Damien stood beneath the towering canopy, the forest dim even though it was barely past midday.
Luton hovered beside him, its body shimmering faintly with restrained power. It was swollen with essence—dense, compressed, and volatile.
The breakthrough was close. So close that Damien could almost feel it pressing against the slime's limits like water behind a cracking dam.
But close wasn't enough.
He exhaled slowly as he spoke to the slime.
"Rest," he muttered.
Luton wobbled once, almost reluctantly.
'Cancel Luton's summon.' Damien dismissed it with a mental command.
The Stellar Slime dissolved into motes of light and returned to his essence core. The forest felt subtly emptier without its quiet, consuming presence.
Then Damien summoned Fenrir.
The air shifted.
White fur materialized first, then muscle, then the full towering form of the wolf. Fenrir landed lightly despite its size, eyes gleaming as it inhaled deeply.
