The jungle groaned in the grip of tension, each leaf trembling under the weight of the titanic presence that had just emerged from the mist-cloaked ridges of Skull Island.
Mark remained motionless, his monstrous, sinewy bulk spread low against the torn remains of the terrain, slick with the blood and flesh of the Skullcrawlers he had only just finished slaughtering.
His two forward-facing eyes, dark and sunken into ridged sockets, were fixed entirely on the towering silhouette that stood across the clearing; a bipedal giant whose broad chest heaved slowly, deliberately, as though controlling the very rhythm of the forest around him.
Kong.
The creature stood upright, taller than anything else that walked this island, its pelt thick and scarred, its body carved from coiled muscle and primal fury. But it was the stare that unnerved even Mark; not just the intelligence behind the beast's expression, but the restraint.
Kong had not attacked. Not yet.
Instead, the great ape watched the blood-soaked carnage spread around Mark's bulk and considered it, judged it, and then, silently, his fists clenched like granite slabs and pounded once against his chest; not as a warning, but a declaration.
Mark didn't need language to understand. This was no predator meeting prey. This was two apex entities crossing paths; and only one would remain standing.
Kong burst forward like a cannonball loosed from a cliffside, each stride slamming into the earth with a force that fractured stone. Mark had expected a charge, but not this kind of speed, not the kind that narrowed the distance between them in mere seconds.
Still, he did not flinch. His forward tentacles slammed downward into the earth, anchoring him just as Kong's shoulder struck him, the resulting impact like thunder cracking through the valley.
The blow lifted part of Mark's bulk off the ground. Soil exploded in every direction as his form skidded backwards, carving trenches into the island floor, trees snapping like twigs in his wake.
With a heaving growl, Mark twisted his torso mid-drag, redirecting Kong's force and his own weight. Several barbed limbs lashed outward in response, the ends whipping through the air with explosive momentum, two of them wrapping around Kong's right forearm and bicep, others around his left thigh and ribs.
His barbs dug into fur, just barely penetrated the dense flesh beneath. But that was all that was needed. Kong roared, grasped the nearest tentacle with both hands, and pulled. Mark was dragged forward violently, but he allowed it, using the momentum to twist his lower half and slam a coiled limb into Kong's abdomen like a battering ram.
The hit connected, knocking the wind out of the ape, who stumbled back and finally released the tentacle.
A moment of collecting himself later, Kong surged forward again, and the second bout was far less calculated; a blur of brute fury. Fists the size of trucks slammed into Mark's plated face, shattering the outermost layer of chitin in one spot. Another blow followed, and another, each one like a volcanic piston crashing down.
Mark's eyes flickered. He registered no panic; only irritation. One tentacle whipped behind Kong's legs and yanked, while another shot beneath his armpit and pulled the opposite direction.
Kong stumbled, lost balance, and Mark surged forward, slamming his bulk into the ape's side with enough force to send both tumbling down the rocky slope into the lower jungle floor, a descent that shattered trees and split the earth wide open beneath them.
Both landed hard. Both rose quickly.
But already, Mark had an advantage. Kong was already poisoned, and the longer the fight dragged on, the worse his condition would get. Kong could sweat, but not fast enough to cool his body.
The vents on his lower thorax hissed steam as they expelled heat from his strained muscles, preventing fatigue before it could even set in. A secondary tentacle launched a barb at Kong's upper leg; and this time, it struck true, sinking into the flesh just above the knee and delivering a slow-acting venom designed to erode strength and responsiveness.
Kong snarled as he ripped the barb out, but the effect had already begun. His next step faltered slightly.
A single step, but Mark noticed it.
The battle dragged on across the island. Over the span of nearly an hour, Mark and Kong warred with no words, no rest, and no room for mercy. Mark used every limb to bind, strike, and poison. Kong countered with fists, stone, tree, and instinct.
The terrain became an extension of their violence; waterfalls deflected with bodies, cliffs collapsed by their weight, entire groves levelled underfoot. But little by little, the tide shifted.
Kong's muscles, though mighty, began to respond with less precision. His counterattacks grew sluggish. Mark's barbs struck more often now. Three had landed deep in his chest, and two more along his spine.
The venom was working.
And then Mark saw it. A single misstep. Kong tried to pivot but his leg failed him. That was the moment. Mark lunged with everything he had, not just speed, but fury.
A dozen tentacles crashed down at once, wrapping Kong's torso, legs, neck, and arms. The ape screamed in defiance, but could not move. His strength had reached its limit. His resilience had failed him.
Mark lifted the great ape bodily off the ground and slammed him headfirst into the cliff wall behind them, cracking the stone down the centre. The jungle echoed with the final tremors of the impact.
And when the dust settled… Kong did not rise again.
Mark exhaled, steam flooding from his vents, the sound echoing in the stillness, before beginning his feast. Then, like the arrival of a long-awaited signal, the system's voice returned.
[New Genetic Material Acquired: Gigantopithecus Titanus]
[Potential Traits Catalogued:]
[Primate Combat Intuition (Level 2): Neural pathways enhanced for rapid, land-based combat decision-making and limb coordination across complex terrain.]
[Muscular Density Reinforcement (Level 3): Muscle fibers exhibit enhanced contraction density, allowing for strength bursts exceeding expected mass limitations.]
[Bone Marrow Hyper structure (Level 2): Skeletal system reinforced with high-density marrow compounds, increasing resistance to both blunt and kinetic trauma.]
[Genome Saturation Reached – 100%]
[Evolution Now Available – Initiate When Ready]
Mark did not move immediately. For the first time since the battle began, his two eyes blinked. He had done it. The final organism, the final sequence.
He could feel it already. The internal structures of his body beginning to loosen, reorganize, heat. The pressure building beneath every plate and scale. The evolution would not be instant; but it would be powerful.
And yet… As his massive body slowly turned to face the horizon, his gaze passed beyond the island; toward the ocean where a storm raged.
The same storm from before. There was something behind it. Something still hidden. Something waiting. And Mark, soon to be something far greater than what he was now… would find out what it was.