Boundless Evolution: The Summoning Beast
Chapter 61: Witness to Evolution

Chapter 61: Witness to Evolution

Ash’s claws dug lighting into the bark beneath him, his body motionless and breath barely audible. He had moved positions to another hiding place as the one earlier had suddenly been destroyed from one of the attacks of the beasts.

Now below, the battle raged on with the same intensity, violent and primal. Every strike sent shockwaves through the ground, reaching Ash through the trees.

The scaled brute roared, lunging again with terrifying strength, each missed strike gouging holes into the soil. The shadow beast moved with eerie elegance, dodging like vapor, its claws slicing deep and clean, blood spraying with every time their attacks met.

’They’re at least C rank... maybe higher,’ Ash assessed as he saw that these two beasts were no weaker than the wyvern that he had fought back in Windbreak.

He stared at the fight, watching keenly despite the fact that if either beast turned their gaze on him now, he wouldn’t survive... Not even with Shadow Sprint.

Suddenly, the scaled brute’s claws came down like guillotines, raking across the shadow beast’s flank with a screech of tearing mist and flesh.

The shadow beast reeled, its body buckling under the weight of the blow, its once-fluid movements faltering as it gasped for breath.

Ash’s eyes widened, ’It’s losing...’

Meanwhile the brute beast did not hesitate and instead intended to capitalise on this as it prepared to charge forward.

But then...

A sound. Not a roar. Nor a growl. A fracture...

A tremor surged beneath the earth. The air twisted and the aether in the nearby surroundings began to grow denser and came to life, twisting in volatile waves.

Ash flinched, his fur stood on end. The atmosphere thickened until it was like trying to breathe through smoke. A foul, electric charge clung to his tongue.

’What is happening now?’ he asked himself, ’I’ve never seen this happen before and it doesn’t feel like an attack at all.’

Down below, the shadow beast stood its ground as it did not retreat from its wounds. It simply lifted its head.

Its violet eyes no longer gleamed- they burned. The mist around it began to convulse, warping like it had a mind of its own. Each breath it took twisted the very air, compressing it into dense, coiling shrouds.

Then, it pulsed.

A soundless boom detonated from the shadow beast.

The mist burst outward in a dome of force, swallowing the clearing and crawling into the forest beyond.

The scaled brute staggered as the wave of shadows washed over it, its massive limbs trembling under the sudden pressure shift. It didn’t fall, nor did it charge—its muscles locked, pupils dilating as if some primal instinct screamed danger.

The ground around it cracked under the weight of the oppressive aura, but the beast stood rooted, paralyzed by the overwhelming force now surging from the shadow beast’s form.

Ash blinked through the blinding pulse, "What in the hell..."

Below, the shadow beast convulsed as if electrocuted. Its bones popped and twisted, limbs twitching uncontrollably. Muscles contorted and tore themselves apart. Mist boiled off its body like steam escaping a volcanic vent.

Then the shadows moved.

Not around it. With it. Tendrils surged upward, forming a shell of writhing blackness—a cocoon pulsating like a living heart. Inside, the shape contorted, deformed, and reformed. A deep, guttural growl—no, chant—throbbed from within.

A low vibration that rattled the marrow in Ash’s bones.

The scaled brute rose shakily and charged one last time, desperation and rage painting its snarl.

But the cocoon reacted with monstrous instinct.

A limb tore out from the black shell—elongated, monstrous, clawed—and sliced into the brute’s shoulder, sending a violent spray of blood and fractured scale into the air.

The impact forced the larger beast to stumble back, roaring in fury and pain, its massive body twisting as it tried to counterbalance the unexpected blow.

It didn’t fall, but its front limb buckled under the weight, forcing it to drag itself back with labored breath and widened eyes as the balance of the battle shifted.

Ash stared, dry-mouthed, frozen, at the limb that had torn from the cocoon. It didn’t just look different... it felt different.

The aura it exuded had changed- from the wild and chaotic to more focused and authoritative.

Ash’s breath hitched, ’That’s not the same limb... it’s changed... it’s stronger.’

He swallowed, his mind racing, eyes scanning every small movement of the cocoon with full interest as a question appeared, ’Is this... evolution?’

Cracks began spider webbing across the cocoon’s surface. Dense, black mist hissed out, curling like steam across the battlefield.

With a pulse like a second heartbeat, the cocoon burst open.

What stepped out was no longer the beast from before.

It was leaner, but more dangerous—like a blade that had been sharpened too many times to count. Its body was wrapped in tightly-controlled shadow, no longer swirling in chaos but orbiting it like loyal sentinels. Each movement was precise. Purposeful.

Its eyes burned with a kind of intelligence Ash hadn’t seen in anything outside the most cunning of summons.

Its claws glinted unnaturally—too dark, too smooth—like they’d been carved from something that had never seen light.

Ash inhaled slowly, tension winding in his chest as his question answered itself.

’That’s evolution... and it just happened in front of me.’

The newly emerged shadow beast steadied itself as it seemed to be feeling the changes in its body.

Across from it, the scaled brute steadied itself, blood trailing from its wounded shoulder. Its breathing was ragged, eyes wide, locked onto the newly evolved threat before. But for the first time, it hesitated.

A moment passed between them- tense, primal...

The forest itself seemed to hush, as though the world seemed to hold its breath.

’It knows it’s outmatched now,’ Ash thought, ’it can feel the difference and so can I.’

But as the standing alpha, the brute could not simply back down and it gave a final, furious roar, refusing to yield. It lunged forward one last time, a desperate charge born from pride more than strategy.

The shadow beast surged to meet it.

But this time, it wasn’t the same dance of claws and fury from earlier. This was precise. Clinical. Dominant.

Despite the pain and hesitation, the scaled brute let out a final bellow—louder than any before. It didn’t charge mindlessly.

It struck with desperation, swiping wildly with a clawed forearm, aiming for the newly evolved beast’s throat. Its tail whipped like a flail, crashing through broken trees and stirring the ash-laced air.

It fought not as an animal, but as a king refusing to be dethroned without leaving scars.

With rapid speed, one slash tore open the brute’s side.

A second carved through its thigh, stealing its balance.

And with the third- a spiral of condensed shadow like a harpoon- the shadow beast drove the energy straight through the brute’s chest.

The scaled beast did not even have proper time to dodge or even mount a counter as it fell onto the ground, choking out a final breath while twitching violently before collapsing with a thunderous crash.

Ash’s jaws clenched as silence returned. The tide of the battle had turned in just a few moments. The shadow beast had gone from barely surviving... to now gaining complete control over the battle.

’That’s the power of evolution?’ he thought to himself, eyes wide, ’it’s not just a change... but a whole transformation...’

His legs buckled under him as realization hit.

Not with fear.

But with hunger.

’That is what is waiting for me,’ Ash thought, his claws digging into the dirt, ’I will surpass that beast and go even further beyond...’

The Abyssal Howler slowly turned, its newly sharpened form shifting with eerie grace.

Its violet gaze swept across the clearing—then locked onto Ash.

Ash froze. His breath caught in his throat. For a heartbeat, he didn’t even realize what was happening—until it hit him like a tidal wave.

It saw him.

No—it had seen him for a while.

A cold spike of fear slid down his spine.

If it decided to strike now... not even dust would remain.

The mist around the beast slowed, thickened, coiling like a living thing. Its violet eyes narrowed slightly, and the weight of its gaze crashed down on Ash like gravity had just tripled.

The air pressed against his lungs.

Every instinct in his body screamed: run, disappear, become nothing.

But he couldn’t. His limbs were locked. His mind buzzed.

’It found me... it found me...’ Ash thought, heart hammering. ’I’m not hidden. I’m not safe. I’m prey now.’

Then came something deeper—an unspoken command. Not rage. Not malice.

A demand.

Submit.

Ash’s heartbeat roared in his ears. He was a fool to stay here. A dead fool.

And yet... his body moved. Slowly, deliberately, as if guided by something ancient in his blood. He stepped forward just slightly—then knelt.

His head bowed.

’I am not your challenger,’ he whispered quietly, ’not today.’

The beast watched a moment longer, then tilted its head ever so slightly. Its eyes narrowed with a subtle gleam, as if silently declaring, "Remember your place."

It didn’t accept Ash as an equal—but it recognized the gesture, and allowed him to live for it.

Then, like a ghost fading with the wind, it vanished into the shroud, the last wisps of mist curling through the broken trees.

Ash remained bowed, frozen, breath locked in his chest. Only when the crushing presence lifted did he dare raise his head.

The beast was gone.

But the impression it left—in the air, in the earth, and in Ash’s thoughts—felt etched like a burn.

He rose slowly, cautiously, casting one last glance at the bloodied corpse of the former alpha.

’I’ve seen what’s possible,’ he murmured, ’Now I need to become one.’

And with that, he turned toward the forest’s shadows and continued on his path, footsteps quiet but heart roaring.