Chapter10
Micah's eyes widened as he watched Dax work.
"This power… it's not of this world," he whispered. Dax was releasing that terrifying energy at will.
"What a monster…"
Accepting what was happening to him, Micah opened his soul fully and embraced the transformation ripping through his being. Slowly, he began to cultivate, feeling the shift in his essence.
"These eyes… they're becoming mine," he muttered, unable to contain his excitement.
---
This was Dax's **second Trait Synthesis** in its true glory.
If Dax could see through the physical world, he'd witness countless threads of mana twisting together, spiraling into something entirely new.
"I see the path…" Dax murmured, extending a hand toward Micah.
Micah's body floated gently from the ground, guided with absolute precision.
"Compress."
At the whisper, the cave shuddered. A wave of silver energy rippled out as the massive cocoon around Micah shrank, folding in on itself until it was the size of an egg.
Dax tapped the tiny cocoon with one finger, sending it straight into Micah's chest.
Then, Dax opened his eyes.
"I can see everything."
His gaze shimmered with spiraling patterns, colors, and textures of mana invisible to all others. He reached out experimentally, attempting to touch a string of floating energy—but his hand slipped through.
"I see…"
A smile curved his lips.
"Let's test this."
A soft blue film coated his palm. He reached again—and this time, his fingers grasped the mana string.
Without hesitation, he wrapped the strand around his arm. Synth energy coated his fingers, and he began weaving the new pattern.
Every motion rewrote pieces of Micah's being.
A violent surge of energy burst from Micah's back, blowing open an entire wall of the cave.
Then came the cracking.
**Crack.**
Micah's spine snapped into a new alignment. His arms followed. One by one, each bone cracked as his body reconfigured.
Dax reacted instantly.
He struck pressure points with inhuman precision, paralyzing Micah to stop further damage.
A dark mass erupted from Micah's shadow.
Dax clicked his tongue.
"I really hate being interrupted."
He grabbed the shadow by its throat and ripped it free from Micah's body.
"Dirty thing."
He crushed it effortlessly. The fragment dissipated into smoke.
His attention returned to Micah, whose flesh writhed like living worms as it regenerated fresh, glowing tissue. Shimmering golden scales began to form across his chest and back, each one pulsating with holy radiance.
"It's nearly done… I need to hurry."
A silver halo materialized behind Dax, vibrating intensely.
**–4000 World Ki
–4000 World Ki**
Dax poured world energy into Micah, accelerating the fusion process. In a single sweeping motion, the synthesis reached completion.
Micah's cyan soul ring burst with newfound power.
Thick strands of energy connected directly to his chest.
Dax's expression softened.
"It's finished."
Micah's body rejuvenated rapidly. His faded blond hair grew long and vibrant. His spine straightened fully, each vertebra clicking into perfect place.
**Woosh!**
Wings tore from his back—one angelic, one draconic.
Both golden.
Both overflowing with pure, ecstatic power.
Dax observed silently, evaluating every detail.
Micah opened his eyes.
They shimmered with divine gold.
His face looked young—no older than thirty—and his presence was nothing short of holy.
He descended to one knee before Dax, his aura bowing as well.
"I am at your disposal, my lord."
---
Micah's consciousness drifted into a deep haze.
He appeared in a pitch-black space before a cyan ring pulsing with life. Thick cords of energy twisted at its center like veins of a living creature.
Slowly… two figures formed.
Both looked exactly like him.
"This… this is impossible…" Micah breathed.
One figure sat cross-legged on the left—angelic, serene, glowing with an untainted golden aura. A single wing stretched from its back, absorbing energy gently from the ring.
The other figure was his draconic replica—golden scales, wyvern wings, and overwhelming bestial power.
Micah's vision trembled, and understanding dawned.
"This is unity… the path of the soul."
At his realization, both figures knelt in 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 as pure energy surged into him from the ring, flooding him with youth and vitality.
"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 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.
A pitch-black door materialized, swallowing light and wind.
Dax stepped through without hesitation and nodded for Micah to follow.
---
## **The Lab**
In an instant, they arrived inside a vast, bright chamber filled with hovering micro-bots flitting through the air like metallic birds.
Dax's expression was calm.
"Not much has changed."
But Micah's eyes were wide with disbelief.
From above, a sleek glass-like robot plummeted like a falling star, followed by a swarm of smaller bots.
"MASTER!!"
It circled him joyfully.
"Master, you—"
Dax raised a hand. Silence.
The robot paused, lens shifting toward Micah.
"Oh."
"Ceron… you've changed."
Dax placed a hand on the robot's cold glass shell.
"How has the lab been?"
Ceron answered, voice clear:
"Master, the lab has been in suspended animation. Activity only resumed upon your revival."
Inerous's voice cut in sharply.
"As expected."
"Know-it-all bitch," Ceron muttered, glaring directly into Dax's mind.
A holographic screen appeared—showing a blue-haired ethereal girl glaring back.
"I see you've turned into a thug while we were gone," Inerous said threateningly.
Dax smiled lightly and continued walking deeper into his domain.
His lab consisted of six primary chambers:
The Backrooms — an endless prison dimension for distorted creatures.
The Operating Chamber — where Dax dissected and experimented on specimens.
The Star Farm — acres of land made from _stardust soil, where plants grew a thousand times faster.
The Isolation Chamber — a pure void for secret experiments and meditation.
The Gene Chamber — a workshop for creation, alteration, and analysis.
The Testing Ground — a battlefield forged from the earth of the Gagarion Plain, home of the strongest species alive.
Dax inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of sterile air.
"When one plays god… it must be done properly."
He smiled.
"It's good to be home."