Chapter 10: Soul
Micah's eyes widened in abject awe as he watched Dax work—silver light dancing across the cave like living stardust.
"This power…" he whispered, voice trembling with reverence and fear. "It's not of this world."
Dax was releasing that terrifying energy at will—effortless, boundless, as though the laws of creation bent to his whim alone.
"What a monster…"
Accepting the inevitable, Micah opened his soul fully. He surrendered completely to the transformation ripping through his being—pain, power, rebirth. Slowly, he began to cultivate, feeling the profound shift in his very essence.
"These eyes…" he muttered, unable to contain the surge of excitement breaking through the agony. "They're becoming mine."
This was Dax's second Trait Synthesis in its true, unbridled glory.
If any being could peer beyond the veil of the physical world, they would witness countless threads of mana twisting together—spiraling, fusing, birthing something entirely new. Strands of divine gold intertwined with draconic crimson, weaving into patterns that defied every known law of cultivation.
"I see the path…" Dax murmured, extending one hand toward Micah with serene focus.
Micah's body lifted gently from the ground—guided by invisible forces with absolute, surgical precision. Not a single jolt disturbed him.
"Compress."
At the whisper, the cave shuddered.
A wave of silver energy rippled outward, vast and inexorable. The massive cocoon enveloping Micah shrank rapidly—folding in on itself, condensing layer by layer until it was no larger than a glistening silver egg.
Dax tapped it lightly with one finger.
The cocoon shot forward—merging seamlessly into Micah's chest, vanishing beneath skin and bone.
Then Dax opened his eyes.
"I can see everything."
His gaze shimmered with spiraling patterns—colors and textures of mana invisible to all others, a tapestry of creation laid bare. He reached out experimentally, fingers brushing a floating strand of pure energy.
His hand slipped through at first.
"I see…"
A slow, satisfied smile curved his lips.
"Let's test this."
A soft blue film coated his palm—Origin Touch manifesting like a second skin.
He reached again.
This time, his fingers grasped the mana string firmly—solid, tangible, obedient.
Without hesitation, he wrapped the strand around his arm. Synth energy flared from his fingertips, and he began weaving the new pattern—every motion precise, rewriting pieces of Micah's very being.
A violent surge of energy exploded from Micah's back—raw power blasting open an entire wall of the cave in a storm of shattered stone and dust.
Then came the cracking.
Crack.
Micah's spine snapped into perfect new alignment—vertebra by vertebra realigning with wet, resonant pops.
His arms followed.
One by one, each bone cracked and reformed—body reconfiguring into something greater, stronger, eternal.
Dax reacted instantly.
He struck pressure points across Micah's torso with inhuman precision—fingers blurring, paralyzing the old man mid-transformation to prevent catastrophic damage.
A dark, writhing mass erupted from Micah's shadow—malicious, corrupted residue from his borrowed divine grace.
Dax clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"I really hate being interrupted."
He seized the shadow by its ethereal throat—fingers closing like a vice—and ripped it free from Micah's body in one brutal yank.
"Dirty thing."
He crushed it effortlessly. The fragment dissipated into acrid black smoke, vanishing without trace.
His attention returned to Micah.
Flesh writhed across the old man's frame like living worms—regenerating, knitting fresh tissue glowing with inner light. Shimmering golden scales began to form across his chest and back—each one pulsating with holy, draconic radiance.
"It's nearly done…" Dax murmured, urgency sharpening his focus. "I need to hurry."
A silver halo materialized behind him—vibrating intensely, humming with cosmic power.
–4000 World Ki
–4000 World Ki
Dax poured world energy into Micah without restraint—accelerating the fusion, forcing completion.
In a single sweeping motion, the synthesis reached its pinnacle.
Micah's cyan soul ring burst with newfound power—brilliant, alive.
Thick strands of energy connected directly to his chest—veins of pure force anchoring soul to flesh.
Dax's expression softened, satisfaction warming his features.
"It's finished."
Micah's body rejuvenated in a cascade of miracles.
Faded blond hair lengthened, regaining vibrant golden luster.
His spine straightened fully—each vertebra clicking into perfect, youthful alignment.
Wrinkled skin smoothed. Muscles swelled with renewed vitality.
Woosh!
Wings tore from his back—one angelic, feathered in radiant gold; one draconic, scaled and mighty.
Both golden.
Both overflowing with pure, ecstatic power that lit the cave like twin suns.
Dax observed in silence—evaluating every detail, every fluctuation, with clinical precision.
Micah opened his eyes.
They shimmered with divine, unyielding gold.
His face—once ancient and careworn—now appeared no older than thirty, chiseled and regal.
His presence was nothing short of holy—overwhelming, transcendent.
He descended gracefully to one knee before Dax, aura bowing in perfect submission.
"I am at your disposal, my lord."
Micah's consciousness drifted into a deep, velvet haze.
He found himself in a pitch-black void—endless, serene.
Before him hovered a cyan ring, pulsing with vibrant life. Thick cords of energy twisted at its center like the veins of a living creature—pumping power, soul, essence.
Slowly… two figures materialized from the ring's light.
Both looked exactly like him.
"This… this is impossible…" Micah breathed, awe and understanding crashing over him.
One figure sat cross-legged on the left—angelic, serene, glowing with untainted golden aura. A single radiant wing stretched from its back, absorbing energy gently, reverently.
The other was his draconic replica—golden scales gleaming, wyvern wings folded, radiating overwhelming bestial power.
Micah's vision trembled.
Understanding dawned like sunrise.
"This is unity… the path of the soul."
At his realization, both figures knelt in perfect reverence.
"I am the consciousness—the soul. The angel is my spirit… and this monster is my body."
"It's all clear now."
He spread his arms wide.
Pure energy surged into him from the ring—flooding his being with youth, vitality, power.
"So this is what it feels like to be young again…"
System Notification
Lab Unlocked
"Finally," Dax said, turning away as if Micah's declaration of loyalty meant nothing.
"All I want now is to see the result of that power."
He spoke a single word.
"Epoch."
Space trembled.
Air spiraled inward in a violent vortex.
A pitch-black door materialized before them—tall, imposing, swallowing light and sound alike.
Dax stepped through without hesitation, nodding once for Micah to follow.
The Lab
In an instant, they emerged into a vast, brilliantly lit chamber.
The air hummed with life—countless micro-bots flitting through the space like metallic birds, their tiny lights winking in orchestrated patterns.
Dax's expression remained calm, almost nostalgic.
"Not much has changed."
But Micah's eyes were wide with disbelief—jaw slack as he took in the impossible expanse: sterile white walls stretching into infinity, holographic displays flickering with data streams, machinery humming in perfect synchrony.
From above, a sleek glass-like robot plummeted like a falling star—trailing a swarm of smaller bots in joyful formation.
"MASTER!!"
It circled him rapidly, lenses whirring with excitement.
"Master, you—"
Dax raised a hand.
Silence fell instantly.
The robot paused mid-orbit, primary lens shifting toward Micah.
"Oh."
"Ceron…" Dax placed a hand on the robot's cold glass shell, voice softening faintly. "You've changed."
"How has the lab been?"
Ceron's voice rang clear—synthetic yet warm.
"Master, the lab has been in suspended animation. Activity only resumed upon your revival."
Inerous's voice cut in sharply from within Dax's mind.
"As expected."
"Know-it-all bitch," Ceron muttered, projecting a glare directly into Dax's consciousness.
A holographic screen materialized beside them—revealing a blue-haired ethereal girl, arms crossed, glaring back with sparkling defiance.
"I see you've turned into a thug while we were gone," Inerous said threateningly, eyes narrowing.
Dax smiled lightly—genuine amusement softening his features—and continued walking deeper into his domain.
His lab consisted of six primary chambers, each a masterpiece of creation:
The Backrooms — an endless prison dimension for distorted, failed creatures.
The Operating Chamber — where Dax dissected and experimented on living specimens.
The Star Farm — acres of land forged from stardust soil, where plants grew a thousand times faster under artificial stars.
The Isolation Chamber — a pure void for secret experiments and unbroken meditation.
The Gene Chamber — a workshop for creation, alteration, and genetic analysis.
The Testing Ground — a battlefield forged from the earth of the Gagarion Plain, home to the strongest species alive.
Dax inhaled deeply, savoring the sterile, metallic scent of home.
"When one plays god…" he murmured, smile widening into something vast and satisfied. "It must be done properly."
He turned, gaze sweeping over his domain.
"It's good to be home."