The world was a blur of shifting colors when Om's vision steadied. His feet sank into the familiar soil of the Forbidden Zone's forest, the sounds of rustling leaves and distant predators breaking the heavy silence that followed their return.
The rift behind them twisted once, then collapsed into itself, vanishing like mist before the dawn. For a moment, Om simply stood there, still replaying the last words of the Kalpa Vriksha in his mind. The wish-granting tree… Kalpa Vriksha… His heart beat faster. He had seen mysteries before, but this—this was on a different scale.
A low groan from his side snapped him out of thought. Dawon had collapsed, his massive frame sprawled on the forest floor. At first Om thought the lion had simply fainted from exhaustion, but then he froze.
Golden Sanskrit inscriptions—lines, curves, and complex knots of ancient power—were spreading across Dawon's body. They glowed with a steady, radiant brilliance, crawling from his claws up to his muscular limbs, weaving over his fangs, and burning inside his golden eyes.
"...What the hell?" Om muttered, stepping back instinctively. His fists clenched. For all the battles he had fought, this sight was unlike anything else. His partner looked less like a beast and more like a divine statue in the making, forged by light itself.
The inscriptions pulsed once, then converged into Dawon's chest. The lion's body shuddered violently, muscles tightening, bones cracking as if reforged from within. Then, in a sudden flash, all the Sanskrit markings condensed into a golden orb, floating just above Dawon's heart.
Om's breath caught. "No way…"
The orb rotated slowly, radiating waves of heat and majesty that pushed against Om's skin like a storm. Every instinct told him this was power on a scale he had no business being near. He raised his hands in defense, not knowing whether to intervene or simply watch.
Just then, the silence in his mind broke.
[Master… unknown phenomenon detected.]
Om exhaled in relief at hearing the Zero's voice again. "Zero, you're back! What the hell is happening to Dawon?!"
[Scanning… the process bears resemblance to your own enhancement events. However, the energy patterns are foreign. unknown origin.]
[Hypothesis: connection to the entity you encountered inside the rift.]
Om's eyes widened. "Kalpa Vriksha…" he whispered. It had spoken to him, but… had it given something to Dawon?
His chest tightened at the thought. Why Dawon? Why not me? But there was no jealousy, only confusion and a gnawing unease. He took a step closer, only to stop when the orb pulsed again, flaring with golden light.
"...Fine," Om muttered, lowering his stance. "I'll wait. Whatever this is, I'll protect you until it's done."
He turned his gaze outward, scanning the forest. And that was when he realized—they were not alone.
Dozens of eyes glowed in the shadows, watching. Wolves with thick black fur, serpents coiled around branches, reptilian beasts with scales that shimmered under moonlight. More and more gathered, small and medium predators alike, their footsteps forming a ring around the clearing.
But they didn't attack.
They only watched.
Om's body tensed. His hand instinctively hovered with Seismic Drum, his other hand channeling faint threads of Grutva Akarshan in case he needed to twist gravity at a moment's notice. But the beasts stayed still, eerily silent.
"Zero," Om whispered, "why aren't they attacking?"
[Pattern inconsistent with standard predatory behavior.]
[Probability: they are reacting to Dawon's transformation. Instinctual fear… or reverence.]
Om's jaw tightened. So they're waiting. For what?
The minutes stretched into hours. The forest grew darker, colder. Only the faint glow from Dawon's orb gave the clearing any light. Om sat cross-legged near his partner, his eyes never leaving the shadows, his every sense stretched taut like a bowstring.
As the night deepened, an odd sensation began to build in the air. The forest grew silent. Even the predators that had surrounded them now crouched low, as though sensing something immense approaching.
Then it happened.
The moon above, pale and full, suddenly blazed brighter than ever before. Its light pierced through the canopy, flooding the clearing in silvery brilliance. For a moment, the world itself seemed to hold its breath.
And then—
The golden orb above Dawon's chest ignited.
A pillar of golden light shot upward, merging with the silver rays of the moon. The entire sky seemed to ripple as the two forces intertwined, sending waves of energy across the forest. Trees swayed, beasts cried out, and the ground itself trembled under the weight of the phenomenon.
Om shielded his eyes, barely able to stand against the raw pressure. His heart hammered in his chest. This is insane… what's happening to you, Dawon?!
The orb dissolved into streams of golden light that spread across Dawon's body, weaving into his muscles, bones, and very soul. His mane flared like living fire, his claws gleamed with sharp radiance, and his roar—though not yet released—seemed to hang in the air, waiting to shake the heavens.
For the first time, Om felt something he never thought he'd feel while looking at Dawon.
Not pity. Not companionship.
But awe.
Dawon no longer looked like a weakened lion who had once struggled to stand. He was evolving again into something far greater—something majestic, terrible, and divine.
Om swallowed hard. "Dawon… what are you becoming?"
The beasts in the shadows didn't wait for the answer. One by one, they lowered their heads, pressing their bodies to the ground in silent submission.
Om watched, his fists trembling. He wasn't sure if he should be proud, afraid, or both. But one thing was certain: tonight, something had changed forever.
And when Dawon's eyes finally opened again, glowing with golden fire, Om knew that his partner was no longer the same beast he had once saved in the facility.
This was something else.
Something born from the Kalpa Vriksha's gift.
Dawon turned toward him. The lion's breath was heavy but steady, his new form radiating strength that Om could feel in his bones.
"Partner…" The thought brushed against Om's consciousness—clearer, deeper, more articulate than ever before.
Om's brows furrowed. "Absolute submission…?"
[Confirmed.] Zero's voice hummed.
[Phenomenon identified.]
[Subject Dawon now possesses dominant authority over all lifeforms beneath a certain threshold. Resistance impossible for targets of lower vitality, strength, and will.]
[Probability of betrayal from weaker beasts: zero.]
Om's chest tightened as he absorbed the information.
"This isn't just a power… it's control over an army."
He glanced at the beasts still kneeling around them. Entire packs of predators, powerful enough to destroy villages, now lying in complete servitude.
The implications were terrifying.
And yet, as Om looked at Dawon—standing tall with glowing mane and eyes that burned like the sun—he felt a strange reassurance. Dawon wasn't just his companion anymore. He was a commander of beasts, a ruler of the wild.
"…Dawon," Om muttered, his voice low but resolute. "We just stepped onto an entirely different path."
The lion's golden eyes softened as they met his. Then Dawon roared.
The sound was unlike anything Om had heard before. It wasn't just a roar—it was a decree. A gale tore through the clearing, charged with golden light, and every beast responded in unison. They roared, hissed, howled, cried out—not in defiance, but in recognition.
Recognition of their king.
---
Hours passed, yet the beasts didn't disperse. They lingered at the edges, keeping distance, but still bowed whenever Dawon's gaze brushed over them. Om couldn't shake the weight in his chest.
He recalled the words of the Kalpa Vriksha.
"Descendant of Somanandi, this is my gift to you."
So this was the gift. Dawon's inheritance—control over the wild.
Om tightened his fists. His inheritance was broken, fragmented, a puzzle he could barely piece together. Yet Dawon now stood as a complete being, his existence shining like the moonlit crown he bore.
"…A cursed child of fate and a descendant of Somanandi," Om whispered bitterly, recalling the words both the bull statue and the tree had spoken. "What kind of pair are we really…?"
Dawon only lay beside him, massive body warm, his mane glowing faintly even under the darkened forest. The beasts stayed kneeling until dawn began to creep across the horizon.
And Om knew one thing.
From this night onward, the world of monsters would never be the same.