I still didn't know what the hell just happened.
Gamma had bitten me. That part was real. Not symbolic, not metaphorical — like full-on grabbed my face, tilted my chin, and sank her damn teeth into my neck.
Then Gamma turned around, eyes narrowed. Her mouth opened after the lore details were given.
"I know what your Flux is," she said.
"You… do?"
"You didn't know?" Dryad asked.
I glared at her. "Did you know your own Flux right after being tortured by human zombies, stalked by a spider, and nearly buried alive?"
Dryad shrugged. "Fair."
Gamma stepped forward again, all that joking tension gone.
"You have an Alteration Flux. But not just any Alteration. Yours specializes in Flux absorption. Trait inheritance. Which means when you killed that Ennéa-class spider back in the Unknown Zone…"
She pointed directly at my chest.
"…you absorbed its evolved skill."
"I… what?" I whispered.
"Those threads you use," she continued, tone firm, "aren't yours. Not originally. You didn't develop them. You inherited them. The spider had a web-generation trait, a kind of evolutionary skill unique to its species. Your Flux absorbed it and converted it to a more human-compatible form, hence your threads."
I stared at her. "That's not possible."
"Oh, it's very possible. It's just unheard of, mostly because it requires an evolved Flux and a combat match between two beings of equal level. You're Ennéa. That spider was too. Therefore, you were eligible for trait extraction."
"So… wait," Dryad said, leaning forward. "She can steal powers?"
"No," Gamma corrected. "She can't steal. She can inherit. It's not conscious. It's automatic, and only triggers upon death. If she kills something or someone weaker than Ennéa, her Flux absorbs raw parameters like strength, speed, reflexes. Physical capabilities only."
"And if it's her level or higher?" Phaser asked.
"Then she absorbs their evolved skill, like the spider."
I felt my mouth go dry. "So… I've been… harvesting?"
"Involuntarily," Gamma replied. "You had no idea. But now that you do, you need to understand how dangerous this is. Alteration Fluxes are already rare, but yours is unique. It's what we call a Flux of Accumulation. Every kill builds you. You're a walking evolution."
Phaser let out a soft whistle. "She survived the wolves during the Second Thauma."
"Exactly. She likely grew stronger from them. They weren't evolved Flux wielders, but the accumulation of physical traits added up. That's why she's alive now."
"So, she's basically… a passive scavenger Flux. Power by proximity to death."
Gamma sighed and gave her a side-eye.
"Please don't make it sound like she's a garbage-eating raccoon."
"Too late," Dryad said with a smirk. "We already named it."
"What?" I asked, instantly regretting it.
Dryad pointed at me. "Threadvore."
My soul died a little inside.
"That sounds like a horror creature from a kid's bedtime warning."
"It fits," she said with a grin. "Threads. Vore. You're welcome."
Gamma rolled her eyes.
"As ridiculous as that name is, it's not wrong. Threadvore. Flux of Accumulative Absorption. Type: Alteration. Signature Trait: Trait Extraction from slain Ennéa-level evolved Flux wielders or creatures. Secondary: Physical Adaptation through repeated low-tier combat."
I just… stared at her.
"I didn't ask for this," I mumbled.
"Neither did most who awakened," Phaser said simply. "The point is, now you know. This could change a lot. And if it's true that your Flux was awakened by something divine… then it makes sense why it manifested like this. Only a goddess would craft something this complex."
I rubbed the back of my neck where Gamma's bite had faded into a mark. It still tingled.
"So now what? What the hell do I do with a Flux like this?"
Dryad shrugged. "Easy. Don't die."
"Wow. Thanks. Inspirational."
Phaser glanced my way. "We'll figure it out. You're not alone."
Threadvore. A Flux I didn't ask for, but one that might just define who I am now.
I didn't even get a second to breathe before Gamma waved her hand and summoned another holo-projection, the kind that flickered with information in languages I couldn't read.
"Now that your Flux is confirmed," she said, "we have a problem."
"A bigger one?"
"The Concord Discussion."
The room fell into a sudden stillness. Phaser's brow twitched. Dryad actually stopped fidgeting with her hair.
"What's that?"
Gamma closed the projection with a sharp swipe and turned toward me, her expression sharp and queenlike again.
"An expensive, high-profile gala, held in the Eresnaes once every few cycles, a celebration of balance between the five Eresnae. It's where Supremas, High Commanders and others discuss how to maintain peace."
"Okay," I said slowly. "And what does that have to do with me?"
Gamma's eyes narrowed. "You were meant to attend. All new emergent Flux Wielders of high potential get invited, especially those with confirmed contact with unknown forces. You were registered to enter after your survival in the Unknown Zone."
"Oh," I said, slowly beginning to connect the dots. "But now I can't go?"
"Exactly. Because now it's known, at least to us, that you were touched by a goddess. The Goddess of Alteration, no less. And there will be someone at the Concord who can sense divine tethering."
"Wait. Someone can… sense that I've been… touched?"
Phaser nodded once.
"There's always one of the Five Heralds at Concord. They're keepers of relics and divine traces. If one of them gets near you, even accidentally, your entire existence could be flagged."
I stared at them. "So I'm basically radioactive now."
"You're divinely contagious," Dryad said helpfully, then flinched when Gamma shot her a look that could freeze hell.
I laughed dryly. "Great. So I was going to a gala, and now I'm a nuclear secret."
Gamma sighed and softened just a little.
"It's not your fault. But this does change your trajectory."
"I figured."
"You'll be exempt from the Concord. I'll forge the reason. You'll remain within Reversal Cradlepoint's perimeter until further notice."
"So I'm stuck."
"Protected," Phaser corrected.
"But not alone. Someone will be with you. Your survival depends on knowing your limits and your allies."
I didn't have the energy to fight that.
"Fine. No gala. No dresses. Just… divine baggage and glorified babysitters."
Phaser rolled his eyes. "You're welcome. But you'll be the one doing the babysitting "
"Wait what?"
Dryad grinned. "You say that like I wouldn't rock a gala. You know I would."
Gamma's hand lifted, palm out.
"Enough. All of you, out. I have twenty-two bureaucrats screaming about logistics and five more complaining about Ennéa-level tremors on the west border."
Dryad grabbed my arm, yanking me toward the corridor before I could ask what the hell tremors were supposed to mean. Phaser followed in silence.
As we left the throne room, I glanced back once. Gamma had already turned to her throne, screens flickering to life around her like glowing eyes. Her silhouette looked heavier than usual, not with exhaustion, but responsibility.
And now, I have to digest all this information given to be and seriously, why was I made special? I always wanted to be one but this is too much!
Yeah, I am really starting to miss the simplicity of being hunted by a giant spider.