I Can Assimilate Everything
Chapter 281: Mythological! I
Chapter 281: Mythological! I
The skies cracked.
BOOM!
Achilles’ golden eyes narrowed the moment the ripple surged through the gravitational veil of the Vessel of Adrastia.
Still seated, still composed, but in the next instant, he stood.
A quiet alert pulsed across the entire floating landmass.
A Landmass that had Fifteen Astral Core Ascension entities aboard- fifteen!
Himself. Rose. Dr. Shaw. Aliya. Thorndike. Lancelot. King Darrun Flamewake. Nyxaria Moonveil Lunaris. Others, too- Overseers and more who were empowered through his Biological Nurturing and Limited Assimilation.
And yet…
Something came their way without worrying about what was here.
Something fast!
BOOM!
The clouds above split open, and there it was.
A simian humanoid stood balanced on a golden staff hovering effortlessly in the air, high above the Vessel. His form radiated terrifying power, but what drew attention most was not the aura.
It was the smile.
Mischievous. Carefree. Disrespectfully amused.
His golden fur glistened faintly in the dawnlight. His tail curled behind him like a silken rope, lazily flicking left to right. He looked across the gathered might of the Adrastia Dynasty and tilted his head.
“Friends,” the Simian spoke, casual and playful, “why are you spreading mind-controlling spores everywhere? I just woke up from a horrid slumber, and this is the welcome I get? Really?”
The tone was light.
The atmosphere was not.
Celestbones across his body began to ignite.
His internal physiology roared with starlight.
Bright. Commanding. His neurons pulsed so vividly, so quickly, that Achilles immediately processed the truth.
Neuronova Stage.
And a tremendously powerful one at that! Someone that might be far from their reach at this moment!
“…”
Achilles hovered upward, slowly, calmly. The air trembled beneath his feet as he ascended to meet the intruder’s eye level, his voice even.
“I wasn’t targeting anything sentient,” Achilles said, gaze sharp, posture relaxed. “Only the mindless beasts below. If you were caught by mistake, I apologize.”
The Simian smiled wider, balancing on his golden staff with his hands behind his head.
His gaze swept across the Vessel of Adrastia, especially the vibrant trees bearing rainbow-colored fruits glowing with ambient Evolutius light.
“Apology accepted, friend,” he said smoothly, “I’m easygoing like that. But…how about some of those glowing fruits as a peace offering?”
The Fruits.
The Primordium Evolutius Fruits!
Achilles raised a hand, but before he could even reply…
HUUM!
The Simian moved first.
BZZZZZT!
The Titanwall Dome shimmered.
A golden pulse from the Simian’s staff blinked through the barrier as if it never existed. The next moment, the golden-furred Ancient stood inside the Vessel itself.
“—!”
Achilles vanished.
In the next breath, he stood beside Rose, arm lightly in front of her as his eyes locked onto the intruder who was already seated high up within the branches of the Primordium Evolutius Trees, casually plucking one of the sacred fruits.
Everyone aboard tensed.
Living Weapons were not drawn. But intent sharpened. The air became razor-thin.
They all prepared for a terrifying battle!
But…
The Simian took a bite of the Primordium Evolutius Fruit.
CRUNCH!
And…his eyes widened in joy.
“Woah,” he muttered, the golden fur across his body shimmering. “What are these? They taste better than anything I’ve eaten in…how long has is been…?”
He waved his hand and summoned golden light, tendrils of power snatching several more fruits nearby at once.
He munched happily. Then…
BUUUURP!
His mouth opened and he belched out.
Spores.
A wave of gold green-tinged vapor emerged from his mouth and nose as the spores embedded within the fruits tried to take hold and failed.
The Simian’s body rejected them instantly, and his glowing eyes slowly returned to Achilles.
“Friend,” he said again, voice colder this time. “Why are you putting mind-controlling spores in everything? Are you that scared of Ancients?”
…!
The air froze.
Everything became that much colder!
“…Not scared,” Achilles answered, calm and cutting. “Just cautious. So far, every Ancient I’ve met has tried to murder, devour, or enslave.”
“…Fair,” the Simian shrugged, now smiling again. He stretched and swung upside down from a thick branch by his tail as he continued to eat.
“I don’t take sides between Humans or Ancients. Never have. Never will. I’m just here to see how all this chaos plays out.”
Rose stepped forward, her green hair swaying gently behind her, the air warping subtly from her phoenix aura. Her voice was precise, sharpened.
“And who, or what, might you be?”
The Simian blinked while looking at her.
He dropped to the ground in front of them, spun his staff into his hand, and struck a dramatic pose with one arm behind his back, another sweeping forward with a bow.
“Beautiful older sister,” he said playfully, “I was once known as the Mythological Monkey King.”
He stood straight.
“Call me Sun.”
…!
Sun!
A name that echoed like legend.
A Mythological Ancient!
Every Astral Core Ascension entity aboard the Vessel of Adrastia, Dr. Shaw, Aliya, Thorndike, Lancelot, King Darrun Flamewake, Nyxaria Moonveil Lunaris, and others…stepped forward unconsciously, forming a protective arc around Achilles.
Shock. Vigilance. Readiness.
Even Rose, standing beside Achilles, summoned faint flares of green flames around her fingertips. Her gaze never left the simian creature.
But Achilles did not move.
His mind raced like lightning through storm clouds. Every pathway of possibility, every variable, was assessed in silence.
He observed.
A Mythological Ancient. Unpredictable. Casual in behavior, but dangerously aloof. His Neuronova Stage power had passed through the Titanwall Dome as if it were air.
And yet, he’d done no real harm. Not yet.
Achilles’ expression remained unreadable, his voice calm and sharpened with intentionality.
“You said you don’t take sides between Humans or Ancients,” he said slowly, “but what is your purpose now, Monkey King? After your Long Slumber… what do you seek?”
…!
A heavy question.
Sun didn’t answer right away.
He was chewing another Primordium Evolutius Fruit, a delighted expression dancing across his face. He swallowed, exhaled, and burped- releasing another faint cloud of spores into the air as if entirely unbothered.
“Purpose?” he muttered.
Then he looked up.
His golden eyes… gazed higher.
Beyond the Vessel. Beyond the sky.
Toward the endless stars.
“The stars,” he whispered, voice suddenly clear.
Everyone aboard quieted.
Sun’s tail flicked gently behind him as he stood, the golden staff balanced on his shoulder. His gaze never left the havens above, those distant pinpricks of unreachable light.
“What I really wanted to do… even before the Slumber,” he said softly, “was fly into the stars. Not float. Not dream. But go. With this staff of mine, I wanted to crack open the sky and pierce into those glittering wonders.”
He chuckled, but it was faint and hollow.
“But it was impossible back then. Too much gravity. Too many limits. And now…? Even more impossible.”
“…!”
Several aboard looked to one another.
A Mythological Ancient who didn’t seek war, territory, or vengeance. But flight. Freedom. A pursuit no one had expected to hear.
Sun looked down again.
He took another fruit.
“So, while I gather enough power to maybe try again,” he said, “I’m just enjoying life. Napping. Eating. Watching things break and reform. Seeing what wonders are out there.”
He spun the staff around his fingers with surreal dexterity.
Then, with another glint in his eye, he looked down at Achilles and the assembled powerhouses around him.
“Where are you humans going anyway?” he asked, tilting his head. “You seem like a fun bunch. And with more of these fruits…”
He raised another Primordium Evolutius Fruit in the air, inspecting it like a sacred gem.
“…I should be able to light up another Neuronal Vessel.”
Achilles said nothing at first.
But his gaze never left the Monkey King.
He was thinking again.
Calculating.
Because beneath the chaotic charm and golden glow, he recognized what Sun truly was.
Something with potential!
One that could illuminate a few things!