Bright lights. That’s the first thing I remembered after being born into this world. Empty darkness, filled with lights. I’d never seen stars before, but I thought these must have looked like them. Each light danced around me, leaving a long, ribbon-like tail of color in its wake.

  They looked delicious, and I knew without thinking that I wanted to eat them.

  Reaching out with a pseudopod, I touched the glittering wake of a silver light. To my delight, it was crisp and cold, made entirely of magic that dissolved easily into my slime and became one with me.

  With renewed vigor, I began hunting more of them. First a green one that tasted like lime grass, then a pink one that tasted like fire. A purple one, an orange one, a blue one. All the colors of the rainbow, I caught them and added their magic to mine. As I caught each of the pretty lights, they began to move faster, and I moved faster in turn. They combined together, forming bigger lights with multiple colors, until an enormous silver sphere stood before me.

  I stared at it, awestruck. It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen…not that I’d seen much. It drew me in, its entrancing perfection consuming what little focus I had as such a tiny creature until all I could perceive was the light. It was vast as the earth and twice as deep.

  And I knew without a doubt that it would make the most magnificent meal I could ask for. Its magic could sustain me forever, and I was so hungry. Even with all the smaller lights as an appetizer, the gnawing hunger of existence still bit at my insides.

  I hopped forward. One hop, two hops, three hops. On the fourth hop, I smacked straight into something unseen. A barrier of magic was between me and the light.

  Worry and panic filled my mind. I needed to get that light. It was the perfect meal, with enough magic to feed my growth! I needed to consume it, lest I starve and waste away until I was little more than a wisp of magic being displaced on the wind.

  Instinct drove me to the ground, and I shuffled around, tasting the barrier with the side of my body. If I could just get around the edge, maybe I could get the light…

  But, the barrier was too wide. I grew tired, and a hunger I hadn’t realized I had gnawed at my insides. My hops slowed, and my form began to melt into the ground.

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  “What a curious little thing you are,” a woman’s voice mused. I couldn’t see her, but I felt her presence. Her magic was silver, like the light. “How far have you come, little slime?”

  I didn’t have an answer. The words went over my head. Despite my best efforts, understanding eluded me, and I was left only with a core-ache and the all-consuming hunger that provided the only meaning to my existence. They overwhelmed me.

  “Cute little thing, did you come here for a snack? A bit of magic that could keep you going just a little longer in the cruel world beyond this cave?” A gentle hand patted the top of my body, imparting magic with every touch. “Poor thing. There is nothing more to eat here, only stones and death.”

  I still didn’t understand, but her touch on my top felt nice. Silver magic seeped into my body, curbing the hunger a little. It wasn’t much, not even the difference between starvation and survival, but it eased my suffering. When the hand pulled away, I struggled to follow, using all my strength to gather my slime and reach upward.

  “What is this? Do you like head pats?” The woman giggled slightly. “I suppose I can spare a little more.” The hand returned, stroking the top of my slime gently. “You know, I’ve never been the greatest fan of slimes, but you may be bringing me around. It’s been so long since something so adorable and small has graced my home.”

  She stroked the top of my body several more times before the gesture stopped. I still couldn’t see her, but a melancholic gray tinged the color of her magic.

  “It’s been so long, maybe it’s finally time.” There was a sadness in her voice, a tone that masked itself as light and playful, even though the weight of the entire world lurked beneath the surface.

  I did the only thing I could do. I leaned into the pressure above me. I wanted more of her magic, and it tasted better before the sadness had spoiled it.

  “Oh? Are you trying to comfort me?” she asked. “Hmm. I didn’t think slimes could have such empathy.” The presence shifted, and somehow I knew that the woman was next to me rather than above. Her gaze was hot on my slime. “Maybe you’ll do, after all. Something small, to become something so much bigger, like a tiny spark that becomes a blaze of light to illuminate the entire world.”

  The presence retreated, and, within moments, the barrier faded, leaving my slime to melt across the boundary. I stirred, realizing extremely slowly that nothing stood between me and the giant light. Without the energy left to hop, I rolled in lurching waves toward the one thing that might save me.

  To my great surprise, the light was solid and shaped like an obelisk of some kind. I didn’t need any more encouragement. Summoning all the strength I had left, I climbed the structure, letting the acid of my body eat at the stone as I drew magic into myself.

  “There you go, my brave little spark,” she whispered, her voice sounding further away than before. “Eat up. Grow big and strong, and, when you’re ready, we’ll speak again. Until then, my little friend.”

  Then, the voice was gone. The magic filled every ounce of my slime, and, as I finished the final speck of that delightful magic, a warmth began to spread through me.

  [Evolution unlocked. Evolving into Lesser Guardian Slime.]