Adam felt a subtle layer of protection suddenly envelop him. Up until now, he had not realised that he was feeling somewhat nauseous and weak. It was only when the Universe gave him immunity to this thing called Corpuscladis that he finally realised this and was freed from it.
That was a very dangerous situation that he did not expect. It seemed that just being in this environment was infecting him with whatever caused this unholy apocalypse. Now that he was feeling better, he decided to first check what he was getting himself into.
[Helmin: A Major World that once served as the home of a race of organic lifeforms called Corpus.]
[Corpus: A race of organic lifeform who specialised in bioengineering to enhance their physiques. Combined with their advanced exosuits, they were well on their way to galactic conquest. However, during a certain war, all observations on the Corpus had been blocked, leaving no records of their fate.]
[Corpuscladis: A genetically engineered symbiotic parasite created by the greatest minds of the Corpus. It was meant to be their greatest creation that would be the key to their conquest. However, the Corpuscladis was far more powerful than the Corpus expected. It became uncontrollable as it parasitised the planet itself. The Corpus launched a war of annihilation against it only for the Universe's observation to be blocked, leaving no records of their fate.]
In short, the Corpus fucked up.
Adam looked at the poor and devastated world and could not help but sympathise with it. Even if it was still alive, it was already at a point of no return. Its inhabitants had caused its inevitable demise.
Adam shuddered as he imagined what would have become of him had it been the humans who created this damned parasite. Somehow, despite having experienced hundreds and thousands of apocalypses, this was definitely the most revolting. He felt extremely violated even just by looking at this planet.
"I can tell you're suffering, Helmin. I wouldn't wish this fate on anyone, even my future enemies. I'll grant you freedom from this deplorable state."
Adam dove straight through the fleshy ground, drilling through it to reach the core. It was unsurprisingly easy, not because the ground was now just rotting meat, but because the planet was already dying. It barely even had any gravitational field to exert outward. Its surface was cracked all over, likely rent apart by the attacks of the warships in space.
When he finally reached the core, he was shocked. He did not think it was possible for that condensed layer of molten minerals to have been transformed as well, but here it was.
The core of Helmin was a rather unique specimen. It had retained its molten layer while being encapsulated within a fleshy membrane that beat like a living heart, albeit weakly since it was dying.
There were veinous muscles and tissues that stretched out from the membrane and attached to the other layers around it making it seem like it was a cocoon hanging in this empty space. The veins seemed to flow with blood and pus with every beat of the fleshy core. It was quite a disturbing sight, and Adam did not want to stay a second longer than necessary.
He immediately shot toward the core following his instincts, tearing open the membrane as he opened his mouth and breathed in. His mouth was like a blackhole that sucked in the molten core. He did not need to breathe nor did he have lungs, so he had no problems just continuously sucking in the core.
The liquid flame surged into his body and mixed with his own core, making it grow bigger and brighter. As he drank more and more of the planet's core, he could visibly see the fleshy parts begin to wither like a dried husk, crumbling into ash and dust until he finally devoured the whole core.
Adam immediately left the planet in disgust, not even bothering to check the system notification right away. He continued putting a great distance between himself and the now guaranteed dead planet just in case anything unexpected happens.
After all, this was the first time he had devoured a planet's core. He did not know what would happen. Fortunately, nothing did happen... outside at least.
On its surface, however, it was pure devastation. Quite a disgusting one too considering it was quite literally a giant meatball. Adam stayed behind the giant mothership for safety before checking the notification.
[You have devoured a world core.]
[Traits of the Anima Mundi have been further defined.]
[You have assimilated a world core that has merged with the Progenitor of Corpuscladis. Due to your immunity, the Corpuscladis could not infect you.]
[You have assimilated the traits and authorities of the Progenitor of Corpuscladis.]
[You have become a hybrid lifeform made of both organic and inorganic matter. Your race is being redefined.]
[Anima Mundi has become a race of hybrid lifeforms.]
[Traits of the Anima Mundi have been further defined.]
[Your authority as Progenitor has been further defined.]