Chapter 27: | Fusion II
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Gruesome hours passed in silence.
I debated endlessly, again and again, over which combinations to choose, dragging skills into the fusion table, matching them, testing them.
Even if the fusion process was tedious, it was… fun.
To ponder.
To strategize.
To sculpt the future of my own power.
I was learning.
Understanding its intricacies.
Comprehending the logic, the flow, the very language behind it all.
And I couldn't help but grin.
A long, spiraling list of potential combinations stretched before me like an ancient tapestry, etched not in cloth, but in raw possibility.
The fusion table floated in the air, its glow almost divine as I inspected it one final time.
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[Would you like to combine these skills?]
• † Diamond Maw + † Icefang Rend
• † Phantom Shift + † Accel Dash
• † Mercurial Reflex + † Apex Reflex
• † Ashen Carapace + † Ghost Veil
• † Stonehide Aegis + † Shadow Skin
• † Unyielding Bulk + † Titanic Bulk
• † Adamantine Carapace + † React8ive Carapace
• † Monarch Regeneration + † Regenerative Web
• † Cradle of Blooming Flesh + † Gem forged Carapace
• † Gleaming Scales + † Silent Descent
• † Dazzling Display + † Dread Presence
• † Lashing Hive Tendrils + † Tendrils Assimilation
[Yes] / [No]
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There was no mistaking it, my tendrils clicked Yes.
...
Then came silence.
Followed by agony.
An unbearable surge of pain struck my nerves like a tidal wave of magma.
My body burned, every inch of me searing as if submerged in molten fire.
My jaw cracked apart, shattered, then slowly, grindingly, reformed itself into something new.
My muscles twisted, contorted, and in some places disintegrated, only to be replaced by stronger, more refined fibers, mature, efficient, evolved.
I felt pain everywhere.
But I endured it.
Like a man should.
My body trembled violently as the mutations deepened, growing more pronounced, more grotesquely perfect.
Yet I was still mortal at heart.
My vision flickered, blurred, dipped in and out of focus under the relentless assault of pain.
But what could I do?
Refuse this power?
Never.
I was a man chasing power.
I wanted it.
I needed it.
Even if it meant suffering through hell.
I didn't care.
Liora stirred from her slumber, woken by the trembling of my body.
She yawned, groggy, rubbing her eyes.
I felt a flicker of guilt for disturbing her… but this pain, this transformation, couldn't be ignored.
Minutes passed.
Then hours.
Finally, a hologram shimmered before my bloodshot eyes.
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[You're skills have fused]
[You have gained:]
• † Frostjaw Shatterfang [Ascension I]
• † Blurstep Surge [Ascension I]
• † Instinctive Flow [Ascension I]
• † Phantom Bastion [Ascension I]
• † Duskplate Hide [Ascension I]
• † Colossal Sovereign [Ascension I]
• † Resonant Aegis Shell [Ascension I]
• † Blooming Regenerator [Ascension I]
• † Crystal-Bloom Bastion [Ascension I]
• † Abyssal Ghosthide [Ascension I]
• † Sovereign's Gaze [Ascension I]
• † Hive-Latch Assimilation [Ascension I]
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I was excited, no, thrilled, to see, to read, to feel the rewards for the suffering I endured.
But a thought slithered into my mind.
Perhaps this is enough for today…
But why should I stop here?
Why stop now?
Because of pain?
Bullshit.
What's pain to a man who can grow stronger with every ounce of it?
I grinned like a madman, veins pulsing with newfound power.
My body, once broken, now felt reborn, twisted into something stronger, something closer to the apex I was meant to reach.
I flexed, testing the strength that now flowed through every fiber of my mutated form.
Sinew, bone, and mana thrummed with raw potential.
Then, my gaze dropped to the hologram as the skill descriptions unfolded before my eyes.
And I devoured every word with hungry eyes.
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• † Blurstep Surge [Ascension I]
You vanish in a burst of motion—flickering through water with blinding speed. Each activation distorts your form like a phantom ripple, making it near impossible to track your exact position. Perfect for ambushes, evasions, and weaving between attacks before striking from the blind side.
• † Frostjaw Shatterfang [Ascension I]
Your bite fuses crushing force with freezing precision. Diamond-hard fangs deliver bone-breaking pressure, while each impact sends a burst of cold into the wound—numbing flesh, weakening armor, and making targets brittle. Every bite threatens to snap even the sturdiest defenses wide open.
• † Hive-Latch Assimilation [Ascension I]
Tendrils strike with hive-born precision—binding, slicing, and pulsing with disrupting mana. Once prey is subdued, the vines latch deep, beginning a slow fusion. Biomass is absorbed, forms rewritten. With each kill, you evolve—preparing the way for greater forms.
• † Instinctive Flow [Ascension I]
Your body moves before thought. Reflexes sharpened to their peak let you dodge with liquid grace, adjusting mid-motion as if foreseeing danger. Close-range attacks struggle to land as you weave through threats with near-perfect timing.
• † Resonant Aegis Shell [Ascension I]
A hybrid shell of hardened armor and fluid motion. Deflects blades, absorbs shock, and disperses impact through layered segments. It's tough enough to block a strike—smart enough to bend with it. You don't just endure damage. You nullify it.
• † Sovereign's Gaze [Ascension I]
Your presence bends the will of lesser foes. With a single look, silk-fiber fins unfurl, and dominance floods the battlefield. Even hardened warriors falter, instincts screaming retreat. This isn't fear—it's obedience to a superior force.
• † Blooming Regenerator [Ascension I]
Wounds close fast. Lost limbs regrow as crystal-laced vines—stronger, sharper, harder to break. Even near death, your body refuses to fall. Only a shattered core can stop the bloom.
• † Crystal-Bloom Bastion [Ascension I]
When threatened, you form a hardened cocoon of gem-studded vines. Attacks bounce off or shatter on impact. While encased, you regenerate rapidly—but cannot move. Defense becomes absolute, if only for a moment.
• † Colossal Titan [Ascension I]
An immovable giant forged from weight and will. Your mass makes knockback impossible, your presence unshakable. Each step is force. Each strike is destruction. You absorb hits like earth swallows rain—slow, heavy, and relentless.
• † Phantom Bastion [Ascension I]
A volcanic shell cloaked in illusion. When still, you vanish into terrain—rock, sand, or shade. Melee blows chip at weapons and misdirected strikes falter, as enemies struggle to focus on your shifting silhouette. Durable. Deceptive. Unshakable.
• † Duskplate Hide [Ascension I]
A living fortress carved from shadowed stone. Your body blends into rock and darkness alike, vanishing when still. Slashes and stabs glance off your flesh, while your silhouette twists light itself—turning visibility into a guessing game. Hidden. Hardened. Immutable.
• † Abyssal Ghosthide [Ascension I]
Your shimmering scales glide through water without a trace. You resist blades and vanish from senses—no ripples, no echoes, no presence. In stillness, even sonar sees only stone. Perfect stealth in motion and rest.
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This was merely the first step.
And my second?
To forge an [Ascension II] skill, one worthy of my grotesque evolution.
But which skills would I offer to the altar of fusion?
Should I prioritize synergy and compatibility, or simply throw in whatever caught my fancy?
I lingered on the thought for a moment… then scoffed.
No.
Randomness may work in devouring, but not in crafting power.
This wasn't about chaos.
It was about design.
† Blooming Regenerator [Ascension I], a perfect foundation.
It amplified my regeneration and minimized the energy it consumed.
Efficient.
Lifesaving.
† Crystalbloom Bastion [Ascension I], a floral barrier hardened by crystal, capable of stalling a fatal blow and accelerating recovery afterward.
A defensive linchpin.
† Colossal Titan [Ascension I], raw mass, increased resilience, overwhelming presence.
It made my flesh denser, my form larger, and my endurance monstrous.
Together, they painted a clear picture.
Regeneration.
Bulk.
Defense.
My grin widened, teeth glinting with anticipation.
I chuckled low, a rasp of satisfaction rumbling from my throat as my tendrils dragged the three skills into the fusion interface.
No hesitation.
No second thoughts.
I clicked Yes.
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[Would you like to combine these skills?]
• † Blooming Regenerator [Ascension Ip +
† Crystalbloom Bastion [Ascension I] +
† Colossal Titan [Ascension I]
[Yes] / [No]
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Then the nightmare began.
My body trembled, then broke apart.
It twisted, warped, mutated into something darker… something abominable to behold.
My eyes turned crimson from the agony.
My vision blurred, then faded into a red haze as I thrashed against the cavern walls.
The earth shook beneath me.
The flora I slammed into disintegrated into powder.
Pain lanced through every nerve as I howled like a beast being torn apart.
Liora stirred, groggy and irritated, her voice rising in mild protest.
"Please tone down your howling... a beautiful woman is still trying to sleep."
I felt sorry for waking her up again.
But I couldn't stop.
And I didn't want to stop.
It felt like the end of the world.
My muscles melted into sludge, oozing beneath my skin.
Chitin burst from my flesh, jagged and dark, then rapidly linked together, forming a grotesque exoskeleton.
My bones compressed, my muscles compacted, crystallizing into something denser, harder, otherworldly.
Damn it, this was beyond torture.
This was hell.
My mind fractured with each passing second, splitting between man and monster.
The torment pulled at my sanity, but still, somewhere deep inside, I laughed.
A mad, broken laugh that echoed through the cavern like a hymn of madness.
Liora sighed knowingly.
She'd seen this before.
She'd felt it.
In the past, her skills had ascended naturally, and her body, too, had been mutilated, reshaped with each rise in power.
She shuddered at the memory.
The pain of mutation never dulled.
Still, she pitied me, her descendant writhing through a transformation that was, by all accounts, worse than death.
"Perhaps it's too early for you."
She murmured, voice barely audible.
"But this is the will of fate, fortune, destiny... and karma."
And as I screamed, my thoughts unraveled into the past.
Maybe this was why I failed.
Again and again.
Not because I lacked strength, but because I feared the pain.
The pain of disappointment.
The pain of loss.
Of being wounded, physically, emotionally, soul-deep.
Maybe that's why Samantha died.
My first love.
Was lost because I was weak, because I hesitated when I should have acted.
I hated myself for it.
I still do.
And maybe the reason I never escaped the chains of my tormentors… was because I was simply afraid.
Afraid to scream.
Afraid to fight.
Afraid to suffer the consequences of standing tall.
How pathetic.
How utterly human.
I wasn't some soulless monster, numb to fear or morality.
I was human, flawed, emotional, terrified of the unknown.
Maybe that's why I clung to power.
Because deep down, I feared I was… futile.
The pain slowly ebbed.
A strange warmth washed through me. Something had changed.
A hologram shimmered into existence before my eyes.
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[Your skills have fused.]
[You have gained:]
• † Blooming Colossus Bastion [Ascension II]
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