Tales of the Endless Empire
Chapter 189: Time for the Fusion

Back in his basement, Thalion wasted no time examining the items Jim had brought. Most of them appeared to be claws or perhaps teeth, pitch-black like the deepest night, clearly saturated with darkness. The elemental had already reached level eighty, and the darkness crystal had nearly vanished. Thalion could only hope the materials would be enough to push the creature past its threshold. Without hesitation, he tossed them into the swirling cloud above.

For a brief moment, it seemed as if the elemental completely ignored them. The items reached their peak midair, hovering just half a meter below it. Then, just as they began to descend, a faint pulse rippled outward. Thalion barely noticed it, and he would have missed it entirely were it not for his title. At first, it seemed as if the materials would simply fall to the ground, but then another, stronger pulse followed. The items stopped midair, suspended as if by an invisible force, before slowly drifting toward the elemental.

The sight left Thalion momentarily speechless before a wide grin spread across his face. That ability was nothing short of incredible. If he could harness it himself, the umbral predator would ascend to an entirely new level. He might even be able to manipulate darkness itself, pulling it toward him to create his own domain. He watched as the claws and teeth vanished into the elemental, silently hoping this would be enough to trigger its evolution. If the creature chose to delay its transformation, he had no idea how to force it. Time was running out, and he needed to prepare himself.

His first step would be recreating the same construct he had used against the outsider. After that, he would begin the ritual to absorb the elemental into the body of the umbral predator. Just as he sat down to prepare, a sudden realization struck him like lightning. Would it even be wise to completely erase the elemental’s will? The sanguine thorn would be almost useless without its own will, unable to grow or assist him properly. That was why the people in the Golden Palace had needed to refine the connection to the outsider.

Of course, those people had to fully suppress the outsider first to avoid corruption, but the situation was still comparable. The outsider was not able to grow on its own which in that case was not needed but with the elemental it was diffrently as Thalion daubted that he could improve it manualy.

If he destroyed the elemental’s sense of self, it would likely lose the ability to grow altogether, which was precisely what made it so valuable. It was, in essence, a weapon that upgraded itself continuously when given the right materials.

Would they truly become one and evolve together, or could the elemental still evolve on its own? If it retained its will, that might be possible. If Thalion destroyed it, then probably not—after all, what would even trigger the evolution at that point? The uncertainty irritated him. He should have considered this dilemma earlier. He might have been able to ask the voice of the system for guidance, but now he was on his own.

Frustrated, he ran through everything that had happened so far, recalling his experiences with the sanguine thorn. Was it truly the right choice to essentially kill the elemental’s spirit? As he pondered, he looked up, watching the creature greedily consume the new materials. There was something oddly amusing about its gluttonous nature.

Well, to hell with it. Better to let the elemental keep its will and deal with the consequences later. At least it wasn’t directly bound to his soul like the outsider. It would only be active when he assumed the form of the umbral predator, which also gave him an easy escape if things went south. But could he even abandon the umbral predator’s form if the elemental lost control? That was definitely something he needed to ask the system’s voice next time they met. Hopefully, it would never come to that.

With his mind made up, he steeled himself for what was to come. He would proceed without the formation designed to erase the elemental’s will. It would be painful, excruciating even, and far riskier than before. But if it worked, the umbral predator would reach an entirely new level.

As a final preparation, Thalion transferred the three skills he had stolen from the termites into the umbral predator. One was the brown mist, while the other two were earth-based spells. The mist, of course, was the most important. Even if the skills adapted to darkness instead of earth, they would grant the umbral predator significantly more options in battle.

He sat down, already shifting into the form of the umbral predator, bracing himself for what was about to happen. His feelings were mixed—on one hand, he craved the power this would bring, but on the other, cutting open his own chest and embedding both an elemental and a darkness crystal inside would be more than just a little painful.

After two more hours of meditation, Thalion felt ready for whatever lay ahead. He reverted to his human form and began drawing the pentagram for the ritual. It had taken some time to recall the precise lines, but after inscribing countless runes in the past, it was not particularly difficult. This was far from the most complex ritual he had encountered, and even minor mistakes would not hinder its success. Not that he expected to make any. If something was worth doing, it was worth doing right from the start. Half-measures were unacceptable.

Instead of using his essence blood for the process, Thalion relied on the vast blood reservoir of the Sanguine Thorn, amplifying it with mana before placing it on the ground. He could barely remember the last time he had actively refined his blood—likely just before he had ventured to the Golden Palace. That had been far too long ago, in his opinion. He had so many experiments waiting for him once the war was over. The bow, for instance, and the Vampire’s Eyes were projects he was really looking forward to.

Shaking off distractions, he focused on completing the last of the runes. The design resembled a flower, and he placed seven of the stronger wind crystals at the center of its outer leaves. Their affinity was irrelevant, as they served only as a power source for the ritual. More advanced rituals required specific energy sources, but for something this fundamental, any type would suffice. The heart of the formation lay directly beneath the darkness elemental. Though it was capable of movement, remaining in that spot was to its advantage. The runes inscribed on the ground and walls had already concentrated environmental mana there, making it the most potent location.

As soon as Thalion placed the wind crystals, he felt the elemental emit another of its signature pulses. When the crystals failed to react, a black tendril slithered toward them, seeking to absorb their energy. That, of course, was something Thalion could not allow. To avoid a confrontation right before the fusion, he activated the ritual without hesitation. A broad grin stretched across his face, revealing sharp, elongated teeth as he withdrew the powerful darkness crystal. This was no ordinary crystal—it had once been a wind crystal, painstakingly transformed through the infusion of darkness.

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Its power far exceeded that of the standard wind crystals, having only grown stronger during the conversion process. It was slightly smaller than the one Ealgy had fused with, thanks to Lucan’s refinement, which had compressed the crystal’s structure. Now, it was no larger than a human fist—minuscule compared to Thalion’s towering, three-meter-high umbral predator form.

The ritual immediately drew power from the crystals, causing the runes to hum with energy. The elemental halted its tendrils, momentarily distracted by the appearance of the darkness crystal. Then, almost imperceptibly, it began to sink. At first, it seemed unaware of what was happening, sending out two desperate pulses to tear the crystal from Thalion’s grasp. But a mere pulse was not enough to pry anything from the hands of an umbral predator.

Realizing the pull of the ritual, the elemental thrashed against it, but resistance was futile. Had it attacked the formation directly, it might have had a chance to disrupt the process. Elementals were notoriously difficult to defeat, their amorphous bodies allowing them to reform endlessly. But they had one critical weakness—their core. Thalion’s ritual did not pull at the dark mist surrounding the creature but at its very essence, making escape nearly impossible.

If the elemental had been older, more experienced in manipulating energy, it might have found a way to resist. But it was only a few weeks old, its only combat experience coming from the minor skirmishes against the wind elementals Thalion had thrown into its chamber. Yet it refused to surrender. The black mist coiled into a spiraling vortex, eerily resembling the accretion ring of a black hole, though devoid of even the faintest glimmer of light.

Its aura surged to unprecedented levels, far beyond what Thalion had expected. It had yet to evolve, and yet it was already this powerful? That could only mean one thing—it was of exceptionally high rarity. A true elite elemental, one that was instinctively striving for a superior evolution. But how had it even known about such a process? Was it ingrained in its very nature, a function of the system that had birthed it? Or did the system itself whisper knowledge to the beasts, compensating for their lack of a system shop—an advantage humanity had enjoyed since their arrival?

The pentagram on the ground flared to life, its runes now pulsing with a brilliant white light, the same glow as the wind crystals. The ritual’s pull intensified, dragging at the elemental’s core with growing force. Above the circle, a swirling maelstrom of darkness formed, its rage manifesting in an ever-accelerating spiral. The sheer pressure of its aura alone was enough to bend the nearby trees Thalion had planted. Had they not possessed a strong affinity for darkness, they likely would have been obliterated.

The elemental was no longer holding back. At last, it launched its first attack—a spear of darkness, aimed directly at one of the crystals.

That was something Thalion could not allow. Without hesitation, he unleashed his black tendrils to intercept the attack. Standing at the center of the ritual, he was unable to move freely, as he still had to maintain control over the formation. His tendrils had grown significantly stronger alongside his darkness affinity in recent days, now radiating a terrifying pressure. When they connected with the far weaker spear, it was instantly devoured, as though it had never existed. The tendrils were highly effective against all forms of energy, typically absorbing and converting them into darkness. Against an attack composed entirely of darkness, they were even more lethal. The black spear vanished in an instant, consumed before it could pose any threat.

The sudden disappearance of its attack seemed to startle the elemental. For a brief moment, its vortex slowed, as if thrown into confusion. While it struggled to comprehend its impending fate, Thalion faced his own predicament. His regeneration was far faster than expected. It had already been impressive when he was fused with Ealgy, but as the Umbral Predator, several factors aligned, resulting in an absolutely absurd healing speed.

He had intended to open a wound, fearing that the darkness rising from his body might lash out at the elemental. However, the moment he raked his claws across his chest, the wound sealed almost instantly. It was as if the injury had never been inflicted. His flesh even pushed out his own claws when he failed to retract them quickly enough. That meant the elemental would have to enter his body first before he could add the crystal. The entire ritual was turning into a chaotic mess.

Just as Thalion tried to adjust his strategy, the elemental reached its breaking point and went all out. A suffocating pressure descended as the vortex above darkened even further, becoming an almost tangible force. Though Thalion remained mostly unaffected, he had to use his tendrils to shield the crystals and parts of the ritual circle from being crushed. The elemental lashed out with long tendrils tipped with razor-sharp claws, but the moment they clashed with Thalion’s own, it recoiled as if burned.

The ritual circle continued to build power. No matter how much the elemental resisted, it was being dragged downward at an accelerating pace. The ritual countered every possible escape attempt, rendering direct attacks useless, as Thalion’s tendrils—imbued with the abyssal devourer’s essence—consumed everything they touched in mere moments.

As the elemental was pulled downward, its form compressed further. The pressure intensified with each passing second, and when it was only a meter above Thalion’s head, it had shrunk dramatically. What was once a chaotic vortex of darkness had been reduced to a swirling mass no larger than a football, rotating at an insane speed. In a desperate bid to resist, the elemental attempted to latch onto the walls with its tendrils. It was a futile effort.

Thalion ensured its struggle was short-lived by sending one of his own tendrils to tear it free, hastening the process. The dense sphere of darkness collapsed inward until only its core remained, wrapped in an intricate web of pure, condensed shadow. The pressure was almost unbearable now, and Thalion had to fight to maintain control over both the ritual and his own body.

With every inch the elemental moved closer, it became even more compressed—until, at last, it reached Thalion’s chest. The moment it breached his flesh, the pain began.