The interdimensional portal pulsed with a sickly purple glow, casting dancing shadows on the immaculate laboratory walls. Ethan Serra, a molecular biology doctoral student, watched with fascination as the energy readings went haywire on his screen. His green eyes, underlined by dark circles from successive sleepless nights, never left the graphs.
"These readings are... impossible," he whispered, running a hand through his disheveled brown hair. "The molecular structure of the air around the portal is spontaneously rearranging itself."
At twenty-six, Ethan was the youngest researcher on Professor Chen's team. His intelligence and passion for biology had propelled him into this top-secret project: studying how portal radiation affected living organisms.
The young man glanced at the laboratory cages lined up against the wall. The mice they used for their experiments were fidgeting nervously, as if they sensed something was wrong. Last week, one of them had developed a fascinating mutation after just three seconds of exposure to the portal's radiation: its cellular structure had reorganized, creating tissues with impossible properties.
"This is the key to everything," Ethan often whispered while reviewing his notes late at night. "Life always finds a way to adapt. Even when faced with energies from other dimensions."
"Ethan!" Professor Chen's voice cracked like a whip. "The energy levels are too high. Start the shutdown procedure!"
The doctoral student hesitated, his fingers hovering over the control panel. The latest readings showed energy spikes they had never observed before. Patterns that suggested a form of intelligence in the portal's fluctuations.
"Just a minute, Professor," he replied, eyes fixed on the scrolling data. "I think we're about to—"
The alarms began to scream. Red warning lights bathed the room in a bloody glow. On his tablet, data scrolled at a dizzying speed: spontaneous mutations in the air, impossible molecular restructuring, life forms appearing and disappearing in a fraction of a second.
"EVACUATE THE LABORATORY!" someone shouted.
But Ethan couldn't move. The data... it formed a pattern. Something organic, alive. As if the portal itself was evolving.
"It's... it's beautiful," he breathed, hypnotized by the spectacle.
"ETHAN! GET BACK!"
Time seemed to freeze. A wave of pure energy erupted from the portal, sweeping everything in its path. In the chaos that followed, Ethan saw the mouse cages disintegrate, their occupants reduced to sparkling particles. He felt his own body breaking down, molecule by molecule. The pain was indescribable, as if every atom of his being was screaming in unison.
I'm going to die, he thought with surprising clarity.
His last vision was of Professor Chen desperately trying to reach him, his face contorted with horror. Then darkness. Total. Absolute.
...
Consciousness returned in waves. First, sensations. Moisture. Cold. A smell of wet earth and decaying vegetation. Strange, distant sounds, like animal cries he had never heard before.
He tried to open his eyes. Nothing. He attempted to move his arms. Nothing.
Panic rose, insidious. Why can't I move? Where are my limbs?
[Devouring System activated]
[Host detected: Initial Form - Primitive Larva]
[Current Status: Vulnerable]
[Current Level: 1]
[Available Abilities: None]
[Immediate Objective: Survive]
The messages appeared directly in his mind, as if branded into his consciousness. A "system"? A "larva"?
He tried to focus on his sensations. His body... it wasn't his body anymore. He was tiny, soft, vulnerable. A pathetic worm in a hostile world.
[Environmental Analysis in progress...]
[Detected Biome: Primitive Forest]
[Danger Level: Extreme]
[Hostile Creatures Nearby: 47]
[Potential Prey: 12]
Forty-seven hostile creatures? Ethan's panic intensified. In his old body, he would have had a hyperventilation attack. But this primitive form didn't even seem to have lungs.
[System Advice: Panic is counterproductive. Analyze your options.]
The message surprised him enough to interrupt his spiral of fear. The system was right. He needed to think like a scientist, not like terrified prey.
Alright, he thought. Let's start from the beginning. What can I do with this body?
[Body Analysis Initiated]
[Structure: Vermiform Organism]
[Length: 2.7 cm]
[Weight: 0.8 g]
[Special Abilities: None
[Hit Points: 1/1]
Fantastic, he thought ironically. I'm literally the weakest creature in this ecosystem.
A tremor shook the earth around him. Something massive was moving nearby. The vibrations reached him through his new hypersensitive body, transmitting information that his brain – still human in its functioning – desperately tried to interpret.
[Imminent Danger Detected]
[Hostile Creature Approaching]
[Estimated Level: 15]
[Survival Probability in Confrontation: 0%]
[Advice: Immediate Camouflage]
The ground trembled harder and harder. A new smell assaulted his senses: blood, decaying flesh, and something else... some kind of acidic mucus?
How can I camouflage myself? I don't even know what I look like!
[Activating Primal Instincts]
[Guide: Visualize your body sinking into the earth]
Without really understanding how, Ethan felt his body react. His microscopic muscles contracted in a particular way, and he began to sink into the moist soil.
The timing was perfect. A massive shadow passed over his position, accompanied by a disgusting sucking noise. Through the ground vibrations, Ethan "saw" the creature: some kind of giant slug, but with appendages sharp as razor blades.
This is impossible, thought the scientific part of his mind. A slug of this size would violate all laws of biomechanics.
[Information: The laws of your world do not apply here]
[Advice: Adapt or perish]
The slug-creature stopped abruptly. Its massive body contracted, and a corrosive liquid dripped onto the ground, mere millimeters from Ethan's hiding spot. The earth sizzled, giving off an acrid smell.
Don't move, he repeated like a mantra. Don't move. Don't move.
Seconds stretched into minutes. The giant slug remained motionless, as if sensing a presence. Ethan, in his larval body, wasn't breathing – he didn't need to, he realized – but his mind was screaming in terror.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the creature resumed its path, leaving behind a trail of earth burned by its acid.
[Immediate Danger Averted]
[New Skill Unlocked: Basic Burrowing]
[Description: Ability to burrow into loose soil]
[Bonus: +10% survival chance when hiding]
A new skill? The gamer part of Ethan – hours spent on RPGs during study breaks – awakened with interest.
[The System evolves with you]
[Advice: Every survival is a learning opportunity]
[Next Objective: Find food]
As if responding to the message, Ethan felt a new sensation. Hunger. But not normal, human hunger. This was something more primal, more... predatory.
He "tasted" the air around him, perceiving microscopic particles. Bacteria. Fungi. Tiny organisms swarming in the soil.
[Prey Detected]
[Type: Microorganisms]
[Nutritional Value: Minimal]
[Potential Benefit: First step toward evolution]
Feed on bacteria? His scientific mind was torn between disgust and fascination. Can I really... absorb them?
[Guide: Focus on the sensation of hunger]
[Activate the Devouring System]
Ethan followed the instruction. Immediately, his body seemed to awaken in a new way. His skin became more permeable, directly absorbing nutrients from the surrounding microorganisms.
[First Nutrition Successful]
[Experience Gained: 0.1%]
[Genetic Information Acquired: Basic]
[System Message: It's a start]
A start. Yes, that was the right word. In the darkness of his new existence, Ethan felt something awakening. A primordial instinct, a devouring hunger that transcended his humanity.
This was only the beginning of his evolution. The beginning of a path that would lead him either to transcendence or to monstrosity.
And somewhere, in the depths of his transformed being, a part of him wondered if he would remain human long enough to tell the difference.
[Daily Objective: Survive]
[Long-term Objective: Evolve]
[System Message: Welcome to your new life, Devourer]