[Age Progression, Absorption]

"How much longer..."

A blonde young man muttered as he slowly made his way through a forest. He had been through the earlier parts of this forest many times before. So many times that he had nearly memorized it like the back of his hand. And yet despite how many times he had been through here, no matter how many times he had traversed this very same path, it never seemed to end. No matter how farther he went...

This was part of the Wilderness. A part of the world that was dominated by those that still clung to the wilder parts of society. Those that still saw themselves as Prey and Predator. Which was why some of the most dangerous Monsters found themselves here. The young man's task, as well as the task of the ones he had been allied with, was to try and carve a path through the Wilderness that could render it hospitable to his kind. So that Society could continue to grow.

And yet it had come at a heavy price. His commander. His fellow adventurers. All of them either corrupted into Monsters, or killed outright. And the ones that were corrupted... They had deserved it, considering what they had done to the kind Monsters that tried to offer them a chance to live peacefully. At this point, he had seen far, far too much. To the point where he couldn't take it any longer.

It was why he had taken off. From the remainders of the camp, where his last few supplies were still stationed. He could've headed back towards civilization. Back towards society. To stock up. To find new blood. To try and spread a message.

But it would all just end in yet more bloodshed. Yet more disappointment. Which was why he kept on going instead. Kept on going deeper and deeper.

This way, he would be the only one that still suffered. And hopefully, the disappearance of him and his allies would encourage Humanity and Society as a whole to back off from the Wilderness. Hopefully they would understand the lesson that he was trying to teach them, even if he wasn't using any words to convey his intentions.

He just had to keep walking. Keep going deeper and deeper. It's not like he'd find light at the end of the tunnel, but he just had to keep going. Until-

"Help me! Help meeee!"

A feminine cry echoed out, right as a blast of energy nearly flew by his head. There were Monsters nearby. And yet despite how close he was to being destroyed, he didn't move out of the way. He simply kept on walking. Even if he did alter the course slightly to put him on the path towards the source of that voice.

As much as he had suffered through, he still had a heart that wanted to help. And even if this voice might belong to a Monster, he had to try and see for himself. After that, who knew what he would do...

In a small clearing, with the light shining down on her, was a girl. A girl that would probably be his daughter's age, if he had stayed home and stuck with the love of his life.

And yet here he was. Looking down upon a frightened girl. A girl who seemed to have a few scrapes, as well as a bigger mark on her back where she once had wings. She had been hit by that blast, it seemed...

"Please... P-Please, don't hurt me... Please..." The girl muttered, tears slowly running down her cheeks. "H-Humans are.. H-Humans are meant to be gentle, r-right..?" She sniffled, as she crawled towards the young man...

He gazed upon her. In her haste, she had blown her cover immediately. Not that he hadn't figured her out based on where she had been hurt, nor the lavender hair that hung from her head. She was a Monster, a winged type. A Succubus, perhaps. Either way, the young man quietly put his backpack on the ground.

"I have no food. Nor do I have any water. But if you sit still, I'll patch your wounds up." He said, with a look of complete detachment in his eyes. "Even if you are a Monster, you don't deserve to die here."

Her frightened expression went away as she gently huffed, brushing her hand through her hair as she sat up straight. "So, you figured it out. I thought Humans were meant to be stupider than that, but it seems I'm mistaken." Almost immediately, a regal aura resonated from her. And he could feel the slightest bit of power resonating from her. "You need not patch me up. My power will return shortly. And from there..."

She paused, as she gazed at him once again. "...You have no plans to attack me and finish me off? Human, do you understand who I am? What I've done to your kin?" She asked, as this show of absurd mercy truly confounded somebody like her...

"I do. You're one of the Wilderness' greatest predators." He explained, as he turned his backpack onto its side, before gently pushing it towards her so she'd have a seat. One that she could use while he simply sat down. "My friends once told me about a Monster that was willing to look as weak as possible when she was in danger, as long as it left her prey vulnerable."

"And yet you don't take advantage of it." The young looking Monster tilted her head as she took a seat on his backpack, resting her head up against the palm of her hand. "I've killed many of your kind. Made them my meals. And yet you don't plan on taking revenge, nor finish me off when I'm genuinely at my weakest. You are a peculiar man..."

He simply shook his head. "A tired man who wants to see no more bloodshed before him. Even if you deserve it." He explained very calmly, before letting his head hang. "I want to keep the spirit of my mission alive. To ensure both Monsters and Humans get what they want."

"An insignificant Human wishes for coexistence. Not realizing that my continued existence will threaten that coexistence. Trauma is no excuse for blatant stupidity, Human." The young Monster said, before her disappointed look twisted into a grin. "But if you truly do consider yourself expendable, given how you've been treating me... How about you simply sit and wait? Once I return to full power, I will be glad to make you a celebratory meal. And you will get the chance to see how a Monster of my caliber manages to regenerate into a properly powerful form."

The young man simply stared at the girl that was meant to be a threat, before nodding and softly smiling. "At least I'll be able to share a fond story with the others, once you digest me." Even such an open threat did nothing to change his mood. Even if he had a slight blush on his cheeks. "Can't say I'd taste very good. The others always said I was really wishy washy, so I think I'll taste similarly."

She laughed at him. Laughed at how openly he accepted his own demise. It prompted her to pull him closer, as she wrapped her legs around his waist and let her childlike face creep close to his. "Are you a pervert, Human? Is that why you accept this death, knowing that you'll experience the greatest high before you pass on? Is that what this is all about? I've met many like you, and all of them have an attraction to this form. Do not worry. Inferior beings like you naturally find themselves attracted to weaker beings such as this form of mine."

He simply shrugged his shoulders, as he wrapped his arms around her in turn. "I don't really know. Maybe we'll find out if I think less of your true self." He paused, as he gazed at her once again. Her petite, adorable form. The form that felt so intimate now that she was practically wrapped around him. "...Do you have a name?"

"Names are for inferior beings." She asserted, smirking as she gently pressed her head up against his chest. Listening to the sound of his weary heart beating. "But what about you, Human? What is your name? Maybe I'll consider remembering it, just because of how strange you truly are."

"Michael." He said, before smiling slightly as he pulled her back. Letting their eyes lock again. "Inferior I may be... But a name means a lot." He said, as he gently brushed her hair with his much bigger hand. "...Venus. That's the kind of name that comes to mind when I look at you."

Venus paused as he gave her a name, prompting her to glare. "And what is it supposed to mean then, 'Michael'? What is that name supposed to convey? Do you believe it to truly reflect a superior being-"

"Venus is the Goddess of Love and Beauty."

This made the Monster pause. And in fact, it made her blush. Laugh, even. The idea that Gods could exist was laughable to her. But she also understood exactly what they were. "You... You would profane your own beliefs, just for the sake of impressing your murderer. You are beyond help, Michael."

"And yet you use my name." Michael smiled, as he gently patted her on the head. "That's why I feel that name truly does describe you, Venus. If you truly are a superior being, somebody much greater than me and my fellow Humans...  Then it only makes sense that you would embody that name. Because you truly are beautiful, and I believe you will remain beautiful."

The young-looking Monster laughed more, as she quietly forced herself away from the Human who kept on saying such crazy things. All while taking deep, deep breaths...

The wounds on her body had healed. The scrapes were gone, and her wings seemed to now be a pattern on her back. She could probably call upon them at any time she wanted. But instead, she simply stood there. With her hands on her hips, laughing from the depths of her seemingly twisted heart.

"Never before have I met somebody as overwhelmingly stupid, suicidal, perverted... Nay, there's not a single word that can accurately describe just how insurmountably idiotic you are, Michael." She had nothing but insults to hurl towards him, especially as she curtsied towards him with an imaginary skirt. "And that is why the greatest idiot in the history of the world will get a chance to enjoy a sight like no other. Please, do keep looking. Unless you wish to squander the special chance I intended on giving you."

He simply kept on staring, just as she told him to. Why would he dare look away when she had gone through all this effort to prepare? Especially considering the name that he had given her. He wanted to make sure that she truly was a Venus...

Bit by bit, the young girl started to grow. Inch after inch being piled onto her body. Both in the height department, and in the width department...

Her hips grew wider. Her breasts grew bigger. Her ass grew tighter and bouncier. And that was all when she reached the height of a teenager. She still kept on growing. Growing and growing...

By the time she had reached a state where she looked like an adult, her hair had grown so long that it could practically consume her whole. Which was why it started to wrap around her, forming an elegant and erotic looking dress. One that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. In fact, it emphasized her most important areas... Complete with having a window to the hole down below, one she had practically offered to him while she sat on his lap and hugged him tight.

And her curves didn't disappoint either. They had been growing too, naturally, but there was something about the way her dress pressed against them. Something about how her ass seemed to nearly leak out through the fabric. Something about the way her breasts were this close to letting a nipple slip every time she drew breath. That slight hint of complete sensuality was something on par with what Goddesses would show...

Which only proved Michael's choice of name correct, the young blonde man simply nodding his head as her transformation came to an end. All while he could feel his heart slipping from his chest, thanks to how intense the charm that poured off her was. He could feel his eyes dimming, and his mind slipping...

"No. Not yet, my favorite idiot."

His heart found its way back into his chest, as the charm suddenly wore off. And now he found himself in the opposite situation. Now he was the one on her lap, and his arms found their way around her. He didn't know how she had made him hug her, but he didn't exactly mind. Especially when she was so stunningly beautiful.

"You really are as cruel as a Goddess, Venus." Michael muttered, as he rested his head up against her stomach. Sighing softly as he closed his eyes. "I was just about to drift off to meet them all again. And yet you keep me here for a little while longer."

"I wouldn't be a Monster if I didn't intend on playing with my food." Venus chimed, as she forced him to gaze upward by lifting his head with a single finger. "I told you. I'll be making you a meal now, Michael. But not in the way that you might expect." She explained, as she gently pushed him on the back with her free hand...

He didn't know what she meant, exactly. Not before he felt something wrapping around him. Not her arms... But rather, her entire body seemed to shift. All so that it could wrap around him. All so that he could be... 'hugged', by the predator that had chosen to tease him since he chose to help her.

"Ah... I think they called this... Absorption..?" He had heard about it once. Only once before. Because the one that had told him then got himself absorbed while he was trying to study the phenomenon. "I expected you to simply eat me..."

"Eat you, and waste all that wonderful idiocy?" Venus laughed, as she gently caressed his back. "I want to understand you thoroughly, Michael. So you'll become a part of me. Perhaps you might infect me with that very same idiocy... But you've left me no other choice. I will make you part of me, and from there, I will understand. Perhaps I'll even encourage others to do the same, now that you've demonstrated just how stupid Humanity really can be."

He simply chuckled in turn, as much as he could with most of his face buried within her absorbing body. "I suppose I've made a grave mistake. But in the end..." The young man sighed and closed his eyes. "It was the choice that I made..."

Just like that, the Human that had managed to both confuse her, amuse her, frustrate her, and inspire her... The human known as Michael, became part of her. Absorbed into her body, like she was some sort of aquatic Monster...

Venus slowly slid her hand across her stomach, as she could feel the slightest hint of warmth within her. All while closing her eyes, as she let the knowledge that she had consumed into her mind. Trying to put together exactly why it was that he would do something this reckless.

...Images upon images started to flood her mind. Images of comrades. Images of loved ones. Images of struggle. Images of relief. All of them piling on top of each other...

Until they were buried. By images of loss. images of separation. Images of bloodshed and despair. All of the happiness that he once had... It was all crushed by the weight of everything that had gone wrong.

It all explained why he had been like that. It explained every single nugget of curiosity that she had. And yet at the same time , she didn't see him inside her. It was like he had completely and utterly disappeared, now that he had been absorbed.

It filled Venus with the slightest hint of sadness. As a Monster, most of her life revolved around fighting and eating. Her fellow kin were most of the targets there. With Humans as nothing more than a snack or two. And yet here she was.

Learning about what drove him. Learning about what broke him. This was what Humanity was..? A pile of emotions that then formed a consciousness?

Once again, laughter left Venus' lips. But this time, it was not out of confident overconfidence. It was a sad laugh. Because she truly did understand why he had done what he did.

...Although she would not change her ways, as she was still one of the apex predators, this did open up a bright new way of thinking inside the Monster's mind. And with that kind of knowledge, she could easily start departing deeper into the Wilderness. All for the sake of finding the ones that were like her...

So that they too could seek out and understand Humans like she had. So that they could be enlightened, and choose to do what they wanted to after seeing the lesser beings' perspective.

What would she do, beyond that? Probably try to consume a few more Humans. She already had her eyes on Michael's old lover. So that they could be together inside her, like they deserved to be. After that...

Well, it was up to how the Wilderness developed after that. Perhaps, she could truly become the Goddess that Michael believed she was. Perhaps, she could learn to show true mercy...

For now, she simply departed. With only the memory of the meeting serving as proof that it had happened...