All Chapters of The Evolution System of the Drowned: Chapter 91
- Chapter 100
106 chapters
Chapter 91: The Serum War
"Turn it up, Kael!" I shouted."I'm trying, Osric! The signal is trash!" Kael’s voice came through the speakers.The room was cold. We were in a gutted office building that I now called my throne room. It didn't feel like a palace. It felt like a tomb. Jax stood by the window, his hand on his holster. "Is that a distress call?" Jax asked."It’s coming from Pennsylvania," Kael said. "An inland city. Allentown, I think."The static cleared for a second. A woman’s voice screamed. It was a high, thin sound that made my hair stand up. "Please! Anyone! They’re inside the hospital! They’re not human anymore! They’re eating—"The signal cut out."Did she say they’re eating people?" Ross asked. The General walked over to the table. He looked tired. "Is this the Gardeners? Did the harvest start?""No," I said, looking at the Pearl in my hand. "The Gardeners use beams. They use drones. They don't eat people. This is something else.""Maybe it's a virus," Miller said. The former President was s
Chapter 92: Hunting the Ferals
"Watch out!" Jax screamed.The giant Feral slammed into me. We broke through the steel guardrail and hit the bottom of a completely dry riverbed. Dust exploded around us."Osric!" Jax yelled. "Are you alive down there?""I'm fine!" I grunted, pushing the heavy gray monster right off my chest."Stay back, Jax! Do not come down here!""Shoot it!" Jax shouted. "Blow its ugly head off!""I can't!" I yelled back. "If I use the Pearl down here, I'll level the whole block! Innocent people are hiding!""Then what are you going to do?" Kael's static voice buzzed in my ear. "You can't fight that thing!""I'm going to beat it to death," I said. The monster roared and charged at me. "You're crazy!" Kael shouted. "It will tear you in half!""I don't care," I said. "People are watching. If I use magic, they'll fear me. They need to see a human win.""You're not fully human anymore!" Jax yelled. "Stop trying to be a hero!""I am human today," I said. The Feral swung a massive, heavy fist. I quickly
Chapter 93: The Mutation Lab
The humid air of the Amazon hit us like a wet blanket the moment we stepped off the chopper. We hacked through the thick vines, our boots sinking into soil that didn't feel right."Look at this grass," Jax said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "It’s not supposed to be blue.""It’s not just blue," I said, kicking a clump of the stuff. "It’s glowing. The whole jungle is dying because of it.""Kael, you seeing this through the drone?" Jax asked, looking up at the small machine buzzing above us."I see it," Kael’s voice came through the comms. "The moss is spreading fast. It’s like a virus. It’s eating the trees and replacing them with that glowing junk.""Where is the source?" I asked."About five hundred yards ahead," Kael said. "I’m picking up a massive heat signature underground. Watch your step, Osric. The readings are off the charts.""I don't like this," Jax muttered, gripping his rifle. "Everything feels wrong. Even the birds stopped chirping.""Keep moving," I said. "We didn't co
Chapter 94: The Jungle Duel
"Are you dead yet, Osric?" The Director’s voice boomed over the speakers."I'm just getting started!" I yelled back.The floor under me wasn't just cracked. It was a complete mess of broken concrete and rebar. I stood up and stretched my neck. My weight had turned the floor into a crater."You hit the ground pretty hard," the Director said. "Most men would be a puddle of blood right now.""I'm not most men," I said. "And your pit is a little damp.""Damp?" The Director laughed. "It’s a swamp, Osric. Look around."I looked down. Dark, muddy water was bubbling up from the cracks in the floor. It smelled like rotten eggs and death."What is this?" I asked."This is home for my little pet," the Director said. "The King-Ripper loves the mud. He loves to hunt in it. He loves to hide in it.""I don't see any pet," I said."Wait for it," the Director whispered.A massive shape moved under the dark water. It was long, fast, and silent. Suddenly, a huge head broke the surface. It looked like a
Chapter 95: The Lung Evolution
Everything was black. Mud was everywhere. It was in my mouth. It was in my eyes. It was filling my gills."You’re drowning in the dirt," the Director laughed. "How does it feel to be a fish out of water?""Shut... up..." I tried to say. Only mud came out."I can't hear you," the Director said. "I guess you're finally finished."I couldn't move. My lungs were screaming. My gills were useless. The mud was too thick.[WARNING: GILLS COMPROMISED. OXYGEN LEVELS AT 4%. IMMEDIATE EVOLUTION REQUIRED.]"Do it," I whispered in my mind. "Do whatever you have to do."[INITIATING TIER-4 EVOLUTION: DUAL-LUNG ADAPTATION.]My chest felt like it was being ripped open with a hot iron. I wanted to scream, but the mud held my mouth shut. My ribs were cracking. My insides were shifting. It was the worst pain I had ever felt."What's happening down there?" The Director asked. "The sensors are going crazy. Are you finally exploding?""I'm... changing!" The words muffled by the mud.My chest expanded. I felt
Chapter 96: The River King
"Sixty seconds," the computer voice screamed. The red lights were flashing so fast I could barely see. The whole base was shaking."You hear that, Osric?" The Director’s voice laughed through the speakers. "That's the sound of your clock running out!""I’m still standing, you coward!" I yelled back."Not for long," the Director said. "I’m turning on the vents. Let’s see how those new lungs handle a little gift."Suddenly, a loud hiss filled the room. Thick, yellow gas started pouring out of the ceiling vents. It smelled like rotten eggs and acid."What is that?" I coughed.[ALERT: TOXIC NERVE GAS DETECTED,] the System voice rang in my head."Great," I muttered. "Just what I needed.""It’s a special blend," the Director said. "Designed to melt the insides of anything that breathes. Even a freak like you.""I'm not a freak!" I roared."Forty-five seconds," the computer said.I looked around the room. I saw a group of people huddled in a corner behind a glass wall. They were wearing ora
Chapter 97: The Poisoned A****n
"Zero!" The computer screamed.Not only did the world end. It shattered. I felt the blue energy inside me swell like a balloon about to pop."I've got you!" I yelled to the people on my back. "We're dead! We're dead!" The man shrieked. "Shut up and hold on!" I roared.I punched the door. I let the power go. A massive wave of blue electricity ripped out of my skin. It was a bio-electric discharge. It hit the yellow gas and turned it into a wall of flame."My eyes! It burns!" the woman cried. "Keep them shut!" I ordered. "Don't breathe the fire!"The explosion was bigger than anything I had ever felt. The ground under me vanished. The walls turned into scrap metal. "Osric! Report! Osric!" Jax was screaming in my ear."I'm here!" I coughed. "What was that blast?" Kael asked. "The drone feeds just went white!""I burned the gas!" I yelled. "Is the roof still there?""The roof is gone, man!" Jax shouted. "You blew the top right off the lab! I can see you through the smoke!"I looked up. T
Chapter 98: CEO of the World
"Seven seconds!" Kael screamed.I stared at the streak of fire dropping from the stars. It wasn't just a weapon. It was a message."Osric, jump!" Jax yelled. I didn't jump. I looked at the system screen glowing in front of my face.[THREAT ANALYSIS: KINETIC IMPACT INBOUND. ENERGY SPIKE DETECTED FROM LUNAR SURFACE.]"The moon?" I whispered. "They're shooting at me from the moon?""The global satellites are picking up massive spikes," Kael reported. "It’s not just one rod, Osric. They’ve turned the lunar base into a railgun!""Then I’m taking everything they have left," I growled.The fire hit. But I was already moving. I didn't hide in the water. I dived back into the ruins of the lab’s main server room. The blast rocked the earth. Mud and metal flew everywhere."Are you alive?" Jax asked. His voice was shaking. "I'm alive," I said. I pulled myself out of the smoking crater. "And I'm done playing defense.""What are you doing?" Kael asked."I’m taking over," I said. "Connect me to ever
Chapter 99: The Abyssal Spire
"Move faster!" I roared. My voice echoed across the dark surface of the Atlantic.Millions of Drowned workers were swarming in the water. They were hauling the massive, white ribs of dead Leviathans. They were stacking them into a pile that looked like a mountain growing out of the abyss."Osric, the satellite feeds are going nuts!" Jax’s voice crackled in my ear. "The whole world is watching this! They think you're building a tomb!""It’s not a tomb, Jax," I said. "It’s a ladder.""A ladder made of bones?" Kael asked. "Is that even stable?""The System says it is," I replied. "Start the next phase. Bring the heavy skeletons to the center!""You heard the boss!" Jax yelled. "Get those Drowned moving! We need a base that can support a hundred miles of bone!"I watched as the workers stacked the remains. They didn't use cranes. They used their hands and my energy. I stood at the very center, on a small patch of dry rock."The wind is picking up, Osric!" Kael shouted. "We’ve got a Categ
Chapter 100: The Century Milestone
"You still alive?" Jax’s voice was barely a whisper through the comms.The ringing in my ears was loud. The rod had hit the shield and vaporized. The air was thin up here. It was freezing, too. I looked down at the world. It wasn't the green and brown ball I remembered. It was blue. Almost ninety percent water."I’m alive, Jax," I said. My breath came out in a white cloud."The Spire held?" Kael asked. He sounded like he was about to cry."It held," I said. I touched the bone floor. "It’s solid. Earth is safe for now.""Safe?" Jax snorted. "Osric, you’re standing on a bone tower in the middle of the sky. The billionaires are hiding in their basements. The Director is probably screaming. How is that safe?""The ground is secured," I said. "Nothing can touch my people down there anymore. But the threat isn't on the ground.""You’re looking at the moon again, aren't you?" Kael asked. "I’m looking at everything," I said.I stepped to the edge of the platform. The sun was right there. It