost all of their attacks, except the first. The structure pierces into my body, burning and damaging all of the structures it comes across, before resting uncomfortably against my stomach.

I maneuver the prey I have a hold of in front of me. Interferers pause their attacks.

Idiots.

Four of them left.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING JACK!?”

“HOW IN THE ABSOLUTE RIFT-FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW!?”

"YOU'RE OUR RIFT EXPERT!"

“Is… is Marty… dead?”

“FUCKIN PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER AURY, WE NEED YO-”

All of the tentacles I’ve had consuming biomass inside of… Marty burst outwards, tearing Marty in half while streaking towards two of the interferiors who have been communicating the most. One of them dodges, firing at my body dodge, redirect some tentacles to wrap around a tree.

Pierce the interferer that didn’t dodge, sling myself upwards with it-

“MARISHA!!”

-and glide in the air. BOOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

But none of them hit me.

Marisha points its structure at m- THREAT! PIERCE! Marisha goes limp.

Devour.

Develop scything tentacles.

Wrap my mind around another interferer, strengthen the psionic link.

Fear. Terror. Hatred.

OH GOD OH FUCK MARISHA’S DEAD I DON’T WANT TO DIE WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT FUCK MY GUN IS JAMMED FU-”

Push the thought of the fear of poking instruments against its mind, being trapped in a small space, unable to escape the pain.

Psionic Blast!

Core energy is at 12%.

So. Tired.

The interferer I targeted stumbles, their structure dropping to the ground as they grab their head.

Rip the interferer I’m holding into pieces, holding different parts as I dive.

Crush this interferer beneath me. It doesn’t die, so bite it’s throat.

The interferer gurgles, forearms scrabbling against my head as its eyes go wide.

Dodge.

One of the interferers has collapsed, staring at my body. The other two move protectively in front of it.

“...”

“...”

“Aury. You need to run.”

“..”

“Aury, get up, and fucking run. You’re the only one here with a movement based mutation.”

“But...”

“MOVE, YOU SHITTY CHODE-FONDLING COWARD! GET UP AND REPORT THIS TO RCO!”

One of the interferers, Aury, stands up. I WILL NOT LET YOU FLEE FROM-

Boom.

Dodge.

Growl.

Prowl around the two remaining interferers. They silently fidget with their structures, replacing one part of it with another.

Shk-shk. Both of the interferer’s structures make this sound.

Aury moves, running in the opposite direction, almost as fast as me.

CHAS-

BOOOOM!

DODGE!

Frustrated.

Develop psionic link.

Guess I'm gonna die here. Not even fifteen, and… fuck. Fuck. This was supposed to be a low class forest. God damnit fucking shit fuck.

I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to...

“F̷̖́i̷̙̓n̴̠͝e̶͇͗.̵̱͠ ̷̞̐Ỉ̷̗'̶̝̃l̴͈̈́l̶͇̒ ̴͚̒k̶͈̈́i̵̹̍l̶͔̂ľ̶͎ ̶͇̐ý̶̼ò̷͇ú̷̝ ̶̫̓ḅ̵̿ó̴͕t̷̻̒h̶͉͘,̴̦̒ ̴͓͊a̶̖̍n̴͇͠ď̸̼ ̷͉͆t̷̜̑ḥ̶̀e̴̘͒ǹ̷̨ ̶̼̋c̶̼͝ḣ̶̙á̵͈s̷͕̀ĕ̴̗ ̸̑͜a̸̯͠f̴̲͋t̷̝̏é̴̥r̵̩̔.̷̻̊.̶̗͐.̷̼͛ ̷̙͋Ȧ̵͉ȕ̶͖ȑ̶̳ÿ̵̜́,̵͓̽ ̷͇͐y̶̦̆o̸̪͛u̷̘̾ ̵͓͋c̸̪̈́à̵̪l̴͔͠l̸̫͆ẹ̵͘d̷̺̑ ̶̥́h̸̢̀e̶̟͂r̵̗̉?̵͔̉”

The two interferer’s look at each other.

“I fucking hate fighting category 2s.”

“...You know what? Same.”

…

It’s over in just a few moments.

But… the other interferer is long gone. And my Core energy is critically low.

So. Tired.

Processing speed has decreased with Core energy levels.

I can sense movement within the den.

Remove white muscle systems, replace with red muscle. There’s an immediate drastic decrease in effectiveness, but the strain on my energy and biomass consumption is lessened.

Drag one of the interferers behind me, eat with my tentacles while walking into the den.

…

Another unfamiliar feeling washes through my body, putting off my exhaustion and hunger.

Pups, juveniles, and adult wolves all lay together, dead.

Wait.

Two of them are moving!

I move closer, and recognize...

…

Star-Reader.

The once almighty predator now holds a pup in his mouth, eyes half closed. Wounds cover his body, though the pup is unharmed.

Star-Reader looks at me, air whistling between his nose and mouth as he struggles to breathe.

He drops the pup in between his paws, looking at me through half-lidded eyes. The pup begins whining, trying to tuck in further underneath his body.

“Shape...Changer…” He rasps, blood pooling around him even now, as he rests on his belly. “Come… here…”

I bow my head in respect. Even if he’s dying, he was still… a predator.

He pushes his nose against the pup, nudging it closer to me.

“If you… wouldn’t mind… listening to an… old wolf’s… last wish…”

I nod. Tired. I’ll have to enter stasis soon. But it would be cowardice not to listen to Star-Reader’s last request.

Star-Reader’s eyes close, his head dropping between his paws.

“Good…” He murmurs, nudging the pup towards me, gently, with the remnants of his dwindling strength. “He is… what remains… of the pack… please… watch over… him.”

The pup whines as it walks over to my body, his eyes still closed. His teeth bite against my fur, searching for… a nipple? I’m able to recall that’s what mothers typically have, to provide milk and sustenance.

I maneuver a tentacle to the pup, pushing it against his mouth, and secrete precious biomass. If this is what Star-Reader wants… then in exchange for everything they taught me, I will oblige. The pup immediately starts suckling the biomass from my tentacle, his whining reduced to small whimpers as he lays on the ground.

“Thank… you…”

Star-Reader stills, as the last breath leaves his body in a slow exhale.

It’s strange. Star-Reader used to fill me with so much fear, and now… now the great predator his gone.

Because of the interferers.

But… that’s how life in the forest is. If it wasn’t interferers, it would be another Supreme One. Or a rival pack. Or… something like me.

Tired.

I’m too tired to ponder things like this.

The pup is resting against my side, contendly suckling on biomass.

For now…

Stasis.

...