"Hey boss, I think Vivi is done with her transformation, and I also think you should get here fast." Silver’s voice echoed through the link, carrying an unusual edge that immediately caught my attention.
I did not waste time responding. The connection itself was enough. In the next instant, I moved, stepping into the teleportation circle and letting space fold around me. The transition was seamless, and a heartbeat later, I emerged within Vaythos.
The atmosphere felt different as if something vast had shifted while I was away.
Silver stood at a distance near the giant tree. His gaze was fixed ahead, and the moment I followed it, I understood why.
The essence pool was empty. At the center of it, resting within the now hollow basin, lay Vivi.
Her phoenix form had grown to an enormous scale.
What once felt grand now seemed insignificant in comparison. Her body stretched across the entire pool, wings folded but still vast enough to dominate the space around her. Even from where I stood, the sheer size of her presence pressed against my senses. Compared to her, both Silver and I were reduced to something almost negligible, barely the size of the nail on one of her claws.
For a moment, I simply took it in.
"Well... would you look at that," I said, a quiet chuckle slipping through as I turned my head slightly toward Silver. "I thought you said her transformation was over."
"You don’t think this means over," Silver replied, gesturing toward her massive form without taking his eyes off her. "And a few seconds ago, she opened her eyes, so I assumed it was done."
I studied her again, letting my senses stretch outward.
There was no instability in her essence. No violent fluctuations, no signs of incomplete evolution. If anything, everything about her felt... settled.
"I see," I murmured before stepping forward.
Each step brought me closer to her, and with it, the pressure increased. It was not intentional on her part, but the density of her existence alone was enough to weigh down the surroundings.
When I was close enough, I stopped.
Then, without hesitation, I reached out. "Hey, Vivi," I called out within the connection, my voice carrying through the link as clearly as if I had spoken aloud. "How is the sleep going so far?"
The connection held but there was no response.
I waited.
Just as I started to think the transformation was not over and turned slightly, a sudden fluctuation ran through her body. It was subtle, but impossible to miss. The essence around her stirred.
Then her eyes opened.
A deep violet glow filled them, carrying a presence that felt far more mysterious than before.
A moment later, her body moved.
Vivi slowly rose from the empty pool, her massive form lifting in one smooth motion until she stood at her full height. The scale of her presence became even clearer as she straightened, her shadow stretching across the garden.
"Breathtaking," Silver muttered.
Her form had changed.
Vivi’s entire body was now a rich violet, the color flowing naturally across her feathers. Flames moved along her form in a steady rhythm, rising and falling as if they were part of her breathing.
She shifted slightly, then lowered her head, her massive form bending just enough for her gaze to fall on us.
"That was a beautiful sleep I had."
Her voice echoed through the garden. It was no longer the light, childish tone she once had. This voice was calmer and sounded like that of a grown up mature lady.
"Vivi," I said, squinting slightly as I looked up, "can you do something about your size? It’s getting difficult to keep my head tilted like this just to look at you."
"Oh... I didn’t notice that," she murmured.
In the next instant, her enormous body began to shrink. Within seconds, she was back to her familiar palm-sized form, drifting lightly through the air before landing on my shoulder.
"It’s good to have you back," I said.
"Of course. I bring good luck," she replied with a bright smile, her voice slipping back into its usual cheerful, childish tone as if the previous one had never existed.
I glanced at her briefly, then asked directly, "How’s your mood right now? Any dark thoughts?"
"Umm..." she hummed, tilting her head slightly as if actually considering it. "No, I think I’m feeling good. I don’t feel like taking over Lyrate’s body or any of the humans on Vaythos. Neither am I feeling like roasting you in my flames. So I would say my mood is pretty good."
Silver let out a quiet chuckle behind me.
"Glad to hear that," I said. "So how’s the progress?"
"Oh, very, very good," she said, instantly brightening. She lifted off my shoulder and floated in front of us, unable to stay still. "But you know the best part? I can feel, listen, watch, and even process everything happening on all the worlds whose cores I’ve devoured. At the same time."
She spun mid-air, clearly excited.
"For example, I can tell you right now that your grandma is with Primus on Abor, learning fire control. On Kaalseris, Azalea is taking a bath. Her body is beautiful, by the way. There’s a small-scale war happening on the planet Timental because their armies were freed after the rifts closed, and on nine different planets, there are bronze statues of Ragnar in their capitals."
I blinked.
She said all of that casually, as if it required no effort at all. Billions of lives, countless events, all being observed and processed simultaneously.
"Bronze statues of Ragnar?" I asked, turning slightly.
"Yeah," Silver replied, clearly amused. "He asked them to build those in his honor."
"...I’m not even surprised," I muttered before looking back at Vivi. "What else?"
"Well," she said, floating a little higher, "I now have enough control to affect all those planets directly. Not just them, but even the suns in their systems. Any system where a planet I’ve devoured exists... I can influence it."
I narrowed my eyes slightly. "How?"
She grinned.
"Gravity, Billion. I can control it... influence it... and amplify it as much as I want." Her voice carried a hint of excitement now. "If you want multiple moons for Vaythos, I can do that. Rings around the planet, I can do that. Another sun? That too. And much more."
She paused briefly, then added in a more casual tone, "And of course, everything else has improved too. Defense, attack, talent growth, species evolution... all of it has increased by multiple times."
I stayed silent for a moment, watching her. This was good... exactly what we had expected.
"What about the thing we talked about?" I asked.
"Let me check that," she said, and then went quiet.
"What thing, boss?" Silver asked, glancing at me.
"Something that will help us in the long run," I replied. "Let’s wait for her to check."
Vivi floated in front of us, her small form going completely still as her eyes slowly closed. The usual liveliness around her faded, replaced by a strange calm. At the same time, I could feel faint fluctuations spreading from her body. They were subtle in a way I couldn’t fully grasp.
So I didn’t interrupt.