Leo stood for a long moment, the silence of the terrified forest pressing in on him. The initial thrill of shaping stone had faded, leaving a familiar, empty space. He had a destination before: away from danger. Now, the immediate, stomping, roaring danger was gone. He had achieved his goal of being "safe."
A new, vague need began to form in his mind.
[Sage,] he thought, [I'm... bored.]
It was a profound statement. The struggle for survival was over. The food chain had bent to his will. What does a so OP, amnesiac slime do with his time?
[Observation: Host's primary survival imperative is satisfied. Secondary imperatives may include exploration, knowledge acquisition, or resource gathering.]
[Exploration sounds nice,] Leo decided. But exploration for what? He looked around at the twisted, dark trees and the perpetual gloom. It was all starting to look the same. A flicker of a memory, not his own, surfaced from the assimilated Titan's consciousness—a memory of a different kind of light. Not the sickly green of the forest canopy, but a clear, golden light from an open sky.
[I want to see the sun,] he stated, the desire feeling both foreign and intrinsically right.
[Navigating to an area with reduced canopy cover is a viable objective. This unit lacks cartographic data of the Dark Forest. General direction: uphill. Higher elevation typically correlates with thinner tree lines.]
[Uphill. Okay.]
With a new purpose, Leo began to move. His travel was no longer a desperate ooze or a wary glide. It was a leisurely, confident stroll. He was a king taking a walk in his garden, and the garden was wise enough to stay out of his way.
When a river of black, churning water blocked his path, he didn't go around. He remembered his new abilities. Focusing his will, he used Terrakinesis on the riverbed itself. The earth beneath the water rose, forming a perfect, arched bridge of solid stone that parted the current. He walked across, the construct crumbling back into the water behind him once he reached the other side.
When a dense, ancient thicket of thorns that could shred steel stood before him, he didn't push through. He raised a hand and the earth in front of him simply parted, the soil and roots pulling away to create a smooth, clear path. It was like the forest itself was rolling out a carpet for him.
He was no longer fighting the Dark Forest. He was curating it for his own convenience.
After a time—it could have been hours or days, he didn't keep track—the terrain began to slope upwards. The trees grew thinner, and patches of that longed-for golden light finally pierced through the canopy, illuminating the forest floor. The sight filled him with a simple, warm pleasure.
It was then that he saw it. Something that was not a tree, a monster, or a river.
Nestled against a rocky cliff face, half-hidden by normal, non-magical vines, was a structure. It was made of stone, but it was cut into blocks, fitted together with clear intention. A doorway, now collapsed, led into darkness. It was a ruin.
This was new. This was not part of the natural, monstrous order of the forest. This was a thing made. A thing from a world beyond the trees.
[Sage? What is that?]
[Analysis: Structure is artificial. Architecture is non-native to current ecological data. Signs of extreme age and abandonment.]
A spark of genuine, deep curiosity ignited within Leo. This was a mystery. A puzzle. A story.
His goal of "seeing the sun" was instantly forgotten, replaced by a new, more compelling objective.
[I want to go inside.]
He glided towards the ruin, the condensed power of a titan humming within his simple, curious form. The Survival Arc was over. The Arc of Discovery had just found its first clue.