The frog crouched near a pool, throat pulsing rhythmically, unaware it was being watched by something.
Narakul stared, unmoving.
His lizard host perched silent in the reeds. Eyes wide. Still.
But inside? Calculations fired like clockwork.
He'd learned something.
When he'd first merged from protozoa to lizard, there was degradation. A sense of leaving most things behind.
But now?
No.
He still had everything.
Venom from the spider, ready and stored.The vibration hairs from the centipede, twitching along his flanks.The climbing grip from beetle setae.The reflexes and Camouflage from the lizard
Ability to breathe thorugh skin, from the wormAnd the beginning of enhanced vision, the frog's long lens and dual focal range, soon to be added.
The frog adjusted, one foot dipping towards the water.
And then he struck.
There was no wasted movement.
He pounced, not like a lizard, but like a chimera, silent, fast, and guided by more than instinct. His venom-laced bite sank into the frog's shoulder. Within seconds, the spasms began.
The creature collapsed.
He wasted no time.
He exited the lizard's form like smoke leaking from a skin, leaving behind the hollow frame, and sliding into the frog with precision.
Neurons welcomed him.
Muscle accepted him.
And the change began.
He blinked.
The world blinked back, different now.
His eyes had changed, no longer flat like the lizard's. Now depth swam in everything. Distance, motion, weight. He could judge the arc of a falling leaf. Could track the zigzag flight of a mosquito.
He crouched.
Then leapt.
The jump was exhilarating, twice the range of the lizard, easy. The landing was clean. Smoother even, because he'd retained shock-absorption tissue from the frog and pressure-distribution from the beetle.
He wasn't just a frog now.
He was a composite.
He tested more.
Climbed a slick rock face: spider hairs gripped perfectly.Skittered across bark: beetle footpads held firm.Lowered himself into water: frog's and worm's drank oxygen directly.Held his breath for minutes: lizard lung reflex still functioning, along with his other abilities.
And through it all, the venom pulsed at his jawline, ready to be used again.
He swam now through the pond, silent, elegant. The frog's form moved effortlessly between reeds. He kicked, adjusted buoyancy with internal shifts, and came up beneath a lily leaf, resting just beneath the surface.
The jungle moved beyond.
Birds screamed overhead. Something with a long neck drank from a far bank. He tracked them, not with awe, but with hunger.
A rustle to the right, small movement.
Another frog. Smaller. Not useful. He ignored it.
Instead, he reviewed what he had.
Narakul's Active Traits:
Spider: venomous bite
Centipede: vibration detection, flexible segmentation
Beetle: micro setae for grip, hardened nerve shell
Worm: oxygen intake via skin
Lizard: rapid reflex arc, sprint burst, camouflage-scale base
Frog: jump power, dual-lung + skin breathing, depth-adapted sight