The more he thought about it the more he realized that all creatures have certain inalienable qualities and characteristics. It wasn't being selfish to want Portensa to be what was at the core of her identity as a lichen. It wasn't about what he wanted her to be, because not only were we soul bonded, but also choosing [Lichen Beast] would fundamentally change Portensa's species. She would no longer had the lichen's ability to form a symbiotic relationship with new life forms.
Not only that but what would happen to the algae, yeast, cultivation manual, and elemental. Would they continue to be able to exist within Portensa as completely separate life forms? Going back to the description for the [Lichen Beast] Gordon saw that line he was looking for and read it a few times, 'all other symbiotic species will be specialized to enhance the beast form'.
