CHAPTER TWELVE: PREDATOR SIMULATION ROOM
"Five Years of Quiet Flame"
šĀ Elvaris Mansion ā Underground Training Chamber | 1995
Beneath the marble and starlight of the Elvaris Estate, past biometric locks, cloaking seals, and dimensional folds, there lay a chamber not found on any blueprint.
It was deep.
Quiet.
Alive.
The floor was obsidian-black, etched with pale glowing sigilsālines of mana-threaded circuitry pulsed like breath beneath the surface. The air shimmered faintly with suspended elemental energy, thick and silent, like the eye of a storm.
This was not a gym.
This was a forge.
The Predator Simulation Room.
Velmir's forge.
šĀ Velmir ā True Form
No school uniform. No tiny shoes or innocent grin.
Here, Velmir stood tall in his true formālean, elegant, the quiet sharpness of Guy Crimson in his posture, the calm weight of Rimuru in his expression. Pale-blue markings pulsed just under his skin. His wingsāsleek, shaped like folded obsidian blades streaked in soft arcane blueārested against his back, half-dormant.
Around his hands, energy danced: threads of wind, steam, ember, pressure, dust, frost.
He exhaled.
"Begin predator combat simulation," he said quietly.
"Acknowledged," Viera's voice echoed across the chamber. "Loading construct batch 003. Elemental combat parameters confirmed. Containment barriers sealed. Regeneration monitored. Proceed when ready."
š„Ā Simulation: Predator Mode
The floor glowed.
The constructs emerged.
From glowing runic circles, figures began to riseāshifting, wordless echoes made of raw elemental will:
A wolf wreathed in magma, breath flickering with flame
A wind serpent coiling like silk in the air
A colossus of emerald-veined stone
A mist mimicāhovering, silent, toxic
Velmir flexed his fingers once. Power stirred at his spine.
Thenāhe moved.
āļøĀ Combat: Flow Like Wind, Strike Like Thunder
He vanished.
Or ratherāhe moved so fast he left nothing but stillness behind.
Sliding beneath the fire-wolf, he thrust his hand upward. A black-blue tendril of energy slithered from his palm, piercing the beast's chest like liquid fang.
"Predator: Activated."
"Fire Resistance: Acquired."
"Combustion profile absorbed. Internal threshold raised."
He twirled mid-air, summoning water from the moisture in the room. A spear formed. He flung it lowāright at the colossus's knee joint.
The stone groaned, then shattered.
"Earth property identified. Structural weakness noted. Stone resonance signature mapped."
He landed silently as the poison mimic surged toward him.
He didn't dodge.
"Predator," he whispered.
"Toxic density: high. Neuro-corrosive variant detected."
"Poison Resistance: Acquired."
The mimic imploded as the vapor collapsed into his palm.
The wind serpent shrieked in a soundless gust. Velmir's eyes glinted. His wings unfoldedājust slightly. He exhaled, and lightning flickered through the air.
He snapped his fingers.
The serpent convulsed and dissolved in static light.
š§ Ā Aftermath
Silence.
Velmir stood in the center of the room againāshirtless, breath steady, body unmarked.
The last construct vanished into mist.
He wasn't panting. Wasn't strained.
He was⦠quiet.
Still.
Almost disappointed.
"Simulation complete," Viera announced. "Predator processing complete. Magicule saturation: 54%. Convergence rate: stable at 6% per hour. Combat regeneration: suboptimal."
Velmir tilted his head. "We'll hold until Stark finalizes the ARC Reactor. Then I'll borrow it."
"Temporarily?"
"ā¦Sure."
ā³Ā Five Years Later ā Year 2000
Ten years old, officially.
In public, Velmir Elvaris was the charming heir of a mythic bloodline. A rare child prodigy of poise, grace, and intellect. Rumored to be the son of secluded nobles, born in a castle few had seen.
But beneath the polished smile, the brushed hair, the charming bow?
A predator watched the world with calm eyes.
šĀ Velmir's Growth ā Internal Surveillance Summary
Elemental Mastery: Air, fire, water, earth, lightning, thermal variance
New Hybrid Skills:
Mud Control (water + earth)
Poison Mist Manipulation
Lightning Folding
Predator Evolution: Now isolates, absorbs, and catalogs molecular traits
Great Sage: Fully evolved. Displays dry wit. Occasional sarcasm. Operates at 0.003s mental response time.
Cooking: Advanced. Can produce cuisine capable of pacifying minor deities.
Music: Fluent in piano, violin, and traditional Japanese flute.
Combat: High-precision, instinctive control. Limits internal power to avoid reality warping.
Emotional Progress: Learned patience, subtlety, compassion, restraint
š§¬Ā Global Surveillance: Game Pieces in Motion
⢠Tony Stark:
24. CEO. Arrogant genius. ARC prototype unstable. Still two years from Afghanistan.
"Burning himself to brilliance. Still worth watching."
⢠SHIELD:
Agents poking at Malibuānone return with results.
"Let them try."
⢠Wanda & Pietro:
Still in HYDRA's hands.
"Their chains will break⦠soon."
⢠Xavier Institute:
Confirmed. Cerebro evolving. One boy missing from upstate registry.
"Charles is waking."
⢠Bruce Banner:
Gamma experiments accelerating. Edge of accident.
"The green storm brews."
⢠Strange:
Still a surgeon. Ego unshattered.
"His hands have not yet broken."
⢠Carol Danvers:
Silent above the stars. Signal dormant.
"The comet sleeps."
⢠Loki & Thor:
Still Asgard's princes. Still unaware.
"The frost has not yet cracked the golden cage."
šÆļøĀ Moonlight Solitude ā The Drawing Room
The piano's notes drifted through the mansion like snow.
Velmir sat at the bench, fingers gliding over ivory keys. A soft melody roseāone part lullaby, one part quiet grief. Notes hung in the air, echoing memories of a childhood that was never fully his.
Viera appeared beside him, her projection wrapped in soft light.
"You've come far, Master."
Velmir didn't look away from the keys.
"I have. But the more I grow, the more I remember what I was."
He met his reflection in the piano's polished surface.
"Just a kid. Cold sidewalk. Headphones in. No legacy. No destiny."
A long pause.
"Now⦠I'm a dragon in silk. Playing Beethoven in a home that cost more than my whole life."
Viera's voice lowered. "Do you regret it?"
Velmir pressed a final note. Let it fade.
"ā¦No. But sometimes, I miss the simplicity."
Then he smiled, slow and real.
"I have friends now. I have time. I have purpose. And soon⦠I'll have a world to protect."
[END OF CHAPTER TWELVE]